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This man was from the household of the emperor Justinian, extremely efficient at matters of war, but above material things to such an extent that instead of a large acquisition in his estate he had been able to acquire nothing [...]. The result was that, when he was the general in Thrace and appointed to the guard of the Danube, and when he was killed in the war, it happened that the Danube became accessible to barbarians in accord with their power and the empire of the Romans became [assailable],[1] and in no way was the entire empire of the Romans able to compensate in that deed for the courage of one man.

*xibou/ldios: ou(=tos h)=n e)k th=s *)ioustinianou= basile/ws oi)ki/as, e)sa/gan me\n drasth/rios ta\ pole/mia, e)s tosou=ton de\ xrhma/twn krei/sswn, w(/ste a)nti\ megi/stou kth/matos e)n th=| ou)si/a| th=| au)tou= ei)=xe to\ kekth=sqai mhde/n. w(/ste tou/tou strathgh/santos *qra/|khs kai\ e)pi\ th=| tou= *)/istrou fulakh=| katasta/ntos kai\ e)n pole/mw| a)naireqe/ntos, sumbh=nai to\n *)/istron e)sbato\n kat' e)cousi/an toi=s barba/rois gene/sqai kai\ ta\ *(rwmai/wn pra/gmata ge/gone, cu/mpasa/ te h( *(rwmai/wn a)rxh\ a)ndro\s e(no\s a)reth=| a)nti/rropos gene/sqai e)n tw=| e)/rgw| tou/tw| ou)damh= i)/sxusen.

Procopius, History of the Wars of Justinian 7.14.1-6 (web address 1), quoted (the beginning and the end) and summarised; cf. Kaldellis (407). This Slav individual -- whose name in Procopius is actually Chilboudios, not the Suda's Chibouldios -- has been introduced in 7.13.26. On Chilboudios, the Byzantine general in Thrace 530-533 and killed in battle, see PLRE IIIa s.v. Chilbudius(1). On the impostor Chilboudios -- from the Antai, but captured and enslaved by the Slavs, and the center of a scheme (ca. 545-546) claiming he was the long lost general -- see PLRE IIIa s.v. Chilbudius(2). On the nationality of the general Chilboudios, see Curta (76 note).
[1] A word from the text of Procopius, eu)e/foda, has been omitted here.

A. Kaldellis, ed. and H.B. Dewing, trans., Prokopios: The Wars of Justinian, (Indianapolis 2014)
J.R. Martindale, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. IIIa, (Cambridge, 1992)
F. Curta, The Making of the Slavs: History and Archaeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700, (Cambridge 2007)

David Whitehead (augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics) on 30 March 2008@08:15:22.
David Whitehead on 11 November 2013@07:55:57.
Catharine Roth (fixed note numbers) on 24 May 2023@22:57:34.
Ronald Allen (expanded primary note; added bibliography and link) on 23 April 2024@12:06:06.

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