and affirming that he was indeed a prophet.

Consequently, Heraclius admitted the Roman dignitaries into a pavilion of his in Ḥimṣ, ordered that its doors be bolted shut, then appeared before them and said,

“O people of Rome! Do you desire prosperity, sound guidance, and the permanence of your rule? Then follow this Prophet.”

They bolted like startled wild asses toward the doors, only to find them locked.

When Heraclius saw their flight and despaired of any faith arising in them, he said, “Bring them back to me,” and added, “The words I have just spoken were merely a test of the firmness of your attachment to your religion—and I have now seen it.”

So they prostrated themselves before him and were pleased with him, and that was the last of Heraclius’s affair.

I say: Heraclius was among the foremost Christian kings of that time, and more than one person has reported that this letter still survives with the descendants of Heraclius, preserved in the loftiest of caskets and the most honored of places, handed down generation after generation. Others have related that the letter remains to this very day in the possession of Alfonso