Moors also following him, led by Coutzinas. And
after passing by the city of Hadrumetum, they came
upon their opponents somewhere near there, and making
a camp a little apart from the enemy, they passed
the night. And on the day after that John and
Ulitheus, with a detachment of the army, remained there,
while Artabanes and Coutzinas led their army against
their opponents. And the Moors under Antalas
did not withstand their attack and rushed off in flight.
But Artabanes of a sudden wilfully played the coward,
and turning his standard about marched off towards
the rear. For this reason Ulitheus was purposing
to kill him when he came into the camp. But Artabanes,
by way of excusing himself, said he feared lest Marcentius,
coming to assist the enemy from the city of Hadrumetum,
where he then happened to be, would do his forces
irreparable harm; but Gontharis, he said, ought to
march against the enemy with the whole army. And
at first he considered going to Hadrumetum with his
followers and uniting with the emperor’s forces.
But after long deliberation it seemed to him better
to put Gontharis out of the world and thus free both
the emperor and Libya from a difficult situation.
Returning, accordingly, to Carthage, he reported to
the tyrant that he would need a larger army to meet
the enemy. And Gontharis, after conferring with
Pasiphilus, consented, indeed, to equip his whole
army, but purposed to place a guard in Carthage, and
in person to lead the army against the enemy.
Each day, therefore, he was destroying many men toward
whom he felt any suspicion, even though groundless.
And he gave orders to Pasiphilus, whom he was intending
to appoint in charge of the garrison of Carthage,
to kill all the Greeks[74] without any consideration.
XXVIII
And after arranging everything else in the very best
way, as it seemed to him, Gontharis decided to entertain
his friends at a banquet, with the intention of making
his departure on the following day. And in a
room where there were in readiness three couches which
had been there from ancient times, he made the banquet.
So he himself reclined, as was natural, upon the first
couch, where were also Athanasius and Artabanes, and
some of those known to Gontharis, and Peter, a Thracian
by birth, who had previously been a body-guard of
Solomon. And on both the other couches were the
first and noblest of the Vandals. John, however,
who commanded the mutineers of Stotzas; was entertained
by Pasiphilus in his own house, and each of the other
leaders wherever it suited the several friends of
Gontharis to entertain them. Artabanes, accordingly,
when he was bidden to this banquet, thinking that
this occasion furnished him a suitable opportunity
for the murder of the tyrant, was planning to carry
out his purpose. He therefore disclosed the matter
to Gregorius and to Artasires and three other body-guards,
bidding the body-guards get inside the hall with their