"phylarchs," was strong enough with his men to array himself against
Alamoundaras; for the troops stationed in the different districts were
not a match in battle for the enemy. [531 A.D.] For this reason the
Emperor Justinian put in command of as many clans as possible Arethas,
the son of Gabalas, who ruled over the Saracens of Arabia, and bestowed
upon him the dignity of king, a thing which among the Romans had never
before been done. However Alamoundaras continued to injure the Romans
just as much as before, if not more, since Arethas was either extremely
unfortunate in every inroad and every conflict, or else he turned
traitor as quickly as he could. For as yet we know nothing certain about
him. In this way it came about that Alamoundaras, with no one to stand
against him, plundered the whole East for an exceedingly long time, for
he lived to a very advanced age.


XVIII

This man's suggestion at that time therefore pleased Cabades, and he
chose out fifteen thousand men, putting in command of them Azarethes, a
Persian, who was an exceptionally able warrior, and he bade Alamoundaras
lead the expedition. So they crossed the River Euphrates in Assyria,
and, after passing over some uninhabited country, they suddenly and
unexpectedly threw their forces into the land of the so-called
Commagenae. This was the first invasion made by the Persians from this
point into Roman soil, as far as we know from tradition or by any other
means, and it paralyzed all the Romans with fear by its unexpectedness.
And when this news came to the knowledge of Belisarius, at first he was
at a loss, but afterwards he decided to go to the rescue with all speed.
So he established a sufficient garrison in each city in order that
Cabades with another hostile army might not come there and find the