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INTRODUCTION

Arrangement of the work--The manner in which it has been drawn up--The causes of events omitted in previous writings--The duty of the historian towards posterity--Lessons necessary to tyrants--Semiramis, Sardanapalus, and Nero--Facts relating to Belisarius, Justinian, and Theodora.

Birth and character of Antonina--Her marriage with Belisarius--Her adulterous amours--Services rendered by her to the Empress Theodora--Her passion for the Thracian Theodosius--Adoption of the latter--The lovers surprised by Belisarius--His weakness--Revelation made by the slave Macedonia--Flight of Theodosius--Vengeance of Antonina upon Macedonia, and upon Constantine, who had spoken insultingly of her--Theodosius refuses to return to her until the departure of her son Photius--Retirement of Photius--Demands of Theodosius--His return--Infatuation of Belisarius--His return to Byzantium--Theodosius enters a cloister at Ephesus--Despair of Antonina--She causes him to be recalled--His resistance--His secret return.

Departure of Belisarius, accompanied by the "consular" Photius, for the war against Chosroes, King of Persia--Antonina remains at Byzantium--Her intrigues against Photius--The latter denounces her adulterous intimacy with Theodosius--Indignation of Belisarius--His agreement with Photius--His vengeance postponed--Entry of the Roman army into Persia--Downfall of John the Cappadocian--Antonina's perjuries--She sets out for the army--Theodosius sent back to Ephesus--Capture of Sisauranum--Arrival of Antonina--Retirement of Belisarius--Arethas and the Saracens--Colchis or Lazica invaded by Chosroes--Capture of Petra--Reverse sustained by Chosroes--The Huns defeated by Valerian--Insurrectionist movement amongst the Persians--Letter of Theodora to Zaberganes--Return of Chosroes to Persia.

Arrest of Antonina--Hesitation of Belisarius--Photius repairs to Ephesus, and extorts from Calligonus a confession of his mistress's secrets--Theodosius, having taken refuge in a temple, is given up by Andreas the Bishop--Intervention of Theodora--Photius removes Theodosius, and puts him away in Cilicia--The latter and Calligonus set free--The Empress hands over Antonina's enemies to her--Her vengeance--Punishment of the senator Theodosius--Forced reconciliation between Belisarius and his wife--Arrest of Photius: his firmness under torture--Calligonus restored to Antonina--Theodosius restored to her arms--The Empress's favours--She promises him a high military command--His death from dysentery--Long imprisonment of Photius--Sacred asylums violated--Weakness displayed by the priests--Deliverance of Photius, who enters a convent at Jerusalem--Perjury of Belisarius--His punishment--Failure of the third expedition against Chosroes--Capture of Callinikus--Roman prisoners--Belisarius accused of treachery and cowardice.

Illness of Justinian--Resolutions of the army consequent upon his supposed death--Peter and John the Glutton denounce Belisarius and Buzes--The latter put away and tortured--Disgrace of Belisarius--He is superseded by Martin in the command of the army of the East--His treasures carried away by Theodora--His friendship for Antonina--His letter to Belisarius--Submission of the latter to his wife--Division of his fortune--Betrothal of Joannina, his daughter, to Anastasius, grandson of Theodora--Belisarius appointed Count of the Royal Stable and again commander of the army in Italy--Comparison of the two expeditions.

Conduct of Belisarius in Italy--His greed--Defection of Herodianus--Loss of Spoletum--Success of Totila and his Goths--Rupture with John--Betrothal of the latter to Justina, daughter of Germanus--Recall of Belisarius--Perusia taken by the Goths--The marriage between Joannina and Anastasius consummated by a trick on the part of the dying Empress--Return of Antonina, who separates the young pair--Belisarius despised for his weakness--Sergius causes the loss of the Roman army in Africa--Murder of Pegasius by Solomon--The vengeance of Heaven.

History of Justin and his two brothers, poor Illyrian husbandmen--Their enrolment in the army--Their admission into the Palace Guards, in the reign of Leo--Justin condemned to death, during the reign of Anastasius, by the General John Kyrtus, for some breach of discipline--His escape by divine intervention--He becomes praefect of the Praetorian guards--In spite of his ignorance, he is proclaimed Emperor--The way in which he was assisted to sign imperial documents--The Empress Lupicina-Euphemia--Justinian, the nephew of Justin, the real master of the Empire--His cruelty, his avarice, his inconsistency in regard to the laws--He oppresses Italy, Africa, and the rest of the Empire--Amantius condemned, to avenge an outrage upon the bishop John--Perjury towards Vitalianus.

Byzantium divided between two factions: the Blues and the Greens--Justinian puts himself at the head of the former--The Empire entirely upset by the quarrels between these factions--The Blues dress their hair after the manner of the Huns--Their general attire--Their excesses--Behaviour of the Greens--Corruption of the morals of young men--Murder committed with impunity--Inaction on the part of the authorities--Acts of violence committed upon both sexes--A woman throws herself into the sea to save her virtue--Culpability of Justinian--His partiality for the oppressors, upon whom he bestows favours and dignities.

Calamities in the provinces--Justinian's apathy--Waste of the public money during his reign--Useless presents of money made to the Huns--Extravagance in buildings on the sea-shore--Attack upon the fortunes of private individuals--Description of Justinian's personal appearance--His resemblance to Domitian--Domitian's wife--Alterations in established institutions.

The bear-keeper Acacius, Theodora's father--His widow loses her place in the amphitheatre of the Greens and takes another in that of the Blues--Her daughters--The beginning of Theodora's career--Her precocious immorality--Her accomplishments--Her debaucheries--Her intercourse with Hecebolus, governor of Pentapolis--Her return from the East--Justinian, enamoured of her, wishes to marry her--Assassination of Hypatius--The Praefect Theodotus Colocynthius--Punishment of malefactors--His exile and death.

The Empress Euphemia--Her opposition to the marriage of Justinian and Theodora--Justin repeals the law prohibiting the marriage of a patrician with a stage-performer--Justinian and Theodora colleagues on the throne--Death of Justin--Effect of the marriage--Adulation of the senate, clergy, people, and army--General feeling of discouragement--Personal advantages of Theodora--Pretended antagonism between her and Justinian--Theodora deceives the Christians and the factions--Consolidation of despotism.

Legislative innovations--Avarice and cruelty of Justinian--Barbarian invasions provoked--Exorbitant subsidies to the chiefs of the Huns and Chosroes King of Persia, followed by disturbances and violation of truce--Saracens, Slavs, Antes, and other barbarous peoples--Desolation of the provinces--Religious persecutions and confiscation of Church property--Montanists, Sabbatians, Arians, and Samaritans--Pretended conversions--Manicheans and Polytheists--Caesarea, the author's birthplace--Revolt of the peasants under Julian--Hellenism--Law against paederasty--Persecution of astrologers--Continuous emigration.

Downfall and death of Zeno, grandson of Anthemius, Emperor of the West--Robbery of Tatian, Demosthenes, the wealthy Hilara, Dionysus of Libanus and John of Edessa--Forged wills--Theodora and Justinian evil spirits, not simple human beings--Justinian the putative son of Sabbatius--His mother's intimate relations with a spirit--The adventure of a monk--Justinian's temperate manner of living--His fondness for women--Theodora's intercourse with a spirit--Reputation of Macedonia during Justin's time--Her prediction to Theodora--Dream of her marriage with the Prince of the Demons.

Justinian's qualities--His accessibility--His partiality for the clergy--His gifts to the churches--His passion for blood and money, shared by him with Theodora--Flattery of Tribonianus--Justinian's fickleness and ill-faith--Venality of justice--Corruption of officials--Justinian's fasting and temperate mode of life.

Abolition of various old customs--The attributes of the quaestor and imperial secretaries--The senate a mere cipher--Corruption of the "Referendaries"--Guilty conduct of Zeno, the Cilician.

Cruelty of Theodora--Her voluptuous life--Her ambition--Her character and Justinian's compared--Her harshness towards persons of rank--Their servility--Pretended mildness of Justinian--Theodora's eagerness for vengeance--Her partiality--The insult offered by her to a patrician--Her stay at Heraeum, on the sea-shore.

Assassination of Amalasunta, Queen of the Goths, by Peter, Theodora's agent--The secretary, Priscus, obliged to enter a cloister--Justinian's hypocrisy--Disgrace of Areobindus, Theodora's lover--Her way of getting rid of persons of rank--Punishment of Basianus--False accusation against Diogenes, a member of the municipal council--Suborning of witnesses--Theodora's courage.

Murder of Callinicus, governor of Cilicia--His property confiscated by Justinian--Theodora's severe measures against prostitutes--She compels two girls of noble birth to marry--Her frequent abortions--Disappearance of her natural son, John--Corrupt morals of the ladies of the capital--Theodora disposes of ecclesiastical dignities--Takes upon herself the general superintendence of marriages--Adventure of Saturninus--Persecution of John of Cappadocia.

Justinian, a devil in the form of a man, causes the destruction of millions of men--His policy towards the Vandals, Goths, and other barbarians--Chosroes and the Persians--Invasion of the Huns, Saracens, and others--Justinian's theological studies--Religious persecution--Divine anger--Inundations, earthquakes, and the plague.

A dream relating to Justinian's avarice--The vast treasures of Anastasius squandered by Justinian--He makes himself master of the fortunes of private individuals by false accusations, and squanders them in presents of money to the barbarians, who plunder the Empire--Fulfilment of the dream.

Justinian impoverishes private individuals by "monopolies"--Two new magistrates appointed at Constantinople--Praetor of the People to judge cases of robbery--Legislation in regard to paederasty and female morality--Establishment of an inquisition against heretics--Condemnations and confiscations--Degradation of the quaestorship in the hands of Junilus and Constantine--Their venality.

The impost called "Aerikon"--Exactions authorised by Justinian--The property of John the Cappadocian confiscated--The farming of the taxes entrusted to salaried commissioners--Increased spoliation--Oath taken against venality--Increasing corruption of officials--The Thracians and Illyrians at first check the depredations of the Huns, Goths, and other barbarians, and then, in turn, take to plundering themselves.

John of Cappadocia replaced by Theodotus, and Theodotus by Peter Barsyames, the Syrian, an old usurer--His greed--He suppresses the gratuities to the soldiers--Traffic in every kind of employment--Speculation in wheat--Scarcity of provisions at Byzantium--Discontent--Barsyames upheld by Theodora and his own sorceries--His connection with the Manicheans--Their influence over Justinian--Barsyames supersedes John of Palestine as treasury minister--He abolishes the assistance rendered to the unfortunate.

Ruin of private properties--Abolition of the remission of arrears of taxes, even in the case of cities taken by the barbarians--The imposts called Synn, Epibol, and Diagraph--Soldiers billeted in private houses.

Oppression of the soldiers by the Logothetes--Division of the soldiers into three classes--Their promotion suspended--Their pay diverted to other purposes--The diminishing army--Praetorian soldiers disbanded--Alexander the Logothete in Italy--The general's aides-de-camp--The frontier garrisons abandoned--Palace guards, Scholares, and supernumeraries--Armenians--Peter, the Master of Offices, the murderer of Amalasunta--Palace officials, Domestics, and Protectors--Suppression of the quinquennial gratuity--The imperial officers and dignitaries.

Unjust treatment of merchants, mariners, and artisans--The straits of the Bosphorus and the Hellespont burdened with custom-house dues--Enormous dues levied by Addeus in the port of Byzantium--Change in the silver coinage: its depreciation--Monopoly of the silk trade--Ruin of Berytus and Tyre--Malversations of Peter Barsyames and his successors--Tyranny of Theodora and avarice of Justinian.

Destruction of city decorations and ornaments--Advocates deprived of their fees by the institution of arbitrators--Physicians and professors deprived of their pensions--Public spectacles discontinued--The consulship suppressed--Scarcity of corn and water at Byzantium, Rome, and Alexandria--Generosity of Theodoric, the conqueror of Italy--Greed of Alexander Forficula--Disbanding of the garrison of Thermopylae--Spoliation of Athens and other Greek cities--Hephaestus and Diocletian.

Conduct of Justinian and Theodora in regard to the clergy and council of Chalcedon--Arsenius the Samaritan persecutes the Christians of Scythopolis with impunity--Paul, archbishop of Alexandria, has the deacon Psoes put to death--Rhodon, the governor, by his orders, tortures him: but he is dismissed, and then put to death, together with Arsenius, through the influence of Theodora--Liberius, the new governor, and Pelagius, legate of Pope Vigilius at Alexandria, depose Paul, who buys back the favour of Justinian--Resistance of Vigilius--Faustinus, governor of Palestine, denounced by the Christians as a Samaritan--His condemnation by the Senate--The sentence annulled by Justinian--Outrages upon the Christians.

Laws changed for money considerations--Affair of the church of Emesa--Priscus the forger--A hundred years' prescription granted to the churches--Mission of Longinus--Persecution of the Jews at the Passover--Justinian's intolerance.

Justinian's hypocrisy--Letters sent to both Liberius and John Laxarion, confirming them as governors of Egypt--Intervention of Pelagius and Eudaemon--Murder of John--Liberius acquitted by the Senate--Fine inflicted by Justinian--Confiscation of the inheritances of Eudaemon, Euphratas, and Irenaeus--New law as to the inheritances of municipal councillors--Spoliation of the daughter of Anatolia and Ascalon, the widow of Mamilianus--Affair of Tarsus--Malthanes and the Blues of Cilicia--Unpunished assassinations--Justinian's corruptness--Leo the Referendary.

The "posts" and "spies"--Rapidity of the imperial couriers--Their chief routes--Superiority of the Persians--Reverses of the Romans in Lazica at the hands of Chosroes--The army commissariat--Spoliation of the lawyer Evangelius--Justinian's sarcasm--He and Theodora required their feet to be kissed by those who had audience of them--Their titles of "master" and "mistress"--The palace crowded by applicants for audiences--The death of Justinian alone will show how the vast wealth of the Empire has been spent.

INTRODUCTION

I have thus described the fortunes of the Romans in their wars up to the present day, as far as possible assigning the description of events to their proper times and places. What follows will not be arranged with the same exactness, but everything shall be written down as it took place throughout the whole extent of the Roman empire. My reason for this is, that it would not have been expedient for me to describe these events fully while those who were their authors were still alive; for, had I done so, I could neither have escaped the notice of the multitude of spies, nor, had I been detected, could I have avoided a most horrible death; for I could not even have relied upon my nearest relatives with confidence. Indeed, I have been forced to conceal the real causes of many of the events recounted in my former books. It will now be my duty, in this part of my history, to tell what has hitherto remained untold, and to state the real motives and origin of the actions which I have already recounted. But, when undertaking this new task, how painful and hard will it be, to be obliged to falter and contradict myself as to what I have said about the lives of Justinian and Theodora: and particularly so, when I reflect that what I am about to write will not appear to future generations either credible or probable, especially when a long lapse of years shall have made them old stories; for which reason I fear that I may be looked upon as a romancer, and reckoned among playwrights. However, I shall have the courage not to shrink from this important work, because my story will not lack witnesses; for the men of to-day, who are the best informed witnesses of these facts, will hand on trustworthy testimony of their truth to posterity. Yet, when I was about to undertake this work, another objection often presented itself to my mind, and for a long time held me in suspense.

I doubted whether it would be right to hand down these events to posterity; for the wickedest actions had better remain unknown to future times than come to the ears of tyrants, and be imitated by them. For most rulers are easily led by lack of knowledge into imitating the evil deeds of their predecessors, and find it their easiest plan to walk in the evil ways of their forefathers.

Later, however, I was urged to record these matters, by the reflection that those who hereafter may wish to play the tyrant will clearly see, in the first place, that it is probable that retribution will fall upon them for the evil that they may do, seeing that this was what befell these people; and, secondly, that their actions and habits of life will be published abroad for all time, and therefore they will perhaps be less ready to transgress. Who, among posterity, would have known of the licentious life of Semiramis, or of the madness of Sardanapalus or Nero, if no memorials of them had been left to us by contemporary writers? The description of such things, too, will not be entirely without value to such as hereafter may be so treated by tyrants; for unhappy people are wont to console themselves by the thought that they are not the only persons who have so suffered. For these reasons, I shall first give a description of the evil wrought by Belisarius, and afterwards I shall describe the misdeeds of Justinian and Theodora.

The wife of Belisarius, whom I have spoken of in my previous writings, was the daughter and grand-daughter of chariot-drivers, men who had practised their art in the circus at Byzantium and at Thessalonica. Her mother was one of the prostitutes of the theatre. She herself at first lived a lewd life, giving herself up to unbridled debauchery; besides this, she devoted herself to the study of the drugs which had long been used in her family, and learned the properties of those which were essential for carrying out her plans. At last she was betrothed and married to Belisarius, although she had already borne many children.

She formed adulterous connections as soon as she was married, but took pains to conceal the fact, by making use of familiar artifices, not out of any respect for her husband , but because she dreaded the vengeance of the Empress; for Theodora was very bitter against her, and had already shown her teeth. But, after she had made Theodora her humble friend by helping her when in the greatest difficulties, first of all by making away with Silverius, as shall be told hereafter, and afterwards by ruining John of Cappadocia, as I have already described, she became less timid, and, scorning all concealment, shrank from no kind of wickedness.

There was a Thracian youth, named Theodosius, in the household of Belisarius, who by descent was of the Eunomian faith. On the eve of his departure for Libya, Belisarius held the youth over the font, received him into his arms after baptism, and thenceforth made him a member of his household, with the consent of his wife, according to the Christian rite of adoption. Antonina therefore received Theodosius as a son consecrated by religion, and in consequence loved him, paid him especial attention, and obtained complete dominion over him. Afterwards, during this voyage, she became madly enamoured of him, and, being beside herself with passion, cast away all fear of everything human or divine, together with all traces of modesty, and enjoyed him at first in secret, afterwards even in the presence of her servants and handmaidens; for she was by this time so mad with lust, that she disregarded everything that stood in the way of her passion.

Once, when they were at Carthage, Belisarius caught her in the act, but permitted himself to be deceived by his wife. He found them both together in an underground chamber, and was furiously enraged at the sight; but she showed no sign of fear or a desire to avoid him, and said, "I came to this place with this youth, to hide the most precious part of our plunder, that the Emperor might not come to know of it." This she said by way of an excuse, and he, pretending to be convinced, let it pass, although he saw that the belt which held Theodosius's drawers over his private parts was undone; for he was so overpowered by his love for the creature that he preferred not to believe his own eyes. However, Antonina's debauchery went on from bad to worse, till it reached a shameful pitch. All who beheld it were silent, except one slave woman, named Macedonia, who, when Belisarius was at Syracuse after the conquest of Sicily, first made her master swear the most solemn oaths that he never would betray her to her mistress, and then told him the whole story, bringing as her witnesses two boys who attended on Antonina's bed-chamber.

When Belisarius heard this, he told some of his guards to make away with Theodosius, but the latter, being warned in time, fled to Ephesus: for the greater part of Belisarius's followers, influenced by the natural weakness of his character, were at more pains to please his wife than to show their devotion to him; and this was why they disclosed to her the orders they had received concerning Theodosius. When Constantine saw Belisarius's sorrow at what had befallen him, he sympathized with him, but was so imprudent as to add: "For my own part, I would have killed the woman rather than the youth."

This having been reported to Antonina, she conceived a secret hatred for him, until she could make him feel the weight of her resentment; for she was like a scorpion, and knew how to hide her venom.

Not long afterwards, either by enchantments or by caresses, she persuaded her husband that the accusation brought against her was false; whereupon, without any hesitation, he sent for Theodosius, and promised to deliver up to his wife Macedonia and the boys, which he afterwards did. It is said that she first cut out their tongues, and then ordered them to be hewn in pieces, put into sacks and thrown into the sea. In this bloody deed she was assisted by one of her slaves named Eugenius, who had also been one of those who perpetrated the outrage on Silverius.

Shortly afterwards, Belisarius was persuaded by his wife to kill Constantine. What I have already recounted about Praesidius and his daggers belongs to this period. Belisarius would have let him go, but Antonina would not rest until she had exacted vengeance for the words which I have just repeated. This murder stirred up a great hatred against Belisarius on the part of the Emperor and of the chief nobles of the Empire.

Such was the course of events. Meanwhile, Theodosius refused to return to Italy, where Belisarius and Antonina were then staying, unless Photius were sent out of the way; for Photius was naturally disposed to show his spite against anyone who supplanted him in another's good graces; but he was quite right in feeling jealous of Theodosius, because he himself, although Antonina's son, was quite neglected, whereas the other was exceedingly powerful and had amassed great riches. They say that he had taken treasure amounting to a hundred centenars of gold from the treasure-houses of the two cities of Carthage and Ravenna, since he had obtained sole and absolute control of the management of them.

When Antonina heard this determination of Theodosius, she never ceased to lay traps for her son and to concoct unnatural plots against him, until she made him see that he must leave her and retire to Byzantium; for he could no longer endure the designs against his life. At the same time she made Theodosius return to Italy, where she enjoyed to the full the society of her lover, thanks to the easy good-nature of her husband. Later on, she returned to Byzantium in company with both of them. It was there that Theodosius became alarmed lest their intimacy should become known, and was greatly embarrassed, not knowing what to do. That it could remain undetected to the end he felt was impossible, for he saw that the woman was no longer able to conceal her passion, and indulge it in secret, but was an open and avowed adulteress, and did not blush to be called so.

For this reason he returned to Ephesus, and after having submitted to the tonsure, joined the monastic order. At this Antonina entirely lost her reason, showed her distress by putting on mourning and by her general behaviour, and roamed about the house, wailing and lamenting the good friend she had lost--so faithful, so pleasant, so tender a companion, so prompt in action. At last she even won over her husband, who began to utter the same lamentations. The poor fool kept calling for the return of his well-beloved Theodosius, and afterwards went to the Emperor and besought him and the Empress, till he prevailed upon them to send for Theodosius, as a man whose services always had been and always would be indispensable in the household. Theodosius, however, refused to obey, declaring that it was his fixed determination to remain in the cloister and embrace the monastic life. But this language was by no means sincere, for it was his intention, as soon as Belisarius left the country, to rejoin Antonina by stealth at Byzantium, as, in fact, he did.

Shortly afterwards Belisarius was sent by the Emperor to conduct the war against Chosroes, and Photius accompanied him. Antonina remained behind, contrary to her usual custom; for, before this, she had always desired to accompany her husband on all his travels wherever he went, for fear that, when he was by himself, he might return to his senses, and, despising her enchantments, form a true estimate of her character. But now, in order that Theodosius might have free access to her, Antonina began to intrigue in order to get Photius out of her way. She induced some of Belisarius's suite to lose no opportunity of provoking and insulting him, while she herself wrote letters almost every day, in which she continually slandered her son and set every one against him. Driven to bay, the young man was forced to accuse his mother, and, when a witness arrived from Byzantium who told him of Theodosius's secret commerce with Antonina, Photius led him straightway into the presence of Belisarius and ordered him to reveal the whole story. When Belisarius learned this, he flew into a furious rage, fell at Photius's feet, and besought him to avenge him for the cruel wrongs which he had received at the hands of those who should have been the last to treat him in such a manner. "My dearest boy," he exclaimed, "you have never known your father, whoever he may have been, for he ended his life while you were still in your nurse's arms; his property has been of little or no assistance to you, for he was by no means wealthy. Bred under my care, though I was but your stepfather, you have now reached an age when you are capable of assisting me to avenge the wrongs from which I suffer. I have raised you to the consulship, and have heaped riches upon you, so that I may justly be regarded by you as your father, your mother, and your whole family; for it is not by the ties of blood but by deeds that men are accustomed to measure their attachment to each other. The hour has now come when you must not remain an indifferent spectator of the ruin of my house and of the loss with which I am threatened, of so large a sum of money, nor of the immeasurable shame which your mother has incurred in the sight of all men. Remember that the sins of women reflect disgrace not only on their husbands, but also upon their children, whose honour suffers all the more because of their natural likeness to their mothers.

"Be well assured that, for my own part, I love my wife with all my heart; and should it be granted to me to punish the dishonourer of my house, I will do her no hurt; but, as long as Theodosius remains alive, I cannot condone her misconduct."

On hearing these words Photius replied that he would do all that he could to aid his stepfather, but, at the same time, he feared that he himself might come to some harm by so doing; for he was unable to feel any confidence in Belisarius, because of his weakness of character, especially where his wife was concerned. He dreaded the fate of Macedonia, and of many other victims. For this reason he insisted that Belisarius should swear fidelity to him by the most sacred oaths known to Christians, and they bound themselves never to abandon each other, even at the cost of their lives.

For the present, they both agreed that it would be unwise to make any attempt; and they resolved to wait until Antonina had left Byzantium to join them, and Theodosius had returned to Ephesus, which would give Photius the opportunity of going thither and easily disposing of both Theodosius and his fortune. They had just invaded the Persian territory with all their forces, and during this time the ruin of John of Cappadocia was accomplished at Byzantium, as I have told in the former books of my history. I have there only been silent, through fear, on one point, that it was not by mere hazard that Antonina succeeded in deceiving John and his daughter, but by numerous oaths, sworn on all that Christians deem most holy, she made them believe that she intended to do them no harm.

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