ch we conceived them when we wrote
them, but in a way which will be of advantage to thee in thy eagerness
to carry out thy plans not without some pretext. But for us it is
possible to point out that thy Alamoundaras recently overran our land
and performed outrageous deeds in time of peace, to wit, the capture of
towns, the seizure of property, the massacre and enslavement of such a
multitude of men, concerning which it will be thy duty not to blame us,
but to defend thyself. For the crimes of those who have done wrong are
made manifest to their neighbours by their acts, not by their thoughts.
But even with these things as they are, we have still decided to hold to
peace, but we hear that thou in thy eagerness to make war upon the
Romans art fabricating accusations which do not belong to us at all.
Natural enough, this; for while those who are eager to preserve the
present order of things repel even those charges against their friends
which are most pressing, those who are not satisfied with established
friendships exert themselves to provide even pretexts which do not
exist. But this would not seem to be becoming even to ordinary men, much
less to kings. But leaving aside these things do thou consider the
number of those who will be destroyed on both sides in the course of the
war, and consider well who will justly bear the blame for those things
which will come to pass, and ponder upon the oaths which thou didst take
when thou didst carry away the money, and consider that if, after that,
thou wrongly dishonour them by some tricks or sophistries, thou wouldst
not be able to pervert them; for Heaven is too mighty to be deceived by
any man." When Chosroes saw this message, he neither made any immediate
answer nor did he dismiss Anastasius, but he compelled him to remain
there.

V

[540 A.D.] When the winter was already reaching its close, and the
thirteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Justinian was ending,
Chosroes, son of Cabades, invaded the land of the Romans at the opening
of spring with a mighty army, and openly broke the so-called endless
peace. But he did not enter by the country between the rivers, but
advanced with the Euphrates on his right. On the other side of the river
stands the last Roman stronghold which is called Circesium, an
exceedingly strong place, since the River Aborras, a large stream, has
its mouth at this point and mingles with the Euphrates, and this
fortress lies exactly in the angle w