found all the gates closed, and being unable to discover any man, they
reported the situation to the king. And he commanded them to set ladders
against the wall and to make trial of mounting it, and they did as
directed. Then since no one opposed them, they got inside the
fortifications and opened the gates at their leisure, and received into
the city the whole army and Chosroes himself. By this time the king was
furious with anger and he fired nearly the whole city. He then mounted
the acropolis and decided to storm the fortress. There indeed the Roman
soldiers while valiantly defending themselves slew some of the enemy;
but Chosroes was greatly favoured by fortune by reason of the folly of
the besieged, who had not sought refuge in this fortress by themselves,
but along with all their horses and other animals, and by this
inconsiderate act they were placed at a great disadvantage and began to
be in danger. For since there was only one spring there and the horses
and mules and other animals drank from it when they should not have done
so, it came about that the water was exhausted. Such, then, was the
situation of the Beroeans.

Megas, upon reaching Antioch and announcing the terms arranged by him
with Chosroes, failed utterly to persuade them to carry out this
agreement. For it happened that the Emperor Justinian had sent John, the
son of Rufinus, and Julian, his private[4] secretary, as ambassadors to
Chosroes. The person holding this office is styled "a secretis" by the
Romans; for secrets they are accustomed to call "secreta." These men had
reached Antioch and were remaining there. Now Julian, one of the
ambassadors, explicitly forbade everybody to give money to the enemy, or
to purchase the cities of the emperor, and besides he denounced to
Germanus the chief priest Ephraemius, as being eager to deliver over the
city to Chosroes. For this reason Megas returned unsuccessful. But
Ephraemius, the bishop of Antioch, fearing the attack of the Persians,