any kind of provisions, let no such thought occur to thee; for I myself
shall lead the army wherever it shall seem best."

When Cabades heard this he could neither oppose nor distrust the plan.
For Alamoundaras was most discreet and well experienced in matters of
warfare, thoroughly faithful to the Persians, and unusually
energetic,--a man who for a space of fifty years forced the Roman state
to bend the knee. For beginning from the boundaries of Aegypt and as far
as Mesopotamia he plundered the whole country, pillaging one place after
another, burning the buildings in his track and making captives of the
population by the tens of thousands on each raid, most of whom he killed
without consideration, while he gave up the others for great sums of
money. And he was confronted by no one at all. For he never made his
inroad without looking about, but so suddenly did he move and so very
opportunely for himself, that, as a rule, he was already off with all
the plunder when the generals and the soldiers were beginning to learn
what had happened and to gather themselves against him. If, indeed, by
any chance, they were able to catch him, this barbarian would fall upon
his pursuers while still unprepared and not in battle array, and would
rout and destroy them with no trouble; and on one occasion he made
prisoners of all the soldiers who were pursuing him together with their
officers. These officers were Timostratus, the brother of Rufinus, and
John, the son of Lucas, whom he gave up indeed later, thereby gaining
for himself no mean or trivial wealth. And, in a word, this man proved
himself the most difficult and dangerous enemy of all to the Romans. The
reason was this, that Alamoundaras, holding the position of king, ruled
alone over all the Saracens in Persia, and he was always able to make
his inroad with the whole army wherever he wished in the Roman domain;
and neither any commander of Roman troops, whom they call "duces," nor
any leader of the Saracens allied with the Romans, who are called