and sinking the ships, and making booty of such of the
soldiers as attempted to escape, and of their arms as well. But there
were also some of the Romans who proved themselves brave men in this
struggle, and most of all John, who was a general under Basiliscus and
who had no share whatever in his treason. For a great throng having
surrounded his ship, he stood on the deck, and turning from side to side
kept killing very great numbers of the enemy from there, and when he
perceived that the ship was being captured, he leaped with his whole
equipment of arms from the deck into the sea. And though Genzon, the son
of Gizeric, entreated him earnestly not to do this, offering pledges and
holding out promises of safety, he nevertheless threw himself into the
sea, uttering this one word, that John would never come under the hands
of dogs.

So this war came to an end, and Heracleius departed for home; for
Marcellianus had been destroyed treacherously by one of his
fellow-officers. And Basiliscus, coming to Byzantium, seated himself as
a suppliant in the sanctuary of Christ the Great God ("Sophia"[31] the
temple is called by the men of Byzantium who consider that this
designation is especially appropriate to God), and although, by the
intercession of Berine, the queen, he escaped this danger, he was not
able at that time to reach the throne, the thing for the sake of which
everything had been done by him. For the Emperor Leon not long
afterwards destroyed both Aspar and Ardaburius in the palace, because he
suspected that they were plotting against his life. [471 A.D.] Thus,
then, did these events take place.

VII

[Aug. 11, 472 A.D.] Now Anthemius, the emperor of the West, died at the
hand of his son-in-law Rhecimer, and Olybrius, succeeding to the throne,
a short time afterward suffered the same fate. [Oct. 10, 472 A.D.] And
when Leon also had died in Byzantium, the imperial office was taken over
by the younger Leon, the son of Zeno and Ariadne, the daughter of Leon,
while he was still only a few days old. And his father having been
chosen as partner in the royal power, the child forthwith passed from
the world. [474 A.D.] Majorinus also deserves mention, who had gained
the power of the West before this time. For this Majorinus, who
surpassed in every virtue all who have ever been emperors of the Romans,
did not bear lightly the loss of Libya, but collected a very
considerable army against the Vandals and came to Liguria, i