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to create an obstacle, but they put forward a certain pretext which did not seem very plausible, that he had come bringing with him the Lombards, who were most hostile to them. 8.26.20 While Narses was at first at a loss because of these things and was inquiring of the Italians present with him about what should be done, some reported that even if the Franks should allow them to make this passage, yet they would in no way be able to proceed from there to Ravenna, nor to make this journey except 8.26.21 as far as the city of Verona. For Totila, having selected whatever was of proven worth in the Gothic army, and having appointed as their general Teias the Goth, a man exceptionally skilled in matters of war, had sent them to the city of Verona, which was subject to the Goths, in order that he might block the passage of the Roman army, as much as was 8.26.22 possible. And so it was. And when Teias was in the city of Verona, he blocked the entire passage there to the enemy, having contrived by artificial means that the country around the river Po should be impassable and altogether without resources in every direction, and having constructed in some places thickets and trenches and ravines, and in others, guarding very carefully with the Gothic army some very deep marshes and swampy places, so as to engage the Romans at close quarters, if they should make any attempt on the road from 8.26.23 there. And Totila devised these things, thinking that it would never be possible for the Romans to make the journey along the coast of the Ionian gulf, since very many navigable rivers have their mouths there, rendering the country there completely impassable; and that they had by no means so great a number of ships as to cross the Ionian gulf all at once with the whole army, and if they should sail in small groups, he himself with the rest of the Gothic army would with no trouble drive back those who disembarked on each occasion. 8.26.24 With such a plan, therefore, both Totila commanded these things and Teias carried them out. But to Narses, who was in great perplexity, John, the son of Vitalian, being familiar with the country here, advised that the whole army should go along the coast, since the people there were subject to them, as has been previously shown, and that some of the ships and many small boats should follow along. 8.26.25 For whenever the army came to the mouths of the rivers, by fitting a bridge of these small boats to the current of the river, they could make the crossing more easily and with less trouble. John advised these things, and Narses was persuaded, and in this manner he proceeded to Ravenna with the entire army. 8.27.1 And while these things were being done here, in the meantime the following events happened to take place. Ildigisal, a Lombard man, whom I mentioned in the previous account as being an enemy of Auduin, who was leader of these barbarians (for Auduin had by violence seized the rule which belonged to him by birth), having run away from his ancestral haunts, came to Byzantium. 8.27.2 And when he arrived there, the Emperor Justinian received him with the greatest kindness, and he appointed him commander of one of the companies assigned to guard the Palace, 8.27.3 which they call the Schools. And there followed him no fewer than three hundred men of the Lombard nation, good warriors, who for a time at first had their quarters in Thrace. 8.27.4 Auduin, therefore, demanded Ildigisal from the Emperor Justinian, since he was a friend and ally of the Romans, exacting as the price of his friendship the betrayal of the suppliant to him. 8.27.5 But he would by no means give him up. But later on, Ildigisal, alleging that both the honour and the provisions given him were meaner than his own worth and the reputation of the Romans, seemed to be exceedingly discontented; this was noticed by Goar, a Goth, who had long ago come here from Dalmatia as a prisoner of war in this conflict, at the time when Vittigis, the king of the Goths, was waging war against the Romans; 8.27.6 and being a man of spirit and exceedingly energetic, he had continued to struggle against his present fortune. And when the Goths after the victory of Vittigis turned to revolt, taking up arms against the emperor, openly doing mischief against the state

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κωλύμην ποιεῖσθαι, σκῆψιν δέ τινα οὐ λίαν εὐπρόσωπον δόξασαν εἶναι προβεβλημένοι, ὅτι δὴ Λαγγοβάρδας τοὺς σφίσι πολεμιωτάτους 8.26.20 οὗτος ἐπαγόμενος ἥκει. ἐπὶ τούτοις διαπορουμένῳ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῷ Ναρσῇ καὶ Ἰταλῶν τῶν οἱ παρόντων ἀμφὶ τῷ πρακτέῳ πυνθανομένῳ ἐσήγγελλόν τινες ὡς εἰ καὶ Φράγγοι παρήσουσι σφᾶς τήνδε τὴν δίοδον ποιεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐς Ῥάβενναν ἐνθένδε κομίζεσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἕξουσιν, οὐδὲ τὴν πορείαν ταύτην ποιεῖσθαι ὅτι 8.26.21 μὴ ἄχρι ἐς πόλιν Βερώνην. Τουτίλαν γὰρ ἀπολεξάμενον εἴ τι δόκιμον ἦν ἐν τῷ Γότθων στρατῷ, στρατηγόν τε αὐτοῖς καταστησάμενον Τεΐαν τὸν Γότθον, ἄνδρα διαφερόντως ἀγαθὸν τὰ πολέμια, στεῖλαι ἐς πόλιν Βερώνην Γότθων κατήκοον οὖσαν, ἐφ' ᾧ τῷ Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ διακωλύοι τὴν πάροδον, ὅσα γε δυ8.26.22 νατά. καὶ ἦν δὲ οὕτως. ἐπειδή τε ὁ Τεΐας ἐγένετο ἐν πόλει Βερώνῃ, τὴν ἐκείνῃ δίοδον τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπέφραξε πᾶσαν, ἀδιέξοδά τε καὶ ὅλως ἄπορα πανταχόσε ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν Πάδον τὰ χωρία εἶναι ἀνάγκῃ χειροποιήτῳ σκευωρησάμενος, καὶ πὴ μὲν λόχμας τε καὶ τάφρους καὶ φάραγγας τεκτηνάμενος, πὴ δὲ τέλμινάς τε ὡς βαθυτάτας καὶ χώρους τεναγώδεις τινὰς αὐτὸς τῷ Γότθων στρατῷ ἐφύλασσεν ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς, ὡς ὁμόσε χωρῆσαι Ῥωμαίοις, ἤν τι ἀποπειρῶνται τῆς 8.26.23 ἐνθένδε ὁδοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ Τουτίλας ἐμηχανᾶτο, οἰόμενος διὰ μὲν τῆς παραλίας κόλπου τοῦ Ἰονίου Ῥωμαίοις μήποτε δυνατὰ ἔσεσθαι τὴν πορείαν ποιεῖσθαι, ἐπεὶ ναυσίποροι ποταμοὶ παμπληθεῖς ἐνταῦθα ἐκβολὰς ἔχοντες ἀπόρευτα παντάπασι παρέχονται εἶναι τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία· ναῦς δὲ αὐτοὺς τοσαύτας τὸ πλῆθος ὡς ἥκιστα ἔχειν, ὥστε δὴ ἀθρόους παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ διαπορθμεύεσθαι τὸν Ἰόνιον κόλπον, ἢν δέ γε κατ' ὀλίγους ναυτίλλωνται, αὐτὸς ἂν τῷ καταλοίπῳ στρατῷ τῶν Γότθων τοὺς ἑκάστοτε ἀποβαίνοντας πόνῳ οὐδενὶ 8.26.24 ἀναστείλειε. τοιαύτῃ μὲν οὖν γνώμῃ ὅ τε Τουτίλας ἐπήγγελλε ταῦτα καὶ ὁ Τεΐας ἐποίει. Ναρσῇ δὲ λίαν ἀμηχανοῦντι Ἰωάννης ὁ Βιταλιανοῦ, τῶν τῇδε χωρίων ἐμπείρως ἔχων, παρῄνει παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ μὲν κατὰ τὴν παραλίαν ἰέναι, κατηκόων σφίσιν ὄντων, ὡς προδεδήλωται, τῶν τῇδε ἀνθρώπων, παρακολουθεῖν δὲ 8.26.25 τῶν νηῶν τινας καὶ ἀκάτους πολλάς. ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ὁ στρατὸς ἐπὶ ταῖς τῶν ποταμῶν ἐκβολαῖς γένωνται, γέφυραν ἐκ τῶν ἀκάτων τούτων τῷ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ῥοθίῳ ἐναρμοσάμενοι, ῥᾷον ἂν καὶ ἀπονώτερον ποιήσαιντο τὴν διάβασιν. ὁ μὲν Ἰωάννης ταῦτα παρῄνει, πείθεται δὲ Ναρσῆς, καὶ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ἐπὶ Ῥαβέννης κομίζεται. 8.27.1 Ἐν ᾧ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπράσσετο τῇδε, ἐν τούτῳ τάδε ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι. Ἰλδιγισὰλ Λαγγοβάρδας ἀνὴρ, οὗπερ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐμνήσθην ἅτε τοῦ Αὐδουὶν ὄντος ἐχθροῦ, ὃς τούτων δὴ τῶν βαρβάρων ἡγεῖτο (αὐτῷ γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν κατὰ γένος προσήκουσαν Αὐδουὶν βιασάμενος ἔσχεν) ἐξ ἠθῶν ἀποδρὰς 8.27.2 τῶν πατρίων ἐπὶ Βυζαντίου κομίζεται. οὗ δὴ αὐτὸν ἀφικόμενον Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα φιλοφροσύνης ἠξίωσεν, ἄρχοντά τε κατεστήσατο ἑνὸς τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ Παλατίου φυλακῆς τεταγμένων λόχων, 8.27.3 οὕσπερ σχολὰς ὀνομάζουσιν. εἵποντο δὲ αὐτῷ τοῦ Λαγγοβαρδῶν ἔθνους ἄνδρες ἀγαθοὶ τὰ πολέμια οὐχ ἥσσους ἢ τριακόσιοι, οἳ δὴ μίαν πρῶτον ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης 8.27.4 δίαιταν εἶχον. τὸν Ἰλδιγισὰλ οὖν Αὐδουὶν μὲν πρὸς βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ ἐξῃτεῖτο ἅτε φίλος τε Ῥωμαίοις καὶ ξύμμαχος ὢν, μισθὸν τῆς φιλίας τὴν προ8.27.5 δοσίαν αὐτῷ τοῦ ἱκέτου εἰσπραττόμενος. ὁ δὲ τρόπῳ οὐδενὶ ἐδίδου. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἰλδιγισὰλ, ἐνδεέστερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων δόξαν ἐπικαλῶν οἱ αὐτῷ τήν τε τιμὴν καὶ τὰ ἐπιτήδεια εἶναι, δυσφορουμένῳ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐῴκει· ὃ δὴ Γόαρ κατενόησε, Γότθος ἀνὴρ, πάλαι τε δορυάλωτος ἐν τῷδε τῷ πολέμῳ ἐκ ∆αλματίας ἐνταῦθα ἥκων, ἡνίκα τὸν πόλεμον Οὐίττιγις ὁ Γότθων βασιλεὺς πρὸς 8.27.6 Ῥωμαίους διέφερε· θυμοειδὴς δὲ ὢν καὶ δραστήριος ἄγαν πρὸς τύχην τὴν παροῦσαν ζυγομαχῶν διαγέγονεν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ Γότθοι μετὰ τὴν Οὐιττίγιδος ἐπικράτησιν ἐς ἀπόστασιν εἶδον, βασιλεῖ ὅπλα ἀντάραντες, κακουργῶν ἐπὶ τῇ πολιτείᾳ διαφανῶς