[544 A.D.] And in the following year, Chosroes, the son of Cabades, for the fourth time invaded the land of the Romans, leading his army towards Mesopotamia.  Now this invasion was made by this Chosroes not against Justinian, the Emperor of the Romans, nor indeed against any other man, but only against the God whom the Christians reverence.  For when in the first invasion he retired, after failing to capture Edessa[21], both he and the Magi, since they had been worsted by the God of the Christians, fell into a great dejection.  Wherefore Chosroes, seeking to allay it, uttered a threat in the palace that he would make slaves of all the inhabitants of Edessa and bring them to the land of Persia, and would turn the city into a pasture for sheep.  Accordingly when he had approached the city of Edessa with his whole army, he sent some of the Huns who were following him against that portion of the fortifications of the city which is above the hippodrome, with the purpose of doing no further injury than seizing the flocks which the shepherds had stationed there along the wall in great numbers:  for they were confident in the strength of the place, since it was exceedingly steep, and supposed that the enemy would never dare to come so very close to the wall.  So the barbarians were already laying hold of the sheep, and the shepherds were trying most valiantly to prevent them.  And when a great number of Persians had come to the assistance of the Huns, the barbarians succeeded in detaching something of a flock from there, but Roman soldiers and some of the populace made a sally upon the enemy and the battle became a hand-to-hand struggle; meanwhile the flock of its own accord returned again to the shepherds.  Now one of the Huns who was fighting before the others was making more trouble for the Romans than all the rest.  And some rustic made a good shot and hit him on the right knee with a sling, and he immediately fell headlong from his horse to the ground, which thing heartened the Romans still more.  And the battle which had begun early in the morning ended at midday, and both sides withdrew from the engagement thinking that they had the advantage.  So the Romans went inside the fortifications, while the barbarians pitched their tents and made camp in a body about seven stades from the city.

Then Chosroes either saw some vision or else the thought occurred to him that if, after making two attempts, he should not be able to capture Edessa, he would thereby cover himself with much disgrace.  Accordingly he decided to sell his withdrawal to the citizens of Edessa for a great sum of money.  On the following day, therefore, Paulus the interpreter came along by the wall and said that some of the Roman notables should be sent to Chosroes.  And they with all speed chose out four of their illustrious men and sent them.  When these men reached the Median camp, they were met according to the king’s order by Zaberganes, who first terrified them with many threats