guards there to shut the gates again, but straightway received the whole army of the Moors into the city.  And the barbarians, after plundering it and establishing there some few guards, departed.  And of the Romans who had been captured some few escaped and came to Carthage, among whom were Severianus and Himerius.  For it was not difficult for those who wished it to make their escape from Moors.  And many also, not at all unwillingly, remained with Stotzas.

Not long after this one of the priests, Paulus by name, who had been appointed to take charge of the sick, in conferring with some of the nobles, said:  “I myself shall journey to Carthage and I am hopeful that I shall return quickly with an army, and it will be your care to receive the emperor’s forces into the city.”  So they attached some ropes to him and let him down by night from the fortifications, and he, coming to the sea-shore and happening upon a fishing-vessel which was thereabouts, won over the masters of this boat by great sums of money and sailed off to Carthage.  And when he had landed there and come into the presence of Sergius, he told the whole story and asked him to give him a considerable army in order to recover Hadrumetum.  And since this by no means pleased Sergius, inasmuch as the army in Carthage was not great, the priest begged him to give him some few soldiers, and receiving not more than eighty men, he formed the following plan.  He collected a large number of boats and skiffs and embarked on them many sailors and Libyans also, clad in the garments which the Roman soldiers are accustomed to wear.  And setting off with the whole fleet, he sailed at full speed straight for Hadrumetum.  And when he had come close to it, he sent some men stealthily and declared to the notables of the city that Germanus, the emperor’s nephew, had recently come to Carthage, and had sent a very considerable army to the citizens of Hadrumetum.  And he bade them take courage at this and open for them one small gate that night.  And they carried out his orders.  Thus Paulus with his followers got inside the fortifications, and he slew all the enemy and recovered Hadrumetum for the emperor; and the rumour about Germanus, beginning there, went even to Carthage.  And the Moors, as well as Stotzas and his followers, upon hearing this, at first became terrified and went off in flight to the extremities of Libya, but later, upon learning the truth, they counted it a terrible thing that they, after sparing all the citizens of Hadrumetum, had suffered such things at their hands.  For this reason they made raids everywhere and wrought unholy deeds upon the Libyans, sparing no one whatever his age, and the land became at that time for the most part depopulated.  For of the Libyans who had been left some fled into the cities and some to Sicily and the other islands.  But almost all the notables came to Byzantium, among whom was Paulus also, who had recovered Hadrumetum for the emperor.  And the Moors with still less