he oath which
he had disregarded in taking the field against the Huns. Now as long as
he heard that the enemy were in their own territory, he remained at
rest; but when he learned from his scouts that they had reached the city
of Gorgo which lies on the extreme Persian frontier, and that departing
thence they were now advancing against his army, remaining himself with
the greater part of his troops inside the trench, he sent forward a
small detachment with instructions to allow themselves to be seen at a
distance by the enemy in the plain, and, when once they had been seen,
to flee at full speed to the rear, keeping in mind his command
concerning the trench as soon as they drew near to it. They did as
directed, and, as they approached the trench, they drew themselves into
a narrow column, and all passed over and joined the rest of the army.
But the Persians, having no means of perceiving the stratagem, gave
chase at full speed across a very level plain, possessed as they were by
a spirit of fury against the enemy, and fell into the trench, every man
of them, not alone the first but also those who followed in the rear.
For since they entered into the pursuit with great fury, as I have said,
they failed to notice the catastrophe which had befallen their leaders,
but fell in on top of them with their horses and lances, so that, as was
natural, they both destroyed them, and were themselves no less involved
in ruin. Among them were Perozes and all his sons. And just as he was
about to fall into this pit, they say that he realized the danger, and
seized and threw from him the pearl which hung from his right ear,--a
gem of wonderful whiteness and greatly prized on account of its
extraordinary size--in order, no doubt, that no one might wear it after
him; for it was a thing exceedingly beautiful to look upon, such as no
king before him had possessed. This story, however, seems to me
untrustworthy, because a man who found himself in such peril would have
thought of nothing else; but I suppose that his ear was crushed in this
disaster, and the pearl disappeared somewhere or other. This pearl the
Roman Emperor then made every effort to buy from the Ephthalitae, but
was utterly unsuccessful. For the barbarians were not able to find it
although they sought it with great labour. However, they say that the
Ephthalitae found it later and sold it to Cabades.

The story of this pearl, as told by the Persians, is worth recounting,
for per