the water was exhausted. Such, then, was the
situation of the Beroeans.

Megas, upon reaching Antioch and announcing the terms arranged by him
with Chosroes, failed utterly to persuade them to carry out this
agreement. For it happened that the Emperor Justinian had sent John, the
son of Rufinus, and Julian, his private[4] secretary, as ambassadors to
Chosroes. The person holding this office is styled "a secretis" by the
Romans; for secrets they are accustomed to call "secreta." These men had
reached Antioch and were remaining there. Now Julian, one of the
ambassadors, explicitly forbade everybody to give money to the enemy, or
to purchase the cities of the emperor, and besides he denounced to
Germanus the chief priest Ephraemius, as being eager to deliver over the
city to Chosroes. For this reason Megas returned unsuccessful. But
Ephraemius, the bishop of Antioch, fearing the attack of the Persians,
went into Cilicia. There too came Germanus not long afterwards, taking
with him some few men but leaving the most of them in Antioch.

Megas then came in haste to Beroea, and in vexation at what had taken
place, he charged Chosroes with having treated the Beroeans
outrageously; for while, as it seemed, he had sent him to Antioch to
arrange the treaty, he had both plundered the property of the citizens,
though they had committed no wrong at all, and had compelled them to
shut themselves up in that fortress, and had then set fire to the city
and razed it to the ground in defiance of right. To this Chosroes
replied as follows: "Verily, my friend, you yourself are responsible for
these things, in having compelled us to delay here; for as it is, you
have arrived, not at the appointed time, but far behind it. And as for
the strange conduct of your fellow-citizens, my most excellent sir, why
should one make speeches of great length? For after agreeing to give us
a fixed amount of silver for their own safety, they even now do not
think it necessary to fulfil the agreement, but placing such complete
confidence in the strength of their position, they are disregarding us
absolutely, while we are compelled to undertake the siege of a fortress,
as you surely see. But for my part, I have hope that with the help of
the gods I shall have vengeance upon them shortly, and execute upon the
guilty the punishment for the Persians whom I have lost wrongfully
before this wall." So spoke Chosroes, and Megas replied as follows: "If
one should consi