absolutely no account, but altogether unproductive and unsuitable for
crops. The Emperor Justinian, therefore, took the matter under
consideration, and a long time was spent in the settlement of the
question.

But Chosroes, the King of the Persians, claimed that the treaty had been
broken by Justinian, who had lately displayed great opposition to his
house, in that he had attempted in time of peace to attach Alamoundaras
to himself. For, as he said, Summus, who had recently gone to the
Saracen ostensibly to arrange matters, had hoodwinked him by promises of
large sums of money on condition that he should join the Romans, and he
brought forward a letter which, he alleged, the Emperor Justinian had
written to Alamoundaras concerning these things. He also declared that
he had sent a letter to some of the Huns, in which he urged them to
invade the land of the Persians and to do extensive damage to the
country thereabout. This letter he asserted to have been put into his
hands by the Huns themselves who had come before him. So then Chosroes,
with these charges against the Romans, was purposing to break off the
treaty. But as to whether he was speaking the truth in these matters, I
am not able to say.


II

At this point Vittigis, the leader of the Goths, already worsted in the
war, sent two envoys to him to persuade him to march against the Romans;
but the men whom he sent were not Goths, in order that the real
character of the embassy might not be at once obvious and so make
negotiations useless, but Ligurian priests who were attracted to this
enterprise by rich gifts of money. One of these men, who seemed to be