e first class were made prisoners, and sent by
Belisarius to Byzantium, where they were despatched by Justinian to
Italy, where they served against the Goths. Arethas, the chief of the
Saracens who fought on the side of Rome, was sent still further in
advance. The orders given him were to cross the Tigris into Assyria, and
begin to ravage it, but to return within a short time to the camp, and
bring a report of the strength of the Persians beyond the river. If the
report was favorable, Belisarius intended to quit Mesopotamia, and take
the whole Roman force with him into Assyria. His plans, however,
were frustrated by the selfish Arab, who, wishing to obtain the whole
Assyrian spoil for himself, dismissed his Roman troops, proceeded to
plunder the rich province on his own account, and sent Belisarius no
intelligence of what he was so doing. After waiting at Sisauranon
till the heats of summer had decimated his army, the Roman general
was compelled to retreat by the discontent of the soldiery and the
representations of his principal officers. He withdrew his forces within
the Roman frontier without molestation from the enemy, and was shortly
afterwards summoned to Constantinople to confer on the state of affairs
with, the emperor.

The military operations of the next year (A.D. 542) were comparatively
unimportant. Chosroes collected a large army, and, repeating the
movement of A.D. 540, made his appearance in Commagene early in the
year, intending to press forward through Syria into Palestine, and
hoping to make himself master of the sacred treasures which he knew to
be accumulated in the Holy City of Jerusalem. He found the provincial
commanders, Buzes and Justus, despondent and unenterprising, declined
to meet him in the field, and content to remain shut up within the walls
of Hierapolis. Had these been his only opponents the campaign would
probably have proved a success; but, at the first news of his invasion,
Justinian despatched Belisarius to the East, for the second time,
and this able general, by his arts or by his reputation, succeeded
in arresting the steps of Chosroes and frustrating his expedition.
Belisarius took up his head-quarters at Europus, on the Euphrates, a
little to the south of Zeugma, and, spreading his troops on both
banks of the river, appeared both to protect the Roman province and to
threaten the return of the enemy. Chosroes having sent an emissary to
the Roman camp under the pretence of negot