o
anything else pertaining to this feast. And as if these things were not
sufficient for Heaven, in its eagerness to ruin the fortunes of the
Romans, it so fell out that still another thing provided an occasion for
those who were planning the mutiny. For the Vandals whom Belisarius took
to Byzantium were placed by the emperor in five cavalry squadrons, in
order that they might be settled permanently in the cities of the East;
he also called them the "Vandals of Justinian," and ordered them to
betake themselves in ships to the East. Now the majority of these Vandal
soldiers reached the East, and, filling up the squadrons to which they
had been assigned, they have been fighting against the Persians up to
the present time; but the remainder, about four hundred in number, after
reaching Lesbos, waiting until the sails were bellied with the wind,
forced the sailors to submission and sailed on till they reached the
Peloponnesus. And setting sail from there, they came to land in Libya at
a desert place, where they abandoned the ships, and, after equipping
themselves, went up to Mt. Aurasium and Mauretania. Elated by their
accession, the soldiers who were planning the mutiny formed a still
closer conspiracy among themselves. And there was much talk about this
in the camp and oaths were already being taken. And when the rest were
about to celebrate the Easter festival, the Arians, being vexed by their
exclusion from the sacred rites, purposed to attack them vigorously.

And it seemed best to their leading men to kill Solomon in the sanctuary
on the first day of the feast, which they call the great day. [March 23,
536 A.D.] And they were fortunate enough not to be found out, since no
one disclosed this plan. For though there were many who shared in the
horrible plot, no word of it was divulged to any hostile person as the
orders were passed around, and thus they succeeded completely in
escaping detection, for even the spearmen and guards of Solomon for the
most part and the majority of his domestics had become associated with
this mutiny because of their desire for the lands. And when the
appointed day had now come, Solomon was sitting in the sanctuary,
utterly ignorant of his own misfortune. And those who had decided to
kill the man went in, and, urging one another with nods, they put their
hands to their swords, but they did nothing nevertheless, either because
they were filled with awe of the rites then being performed in the