s attendants, who carried fowls
and wine and clean loaves, and came before Chosroes; there he threw
himself on the ground, and with tears supplicated him to spare a
pitiable population and a city altogether without honour in the eyes of
the Romans, and one which in past times had never been of any account to
the Persians, and which never would be such thereafter; and he promised
that the men of Sura would give him ransom worthy of themselves and the
city which they inhabited. But Chosroes was angry with the townsmen
because, being the first he had met of all the Romans, they had not
willingly received him into their city, but even daring to raise their
arms against him had slain a large number of Persian notables. However
he did not disclose his anger, but carefully concealed it behind a
smooth countenance, in order that by carrying out the punishment of the
inhabitants of Sura he might make himself in the eyes of the Romans a
fearful person and one not to be resisted. For by acting in this way he
calculated that those who would from time to time come in his way would
yield to him without trouble. Accordingly with great friendliness he
caused the bishop to rise, and receiving the gifts, gave the impression,
in a way, that he would immediately confer with the notables of the
Persians concerning the ransom of the townsmen, and would settle their
request favourably. Thus he dismissed the bishop and his following
without any suspicion of the plot, and he sent with him certain of the
men of note among the Persians, who were to be ostensibly an escort.
These men he secretly commanded to go with him as far as the wall,
encouraging him and cheering him with fair hopes, so that he and all
those with him should be seen by those inside rejoicing and fearing
nothing. But when the guards had set the gate open and were about to
receive them into the city, they were to throw a stone or block of wood
between the threshold and the gate and not allow them to shut it, but
should themselves for a time stand in the way of those who wished to
close it; for not long afterwards the army would follow them.

After giving these directions to the men Chosroes made ready the army,
and commanded them to advance upon the city on the run whenever he
should give the signal. So when they came close to the fortifications,
the Persians bade farewell to the bishop and remained outside, and the
townsmen, seeing that the man was exceedingly happy and that he