The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus - Coptic ...

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK IV 223
to break the endless peace between them, nor to violate the agreements,
but that the disputes should be investigated and settled in some amicable
way. But he says that Chosroes, beside himself with the envy that
seethed within, accepted none of the good reasoning, [172] but invaded
the Roman land with a great army in the thirteenth year of Justinian’s
direction of the Roman empire. And he records how Chosroes besieged
and captured by siege the city of Sura, which lies on the banks of the
Euphrates, after he had given the appearance of agreeing various terms,
but acted quite di¡erently to them with the most complete impiety, and
paid no attention to the agreement, becoming master of the city by
trickery rather than by war; and how he also burnt Beroe; and next too
his attack on Antioch, when Ephrem was bishop of the city but had abandoned
it since none of his objectives succeeded. 63 He is said to have saved
the church and all its surroundings, by adorning it with holy dedications
to be a ransom for it. 64
And he also records and movingly expounds the capture of the city of
Antiochus, which happened at the hands of the same Chosroes, and how
Chosroes destroyed everything by killing and burning; and how he
came to the neighbouring Seleucia and the suburb of Daphne, then too
Apamea, when Thomas, a man most able in word and action, directed
the ecclesiastical see there. 65 He wisely undertook, contrary to custom,
to join Chosroes as a spectator of the chariot contest in the hippodrome,
attending on and placating Chosroes in every way. And Chosroes asked
him if he wished to watch him in his own city; and he is said to have
stated truthfully that he had not the slightest pleasure in seeing Chosroes
in his own city. And they say that Chosroes was indeed amazed, justly
admiring the man’s truthfulness. 66
63 A summary of Wars ii.1^7, where the preliminaries to the resumption of war in the
East and the opening of Khusro’s invasion in 540 are reported; Ephrem’s objectives are
not entirely clear, but this probably refers to his plans to save Antioch from attack, which
were thwarted when an emissary from Justinian forbade the payment of ransoms to the
Persians and accused the bishop of treachery; Ephrem thereafter withdrew to Cilicia
(Wars ii.7.16^18).
64 Procopius (Wars ii.9.17^18) mentions that, when Khusro was issuing orders to burn
the city, he was persuaded to spare the church in return for all the wealth carried away from
it (hence its ransom); Evagrius has here expanded on the information in Procopius to assert
that Ephrem had deliberately left the treasures in the church.
65 A summary of Wars ii.8^11.
66 Procopius mentions the chariot racing (Wars ii.11.31^5), when Khusro intervened in
the race to ensure that the Green team won rather than the Blues, whom he knew Justinian