In this province there was an old fort built by the ancients upon the ridge of a precipitous hill, which was once taken by Pompeius, the Roman general, who, when he became master of the country, fortified it with great care, and named it Colonia. The Emperor Justinian exerted all his power in restoring this fort, which had fallen into decay after so long a time; moreover, he distributed enormous sums of money among the inhabitants of this region, and thus persuaded them to build new fortifications on their own ground, and to restore those which had fallen into ruin; so that nearly all the works situated in that country were built by the Emperor Justinian. There also he built the forts of Baiberdon and Arcon; he restored Lysiormum and Lutararizon;[60] he also built a new fort in the place which is called the Ditch of Germanus. Moreover, he restored the walls of Sebastia[61] and Nicopolis, which are cities of Armenia, which were on the point of falling, having become decayed through age. In them he built churches and monasteries. At Theodosiopolis he built a church dedicated to the Virgin, and restored the monasteries in the places named Petrius and Cucarizon. At Nicopolis[62] he built the monastery of the Forty-five saints, and a church of St. George the Martyr at Bizana. Near Theodosiopolis he restored the monastery named after the Forty Martyrs. There was a place in what used to be called Lesser Armenia, not far from the river Euphrates, where formerly a regiment of Roman soldiers was stationed. The place was named Melitene, and the regiment was named Legion. Here the Romans in former times had built a square fortification on low ground, which was convenient for soldiers’ quarters and for the reception of their standards. Afterwards, by the orders of Trajan, the Roman Emperor, the place was raised to the dignity of a city, and became the capital of that nation. In the course of time the city of Melitene became large and populous; and since it was no longer possible for the inhabitants to dwell within the fortification, which, as I have said, enclosed but a small space of ground, they built their city in the plain near it, erecting thereon their churches, the dwellings of their magistrates, the market-place, and the shops of their merchants, the streets, porticos, baths, theatres, and all the other ornaments of a large city. In this manner Melitene became for the most part composed of suburbs. The Emperor Anastasius attempted to enclose the whole of it with a wall, but died before he had carried out his intention; however, the Emperor Justinian built a wall all round it, and rendered Melitene[63] a great defence and ornament to the Armenians.