The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus - Coptic ...

282
EVAGRIUS
And so this Maurice, by making expeditions beyond the frontiers,
captured cities and forts which were most strategic for the Persians, and
appropriated so much plunder that the haul of captives populated whole
islands and cities, and ¢elds deserted through time, and the land, which
had before been entirely uncultivated, was made productive. Substantial
armies were assembled from them which contended with great spirit and
courage against the other nations; and the need for servants was also
ful¢lled at every hearth, since slaves were procured very cheaply. 71
20 He engaged with the foremost of the Persians, Tamchosroes and
Adarmaanes, who had invaded with a considerable army; and what
occurred, and how and in what manner, let others write, or perhaps it
will be recounted by me in another work, since the present undertaking
is explicitly devoted to other matters. [216] Be that as it may, Tamchosroes
fell in the encounter, not through the courage of the Roman army
but solely through its general’s devoutness and trust in God. Adarmaanes
too £ed headlong, after su¡ering defeat in the battle and losing
many of his own men ^ and that too even though Alamundarus, the
leader of the Scenite barbarians, was thoroughly treacherous, 72 and
refused to cross the Euphrates and ¢ght alongside Maurice against the
Scenite Arabs among the opposition: 73 for on account of the speed of
circumstances because of the £aws in their characters (see also n. 61 above for Patriarch
Gregory). Discussion in Whitby, ‘Patriarchs’.
Evagrius’ description has been taken by Baldwin (‘Menander’ 103) to indicate that
Maurice was a reformed sinner, who had to keep his passions and appetites under control,
but this is to apply too subtle an interpretation to this panegyric.
71 Maurice arrived on the eastern frontier in spring 578 and, although initially disconcerted
when the Persians anticipated the end of the three-year truce and invaded both
Armenia and Mesopotamia, he conducted a successful campaign in Arzanene, where he
captured the fortress of Aphum and thousands of prisoners, and then continued his
raiding in the vicinity of Nisibis and to the east of the Tigris; the captives were apparently
settled on Cyprus (Theophylact iii.15.11^16.2; John of Ephesus, EH vi.15). Discussion in
Whitby, Maurice 268^70.
72 Treachery was a standard aspect of the perception of Arabs (and other nomads): cf.
Menander frr. 9.1:67^9; 9.3:103; Theophylact iii.17.7.
73 This is another of Evagrius’ very confused accounts of military matters, which he
admits are not the primary concern of his ecclesiastical history; the excuse for this review
of Maurice’s achievements was, perhaps, that this success against great odds ¢rmly demonstrated
the future emperor’s piety. For the importance of the general’s piety in securing
victory, cf. Maurice, Strategicon viii.2.1.