, namely, who had come into the Roman
political system, not in the condition of slaves, since they had not
been conquered by the Romans, but on the basis of complete equality.[37]
For the Romans call treaties with their enemies "foedera." But at the
present time there is nothing to prevent anyone from assuming this name,
since time will by no means consent to keep names attached to the things
to which they were formerly applied, but conditions are ever changing
about according to the desire of men who control them, and men pay
little heed to the meaning which they originally attached to a name. And
the commanders of the foederati were Dorotheus, the general of the
troops in Armenia, and Solomon, who was acting as manager for the
general Belisarius; (such a person the Romans call "domesticus." Now
this Solomon was a eunuch, but it was not by the devising of man that he
had suffered mutilation, but some accident which befell him while in
swaddling clothes had imposed this lot upon him); and there were also
Cyprian, Valerian, Martinus, Althias, John, Marcellus, and the Cyril
whom I have mentioned above; and the commanders of the regular cavalry
were Rufinus and Aigan, who were of the house of Belisarius, and
Barbatus and Pappus, while the regular infantry was commanded by
Theodorus, who was surnamed Cteanus, and Terentius, Zaidus, Marcian, and
Sarapis. And a certain John, a native of Epidamnus, which is now called
Dyrrachium, held supreme command over all the leaders of infantry. Among
all these commanders Solomon was from a place in the East, at the very
extremity of the Roman domain, where the city called Daras now stands,
and Aigan was by birth of the Massagetae whom they now call Huns; and
the rest were almost all inhabitants of the land of Thrace. And there
followed with them also four hundred Eruli, whom Pharas led, and about
six hundred barbarian allies from the nation of the Massagetae, all
mounted bowmen; these were led by Sinnion and Balas, men endowed with
bravery and endurance in the highest degree. And for the whole force
five hundred ships were required, no one of which was able to carry more
than fifty thousand medimni,[38] nor any one less than three thousand.
And in all the vessels together there were thirty thousand sailors,
Egyptians and Ionians for the most part, and Cilicians, and one
commander was appointed over all the ships, Calonymus of Alexandria. And
they had also ships of war prepared as for sea-f