d Sardinia with the expedition
which has been mentioned above[61] and disembarked at the harbour of
Caranalis[62]; and at the first onset he captured the city and killed
the tyrant Godas and all the fighting men about him. And when he heard
that the emperor's expedition was in the land of Libya, having as yet
learned nothing of what had been done there, he wrote to Gelimer as
follows: "Know, O King of the Vandals and Alani, that the tyrant Godas
has perished, having fallen into our hands, and that the island is again
under thy kingdom, and celebrate the festival of triumph. And as for the
enemy who have had the daring to march against our land, expect that
their attempt will come to the same fate as that experienced by those
who in former times marched against our ancestors." And those who took
this letter sailed into the harbour of Carthage with no thought of the
enemy in mind. And being brought by the guards before the general, they
put the letter into his hands and gave him information on the matters
about which he enquired, being thunderstruck at what they beheld and
awed at the suddenness of the change; however, they suffered nothing
unpleasant at the hand of Belisarius.

At this same time another event also occurred as follows. A short time
before the emperor's expedition reached Libya, Gelimer had sent envoys
into Spain, among whom were Gothaeus and Fuscias, in order to persuade
Theudis, the ruler of the Visigoths,[63] to establish an alliance with
the Vandals. And these envoys, upon disembarking on the mainland after
crossing the strait at Gadira, found Theudis in a place situated far
from the sea. And when they had come up to the place where he was,
Theudis received them with friendliness and entertained them heartily,
and during the feast he pretended to enquire how matters stood with
Gelimer and the Vandals. Now since these envoys had travelled to him
rather slowly, it happened that he had heard from others everything
which had befallen the Vandals. For one merchant ship sailing for trade
had put out from Carthage on the very same day as the army marched into
the city, and finding a favouring wind, had come to Spain. From those on
this ship Theudis learned all that had happened in Libya, but he forbade
the merchants to reveal it to anyone, in order that this might not
become generally known. And when Gothaeus and his followers replied that
everything was as well as possible for them, he asked them for what
pu