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They were besieging Edessa. But Valerian was hesitant to engage with the enemy. But when he learned that the soldiers in Edessa were going out of the city and, engaging with the barbarians, were killing many and taking much plunder, he took courage, and going out with the army accompanying him, he engaged with the Persians. But they, being much more numerous, surrounded the Romans, and most of them fell, but some also escaped, but Valerian, along with those around him, was captured by the enemy and led away to Sapor. And he, having seized the emperor, thought he had already seized everything; and being cruel before, he became much worse thereafter. Some, therefore, have recorded that Valerian was captured by the Persians in this way; but there are those who say that Valerian went over to the Persians willingly, because while he was staying in Edessa, a famine had come upon the soldiers, and from this they were moved to sedition and sought to kill the emperor. But he, fearing the rebellion of the soldiers, fled to Sapor, so that he might not be destroyed by his own men, having betrayed himself to the enemy, and indeed, as far as it was in his power, the Roman armies as well. However, the soldiers were not destroyed, but recognizing the betrayal, they escaped, with a few being killed. Whether the emperor was taken captive by the Persians or 3.141 willingly handed himself over to them, he was treated dishonorably by Sapor. And the Persians, attacking the cities with complete impunity, captured both Antioch on the Orontes and Tarsus, the most illustrious of the Cilician cities, and Caesarea in Cappadocia. And having gathered a multitude of captives, they gave them not even the least bit of food except to barely live, nor indeed did they allow them to have their fill of water, but once a day their guards drove them to water like cattle. And Caesarea, which was very populous, for it is said that about forty myriads of people lived in it, they did not capture at first, since those in it were nobly resisting the enemy, being led by a certain Demosthenes, a man both brave and wise, until a certain physician, taken captive and unable to bear the tortures inflicted on him, pointed out a certain place, from which the Persians entered by night and killed everyone. But their general, Demosthenes, surrounded by many Persians who were ordered to capture him alive, mounting his horse and drawing his bare sword, thrust himself into the midst of the enemy; and after striking down a great many, he broke through out of the city and was able to escape. And with matters having turned out thus for the Persians, they were scattered throughout all the eastern territory subject to the Romans and were plundering it without fear. The Romans, however, who had escaped, as has been said, appointed a certain Callistus as their general; who, seeing the Persians scattered and attacking the lands incautiously because they thought no one would 3.142 oppose them, suddenly attacks them, and wrought a very great slaughter of the barbarians, and captured the concubines of Sapor along with much wealth. Greatly grieved by this, he hastily returned home, taking Valerian with him; who also ended his life in Persia, being reviled and mocked as a captive. But not only Callistus acted valiantly then against the Persians, but also a certain Palmyrene man called Odenathus, an ally of the Romans, destroyed many of the Persians, attacking them as they were returning through the region of Euphratesia; whom Gallienus, in reward for his generalship, appointed general of the East. Indeed, among the fallen of the Persian army who were being despoiled, it is said that women were also found, dressed and armed like men, but also that such women were captured alive by the Romans. And on his return, Sapor, having encountered a deep ravine which was impassable for the baggage animals, ordered the captives to be killed and thrown down into the ravine, so that, its depth having thus been filled with the dead bodies, their own men might pass over.

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Εδεσαν ἐπολιόρκουν. Οὐαλεριανὸς δὲ ωκνει προσμίξαι τοῖς πολεμίοις. μαθὼν δὲ ὡς οἱ ἐν ̓Εδέσῃ στρατιῶται ἐξιόντες τῆς πόλεως καὶ συμπλεκόμενοι τοῖς βαρβάροις πολλοὺς ἀναιροῦσι καὶ πλεῖστα σκῦλα λαμβάνουσιν, ἀνεθάρσησε, καὶ ἀπελθὼν μετὰ τῆς συνούσης αὐτῷ στρατιᾶς συνεπλάκη τοῖς Πέρσαις. οἱ δὲ πολυπλασίους οντες τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους ἐκύκλωσαν, καὶ οἱ πλείους μὲν επεσον, ενιοι δὲ καὶ διέφυγον, Οὐαλεριανὸς δὲ σὺν τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν συνελήφθη τοῖς πολεμίοις καὶ πρὸς τὸν Σαπώρην ἀπήχθη. ὁ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως κρατήσας πάντων ηδη κρατεῖν ῳετο· καὶ ὠμὸς ων πρίν, πολλῷ χείρων εἰσέπειτα γέγονεν. Οἱ μὲν ουν ουτως αἰχμάλωτον ἑαλωκέναι τὸν Οὐαλεριανὸν τοῖς Πέρσαις ἱστόρησαν· εἰσὶ δ' οι ἑκόντα φασὶ τὸν Οὐαλεριανὸν προσχωρῆσαι τοῖς Πέρσαις, οτι ἐν ̓Εδέσῃ διάγοντος αὐτοῦ λιμὸς ἐπῆκτο τοῖς στρατιώταις, κἀντεῦθεν εἰς στάσιν κεκίνηντο καὶ ἀνελεῖν ἐζήτουν τὸν αὐτοκράτορα. ὁ δὲ τὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν δεδοικὼς ἐπανάστασιν πρὸς τὸν Σαπώρην κατέφυγεν, ινα μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἀπόληται, τῷ πολεμίῳ προδεδωκὼς ἑαυτόν, ἀλλὰ μέντοι, οσον τὸ ἐπ' αὐτῷ, καὶ τὰ ̔Ρωμαίων στρατεύματα. οὐ μὴν οἱ στρατιῶται ἀπώλοντο, ἀλλὰ γνόντες τὴν προδοσίαν διέφυγον, ὀλίγων ἀναιρεθέντων. ειτε δὲ δορυάλωτος ἐλήφθη τοῖς Πέρσαις ὁ βασιλεὺς ειθ' 3.141 ἑκὼν ἑαυτὸν αὐτοῖς ἐνεχείρισεν, ἀτίμως ηγετο παρὰ τοῦ Σαπώρου. Οἱ Πέρσαι δὲ κατὰ πᾶσαν αδειαν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπιόντες τήν τε πρὸς τῷ ̓Ορόντῃ αἱροῦσιν ̓Αντιόχειαν καὶ τὴν περιφανεστέραν τῶν τῆς Κιλικίας πόλεων τὴν Ταρσὸν καὶ τὴν ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ Καισάρειαν. καὶ πλῆθος αἰχμαλώτων συναγαγόντες οὐδὲ τροφῆς αὐτοῖς μετεδίδουν εἰ μὴ βραχίστης ωστ' ἀποζῆν, ουτε μὴν υδατος μετέχειν εἰς κόρον ειων αὐτούς, ἀλλ' απαξ τῆς ἡμέρας οἱ τούτων φρουροὶ ηλαυνον αὐτοὺς ἐφ' υδωρ ωσπερ βοσκήματα. τὴν Καισάρειαν δὲ πολυάνθρωπον ουσαν, περὶ τεσσαράκοντα γὰρ μυριάδας ἀνθρώπων ἐν αὐτῇ λέγεται κατοικεῖν, οὐ πρότερον ειλον, γενναίως τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀντικαθισταμένων καὶ στρατηγουμένων ὑπό τινος ∆ημοσθένους, ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἀνδρείου καὶ συνετοῦ, πρὶν η τις δορυάλωτος κατασχεθεὶς ἰατρός, καὶ τὰς ἐπαγομένας αὐτῷ μὴ φέρων αἰκίας, ὑπέδειξέ τινα τόπον, οθεν νυκτὸς εἰσῆλθον οἱ Πέρσαι καὶ πάντας ἀνεῖλον. ὁ δέ γε τούτων στρατηγὸς ∆ημοσθένης ὑπὸ πολλῶν κυκλωθεὶς Περσῶν κελευσθέντων ζωὸν αὐτὸν συλλαβεῖν, τὸν ιππον ἀναβὰς καὶ γυμνὸν τὸ ξίφος ἠρκώς, εἰσώθησεν ἑαυτὸν μέσον τῶν πολεμίων· καὶ πλείστους καταβαλὼν διεξέπεσε τῆς πόλεως καὶ διαφυγεῖν ισχυσεν. Ουτω δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων τοῖς Πέρσαις συνενεχθέντων, κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑποκειμένην ̔Ρωμαίοις ἑῴαν διεσκεδάσθησαν χώραν καὶ ἐπόρθουν αὐτὴν ἀδεῶς. οἱ μέντοι ̔Ρωμαῖοι φυγόντες, ὡς ειρηται, στρατηγὸν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπέστησαν Κάλλιστόν τινα· ος σκεδαννυμένους τοὺς Πέρσας ὁρῶν καὶ ἀπερισκέπτως ἐπιόντας ταῖς χώραις τῷ μή τινα οιεσθαι αὐτοῖς 3.142 ἀντιτάξασθαι, ἐπιτίθεται ἀθρόον αὐτοῖς, καὶ φόνον τῶν βαρβάρων πλεῖστον εἰργάσατο, καὶ παλλακὰς ειλε Σαπώρου σὺν πλούτῳ πολλῷ. οις ἐκεῖνος περιαλγήσας οικαδε σπουδαίως ἀνέστρεψε, καὶ τὸν Οὐαλεριανὸν ἐπαγόμενος· ος καὶ ἐν Περσίδι κατέστρεψε τὴν ζωήν, ὡς αἰχμάλωτος ὀνειδιζόμενός τε καὶ ἐμπαιζόμενος. Οὐ μόνος δ' ὁ Κάλλιστος ἠρίστευσε τότε κατὰ Περσῶν, ἀλλὰ καί τις Παλμυρηνὸς ἀνὴρ κεκλημένος ̓Ωδέναθος συμμαχῶν ̔Ρωμαίοις πολλοὺς διέφθειρε τῶν Περσῶν, ἀναστρέφουσιν αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὴν Εὐφρατησίαν ἐπιθέμενος χώραν· ον Γαλιῆνος τοῦ στρατηγήματος ἀμειβόμενος τῆς ἑῴας προεχειρίσατο στρατηγόν. ̓Εν μέντοι τοῖς πεσοῦσιν ἐκ τοῦ Περσικοῦ στρατεύματος σκυλευομένοις λέγονται καὶ γυναῖκες εὑρεθῆναι κατ' ανδρας ἐσταλμέναι καὶ ὡπλισμέναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζῶσαι τοιαῦται κατασχεθῆναι ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίων. ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐπανόδῳ φάραγγι βαθείᾳ περιτυχὼν ὁ Σαπώρης, ην διελθεῖν τοῖς ὑποζυγίοις απορον ην, αἰχμαλώτους ἐκέλευσεν ἀναιρεθῆναι καὶ ῥιφῆναι κατὰ τῆς φάραγγος, ιν' ουτως τοῦ βάθους αὐτῆς πληρωθέντος διὰ τῶν νεκρῶν σωμάτων τὰ σφῶν διέλθωσιν