an with a
thousand men to go to Taracina. And with them he sent also his wife
Antonina, commanding that she be sent with a few men to Naples, there to
await in safety the fortune which would befall the Romans. And he sent
Magnus and Sinthues the guardsman, who took with them about five
hundred men, to the fortress of Tibur, one hundred and forty stades
distant from Rome. But to the town of Albani,[145] which was situated on
the Appian Way at the same distance from the city, he had already, as it
happened, sent Gontharis with a number of Eruli, and these the Goths had
driven out from there by force not long afterward.

Now there is a certain church of the Apostle Paul,[146] fourteen stades
distant from the fortifications of Rome, and the Tiber River flows
beside it. In that place there is no fortification, but a colonnade
extends all the way from the city to the church, and many other
buildings which are round about it render the place not easy of access.
But the Goths shew a certain degree of actual respect for sanctuaries
such as this. And indeed during the whole time of the war no harm came
to either church of the two Apostles[147] at their hands, but all the
rites were performed in them by the priests in the usual manner. At this
spot, then, Belisarius commanded Valerian to take all the Huns and make
a stockade by the bank of the Tiber, in order that their horses might be
kept in greater security and that the Goths might be still further
checked from going at their pleasure to great distances from their
camps. And Valerian acted accordingly. Then, after the Huns had made
their camp in the place where the general directed, he rode back to the
city.

So Belisarius, having accomplished this, remained quiet, not offering
battle, but eager to carry on the defence from the wall, if anyone
should advance against it from outside with evil intent. And he also
furnished grain to some of the Roman populace. But Martinus and Trajan
passed by night between the camps of the enemy, and after reaching
Taracina sent Antonina with a few men into Campania; and they themselves
took possession of the fortified places in that district, and using them
as their bases of operations and making thence their sudden attacks,
they checked such of the Goths as were moving about in that region. As
for Magnus and Sinthues, in a short time they rebuilt such parts of the
fortress[148] as had fallen into ruin, and as soon as they had put
themselves i