hed a part of the army in Numidia to serve as
a guard and with the remainder went to Carthage, since it was already
winter. There he arranged and set everything in order, so that at the
beginning of spring he might again march against Aurasium with a larger
equipment and, if possible, without Moors as allies. At the same time he
prepared generals and another army and a fleet of ships for an
expedition against the Moors who dwell in the island of Sardinia; for
this island is a large one and flourishing besides, being about two
thirds as large as Sicily (for the perimeter of the island makes a
journey of twenty days for an unencumbered traveller); and lying, as it
does, between Rome and Carthage, it was oppressed by the Moors who dwelt
there. For the Vandals in ancient times, being enraged against these
barbarians, sent some few of them with their wives to Sardinia and
confined them there. But as time went on they seized the mountains which
are near Caranalis, at first making plundering expeditions secretly upon
those who dwelt round about, but when they became no less than three
thousand, they even made their raids openly, and with no desire for
concealment plundered all the country there, being called
Barbaricini[46] by the natives. It was against these barbarians,
therefore, that Solomon was preparing the fleet during that winter.
Such, then, was the course of events in Libya.

XIV

And in Italy during these same times the following events took place.
Belisarius was sent against Theodatus and the Gothic nation by the
Emperor Justinian, and sailing to Sicily he secured this island with no
trouble. And the manner in which this was done will be told in the
following pages, when the history leads me to the narration of the
events in Italy. For it has not seemed to me out of order first to
record all the events which happened in Libya and after that to turn to
the portion of the history touching Italy and the Goths.

During this winter Belisarius remained in Syracuse and Solomon in
Carthage. And it came about during this year that a most dread portent
took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like
the moon, during this whole year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun
in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is
accustomed to shed. And from the time when this thing happened men were
free neither from war nor pestilence nor any other thing leading to
death. And it was the ti