h has befallen Mirranes, nor
desire again to make trial of fortune. For in Mesopotamia and the land
of Osroene, as it is called, since it is very close to thy boundaries,
the cities are very strong above all others, and now they contain a
multitude of soldiers such as never before, so that if we go there the
contest will not prove a safe one; but in the land which lies outside
the River Euphrates, and in Syria which adjoins it, there is neither a
fortified city nor an army of any importance. For this I have often
heard from the Saracens sent as spies to these parts. There too, they
say, is the city of Antioch, in wealth and size and population the first
of all the cities of the Eastern Roman Empire; and this city is
unguarded and destitute of soldiers. For the people of this city care
for nothing else than fetes and luxurious living, and their constant
rivalries with each other in the theatres. Accordingly, if we go against
them unexpectedly, it is not at all unlikely that we shall capture the
city by a sudden attack, and that we shall return to the land of the
Persians without having met any hostile army, and before the troops in
Mesopotamia have learned what has happened. As for lack of water or of
any kind of provisions, let no such thought occur to thee; for I myself
shall lead the army wherever it shall seem best."

When Cabades heard this he could neither oppose nor distrust the plan.
For Alamoundaras was most discreet and well experienced in matters of
warfare, thoroughly faithful to the Persians, and unusually
energetic,--a man who for a space of fifty years forced the Roman state
to bend the knee. For beginning from the boundaries of Aegypt and as far
as Mesopotamia he plundered the whole country, pillaging one place after
another, burning the buildings in his track and making captives of the
population by the tens of thousands on each raid, most of whom he killed
without consideration, while he gave up the others for great sums of
money. And he was confronted by no one at all. For he never made his
inroad without looking about, but so suddenly did he move and so very
opportunely for himself, that, as a rule, he was already off with all
the plunder when the generals and the soldiers were beginning to learn
what had happened and to gather themselves against him. If, indeed, by
any chance, they were able to catch him, this barbarian would fall upon
his pursuers while still unprepared and not in battle array, and w