saw the Moors plundering everything before them and making all the Libyans captives, they watched in a narrow pass with their followers for those who were escorting the booty, and killed them and took away all the captives.  And when a report of this came to the commanders of the barbarians, Coutzinas and Esdilasas and Iourphouthes and Medisinissas, who were not far away from this pass, they moved against them with their whole army in the late afternoon.  And the Romans, being a very few men and shut off in a narrow place in the midst of many thousands, were not able to ward off their assailants.  For wherever they might turn, they were always shot at from the rear.  Then, indeed, Rufinus and Aigan with some few men ran to the top of a rock which was near by and from there defended themselves against the barbarians.  Now as long as they were using their bows, the enemy did not dare come directly to a hand-to-hand struggle with them, but they kept hurling their javelins among them; but when all the arrows of the Romans were now exhausted, the Moors closed with them, and they defended themselves with their swords as well as the circumstances permitted.  But since they were overpowered by the multitude of the barbarians, Aigan fell there with his whole body hacked to pieces, and Rufinus was seized by the enemy and led away.  But straightway one of the commanders, Medisinissas, fearing lest he should escape and again make trouble for them, cut off his head and taking it to his home shewed it to his wives, for it was a remarkable sight on account of the extraordinary size of the head and the abundance of hair.  And now, since the narration of the history has brought me to this point, it is necessary to tell from the beginning whence the nations of the Moors came to Libya and how they settled there.

When the Hebrews had withdrawn from Egypt and had come near the boundaries of Palestine, Moses, a wise man, who was their leader on the journey, died, and the leadership was passed on to Joshua, the son of Nun, who led this people into Palestine, and, by displaying a valour in war greater than that natural to a man, gained possession of the land.  And after overthrowing all the nations he easily won the cities, and he seemed to be altogether invincible.  Now at that time the whole country along the sea from Sidon as far as the boundaries of Egypt was called Phoenicia.  And one king in ancient times held sway over it, as is agreed by all who have written the earliest accounts of the Phoenicians.  In that country there dwelt very populous tribes, the Gergesites and the Jebusites and some others with other names by which they are called in the history of the Hebrews.[33] Now when these nations saw that the invading general was an irresistible prodigy, they emigrated from their ancestral homes and made their way to Egypt, which adjoined their country.  And finding there no place sufficient for them to dwell in, since there has been a great population in Aegypt from ancient times, they proceeded