  Synesius, Catastasis  Mosaic depicting an angel. Museum of
Ptolemais  The text presented here, the Catastasis, or Downfall
of the Cyrenaica, is a long lament on the barbarian incursions
that had destabilized the region since c.404 (the chronology is
unclear). It is unclear for what purpose Synesius wrote this
text, although the tone suggests that it was not meant to be
published. Perhaps it is a letter with information that could be
used in a speech at the imperial court. What is certain,
however, is that the Catastasis was composed after a military
intervention by Anysius and his unit of Unnigardae, who had
offered the Cyrenaicans some respite in 411.  [§3]What could the
Unnigardae have done against a force so vastly superior, and at
moments when a small detachment of them encounters its serried
masses? They are preserved on the one hand by the grace of God,
by their strength and by their training; on the other hand by
generalship; for what great harm could they have inflicted on an
enemy, if dispatched ag