throne, and many baskets are set there before him; and the general also
is present who is expected to lead the army against the enemy; then the
army passes along before the king, one man at a time, and each of them
throws one weapon into the baskets; after this they are sealed with the
king's seal and preserved; and when this army returns to Persia, each
one of the soldiers takes one weapon out of the baskets. A count is then
made by those whose office it is to do so of all the weapons which have
not been taken by the men, and they report to the king the number of the
soldiers who have not returned, and in this way it becomes evident how
many have perished in the war. Thus the law has stood from of old among
the Persians. Now when Azarethes came into the presence of the king,
Cabades enquired of him whether he came back with any Roman fortress won
over to their side, for he had marched forth with Alamoundaras against
the Romans, with the purpose of subduing Antioch. And Azarethes said
that he had captured no fortress, but that he had conquered the Romans
and Belisarius in battle. So Cabades bade the army of Azarethes pass by,
and from the baskets each man took out a weapon just as was customary.
But since many weapons were left, Cabades rebuked Azarethes for the
victory and thereafter ranked him among the most unworthy. So the
victory had this conclusion for Azarethes.


XIX

At that time the idea occurred to the Emperor Justinian to ally with
himself the Aethiopians and the Homeritae, in order to injure the
Persians. I shall now first explain what part of the earth these nations
occupy, and then I shall point out in what manner the emperor hoped that
they would be of help to the Romans. The boundaries of Palestine extend
toward the east to the sea which is called the Red Sea. Now this sea,