Part I: https://hexbear.net/post/36486
They Had a Letter from Who?!
Augarus was a toparch/king of Edessa.
"At a later time when Augarus was well advanced in years, he was seized with an exceedingly violent attack of gout. And being distressed by the pains and his inability to move in consequence of them, he carried the matter to the physicians, and from the whole land he gathered all who were skilled in these matters. But later he abandoned these men (for they did not succeed in discovering any cure for the trouble), and finding himself helpless, he bewailed the fate which was upon him. But about that time Jesus, the Son of God, was in the body and moving among the men of Palestine, shewing manifestly by the fact that he never sinned at all, and also by his performing even things impossible, that he was the Son of God in very truth; for he called the dead and raised them up as if from sleep, and opened the eyes of men who had been born blind, and cleansed those whose whole bodies were covered with leprosy, and released those whose feet were maimed, and he cured all the other diseases which are called by the physicians incurable. When these things were reported to Augarus by those who travelled from Palestine to Edessa, he took courage and wrote a letter to Jesus, begging him to depart from Judaea and the senseless people there, and to spend his life with him from that time forward. When the Christ saw this message, he wrote in reply to Augarus, saying distinctly that he would not come, but promising him health in the letter. And they say that he added this also that never would the city be liable to capture by the barbarians. This final portion of the letter was entirely unknown to those who wrote the history of that time; for they did not even make mention of it anywhere; but the men of Edessa say that they found it with the letter, so that they have even caused the letter to be inscribed in this form on the gates of the city instead of any other defence. The city did in fact come under the Medes a short time afterwards, not by capture however, but in the following manner. A short time after Augarus received the letter of the Christ, he became free from suffering, and after living on in health for a long time, he came to his end. But that one of his sons who succeeded to the kingdom shewed himself the most unholy of all men, and besides committing many other wrongs against his subjects, he voluntarily went over to the Persians, fearing the vengeance which was to come from the Romans. But long after this the citizens of Edessa destroyed the barbarian guards who were dwelling with them, and gave the city into the hands of the Romans. * * *[11] he is eager to attach it to his cause, judging by what has happened in my time, which I shall present in the appropriate place. And the thought once occurred to me that, if the Christ did not write this thing just as I have told it, still, since men have come to believe in it, He wishes to guard the city uncaptured for this reason, that He may never give them any pretext for error. As for these things, then, let them be as God wills, and so let them be told." (Book II Chapter XII)
Nika Riots II: The Colours United
"But at this time the officers of the city administration in Byzantium were leading away to death some of the rioters. But the members of the two factions, conspiring together and declaring a truce with each other, seized the prisoners and then straightway entered the prison and released all those who were in confinement there, whether they had been condemned on a charge of stirring up sedition, or for any other unlawful act. And all the attendants in the service of the city government were killed indiscriminately; meanwhile, all of the citizens who were sane-minded were fleeing to the opposite mainland, and fire was applied to the city as if it had fallen under the hand of an enemy. The sanctuary of Sophia and the baths of Zeuxippus, and the portion of the imperial residence from the propylaea as far as the so-called House of Ares were destroyed by fire, and besides these both the great colonnades which extended as far as the market place which bears the name of Constantine, in addition to many houses of wealthy men and a vast amount of treasure. During this time the emperor and his consort with a few members of the senate shut themselves up in the palace and remained quietly there. Now the watch-word which the populace passed around to one another was Nika[31], and the insurrection has been called by this name up to the present time." (Book I Chapter XXIV)
John the Cappadocian
This is the next paragraph in Nika riots chapters. It describes the bath cooking enterpreneur.
"The praetorian prefect at that time was John the Cappadocian, and Tribunianus, a Pamphylian by birth, was counsellor to the emperor; this person the Romans call "quaestor." One of these two men, John, was entirely without the advantages of a liberal education; for he learned nothing while attending the elementary school except his letters, and these, too, poorly enough; but by his natural ability he became the most powerful man of whom we know. For he was most capable in deciding upon what was needful and in finding a solution for difficulties. But he became the basest of all men and employed his natural power to further his low designs; neither consideration for God nor any shame before man entered into his mind, but to destroy the lives of many men for the sake of gain and to wreck whole cities was his constant concern. So within a short time indeed he had acquired vast sums of money, and he flung himself completely into the sordid life of a drunken scoundrel; for up to the time of lunch each day he would plunder the property of his subjects, and for the rest of the day occupy himself with drinking and with wanton deeds of lust. And he was utterly unable to control himself, for he ate food until he vomited, and he was always ready to steal money and more ready to bring it out and spend it. Such a man then was John. Tribunianus, on the other hand, both possessed natural ability and in educational attainments was inferior to none of his contemporaries; but he was extraordinarily fond of the pursuit of money and always ready to sell justice for gain; therefore every day, as a rule, he was repealing some laws and proposing others, selling off to those who requested it either favour according to their need."(Book I Chapter XXIV)
Roman Army Enters Ravenna
They haven't conquered the city, but were let in peacefully for a reason that I will show in another segment. Ravenna was the capital city of Gothic kingdom (and late Western Roman Empire).
"For although the Goths were greatly superior to their opponents in number and in power, and had neither fought a decisive battle since they had entered Ravenna nor been humbled in spirit by any other disaster, still they were being made captives by the weaker army and were regarding the name of slavery as no insult. But when the women, as they sat at the gate, had seen the whole army (for they had heard from their husbands that the enemy were men of great size and too numerous to be counted), they all spat upon the faces of their husbands, and pointing with their hands to the victors, reviled them for their cowardice." (Book VI Chapter XXIX)
Bessas II: The Byzantine General Protects his Business
"Consequently, Valentinus and Phocas secretly sent a messenger into Rome bearing the intelligence to Bessas that they were at that moment about to make a sudden attack upon the stockade of their opponents ; he should, therefore, on his part, select the most warlike of the soldiers in Rome, and, whenever he observed their assault, rush to their assistance, so that each of the two forces might be able to inflict some great injury upon the barbarians. Bessas, however, was by no means taken with this plan, notwithstanding the fact that he had as many as three thousand soldiers under him. Thus it was that Valentinus and Phocas with a force of five hundred descended unexpectedly upon the enemy's camp and killed a few men, and the tumult occasioned thereby soon reached the ears of the besieged. But seeing that no one came out from the city against the camp, they quickly retired to the harbour without suffering any loss."
"So they sent to Bessas a second time, and first charging him with having had a regrettable attack of timidity, they declared that they would soon make another assault upon the enemy and urged that he too should fall upon the barbarians with all his strength at the proper moment. Bessas, however, still refused to make a sally against his opponents and risk a battle."
"But he had sent word to Bessas the day before commanding that on the following day he should make a sally with a strong force and throw the enemy's camp into confusion ; and indeed this was the same command that he had already sent him many a time before. But neither on previous occasions nor during the present battle did Bessas see fit to carry out his orders. For now he was the only one who still had any grain left, since of all the grain which the magistrates of Sicily had previously sent to Rome to suffice both for the soldiers and for the whole population, he had let an exceedingly small amount go to the populace, while he had taken for himself the largest part on the pretext of providing for the soldiers and had hidden it away ; and since he was selling this reserve to the senators at high prices, he by no means wished the siege to be broken." (Book VII Chapter XV Chapter XIX)
Leftovers:
Monks Steal the Silkworm Eggs
"At about this time certain monks, coming from India and learning that the Emperor Justinian entertained the desire that the Romans should no longer purchase their silk from the Persians, came before the emperor and promised so to settle the silk question that the Romans would no longet purchase this article from their enemies, the Persians, nor indeed from any other nation ; for they had, they said, spent a long time in the country situated north of the numerous nations of India—a country called Serinda—and there they had learned accurately by what means it was possible for silk to be produced in the land of the Romans. Whereupon the emperor made very diligent enquiries and asked them many questions to see whetlier their statements were true, and the monks explained to him that certain worms are the manufacturers of silk, nature being their teacher and compelling them to work continually. And while it was impossible to convey the worms thither alive, it was still practicable and altogether easy to convey their offspring. Now the offspring of these worms, they said, consisted of innumerable eggs from each one. And men bury these eggs, long after the time when they are produced, in dung, and, after thus heating them for a sufficient time, they bring forth the living creatures. After they had thus spoken, the emperor promised to reward them with large gifts and urged them to confirm their account in action. They then once more went to Serinda and brought back the eggs to Byzantium, and in the manner described caused them to be transformed into worms, which they fed on the leaves of the mulberry ; and thus they made possible from that time forth the production of silk in the land of the Romans. At that time then matters stood thus between the Romans and the Persians, both as touching the war and in regard to silk." (Book VIII Chapter XVII)
The Comet
I think I tried to look up which one it was, but I didn't find it.
"[539 A.D.] At that time also the comet appeared, at first about as long as a tall man, but later much larger. And the end of it was toward the west and its beginning toward the east, and it followed behind the sun itself. For the sun was in Capricorn and it was in Sagittarius. And some called it "the swordfish" because it was of goodly length and very sharp at the point, and others called it "the bearded star"; it was seen for more than forty days. Now those who were wise in these matters disagreed utterly with each other, and one announced that one thing, another that another thing was indicated by this star; but I only write what took place and I leave to each one to judge by the outcome as he wishes." (Book II Chapter IV)
Franks Intervene in the Gothic War
"At this time the Franks, hearing that both Goths and Romans had suffered severely by the war, and thinking for this reason that they could with the greatest ease gain the larger part of Italy for themselves, began to think it preposterous that others should carry on a war for such a length of time for the rule of a land which was so near their own, while they themselves remained quiet and stood aside for both. So, forgetting for the moment their oaths and the treaties they had made a little before with both the Romans and the Goths (for this nation in matters of trust is the most treacherous in the world), they straightway gathered to the number of one hundred thousand under the leadership of Theudibert, and marched into Italy ; they had a small body of cavalry about their leader, and these were the only ones armed with spears, while all the rest were foot-soldiers having neither bows nor spears, but each man carried a sword and shield and one axe. Now the iron head of this weapon was thick and exceedingly sharp on both sides, while the wooden handle was very short. And they are accustomed always to throw these axes at one signal in the first charge and thus to shatter the shields of the enemy and kill the men."
Goths think that the Franks are intervening on their side and let them march through Italy to the Byzantine front. The Franks attack both sides and make Gothic and Byzantine army flee.
"The Franks, having defeated both armies, as has been said, and having captured both camps without a single man in them, for the time being found provisions in the camps ; but in a short time they had consumed all these on account of their great numbers, and, since the land was destitute of human habitation, they were unable to obtain any provisions except cattle and the water of the Po. But they were unable to digest this meat because of the great quantity of water they drank, and consequently the most of them were attacked by diarrhoea and dysentery, which they were quite unable to shake off because of the lack of proper food. Indeed they say that at least one-third of the Frankish army perished in this way. Hence it was that, as they were unable to go forward, they remained where they were."
After Belisarius hears the news he sends the letter to the Franks asking them to uphold the treaty.(note Germans = Franks)
"When Theudibert had read this letter, perplexed as he was already by his present situation, and sharply reproached by the Germans, because, as they said, they were, for no good reason, dying in a deserted land, he broke camp with the survivors of the Franks and retired homeward with great speed." (Book VI Chapter XXV)