第2巻 第25章

Greek Ἔστι δὲ τὸ Δούβιος χώρα τις τά τε ἄλλα ἀγαθὴ καὶ ἀέρων τε καὶ ὑδάτων εὐεξίαν τινὰ διαρκῶς ἔχουσα, Θεοδοσιουπόλεως δὲ ὁδῷ ἡμερῶν ὀκτὼ διέχει.

Dewing Now Doubios is a land excellent in every respect, and especially blessed with a healthy climate and abundance of good water; and from Theodosiopolis it is removed a journey of eight days.

Greek καὶ πεδία μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἱππήλατά ἐστι, κῶμαι δὲ πολλαὶ πολυανθρωπότατοι ᾤκηνται ἀγχοτάτω ἀλλήλαις καὶ πολλοὶ ἔμποροι κατ’ ἐργασίαν ἐν ταύταις οἰκοῦσιν.

Dewing In that region there are plains suitable for riding, and many very populous villages are situated in very close proximity to one another, and numerous merchants conduct their business in them.

Greek ἔκ τε γὰρ Ἰνδῶν καὶ τῶν πλησιοχώρων Ἰβήρων πάντων τε ὡς εἰπεῖν τῶν ἐν Πέρσαις ἐθνῶν καὶ Ῥωμαίων τινῶν τὰ φορτία ἐσκομιζόμενοι ἐνταῦθα ἀλλήλοις ξυμβάλλουσι.

Dewing For from India and the neighbouring regions of Iberia and from practically all the nations of Persia and some of those under the Roman sway they bring in merchandise and carry on their dealings with each other there.

Greek τόν τε τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἱερέα Καθολικὸν καλοῦσι τῇ Ἑλλήνων φωνῇ, ὅτι δὴ ἐφέστηκεν εἶς ὢν ἅπασι τοῖς ταύτῃ χωρίοις.

Dewing And the priest of the Christians is called "Catholicos" in the Greek tongue, because he presides alone over the whole region.

Greek Δούβιος δὲ ἄποθεν ὅσον εἴκοσι καὶ ἑκατὸν σταδίων ἐν δεξιᾷ ἰόντι ἐκ Ῥωμαίων τῆς γῆς ὄρος ἐστὶ δύσβατόν τε καὶ ἄλλως κρημνῶδες, καὶ κώμη τις ἐν δυσχωρίᾳ στενοτάτη κειμένη, Ἀγγλὼν ὄνομα.

Dewing Now at a distance of about one hundred and twenty stades from Doubios on the right as one travels from the land of the Romans, there is a mountain difficult of ascent and moreover precipitous, and a village crowded into very narrow space by the rough country about, Anglon by name.

Greek οὗ δὴ ὁ Ναβέδης, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα τῶν πολεμίων τὴν ἔφοδον ἔγνω, παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ἀποχωρήσας χωρίου τε ἰσχύϊ θαρσήσας καθεῖρξεν αὑτόν.

Dewing Thither Nabedes withdrew with his whole army as soon as he learned of the inroad of the enemy, and, confident in his strength of position, he shut himself in.

Greek καὶ ἡ μὲν κώμη ἐς τοῦ ὄρους τὰ ἔσχατα κεῖται, φρούριον δὲ ἐχυρὸν τῇ κώμῃ ταύτῃ ὁμώνυμον ἐν τῷ κρημνώδει ἐστίν.

Dewing Now the village lies at the extremity of the mountain, and there is a strong fortress bearing the same name as this village on the steep mountain side.

Greek ὁ γοῦν Ναβέδης λίθοις μὲν καὶ ἁμάξαις τὰς ἐπὶ τὴν κώμην ἀποφράξας εἰσόδους δυσπρόσοδον ἔτι μᾶλλον εἰργάσατο ταύτην.

Dewing So Nabedes with stones and carts blocked up the entrances into the village and thus made it still more difficult of access.

Greek ἐπίπροσθε δὲ τάφρον τινὰ ὀρύξας ἐνταῦθα τὸ στράτευμα ἔστησε, προλοχίσας οἰκίσκους τινὰς παλαιοὺς ἐνέδραις πεζῶν. ἐς τετρακισχιλίους δὲ ἄνδρας ἅπαν ξυνῄει τὸ Περσῶν στράτευμα.

Dewing And in front of it he dug a sort of trench and stationed the army there, having filled some old cabins with ambuscades of infantry­men. Altogether the Persian army amounted to four thousand men.

Greek Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπράσσετο τῇδε. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ἀφικόμενοι ἐς χῶρον ἡμέρας ὁδῷ Ἀγγλῶν διέχοντα, τῶν τινα πολεμίων ἐπὶ κατασκοπῇ ἰόντα λαβόντες ἐπυνθάνοντο ὅπη ποτὲ τανῦν ὁ Ναβέδης εἴη. καὶ ὃς ἀνακεχωρηκέναι τὸν ἄνδρα ἐξ Ἀγγλῶν παντὶ τῷ Μήδων στρατῷ ἔφασκεν.

Dewing While these things were being done in this way, the Romans reached a place one day's journey distant from Anglon, and capturing one of the enemy who was going out as a spy they enquired where in the world Nabedes was then. And he asserted that the man had retired from Anglon with the whole Median army.

Greek ὃ δὴ ὁ Ναρσῆς ἀκούσας δεινὰ ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ τοῖς ξυνάρχουσι τὴν μέλλησιν ὀνειδίζων ἐλοιδορεῖτο.

Dewing And when Narses heard this, he was indignant, and he heaped reproaches and abuse upon his fellow-commanders for their hesitation.

Greek ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλοι ἐποίουν, ἐς ἀλλήλους ὑβρίζοντες, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν μάχης τε καὶ κινδύνου ἀφροντιστήσαντες ληίζεσθαι τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία ἐν σπουδῇ ἐποιοῦντο.

Dewing And others, too, began to do the very same thing, casting insults upon one another; and from then on, giving up all thought of battle and danger, they were eager to plunder the country thereabout.

Greek ἄραντες τοίνυν ἀστρατήγητοί τε καὶ ἄτακτοι κόσμῳ οὐδενὶ ἐπίπροσθεν ᾔεσαν, οὔτε τι ἔχοντες σύμβολον ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, ᾗπερ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀγῶσιν εἴθισται, οὔτε πη διακεκριμένοι ἐν τάξει.

Dewing The troops broke camp, accordingly, and without the guidance of generals and without observing any definite formation, they moved forward in complete confusion; for neither had they any countersign among themselves, as is customary in such perilous situations, nor were they arranged in their proper divisions.

Greek τοῖς γὰρ σκευοφόροις οἱ στρατιῶται ἀναμιγνύμενοι ἐπορεύοντο ὡς ἐπὶ ἁρπαγὴν ἑτοιμοτάτην ἰόντες χρημάτων μεγάλων.

Dewing For the soldiers marched forward, mixed in with the baggage train, as if going to the ready plunder of great wealth.

Greek ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀγγλῶν ἀγχοῦ ἐγένοντο, πέμπουσι κατασκόπους, οἳ δὴ αὐτοῖς ἐπανιόντες ἀπήγγελλον τὴν τῶν πολεμίων παράταξιν.

Dewing But when they came near to Anglon, they sent out spies who returned to them announcing the array of the enemy.

Greek οἱ δὲ στρατηγοὶ τῷ ἀπροσδοκήτῳ καταπλαγέντες ἀναστρέφειν μὲν ξὺν στρατῷ τοσούτῳ τὸ πλῆθος αἰσχρόν τε καὶ ἄνανδρον ὅλως ᾤοντο εἶναι, τάξαντες δὲ ὡς ἐκ τῶν παρόντων εἰς τὰ τρία τέλη τὸ στράτευμα εὐθὺ τῶν πολεμίων ἐχώρουν.

Dewing And the generals were thunder-struck by the unexpectedness of it, but they considered it altogether disgraceful and unmanly to turn back with an army of such great size, and so they disposed the army in its three divisions, as well as the circumstances permitted, and advanced straight toward the enemy.

Greek Πέτρος μὲν οὖν κέρας τὸ δεξιὸν εἶχε, Βαλεριανὸς δὲ τὸ εὐώνυμον, εἰς δὲ τὸ μέσον οἱ ἀμφὶ Μαρτῖνον ἐτάσσοντο. γενόμενοι δὲ ἄγχιστά πη τῶν ἐναντίων ἡσύχαζον, τὴν τάξιν σὺν ἀκοσμίᾳ φυλάσσοντες.

Dewing Now Peter held the right wing and Valerianus the left, while Martinus and his men arrayed themselves in the centre. And when they came close to their opponents, they halted, preserving their formation, but not without disorder.

Greek αἴτιον δὲ ἦν ἥ τε δυσχωρία κρημνώδης ὑπερφυῶς οὖσα καὶ τὸ ἐξ ὑπογύου διαταχθέντας ἐς τὴν μάχην καθίστασθαι.

Dewing The cause for this was to be found in the difficulty of the ground, which was very badly broken up, and in the fact that they were entering battle in a formation arranged on the spur of the moment.

Greek ἔτι μέντοι καὶ οἱ βάρβαροι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐς ὀλίγον ξυναγαγόντες ἡσυχῆ ἔμενον, περισκοπούμενοι τῶν ἐναντίων τὴν δύναμιν, προειρημένον αὐτοῖς πρὸς Ναβέδου χειρῶν μὲν ὡς ἥκιστα ἄρχειν, ἢν δέ πη ἐπισκήψωσιν οἱ πολέμιοι, κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν σφίσιν ἀμύνασθαι.

Dewing And up to this time the barbarians, who had gathered themselves into a small space, were remaining quiet, considering the strength of their antagonists, since the order had been given them by Nabedes not under any circumstances to begin the fighting, but if the enemy should assail them, to defend themselves with all their might.

Greek Πρῶτος δὲ Ναρσῆς ξύν τε τοῖς Ἐρούλοις καὶ Ῥωμαίων τοῖς ἑπομένοις ἐς χεῖρας τοῖς πολεμίοις ἦλθεν, ὠθισμοῦ τε γενομένου ἐτρέψατο τοὺς κατ’ αὐτὸν Πέρσας.

Dewing And first Narses with the Eruli and those of the Romans who were under him, engaged with the enemy, and after a hard hand-to‑hand struggle, he routed the Persians who were before him.

Greek φεύγοντές τε οἱ βάρβαροι ἐς τὸ φρούριον ἀνέβαινον δρόμῳ, ἔνθα δὴ ἀλλήλους ἔργα ἀνήκεστα ἐν τῇ στενοχωρίᾳ εἰργάζοντο.

Dewing And the barbarians in flight ascended on the run to the fortress, and in so doing they inflicted terrible injury upon one another in the narrow way.

Greek καὶ τότε Ναρσῆς τε αὐτὸς τοῖς ἀμφ’ αὐτὸν ἐγκελευσάμενος πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐνέκειτο,

Dewing And then Narses urged his men forward and pressed still harder upon the enemy, and the rest of the Romans joined in the action.

Greek καὶ Ῥωμαίων οἱ λοιποὶ ἔργου εἴχοντο. ἐξελθόντες δὲ ἐκ τοῦ αἰφνιδίου ἐκ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς στενωποὺς οἰκίσκων οἱ προλοχίζοντες, ὥσπερ ἐρρήθη, τῶν τε Ἐρούλων τινὰς κτείνουσιν, ἀπροσδόκητοι ἐπιπεσόντες, καὶ Ναρσῆν κατὰ κόρρης αὐτὸν παίουσι.

Dewing But all of a sudden the men who were in ambush, as has been said,⁠ came out from the cabins along the narrow alleys, and killed some of the Eruli, falling unexpectedly upon them, and they struck Narses himself a blow on the temple.

Greek καὶ αὐτὸν Ἰσαάκης ὁ ἀδελφὸς καιρίαν τυπέντα ὑπεξήγαγε τῶν μαχομένων. ὃς δὴ ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον ἐτελεύτησεν, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς ἐν τῷ πόνῳ τούτῳ γενόμενος.

Dewing And his brother Isaac carried him out from among the fighting men, mortally wounded. And he died shortly afterwards, having proved himself a brave man in this engagement.

Greek ταραχῆς δέ, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ἐνθένδε πολλῆς ἐς τὸν Ῥωμαίων στρατὸν ἐμπεσούσης, ἅπαν ὁ Ναβέδης ἐπαφῆκε τοῖς ἐναντίοις τὸ Περσῶν στράτευμα.

Dewing Then, as was to be expected, great confusion fell upon the Roman army, and Nabedes let out the whole Persian force upon his opponents.

Greek οἱ δὲ βάλλοντες ἐν τοῖς στενωποῖς ἐς πολεμίων πάμπολυ πλῆθος πολλούς τε ἄλλους εὐπετῶς ἔκτεινον καὶ διαφερόντως Ἐρούλους, οἳ ξὺν τῷ Ναρσῇ τὰ πρῶτα τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐπιπεσόντες ἀφύλακτοι ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐμάχοντο.

Dewing And the Persians, shooting into great masses of the enemy in the narrow alleys, killed a large number without difficulty, and particularly of the Eruli who had at the first fallen upon the enemy with Narses and were fighting for the most part without protection.

Greek οὔτε γὰρ κράνος οὔτε θώρακα οὔτε ἄλλο τι φυλακτήριον Ἔρουλοι ἔχουσιν, ὅτι μὴ ἀσπίδα καὶ τριβώνιον ἁδρόν, ὃ δὴ διεζωσμένοι ἐς τὸν ἀγῶνα καθίστανται.

Dewing For the Eruli have neither helmet nor corselet nor any other protective armour, except a shield and a thick jacket, which they gird about them before they enter a struggle.

Greek δοῦλοι μέντοι Ἔρουλοι καὶ ἀσπίδος χωρὶς ἐς μάχην χωροῦσιν, ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἄνδρες ἐν πολέμῳ ἀγαθοὶ γένωνται, οὕτω δὴ ἀσπίδας αὐτοῖς ἐφιᾶσιν οἱ δεσπόται προβάλλεσθαι ἐν ταῖς ξυμβολαῖς. τὰ μὲν τῶν Ἐρούλων ταύτῃ πη ἔχει.

Dewing And indeed the Erulian slaves go into battle without even a shield, and when they prove themselves brave men in war, then their masters permit them to protect themselves in battle with shields. Such is the custom of the Eruli.

Greek Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ οὐκ ἐνεγκόντες τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνὰ κράτος ἅπαντες ἔφευγον, οὔτε ἀλκῆς μεμνημένοι οὔτε τινὰ αἰδῶ ἢ ἄλλο τι ἐν νῷ ἀγαθὸν ἔχοντες.

Dewing And the Romans did not withstand the enemy and all of them fled as fast as they could, never once thinking of resistance and heedless of shame or of any other worthy motive.

Greek Πέρσαι δὲ αὐτοὺς ὑποπτεύοντες οὐκ ἐς φυγὴν ἀναίσχυντον οὕτω τετράφθαι, ἄλλ’ ἐνέδραις τισὶν ἐς αὐτοὺς χρῆσθαι, ἄχρι ἐς τὰς δυσχωρίας διώξαντες εἶτα ἀνέστρεφον, οὐ τολμῶντες ἐν τῷ ὁμαλεῖ ὀλίγοι πρὸς πολλοὺς διαμάχεσθαι.

Dewing But the Persians, suspecting that they had not turned thus to a shameless flight, but that they were making use of some ambuscades against them, pursued them as far as the rough ground extended and then turned back, not daring to fight a decisive battle on level ground, a few against many.

Greek Ῥωμαῖοι μέντοι, καὶ διαφερόντως οἱ στρατηγοὶ πάντες, δίωξιν ἐπὶ σφᾶς ἀεὶ ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς πολεμίους οἰόμενοι ἔφευγον ἔτι μᾶλλον, οὐδένα ἀνιέντες καιρόν, θέουσι μὲν τοῖς ἵπποις ἐγκελευόμενοι μάστιγι καὶ κραυγῇ, τοὺς δὲ θώρακας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅπλα ῥιπτοῦντες σπουδῇ τε καὶ θορύβῳ ἐς ἔδαφος.

Dewing The Romans, however, and especially all the generals, supposing that the enemy were continuing the pursuit without pause, kept fleeing still faster, wasting not a moment; and they were urging on their horses as they ran with whip and voice, and throwing their corslets and other accoutrements in haste and confusion to the ground.

Greek οὐ γὰρ ἀντιτάξασθαι καταλαμβάνουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐθάρσουν Πέρσαις, ἀλλ’ ἐν μόνοις τοῖς τῶν ἵππων ποσὶ τὰς τῆς σωτηρίας ἐλπίδας εἶχον καί, τὸ ξύμπαν εἰπεῖν, τοιαύτη γέγονεν ἡ φυγὴ ὥστε τῶν ἵππων σχεδόν τι αὐτοῖς οὐδεὶς διεβίω, ἀλλ’ ἡνίκα τοῦ δρόμου ἐπαύσαντο, πεσόντες εὐθὺς διεφθάρησαν.

Dewing For they had not the courage to array themselves against the Persians if they overtook them, but they placed all hope of safety in their horses' feet, and, in short, the flight became such that scarcely any one of their horses survived, but when they stopped running, they straightway fell down and expired.

Greek καὶ πάθος τοῦτο μέγα Ῥωμαίοις οἶον οὔποτε πρότερον γέγονε. πολλοί τε γὰρ αὐτῶν ἔθανον καὶ πλείους ἔτι ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐγένοντο.

Dewing And this proved a disaster for the Romans so great as to exceed anything that had ever befallen them previously. For great numbers of them perished and still more fell into the hands of the enemy.

Greek ὅπλα τε αὐτῶν οἱ πολέμιοι καὶ ὑποζύγια ἔλαβον τοσαῦτα τὸ πλῆθος, ὥστε πλουσιώτερα δοκεῖν ἐκ τούτου γενέσθαι τοῦ ἔργου τὰ Περσῶν πράγματα.

Dewing And their weapons and draught animals which were taken by the enemy amounted to such an imposing number that Persia seemed as a result of this affair to have become richer.

Greek Ἀδόλιος δὲ διὰ φρουρίου ἐν ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ ὑπαγωγῇ παριὼν ἐν Περσαρμενίοις κειμένου λίθῳ τε τὴν κεφαλὴν πρός του τῶν ταύτῃ ᾠκημένων πληγεὶς αὐτοῦ διεφθάρη, οἵ τε ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἰοῦστον καὶ Περάνιον ἐσβαλόντες ἐς τὰ ἐπὶ Ταραύνων χωρία καὶ ὀλίγα ἄττα ληισάμενοι εὐθὺς ἐπανῆλθον.

Dewing And Adolius, while passing through a fortified place during this retreat — it was situated in Persarmenia — was struck on the head by a stone thrown by one of the inhabitants of the town, and died there. As for the forces of Justus and Peranius, they invaded the country about Taraunon, and after gathering some little plunder, immediately returned. The Loeb Editor's Notes: 1 Vesta. ❦ 2 Cf. section 9 above. ◂ previous next ▸ Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.) UP TO: Persian Wars Ancient Military History Military History Home Procopius Greek & Latin Texts LacusCurtius A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information. Page updated: 3 Oct 20 Accessibility