was
being escorted in great honour by the enemy, forgetting all their
difficulties opened the gate wide, and received the priest and his
following with clapping of hands and much shouting. And when all got
inside, the guards began to push the gate in order to close it, but the
Persians flung down a stone, which they had provided, between it and the
threshold. And the guards pushed and struggled still more, but were
quite unable to get the gate back to the threshold. On the other hand
they dared not open it again, since they perceived that it was held by
the enemy. But some say that it was not a stone but a block of wood
which the Persians threw into the gateway. When the townsmen had as yet
scarcely realized the plot, Chosroes was at hand with his whole army,
and the barbarians forced back and flung open the gate, which was soon
carried by storm. Straightway, then, Chosroes, filled with wrath,
plundered the houses and put to death great numbers of the population;
all the remainder he reduced to slavery, and setting fire to the whole
city razed it to the ground. Then he dismissed Anastasius, bidding him
announce to the Emperor Justinian where in the world he had left
Chosroes, son of Cabades.

Afterwards either through motives of humanity or of avarice, or as
granting a favour to a woman whom he had taken as a captive from the
city, Euphemia by name, Chosroes decided to shew some kindness to the
inhabitants of Sura; for he had conceived for this woman an
extraordinary love (for she was exceedingly beautiful to look upon), and
had made her his wedded wife. He sent, accordingly, to Sergiopolis, a
city subject to the Romans, named from Sergius, a famous saint, distant
from the captured city one hundred and twenty-six stades and lying to
the south of it in the so-called Barbarian Plain, and bade Candidus, the
bishop of the city, purchase the captives, twelve thousand in number,
for two centenaria. But the bishop, alleging that he had no money,
refused absolutely to undertake the matter. Chosroes therefore requested
him to set down in a document the agreement that he would give the money
at a later time, and thus to purchase for a small sum such a multitude
of slaves. Candidus did as directed, promising to give the money within
a year, and swore the most dire oaths, specifying that he should receive
the following punishment if he should not give the money at the time
agreed upon, that he should pay double the amount and shoul