Acacius Ransoms the Persian Captives

At that time a noble act of Acacius, bishop of Amida, greatly raised his reputation among everyone. The Roman soldiers would on no account give back to the Persian king the captives they had taken. These captives, about seven thousand of them, taken when Azazene was laid waste, were dying of hunger, and this greatly distressed the king of the Persians. Acacius thought that such a matter was by no means to be taken lightly. So he called his clergy together and spoke to them like this: “Our God, my brothers, needs neither dishes nor cups, for he neither eats nor drinks, nor is he in want of anything. Since, then, through the generosity of its faithful members the church owns many vessels of gold and silver, it is right for us to sell them, so that with the money raised we can ransom the prisoners and also give them food.” When he had said this, and much more along the same lines, he ordered the vessels to be melted down. From the proceeds he paid the soldiers a ransom for their captives, and he supported them for some time. Then he supplied them with what they needed for their journey and sent them back to their own ruler. [a]

This kindness on the part of the excellent Acacius astonished the king of the Persians, as though the Romans were used to conquering their enemies by their kindness in peace as much as by their bravery in war. They say, too, that the Persian king wanted Acacius to come before him, so that he might have the pleasure of seeing such a man; and by the order of the emperor Theodosius this wish was soon granted. Since so great a victory had been won by the Romans through God’s favor, many who were famous for their eloquence wrote speeches in praise of the emperor and delivered them in public. The empress herself also composed a poem in epic verse, for she had excellent literary taste. She was the daughter of Leontius, the Athenian sophist, and her father had taught her every kind of learning. Atticus the bishop had baptized her a little before her marriage to the emperor, and had then given her the Christian name of Eudocia in place of her pagan name, Athenais. As I have said, many produced speeches of praise on this occasion. Some, indeed, were driven by the wish to be noticed by the emperor; others were eager to show off their talents to the public, unwilling to let the learning they had gained by great effort lie buried in obscurity.