§4.47.1αγωγιάζειν τοὺς εἰς τὸν Πόντον πλέοντας.
levy a toll on those sailing into the Pontus.
μεγάλης δὲ γενομένης τῆς ἀλυσιτελείας καὶ δυσχρηστίας πᾶσιν ἐκ τοῦ τέλος πράττειν τοὺς Βυζαντίους τῶν ἐξαγομένων ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου, δεινὸν ἡγοῦντο, καὶ πάντες ἐνεκάλουν οἱ πλοϊζόμενοι τοῖς Ῥοδίοις διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν τούτους προεστάναι τῶν κατὰ θάλατταν.
Since great unprofitableness and inconvenience arose to everyone from the Byzantines exacting a tax on goods exported from the Pontus, they regarded this as a serious grievance, and all those who sailed the sea complained to the Rhodians because the latter were thought to protect the interests of the sea.
ἐξ οὗ συνέβη φῦναι τὸν πόλεμον, §4.47.2ὑπὲρ οὗ νῦν ἡμεῖς ἱστορεῖν μέλλομεν.
It was from this that the war arose, we are now about to relate.
οἱ γὰρ Ῥόδιοι, §4.47.3συνεξεγερθέντες ἅμα μὲν διὰ τὴν σφετέραν βλάβην, ἅμα δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν πέλας ἐλάττωσιν, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον παραλαβόντες τοὺς συμμάχους ἐπρέσβευον πρὸς τοὺς Βυζαντίους, ἀξιοῦντες καταλύσειν αὐτοὺς τὸ παραγώγιον· §4.47.4οὐκ ἐντρεπομένων δὲ τοῖς ὅλοις, ἀλλὰ πεπεισμένων δίκαια λέγειν ἐκ τῆς ἀντικαταστάσεως τῆς γενομένης παρʼ αὐτοῖς τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἑκατόδωρον καὶ Ὀλυμπιόδωρον πρὸς τοὺς τῶν Ῥοδίων πρεσβευτάς — §4.47.5οὗτοι γὰρ τότε προέστησαν τοῦ τῶν Βυζαντίων πολιτεύματος — τότε μὲν ἀπηλλάγησαν οἱ Ῥόδιοι περάναντες οὐδέν, §4.47.6ἐπανελθόντες δὲ τὸν πόλεμον ἐψηφίσαντο τοῖς Βυζαντίοις διὰ τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας. §4.47.7καὶ παραυτίκα πρεσβευτὰς ἐξαπέστελλον πρὸς Προυσίαν, παρακαλοῦντες καὶ τοῦτον εἰς τὸν πόλεμον· ᾔδεσαν γὰρ τὸν Προυσίαν παρατριβόμενον ἔκ τινων πρὸς τοὺς
For the Rhodians, excited to action both by their own loss and also by the disadvantage of their neighbors, at first sent embassies to the Byzantines together with their allies, demanding that they should abolish the toll; since they paid no attention at all, but were convinced that they were in the right, judging from the counter-arguments made among them to the Rhodian ambassadors by the party of Hecatodorus and Olympiodorus— these men at that time directed the government of the Byzantines—the Rhodians then departed having accomplished nothing, upon returning, they voted for war against the Byzantines for the reasons mentioned above. they immediately dispatched ambassadors to Prusias, inviting him also to join the war; for they knew that Prusias was at variance with them on certain matters...