But when he had practised these things on a number of the cities of Greece and yet held all of them down by fear, judging the wealth of all from the plunder of a few, and reckoning that a maritime city was necessary, as a useful source of gain, for completing an equal devastation over all, he judged Byzantium, a famous city, most suitable to become his base by land and sea; and when it resisted, he at once surrounded it with a siege.
1 Sed haec cum per aliquantas Graeciae ciuitates exercuisset et tamen omnes metu premeret, coniciens ex praeda paucorum opes omnium, ad perficiendam aequalem in uniuersis uastationem utili emolumento necessariam maritimam urbem ratus, Byzantium, nobilem ciuitatem, aptissimam iudicauit, ut receptaculum sibi terra marique fieret, eamque obsistentem ilico obsidione cinxit.
This Byzantium, founded long ago by Pausanias, king of the Spartans, and afterwards enlarged by Constantine, the Christian emperor, and called Constantinople, is now the seat of a most glorious empire and the head of the whole East.1
2 haec autem Byzantium quondam a Pausania rege Spartanorum condita, post autem a Constantino Christiano principe in maius aucta et Constantinopolis dicta, gloriosissimi nunc imperii sedes et totius caput orientis est.
1Byzantium was a Megarian colony of the seventh century BC. Pausanias, the Spartan regent (not king), only captured it from the Persians in 478 BC; Orosius follows Justin.
Philip, after a long and fruitless siege, took to piracy, so as to recover by plunder the money he had exhausted in besieging. And so he captured and sold off 170 ships laden with merchandise, and relieved his gasping want with a little refreshment.
3 Philippus uero post longam et inritam obsidionem, ut pecuniam quam obsidendo exhauserat praedando repararet, piraticam adgressus est. captas itaque CLXX naues mercibus confertas distraxit et anhelanti inopiae parua recreatione subuenit.
Then he divided his army, to carry off plunder and to keep up the siege. He himself set out with the bravest troops, took many cities of the Chersonese, overthrew their peoples and carried off their wealth. He also crossed over into Scythia with his son Alexander, intent on plunder.
4 inde propter agendam praedam et curandam obsidionem diuisit exercitum. ipse autem cum fortissimis profectus multas Cherronesi urbes cepit profligatisque populis opes abstulit. ad Scythiam quoque cum Alexandro filio praedandi intentione pertransit.
At that time Atheas ruled the Scythians: when he was hard pressed by war with the Histrians, he sought help from Philip through the people of Apollonia; but when the king of the Histrians died soon afterwards, freed both from fear of war and from the need of help, he dissolved the treaty agreement made with Philip.
5 Scythis tunc Atheas regnabat: qui cum Histrianorum bello premeretur, auxilium a Philippo per Apollonienses petiit, sed continuo Histrianorum rege mortuo et belli metu et auxiliorum necessitate liberatus pactionem foederis cum Philippo habitam dissoluit.
Philip abandoned the siege of Byzantium and attacked the Scythians with all his strength; and when battle was joined, though the Scythians were superior both in number and in valour, they were defeated by Philip’s trickery.
6 Philippus dimissa obsidione Byzantii Scythicum bellum totis uiribus adgreditur, commissoque proelio cum Scythae et numero et uirtute praestarent, Philippi fraude uincuntur.
In that battle twenty thousand boys and women of the Scythian race were captured and a great quantity of cattle was driven off, but no gold or silver was found: indeed this was the first thing that gave credence to the poverty of the Scythians. Twenty thousand noble mares were sent into Macedonia to replenish the breed.
7 in ea pugna XX milia puerorum ac feminarum Scythicae gentis capta, pecorum magna copia abducta, auri atque argenti nihil repertum: nam et ea res primo fidem inopiae Scythicae dedit. uiginti milia nobilium equarum sufficiendo generi in Macedoniam missa.
But as Philip was returning, the Triballi met him in war: in this Philip was wounded in the thigh in such a way that his horse was killed through his body. When all thought him dead, his men turned to flight and lost the plunder. Then for a short while, as he recovered from the wound, he rested in peace;
8 Sed reuertenti Philippo Triballi bello obuiant: in quo ita Philippus in femore uulneratus est, ut per corpus eius equus interficeretur. cum omnes occisum putarent, in fugam uersi praedam amiserunt. aliquantula deinde mora dum conualescit a uulnere in pace conquieuit;
but as soon as he had recovered he made war on the Athenians: placed in so great a danger, they took the Lacedaemonians, once their enemies, as their allies, and wearied the cities of all Greece with embassies, urging that they attack the common enemy with common forces. And so some cities joined themselves to the Athenians, while fear of war drew others to Philip.2
9 statim uero ut conualuit Atheniensibus bellum intulit: qui in tanto discrimine positi Lacedaemonios quondam hostes tunc socios adsciscunt totiusque Graeciae ciuitates legationibus fatigant, ut communem hostem communibus uiribus petant. itaque aliquantae urbes Atheniensibus sese coniunxere, quasdam uero ad Philippum belli metus traxit.
2Sparta stayed out of the war that ended at Chaeronea (338 BC); Athens’ chief ally there was Thebes.
When battle was joined, though the Athenians were far superior in the number of their soldiers, they were nevertheless defeated by the valour of the Macedonians, hardened by continual wars.
10 proelio commisso cum Athenienses longe maiore numero militum praestarent, adsiduis tamen bellis indurata Macedonum uirtute uincuntur.
That this battle was far more savage than all earlier wars, the very outcome of events has shown: for this day put an end, throughout all Greece, to the glory of the domination it had won and to the standing of its most ancient liberty.
11 quam pugnam longe omnibus bellis anterioribus atrociorem fuisse ipse rerum exitus docuit: nam hic dies apud uniuersam Graeciam adquisitae dominationis gloriam et uetustissimae libertatis statum finiuit.