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when he had supplied what was spoken of, he returned to Thessalonica. 3.137 But Belkos, pretending to fulfill his oaths, summoned his household from Triballia, and his cattle and the rest of his property, and he sent not a few things to Thessalonica, as a sign of his goodwill toward the emperor and of his keeping the treaties. But Krales, having already learned that the great army from the mainland, both of Romans and barbarians, had turned back, and that the emperor, having arrived in Thessalonica with only triremes and a few barbarian infantry, had taken Berrhoia and Edessa and not a few other towns, took courage and, having assembled an army, not a large one, but still one much superior to the emperor's, he marched in haste upon Thessalonica. And Belkos was immediately under him, and campaigned with those under his command, having forgotten the treaties and oaths to the emperor. But Krales, having come near Thessalonica, sent an embassy to the emperor and first reproached him for his ingratitude, because, forgetful of the good he had formerly received from him, when he found the opportunity, he had marched against his cities, and had cast out and seized the garrisons, and had deprived him of no small amount of money; which things he ought not to have done, but, remembering what had been done for him, to preserve his friendship with him. But since he had done what he ought not, he accused him, and he thought that anyone at all would. And since it was impossible for what had been done to be undone, he wished most of all, if it seemed good to him also, that they should come together with one another, and having discussed their differences, to make agreements and to 3.138 lay aside the war, renewing the treaties and the peace. Such were the messages Krales sent by embassy, and they seemed best to the emperor, and they agreed on a set day, on which they were to meet in the same place to resolve their differences, having made a truce. When the appointed time came, both kings went forth armed, along with their retinues. And Krales likewise, with his men being armed, came near Thessalonica and met with the kings. And after the greeting, Krales was the first to begin speaking to the emperor, saying, “You do wrong, O emperor, by starting a war. But I thought that there was nothing in existence that would be able to persuade you to act ungratefully toward me. For you yourself know better than others how, having been warred upon by your own people and driven from the land of the Romans—unjustly, for not even I would deny that—but nevertheless driven out, you came to us, who neither owed you repayment for prior good deeds, nor were indignant on your behalf for the injustice you suffered, but, if the truth must be told, even considered your discord with one another a piece of good fortune for setting our own affairs in order. But I, although those warring against you sent many embassies and offered money and many cities and promised no small part of the Roman dominion, and promised to hold me as a friend and ally, and in return for all these things demanded the one favor of handing you over as a prisoner, or seizing and holding you myself, I my 3.139 self was not willing, but I chose your friendship before much money and so many cities and much good land, and not only did I not betray you to your enemies, although I could have done so most easily—for not even you are ignorant of the state you were in then—but also, as far as it was in my power, I provided an army for an alliance both two and three times. I thought that, remembering all these things, you would never wish, even if you could achieve great things, to harm the cities that are subject to me. But you, as it seems, having forgotten all those things, have now come leading barbarians, as against an enemy who has done you the greatest wrongs, and some cities you have taken by arms, others by stealth, and not a few have also submitted out of fear. And of the soldiers dwelling there and many of the notables, some you killed in the battles, and the others you enslaved, granting the freedom of their bodies as a kindness when it seemed best to you, causing them no more joy in gaining freedom than the pain you inflicted by enslaving them;

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ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐκείνου παρασχομένου, ἀνέστρεφεν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. 3.137 Βέλκος δὲ τὰ ὀμωμοσμένα δῆθεν ἐκπληρῶν, τούς τε οἰκείους ἐκ Τριβαλῶν μετεπέμπετο καὶ βοσκήματα καὶ τὴν ἄλλην περιουσίαν, ἔπεμπέ τε καὶ εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην οὐκ ὀλίγα, δεῖγμα τῆς πρὸς βασιλέα εὐνοίας καὶ τῆς φυλακῆς τῶν συνθηκῶν. Κράλης δὲ ἤδη πεπυσμένος, ὡς ἡ μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου στρατιὰ καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ βαρβάρων τοσαύτη οὖσα ἀναστρέψειε, βασιλεὺς δὲ ταῖς τριήρεσι μόναις καὶ βαρβάροις πεζοῖς ὀλίγοις ἀφιγμένος εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην Βέῤῥοιάν τε εἷλε καὶ Ἔδεσσαν καὶ ἄλλας πολίχνας οὐκ ὀλίγας, ἀνεθάρσησέ τε καὶ στρατιὰν ἀναλαβὼν οὐ πολλὴν μὲν, πολὺ δὲ ὅμως ὑπερέχουσαν τῆς βασιλέως, ἤλαυνε σπουδῇ ἐπὶ Θεσσαλονίκην. καὶ Βέλκος μὲν αὐτίκα ὑπ' ἐκεῖνον ἦν, καὶ συνεστρατεύετο μετὰ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν, τῶν πρὸς βασιλέα συνθηκῶν καὶ ὅρκων ἀμνημονήσας. Κράλης δὲ ἐγγὺς γενόμενος Θεσσαλονίκης, πρεσβείαν ἔπεμπε πρὸς βασιλέα καὶ πρῶτα μὲν ὠνείδιζε τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγνωμοσύνην, ὅτι ἀμνημονήσας ὧν εὖ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πρότερον πεπόνθει, καιροῦ τυχὼν αὐτοῦ ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπιστρατεύσειε, καὶ τοὺς φρουροῦντας κατασχοίη ἐκβαλὼν, καὶ χρημάτων ἀποστερήσειεν οὐκ ὀλίγων· ἃ οὐκ ἐχρῆν ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν γεγενημένων ἀπομνημονεύοντα, τὴν φιλίαν διασώζειν πρὸς αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἃ μὴ ἔδει εἴργαστο, κατηγορεῖν μὲν αὐτὸν, οἴεσθαι δὲ καὶ πάντα ὁντινοῦν. ἀναλύεσθαι δὲ ὄντων ἀδυνάτων τῶν γεγενημένων, βούλεσθαι μάλιστα αὐτὸν, εἴγε καὶ αὐτῷ δοκοίη, ἀλλήλοις συνελθεῖν, καὶ διαλεχθέντας περὶ τῶν διαφορῶν, συμβάσεις θέσθαι καὶ τὸν 3.138 πόλεμον καταθέσθαι, ἀνανεωσαμένους τὰς σπονδὰς καὶ τὴν εἰρήνην. τοιαῦτα μὲν ἐπρέσβευεν ὁ Κράλης, βασιλεῖ τε ἐδόκει βέλτιστα, καὶ συνέθεντο ἡμέραν ῥητὴν, ἐν ᾗ ἔδει γενομένους ἐν ταὐτῷ λύειν τὰς διαφορὰς, σπονδὰς θεμένους. ἐπιστάσης τε τῆς προθεσμίας, οἵ τε βασιλεῖς ἀμφότεροι ἐξῄεσαν ὡπλισμένοι καὶ οἱ συνόντες. Κράλης τε ὁμοίως μετὰ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ὡπλισμένοι ὄντες ἧκον ἐγγὺς Θεσσαλονίκης καὶ συνεγένετο τοῖς βασιλεῦσι. μετὰ δὲ τὴν προσαγόρευσιν ὁ Κράλης πρῶτος ἥπτετο πρὸς βασιλέα λόγου, «Ἀδικεῖς,» εἰπὼν, «ὦ βασιλεῦ, πολέμου ἄρχων. ἐγὼ δὲ ᾤμην εἶναι μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων, ὅ σε πρὸς ἐμὲ πεῖσαι δυνήσεται ἀγνωμονεῖν. οἶσθα γὰρ αὐτὸς τῶν ἄλλων μᾶλλον, ὡς πολεμηθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοφύλων καὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς ἀπελαθεὶς, ἀδίκως μὲν, οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἀρνηθείην οὐδ' αὐτὸς, ὅμως δ' οὖν ἀπελαθεὶς, ἧκες παρ' ἡμᾶς, οὔτ' ἀμοιβάς σοι προτέρων εὐεργεσιῶν ὀφείλοντας, οὔτ' ἀγανακτοῦντας ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἀδικουμένου, ἀλλ' εἰ δεῖ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, καὶ τὴν ὑμῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφορὰν ἐν εὐτυχίας μέρει λογιζομένους τῷ τὰ ἴδια εὖ τίθεσθαι. ἐγὼ δὲ, καίτοι τῶν σοὶ πολεμούντων πολλὰς πρεσβείας πεποιημένων καὶ χρήματα παρεχομένων καὶ πόλεις πολλὰς καὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας ἀπόμοιραν προϊεμένων οὐκ ὀλίγην, καὶ φίλον ἔχειν καὶ σύμμαχον ὑπισχνουμένων, καὶ μίαν τούτων ἁπάντων χάριν ἀπαιτούντων τὸ σὲ δεσμώτην παρασχεῖν, ἢ αὐτὸν κατέχειν συλλαβόντα, οὐκ ἠθέλησα αὐ 3.139 τὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ χρημάτων πολλῶν καὶ πόλεων τοσούτων καὶ χώρας πολλῆς καὶ ἀγαθῆς τὴν σὴν φιλίαν προειλόμην, καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐ προδέδωκα τοῖς πολεμίοις, καίτοι ῥᾷστά γε δυνάμενος, οὐ γὰρ οὐδ' αὐτὸς ἀγνοεῖς, ἐν ὅτοις ἦσθα τότε, ἀλλὰ καὶ τό γε εἰς ἐμὲ ἧκον, καὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς ἐπὶ συμμαχίᾳ παρεσχόμην στρατιάν. ὧν ἐνόμιζον ἁπάντων μεμνημένον, οὐδέποτε βουλήσεσθαι, κἂν δυνήσῃ τὰ μεγάλα, τὰς ὑπ' ἐμὲ τελούσας πόλεις κακουργεῖν. σὺ δ', ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐκείνων ἁπάντων ἐπιλελησμένος, ἥκεις νῦν βαρβάρους ἄγων, ὡς ἐπὶ πολέμιον καὶ τὰ μέγιστα ἠδικηκότα, καὶ πόλεις τὰς μὲν τοῖς ὅπλοις εἷλες, ἑτέρας δὲ κλοπῇ, οὐκ ὀλίγας δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ δέους προσχωρησάσας. καὶ τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας στρατιώτας καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν πολλοὺς τοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτεινας κατὰ τὰς μάχας, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀνδραποδίσας, ἐν εὐεργεσίας μέρει τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῶν σωμάτων, ὅτε σοι βέλτιον ἐφαίνετο, παρείχου, οὐ μᾶλλον ἥδεσθαι ποιῶν τυγχάνοντας ἐλευθερίας, ἢ ὅσον ἐξανδραποδιζόμενος ἐλύπεις·