that upon receiving a great sum of money they should
straightway abandon the siege. Whereupon the barbarians, thinking that
they could never take the city by force--for the Moors are not at all
practised in the storming of walls--and at the same time not knowing
that provisions were scarce for the besieged, welcomed their words, and
when they had received three thousand pieces of gold, they abandoned the
siege, and all the Leuathae retired homeward.

XXIII

But Antalas and the army of the Moors were gathering again in Byzacium
and Stotzas was with them, having some few soldiers and Vandals. And
John, the son of Sisiniolus, being earnestly entreated by the Libyans,
gathered an army and marched against them. Now Himerius, the Thracian,
was commander of the troops in Byzacium, and at that time he was ordered
by John to bring with him all the troops there, together with the
commanders of each detachment, and come to a place called Menephesse,
which is in Byzacium, and join his force there. But later, upon hearing
that the enemy were encamped there, John wrote to Himerius telling what
had happened and directing him to unite with his forces at another
place, that they might not go separately, but all together, to encounter
the enemy. But by some chance those who had this letter, making use of
another road, were quite unable to find Himerius, and he together with
his army, coming upon the camp of the enemy, fell into their hands. Now
there was in this Roman army a certain youth, Severianus, son of
Asiaticus, a Phoenician and a native of Emesa, commanding a detachment
of horse. This man alone, together with the soldiers under him, fifty in
number, engaged with the enemy. And for some time they held out, but
later, being overpowered by the great multitude, they ran to the top of
a hill in the neighbourhood on which there was also a fort, but one
which offered no security. For this reason they surrendered themselves
to their opponents when they ascended the hill to attack them. And the
Moors killed neither him nor any of the soldiers, but they made
prisoners of the whole force; and Himerius they kept under guard, and
handed over his soldiers to Stotzas, since they agreed with great
readiness to march with the rebels against the Romans; Himerius,
however, they threatened with death, if he should not carry out their
commands. And they commanded him to put into their hands by some device
the city of Hadrumetum on the sea. And si