This man alone had the courage, without being ordered by Bouzes or anyone else, to go out of his own accord to meet the man in single combat. And he caught the barbarian while still considering how he should deliver his attack, and hit him with his spear on the right breast. And the Persian did not bear the blow delivered by a man of such exceptional strength, and fell from his horse to the earth. Then Andreas with a small knife slew him like a sacrificial animal as he lay on his back, and a mighty shout was raised both from the city wall and from the Roman army.
Edition :
Procopius: De Bellis; in: Procopius. History of the Wars, Volume I-V. ed. and transl. H. B. Dewing, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1914-1928.
Remark :
source: The quote extends into 1.13.32. context: Further details on the Persian and Andreas are given in 1.13.29-30. long-term consequence: The Persians send another soldier to challenge in single combat, who is also defeated by Andreas: "Andreas kills another Persian soldier in single combat, even though he had been ordered not to fight, resulting in a withdrawal of the Persian army."
