eign. And he first commanded Mundus, the general of
Illyricum, to go to Dalmatia, which was subject to the Goths, and make
trial of Salones.[19] Now Mundus was by birth a barbarian, but
exceedingly loyal to the cause of the emperor and an able warrior. Then
he sent Belisarius by sea with four thousand soldiers from the regular
troops and the foederati,[20] and about three thousand of the Isaurians.
And the commanders were men of note: Constantinus and Bessas from the
land of Thrace, and Peranius from Iberia[21] which is hard by Media, a
man who was by birth a member of the royal family of the Iberians, but
had before this time come as a deserter to the Romans through enmity
toward the Persians; and the levies of cavalry were commanded by
Valentinus, Magnus, and Innocentius, and the infantry by Herodian,
Paulus, Demetrius, and Ursicinus, while the leader of the Isaurians was
Ennes. And there were also two hundred Huns as allies and three hundred
Moors. But the general in supreme command over all was Belisarius, and
he had with him many notable men as spearmen and guards. And he was
accompanied also by Photius, the son of his wife Antonina by a previous
marriage; he was still a young man wearing his first beard, but
possessed the greatest discretion and shewed a strength of character
beyond his years. And the emperor instructed Belisarius to give out that
his destination was Carthage, but as soon as they should arrive at
Sicily, they were to disembark there as it obliged for some reason to do
so, and make trial of the island. And if it should be possible to reduce
it to subjection without any trouble, they were to take possession and
not let it go again; but if they should meet with any obstacle, they
were to sail with all speed to Libya, giving no one an opportunity to
perceive what their intention was.

And he also sent a letter to the leaders of the Franks as follows: "The
Goths, having seized by violence Italy, which was ours, have not only
refused absolutely to give it back, but have committed further acts of
injustice against us which are unendurable and pass beyond all bounds.
For this reason we have been compelled to take the field against them,
and it is proper that you should join with us in waging this war, which
is rendered yours as well as ours not only by the orthodox faith, which
rejects the opinion of the Arians, but also by the enmity we both feel
toward the Goths." Such was the emperor's letter; and makin