Theophanes Continuatus, Chronicle (Books I-VI)

NOTICE ON THE BYZANTINE HISTORIANS AFTER THEOPHANES (Fabric. Biblioth. Gr. VI, 348.)

We now proceed to review the volume of the *Scriptores post Theophanem* [Writers after Theophanes], or those who extended the Byzantine history from Leo the Armenian, the successor of Emperor Michael Curopalates—where the *Chronicon* of Theophanes concludes—down to Emperor Nicephorus Phocas. These were reviewed from manuscript codices and donated with a translation by François Combefis, of the Order of Preachers of the Congregation of Saint Louis, though they finally saw the light of day only after his death, Paris, 1685, folio; hence the annotations which that learned man prepared for these writers are also missed. The writers themselves are read in this order:

1. ^A ANONYMOUS (whom, based on an uncertain conjecture, see Labbe in *Protrepticon*, p. 14 and 46, I see called Leontius the Byzantine): A *Chronicle*, written by the command of Constantine Porphyrogennetus continuing Theophanes, in four books, concerning as many emperors: Book I, on Leo the Armenian, who began to reign in the year of Christ 813; Book II, on Michael Balbus; Book III, on Theophilus, son of Michael; and Book IV, on Michael, son of Theophilus, whom he writes was removed by slaughter on September 24 of the year of the Greeks 6376, that is, of Christ 868. Combefis published the Greek from a Barberini copy of a Vatican manuscript codex, which Holstenius had sent from Rome. Words seem to have been inserted by Constantine Porphyrogennetus, or in his name, in Book II, where there is a discussion about the liberation of Crete from the Saracens, p. 51.

2. ^B CONSTANTINE PORPHYROGENNETUS, Emperor, deceased A.C. 959, from the life of his grandfather, Basil the Macedonian, who succeeded Michael son of Theophilus in A.C. 868, whom he notes to have held the reins of empire for one year with that predecessor of his, Michael, but afterwards to have administered the sum of affairs alone for nineteen other years, namely until the year 888. This *Life* had already seen the light of day, with the translation of Leo Allatius, in his *Συμμικτοῖς* [Symmikta], 1653, 8vo, divided into 70 sections or chapters. But Combefis revised the Greek according to the aforementioned Barberini copy, added a new translation, and divided it into 101 sections, differently than Allatius did; this diverse distinction of chapters is accustomed to fix a cross upon those citing the writer or desiring to search for cited passages. Regarding what is read in the title: *Ιστορική διήγησις τοῦ βίου καὶ τῶν πράξεων Βασιλείου τοῦ ἀοιδίμου βασιλέως, ἣν Κωνσταντίνος βασιλεὺς ἐν Θεῷ Ρωμαίων ὁ τούτου υἱωνός, φιλοπόνως ἀπὸ διαφόρων ἀθροίσας διηγημάτων τῷ γράφοντι προσανέθετο* [Historical account of the life and deeds of the celebrated King Basil, which King Constantine, in God, of the Romans, his grandson, having painstakingly collected from various narratives, assigned to the writer], by *τὸν γράφοντα* [the writer] understand the author of the four preceding books, to whom he subjoined this *Life* with the emperor’s polite permission, and by which he testifies that he was deterred from writing the *Life of Basil* himself, for that anonymous writer of the *Chronicle* thus writes in the preface to the same Constantine, by whose command he professed to have come to continue Theophanes: *Εἰ καὶ τοῦ ἀοιδίμου σου πάππου, τοῦ ἐν βασιλεῦσι εὐκλεοῦς Βασιλείου τὰ παρὰ σοῦ ἱστορούμενα, καὶ μετὰ πάσης σαφηνείας καὶ λόγου εὐκοσμίας κατὰ τὸ τῶν γενομένων ἀληθὲς καὶ εἰλικρινὲς εἰς τὸ φανερὸν παρὰ τῆς σῆς πολυμαθεστάτης εἰδήσεως ἐξαγορευθέντα, περιττὸν ἂν εἴη οὐδοτιοῦν διηγήσασθαι* [If indeed what is being historicized by you concerning your celebrated grandfather, the glorious among kings, Basil, and expressed with all clarity and propriety of speech according to the truth and sincerity of what occurred, having been brought to light by your most learned knowledge, it would be superfluous to relate anything whatsoever]. Labbe, who suspected that this *Life* was not written by Constantine himself but by another at his command, was refuted by Martin Hanckius, *De Hist. Byz. scriptoribus*, p. 473; and he alone (the passage of the anonymous writer not having been seen by Hanckius, for it had not yet appeared) suffices to refute the conjecture of Labbe and of Cave, who follows him (where he discusses Leontius the Byzantine chronographer at the year A.C. 920).

3. ^C ANONYMOUS (who appears to be different, and more concise than the author of the previous four books): On the affairs of Leo the Philosopher, who was the son and successor of Basil, pp. 217-232. On Alexander, brother of Leo, p. 233; he reigned for seven years under Patriarch Nicholas and other tutors, and mother Zoe; for twenty-six years with Romanus Lacapenus, his father-in-law; and finally he ruled alone for fifteen years, and thus lived and held the dignity of emperor for 55 years: pp. 255-292. And on Romanus the Younger, son of Constantine Porphyrogennetus, pp. 293-300.

That writer promises more concerning Theophilus, prefect of the city (p. 275), and concerning the life of other men of highest authority in the imperial court of Constantinople, which do not exist, and certainly have not seen the light of day.

4. An anonymous *Steliteutic Dissertation against the Iconoclasts* (c) and the Copronymian synod, written circa A. C. 745, and thus before the seventh or Second Nicene synod, pp. 303-311.

5. *Narrative of Brother John of Jerusalem concerning the origin of the Iconoclast disturbances*, pp. 312, 313. This same John (perhaps later bishop of the city of Jerusalem) whose *Demonstrative Discourse concerning the Holy Images* against Constantine Caballinus, or Copronymus, was edited by Combefis in the second volume of his *Auctarium novum*, or *History of the Monothelites*, page 665, and which other codices attribute to John of Damascus. Regarding the royal codex from which Combefis copied these two small works, and in which are also read the testimonies of the Fathers brought forward on behalf of the images at the second Nicene synod, see the *Palæographia Græca* of the most illustrious Montfaucon, pp. 65, 66. But one can see, says Combefis, that that noble codex is like a universal *armarium*, having collected all the principal fortifications of the Catholics against heretics (especially those attacking the mystery of Christ). From it the illustrious Peter de Marca long ago produced the confirmation of the fifth Synod by Vigilius (d), although he did not make it believable to everyone. Indeed, the one who himself compiled the book, and arranged in it so many of the Fathers and councils, wrote concerning this confirmation—as if to him it were not clearly a matter of explored truth, but rather of wavering faith—that it was found among the acts of the fifth synod.... This codex holds Leontius’s *De sectis*, far more emended than those already edited, and richer in authorities which are desired in those versions. It is possible to make many new *Hodegetia* from it (of which this covers all and more), so laboriously handled in the edited versions that even Anastasius himself would not recognize his own work, although the editor and interpreter refined everything.

6. *From the Narrative of the miracles of St. Demetrius the martyr* (e), *from the account of the wonder-workings of the shield-bearer Demetrius*, a fragment concerning the revealing of the destruction and sacking of Thessalonica by himself, pp. 314-316.

7. *John Cameniata of Thessalonica, a learned and elegant narrative*, A. C. 904, written to Gregory the Cappadocian, *concerning the destruction of Thessalonica*, at which the writer himself was present, and which in that very year (the 19th of Leo the Philosopher) Leo Tripolites, leader of the Hagarenes, took. This had appeared previously with the version of Allatius in his *Symmikta*, published by Barthold Nihusius in 1653, 8vo. But Combefis reviewed it again, added his own new interpretation, and divided it into 79 chapters, whereas in the Allatian edition it is dispersed into 45 sections. This Cameniata, born to a father who was exarch of Hellas, was in the clerical order as a lector, and was a cubicularius of the Church of Thessalonica, that is, one who would carry the episcopal feet for the metropolitan when he proceeded in public. He is also said to be one *of those appointed in the houses of the emperors*. See chap. 55 of the Combefis edition (Allat. 36) and Hanckius, book 1, *De scriptoribus Hist. Byz.*, chap. 22.

...concerning the citizens who perished in the dissensions, seditions, and domestic turmoil in Thessalonica in A. C. 1343 under the reign of John Cantacuzenus. Pp. 385-392. Concerning that turmoil, see Gregoras XIII, 10, and Cantacuzenus III, 94.

...disciple, concerning the defeat and death of Constantine Ducas, whom Nicholas (f), patriarch, and certain others appointed to the empire while Constantine Porphyrogennetus was still a boy, page 394-399. Henschenius published that entire *Life of Basil the Anchorite* in volume III of the *Acta Sanctorum*, at March 26, p. 668, in Latin from the version of Combefis, and in Greek at the end of the volume, page 24, from the Mazarin manuscript codex, Antwerp, 1684, folio.

10. *The Annals of Symeon Magister and Logothete from Leo the Armenian to Nicephorus Phocas* (pag. 401-498) from the manuscript codex of Raphael Trichet du Fresne, which was carried into the treasury of the most Christian king after his death. This Symeon wrote likewise *Annals from the foundation of the world*, which have not yet seen the light of day, and they exist in another and greater royal codex which ends with Leo the Armenian, and in that earlier part the author seems to have performed his work more lightly, and in many places he agrees with Theophanes, who himself also is known to end with Leo the Armenian. "Attributed to that greater Royal codex," says Combefis, "by another and somewhat more recent hand: this is Metaphrastes; whose *Annals and Chronicles* seemed so great to Hippolytus the Theban, that he prefers them to all others." See the words of Hippolytus in Allatius, *De Simeonum scriptis*, p. 34, who argues at length that Symeon Metaphrastes first held the office of master and logothete, and then also the dignity of general logothete. These *Annals* of Symeon also exist in the Imperial Library, into which I brought them: Busbeq, as noted by Lambecius in book II, page 588. Since, however, the history of Michael Psellus was inserted last into this Chronicle in the codex of Raphael Trichet du Fresne, Combefis... [suspects it belongs to him] who collected 24 orations from the works of St. Basil: for Metaphrastes ceased to be among the living a little before Psellus. Unless Psellus himself, to that *Chronology* of Symeon from the nine historians, added himself as the tenth.

(c) It is inscribed *Dialogus*. But it has nothing that relates to a dialogue. (d) In *Diss. de epistola Vigilii*, Paris, 1642, and at the end of the work *De concordia sacerdotii et imperii*, among the various dissertations of Peter de Marca, page 207, 227 sq. See also Baluze on book v of the same work, chap. 12. (e) Concerning this Demetrius, see Baronius in the *Martyrology* of 8 October. (f) The writer inveighs vehemently against Nicholas on this account, and calls him by dishonor, p. 398, *agrikolaon*, and p. 399, *hettilaon*.

or others have added: a work certainly highly necessary to supplement the Byzantine History by Theophanes. Psellus’s *History* may receive much light from the reading of his letters to emperors, Caesars, and the highest princes of the age and magistrates, to patriarchs, metropolitans, prelates of churches and governors—not to speak of his accusation against Michael Cerularius before the synod, and the very brilliant eulogies of his, composed by Constantine Lichudes, who succeeded him, and also by Xiphilinus, on those men of course who shone brilliantly in both military and civil service of Constantinople, and regarding his own statements—he who was himself a partner in public concerns with them, and almost the greatest of those who participated in civil administration—especially under the Emperor Constantine Monomachus, to whom he directed tracts on policy that are not to be despised.

Besides the History of Michael Psellus, Combefis intended immediately to publish a similar lucubration of Leo the Deacon in a second volume, but that most industrious man being overtaken by death, there has been no one until now to oblige students of letters with this benefit (*). In the code of the King of France 1837, besides the *letters* and the account *of the fall of the temple of St. Sophia* and the *Monodies on the Patrician John* by Michael Psellus, an *esteemed philosopher*, there exists his *Miscellaneous Chronography* from Basil and Constantine Porphyrogenitus down to Michael Ducas. In another code of the same Royal treasury occurs the History of Leo the Deacon from the passing of Constantine Porphyrogenitus to John Tzimiskes, under whom that writer lived: *The history of Leo the Deacon beginning from the death of the emperor nicknamed Tzimiskes*. The illustrious Du Cange used both authors, Psellus and Leo the Deacon, in manuscript for his Greek Glossary and in his other writings. From the manuscript Chronicle of the continuator of Theophanes, and from another manuscript of Simeon the Logothete, some things concerning the XLII Amorian martyrs killed by the Saracens circa A.D. 841 are related by Henschenius in Vol. I of the *Acta Sanctorum* for March, pp. 466, 467, and in Greek p. 894 et seq.

11. Finally, the Combefisian collection of writers after Theophanes is concluded by George the Monk’s *Lives of the New Emperors*—the lives of the emperors from Leo the Armenian, and those who governed affairs after him, up to Romanus Lacapenus, when Constantine Porphyrogenitus was already ruling alone, having died in A.D. 948. This George is different from George Hamartolus, whose *Chronicle* from the beginning of the world to Michael the son of Theophilus, under whom he lived his life, still lies hidden in manuscript in various libraries. Raderus, in his *Viridarium Sanctorum*, in his notes to the *Life of Ignatius, Patriarch of Constantinople*, written by Nicetas the Paphlagonian, testified that he had examined the manuscript *Chronicle* or *History* of both, and a third, George the Monk, in addition: "Besides those things which I noted here and there in the margin, it pleased me to note certain things from George Hamartolus, who is different from George Syncellus of Tarasius, although he bears the name of Syncellus on the front; different also from George the Monk who wrote the *Chronicle* which is praised by Panvinius, even though that *Chronicle* does not have the name of George written on it." For I have with me three different manuscript monks, partly from the Palatine Library of the Bavarians, partly from the Augustan Library, all of them unedited and not yet translated, and I am comparing them.

(g) From this it appears he did not live long afterwards. Moreover, on page 528 it is noted: *Up to here the Chronicle of George, and from here that of the Logothete.*

(*) This task has been performed in our own days by the most distinguished man, Charles Benoît Hase, member of the Institute of France and the Academy of Inscriptions. Ed.

CHRONOGRAPHY WRITTEN BY THE COMMAND OF CONSTANTINE, THE CHRIST-LOVING AND PORPHYROGENNETOS EMPEROR, SON OF LEO, THE MOST WISE EMPEROR AND AUTOCRAT

Beginning where Theophanes left off... for the Emperor Michael, son of Theophilus, the Curopalates, that is, from the reign of Leo the Armenian. The affairs of each detail were painstakingly collected by the same Emperor Constantine and set forth concisely, so that the things of the subsequent time might become clear... of the reign.

^A This, O most wise Emperor, is added to your many other great and magnificent qualities and virtues: that you strive to recall from the dead, as it were, and to bring back to a new life and rebirth the things that have slipped away and ceased to be with the passage of time, and that you pursue the benefit of history, and do not allow it to be neglected by you as it was by those who held the rudder of the empire before you. For, while we make no mention of those men who emulated that which no good man would ever emulate, there were some who, even though they excelled the common herd, contributed no effort toward this, because they were not educated in letters, but have been both a mockery and a disgrace of rusticity. For what is it fitting for such an emperor to cultivate, which brings no benefit to a man endowed with reason? Since it is far more fitting to have a care for men, and especially for that rational science by which the strength of the empire is secured, lest men, rushing headlong, little by little become brutalized, and lest that in which we excel all others be endangered by being consigned to silence. ^B

^A As for the effort you have expended, most gentle Emperor, in rational science and in the care of men, leaving aside other things, wise men will indeed attest—and you yourself, or rather, you clearly—that they are wise. You yourself record, merely taking our hand as it ministers to you, whatever is known to have been done by men of the previous age, even if those deeds were abundantly vicious and did not shine with the praise of virtue, because from these things, too, industrious men are able to glean useful lessons. Therefore, having preferred the study of literature to all other occupations and leisure, as it is precisely this that engenders zeal and virtue in the minds of your subjects who are lovers of learning and history, you resolved well to set before all a common school, as it were, by collecting together what is written down and what has been handed down by report, having considered the conclusion reached by the blessed Theophanes to be the best beginning for this history, ^B [so that ^C what has been done by all the emperors up to the present time and your own reign ^D might be gathered together in discourse; even if, regarding the deeds of your renowned grandfather among emperors, the glorious Emperor Basil, which you have recorded, and which were set forth for all to see with all clarity and elegance of language, according to the truth and sincerity of what took place, by your own most learned knowledge, it would be superfluous for us to recount anything at all] since, by family connection and affinity, having had the fortune to be his grandson, you both honor him sufficiently with your own virtues and, in turn, receive a certain luster from him. For since he brought his record to an end at the reign of Michael the Curopalates and the defeat inflicted upon him by the Bulgarians through the betrayal of his own men, mentioning only the proclamation of Leo as Augustus, without revealing to his readers where he was from or how he was raised. We, however, joining the rest of the members to the head, display the history itself as a whole body, not mutilated as if by half, and we pass on to the events that occurred in the time following and thereafter, effectively providing a useful service to those who do not wish to live in sloth and idleness, bringing them no harm; for it is good, and above all useful for security, to know the life of both the good and the bad.

BOOK I. THE REIGN OF LEO THE ARMENIAN

^A § 1. The homeland of the aforementioned Leo was Armenia; his lineage was propagated partly from the Assyrians and partly from the Armenians themselves. They, having murdered their own parents with a wicked intent, were condemned to exile; and there, as fugitives bearing a life of poverty, they brought forth this "wild beast" of whom we have spoken. Now, therefore, when Leo had reached the years of puberty, he migrated to a village named Pidra, which is in the theme of the Anatolics; there, having attained the age of manhood, he was ranked among the most warlike and ferocious men, and he became renowned for his bravery and courageous heart. At that time, Nicephorus was guiding the reins of the empire, he who suffered that famous disaster for the Roman state in Bulgaria. He had appointed as supreme commander Bardanius, surnamed "the Turk," who then held the governorship of the five eastern themes and governed them with prudent care, owing to the military fortitude and other virtues in which he excelled. ^B Furthermore, Bardanius—who, as one who desired to overcome the enemy, and who dreamed of the empire for himself every day—chose this Leo, of whom we speak, a man of grave and stern appearance, yet of a noble spirit, and who moreover seemed agreeable in conversation and refined in his manners, to be among his own bodyguards and attendants; and before this, or shortly thereafter, he chose Michael the Stammerer, and Thomas, who originated from the Gazourou swamp—all of them men of low station, hitherto possessing no fame of name, and who at that time first became known to the leaders and tribunes of the military orders.

§ 2. Therefore, they all depended upon Bardanius, and in him they placed all their hopes of worldly distinction. Furthermore, Bardanius, burning with the desire to obtain the empire, revealed his purpose and intention to a certain man ^C who was living a monastic life in the region of Philomelium, and asked him to pour forth suppliant prayers to God, that his steps might be directed and that, according to his desire, he might become master of the empire. To whom the monk immediately replied: "Do not, Bardani, rashly attempt or presume anything of this sort, from which it will come to pass that you lose your possessions, and your eyes are put out, and other ill-fated things happen to you. But if you are willing to listen to one who is wisely providing for your interests, remove your mind as quickly as possible from such plotting, and entertain no thought of seizing the principality," ^D

^A but once the individual had heard these words, his composure left him, and he departed from the hut filled with despondency and grief. But when the monk caught sight of the aforementioned men—Leo, that is, along with Michael and Thomas—leading up the horse for him to mount, he commanded the general to return. Expecting to hear some new and strange tidings, he returned more quickly than he had departed. Once more, the monk began to beseech and adjure him not to run headlong into prepared evils of his own accord, nor to exchange his present prosperity for future misfortune when he was absent from it. With that prophetic tongue of his, he testified to these very things, affirming with certainty that the first and second of these men would indeed become masters of the principality he so desired, but that he, the third, would gain nothing but acclamation and proclamation; he would not prosper at all, but instead would bring his own life to an evil end. Struck in his soul by these words in various ways, he let his countenance change, and he departed back home, at once casting some blasphemies and insults against the man, ^B and at the same time reporting his predictions to the others, pouring much laughter over what had been said.

3.

^A as a sure pledge of faith, he fled by night to the monastery of Heraclius, having only Thomas as a companion in his danger. And when he wished to remove the ornament of his head, the head of the monastery did not consent. Then he, with the sword with which he was girded, cut off his hair, and putting on a cheap robe, he took the road toward the island of Prote, where at one time he had owned a beautifully cultivated estate, and where the emperor had ordered him to live in exile. Crossing over thither, and initiated into the customary prayers and having received the divine habit of the monks, he was renamed Sabbas, laboring through many ascetic struggles. Not long a time had passed when certain men from Lycaonia, having made an attack upon him and deprived him of his eyes with the knowledge and will of him who then held power, Nicephorus, they fled for refuge to the divine and great temple of God. And in this way the prediction of the monk living at Philomelium ^B also had its fulfillment. But he, as if they were his benefactors, having followed them with auspicious prayers, cultivated a discipline of a more austere life, abstaining entirely from wine, fish, and oil, always with his head and feet bare, even when a sharper winter raged. Besides this, his body was covered by a single tunic; in the summer he wore a leather one, but in the winter a hairshirt. He did not sustain his life with wheaten bread, but made for himself barley cakes in the ashes. And thus he passed his life, continuing until Leo gained the empire. Moreover, he took care that his wife Domnica, with his daughter and children at home, also have their hair shorn, calling her Athanasia, and distributing all his wealth as alms to the poor. And the affairs of Bardanius ^C were indeed of such a kind.

4. Leo, however, was considered illustrious, and was puffed up with pride, having become conspicuous and famous from a humble and obscure status, because of the prefecture of the foederati which he held. But not even of ingratitude was he free, showing himself such toward him who had bestowed a benefit upon him. Otherwise he was distinguished, and by linking battle to battle he fought energetically against the Ishmaelites and achieved success in war, inasmuch as he flourished with great virtue in such matters both by his own nature and by training. But whenever, by the one who then held power (this was Nicephorus), a supply of money had been entrusted to him for distribution to the military forces, since he did not care at all for imperial commands, he did not even carry out the matter, but wasting time in pleasure and sloth in the ignoble town of the Euchaitae, he delayed in providing the established pay to the army; ^D and having no concern or diligence at all, either for the public money, or for the protection of his own body, nor even for the preservation of the provincials, when the Hagarenes would make incursions and plunder Roman territory, he alone and no other would hand over the gathered booty to them without any labor, not indeed by his own fortune and at his own risk (for he provided for his own safety by swift flight), but by the military

^A punishment. He paid the penalty, therefore, to the same Nicephorus from whom he had received the entrusted funds, although the punishment was lighter than the reason for the offense demanded, namely, he was beaten on his back and loins with rods and punished with perpetual exile. But when Nicephorus, setting out against the Scythians, had succumbed to fate after receiving a wound in battle on the twenty-sixth of the month of July, in the fourth indiction, and his son Stauracius, himself also having received a lethal wound in the battle, had survived his father for no more than two months and eight days, having previously reigned as co-emperor with his father for eight years and seven months; and when Michael the Curopalates, after the death of Stauracius on the second of the month of October—a man who was the son-in-law of Nicephorus, born of the lineage of Rangabe, and dwelling near the Armamentarium—had received the scepter of the empire in the month of October of the fifth indiction, Leo was released from exile in accordance with the prevailing custom of clemency ^B toward the Roman emperors at their inauguration. He was recalled from his flight and was enrolled among the palace guards of this very Michael. Nor was there long delay before he was raised to the dignity of patrician and created commander of the Eastern forces, since Michael was renewing the old friendship with the man with whom he had been raised—the one whom the faction of Bardanius had previously advanced as a companion of the palace—and, taking him as a confidant of his private affairs, he employed him as a most faithful witness of domestic matters and a most effective minister of those things which had to be done abroad.

5. But the man was fated to be caught once more in the writing of ingratitude, having been nurtured in cruelty and raised in savagery ^C, and being a villain destined to eclipse his former deeds with his later ones. When, therefore, Krum, the leader of the Bulgarians, was pretending to seek agreements, friendships, and peace treaties, provided only that the customary annual taxes which were accustomed to be paid to him, as had seemed fitting to his predecessors, were paid by the Romans, and added the condition that deserters of the Bulgarians, and conversely of the Romans, should in the future be returned to their own people, that point regarding deserters seemed ^D absurd to the senate, even if the emperor Michael was entirely in favor of the opinion of the Bulgarian ruler because he did not want to let that opportunity for establishing peace slip away. Nevertheless, the opinion of the senate prevailed, which Theoctistus the Magister followed and to which he added force and weight by his authority. Therefore, the talks were broken off again, and the business was recalled to the hazard of war; and it was judged that this was more proper. For how can he be judged not to have cast off every sense of humanity who would have thought it right to hand over to the savagery of the Scythians—whose nature differs in no way from wild beasts—a man who, having fallen into some misfortune or reversal, and having abandoned his homeland, than which they say nothing is sweeter, as well as his wife and children, had fled to the Roman state as if to an inviolable altar? For since they are terrible, savage, and wild, and many of their own people, not enduring this, very often cross over to our gentleness and mildness, as they do not gradually lose themselves by emptying themselves toward us, their leaders, fearing the considerable talk about these things, have often stirred it up even as far as us.

In vain, however, as the common proverb goes, did they sing, having encountered men of firm resolve, who could not easily be moved from their opinion.

6. A short time later, both peoples arm themselves against one another. Michael commanded his own lieutenant, Leo, to return and cross over from the East as quickly as possible with the forces; yet, in the man he expected to use as his helper and ally in war, he encountered an implacable enemy. ^B For since Krum, with that boasting of his words and the threats he sent against the Romans—threatening the slaughter of men, the devastation of fields, the cutting down of trees, the burning of houses, and in short, that like a torrent of water borne violently against us, he would force all under his yoke—was currently being checked by the Emperor, who had already taken the field and compressed those outside threats, and had barely compelled him not to burst forth from his own borders, nor to break out and plunder Roman lands; and although Michael frequently provoked him by drawing up his battle line against him, Krum had declined the fight with hushed audacity, refusing to recognize his own strength or daring to raise a hand against the Emperor. It seemed to Michael sufficient that he had confined that barbaric ferocity and recklessness within its own limits without a battle, the outcome of which is uncertain. "For when," he would say, "we are not able to incite those in whom we trust to engage in battle, but force them to decline it and remain within their own borders, what necessity is there that we should force a trial of Mars?" So, when Michael was thinking of retreating little by little and returning to Roman soil, the matter seemed unworthy to Leo and not in accordance with the majesty of a Roman Emperor, to turn his back to the enemy. Leo said that this excellent plan of the Emperor's—which, in truth, he did not hold correctly or sincerely, but rather with a decaying and treacherous scheme, was aiming only at this, that he might transfer the sum of affairs to himself—was not sound or healthy. "Certainly," he said, "O Emperor, we must move our standards against them; and today you shall see me openly exerting my strength and vigor against the enemy, and, relying on your nod and prayers for my confidence, fighting strenuously in the foremost ranks, I shall be gloriously victorious." By these words, Michael was turned from his own opinion to the contrary, and ordered the battle to be joined. ^C But as soon as the engagement occurred, Leo turned his back and took to flight, for he had been continuously meditating tyranny, even if hitherto this plan of his had escaped both Michael and the enemy. Because nothing of the sort had happened thus far as the force of battle is wont to produce, and neither side had committed any act of war, but the very first conflict was turning [to flight], and the parties barely noticed that the conflict had commenced, to the Bulgarians themselves—as well as to all the others—it seemed a ruse, such as is the custom of enemies: namely, to draw them away from their own line and then, having turned their front from flight upon them, to wish to rush in. But when both sides realized it was not a maneuver, but truly a flight, then, having fallen upon them, the enemy wrought great slaughter of those fleeing fiercely, while Michael tried to save himself, but not...

with the few left to him did he attempt to resist. And this is how the battle took place according to those who have transmitted the accounts to us in writing; yet there are some who rather attribute it to Leo that he preserved the forces and fought valiantly, while the imperial regiments acted cowardly and betrayed their own battle line, though not those on Leo’s side. However, the Bulgarians ^A gained the upper hand unexpectedly, and the Romans, crushed by a heavy and terrible defeat, brought the emperor back from the battle, anxious for his own safety. He, for his part, retired to the imperial palace, leaving Leo outside to stand guard, so that the enemy might not drive off further spoils or lay waste to the fields more freely. Leo, having seized the favorable moment, provoked the army and compelled them to cast certain blasphemies against the emperor. It is not becoming, he said—to use the fable—for a stag to lead a troop of lions, for he who has just taken to flight and sought refuge in the bosom of his wife, leaving us in the camp for the enemy to consume with devastation, is a disgrace. He had scarcely finished speaking to his companions in this manner when the outcome followed, with the garrulous voices of flatterers and the crowd spreading through the whole compass of the camp, having heard almost the same arguments from him. Finally, an acclamation followed immediately, and the smallest part of the same day saw the same man at once a private citizen and an emperor.

7. Scarcely, then, was he being proclaimed by the army, when fears and tremors stole upon him, whether because this was in fact a scene and pretense, so that he might have a defense hereafter, or because he was truly considering the obstacles that accompany such great actions—for even for those who are eager to seize others' property, resolves are wont to soften when faced with dangers—and, most importantly, how he might gain possession of the imperial ^B palaces, while dwelling at the gates and yet far off. But he was destined in any case to take his place in the palaces, and for this reason an most wicked spirit incited Michael the Stammerer to threaten him with a mortal wound if he did not gladly accept the acclamation: for he would surely take care of whatever seemed difficult, including his very arrival at the royal palace. And this is what came to pass.

8. When a certain man, John (this one according to the Exaboulios family), who was entrusted with the care and foresight of the walls, soon after the emperor’s entry into the city, perceived that this Leo had been left behind to keep guard (the man was indeed keen at discerning the character of others from afar), he said that it would not turn out well that he had been left in charge of the troops; wherefore he became an advisor to the emperor to conceive of something and to remove the man from office in a seemly manner. However, it was necessary for him, who had hitherto been hidden in a sheep’s skin, to finally be revealed and tested, as God tests His chosen ones in a crucible as gold; and often this is permitted to happen according to some circular cycle of time, for the sake, I suppose, of divine…

the knowledge and discernment of the pious, and the alienation and rejection of the wicked.

^B 9. For the words had not yet come to an end when a rumor went ahead announcing the proclamation of the tyrant. Upon this news, the city, nearly beside itself at such an announcement, could scarcely contain itself, fearing civil wars, by the weight of which, not rarely, entire cities have been submerged. But the emperor, though astounded in soul, was not disturbed in his mind; rather, having merely condemned their ingratitude, whispering softly how it is good to follow the divine will, he freed the city from fear and commotion, urging everyone to go out to meet the tyrant, so that he might keep his city, as it remained, untainted and pure of civil blood. ^C But when some urged him to stand against the evils with a brave heart and to engage in battle with the tyrant, and promised that they would stand firm and constant in defending the cause of the most merciful and faith-preeminent emperor—a cause which his wife, Procopia, and a certain Michael, one of the Amalekites, then holding the office of protostrator at court, also approved—he declared that he did not desire an empire stained with the blood of brothers. Wherefore, he also delivered certain imperial ornaments and insignia to one of his most faithful servants, and forced him to go to Leo and present them to him. They say that his wife, Procopia, indignant at this and acting almost like a Bacchante, cried out that it was an unworthy and grievous thing if Barca (as she called Leo's wife in reproach) should place the diadem upon her head. But he, ^D chiding her with severer words and abandoning himself entirely to God, awaited the future outcome of the matter. For the rumor had already spread that the tyrant had entered through the Golden Gate, and that the entire senate had gone out to meet him at the sacred church of the Forerunner, built from the foundations by the works of Studios, and were receiving and leading him into the city with palms upturned, shouts of applause, and favorable omens. But when he was already approaching the palace and was about to stop for a short while before the divine image of the Word of God, who became man for our sake, at the place they call the Chalke, in order to render vows, since he was wearing a short, purple-colored garment, ungirded in military fashion (the elegant among them call this an eagle or a sea-cloak), he immediately took it off; and this, once taken into his hands, Michael—who from a defect of the tongue had obtained the nickname Balbus, and was at that time acting as the guardian of Leo’s horses—immediately put on. This was for many a place of omen, that Michael would be the successor to Leo in governing the empire. [P. 12] But when they came to the Scylla (a place so named at the entrance to the palace), the same Michael, following behind him, while walking too carelessly and moving rather quickly, trod upon the traces of the one preceding him, stepping with the tips of his feet and his toes upon the hem of the imperial robe, so that Leo himself felt it and suspected that some more audacious deed was to be expected from him; which is what later happened.

10. Then, when Leo appeared, Michael, at the very sight…

of his children and wife, having cut his hair [as an offering] to the temple ^A of God—it is called Pharus for the reason that it lights a lamp for all and at night guides those sailing to certain safe landings, performing an office imitating that of the famous Pharos in Egypt—he implored the clemency of Leo. He, however, not thinking it right to violate the sanctity of the place or bring supplicants into it against their will, banished him to the island of Plate and allowed him to live there as a private citizen, providing a certain sum of gold annually for his expenses; it is said that he lived there for thirty-two years, having taken up the monastic habit and having been renamed Athanasius. With him was also Eustratius his son, who had himself been tonsured and castrated at the age of twenty by the order of Leo. Nicetas, too, who previously as a young man had held the pre- ^B fecture of the Hicanati—since he was accustomed to courting the favor of the soldiers and those keeping guard in the open air, and was skilled in many affairs—also put away his hair at that time and was called Ignatius, and lived with his father, applying himself to the monastic life. His wife, however, he separated and tore away from himself and transferred to the monastery called Procopias, although Michael had many times begged and implored that this not happen. Michael, indeed, ceased to be among the living on the 11th of January, in the year 6032, and having laid aside his mortality on that same island, was buried on the right side of the church. But Eustratius, having lived for fifteen years after the death of his father, also fell asleep on the 15th of the month of January, in the year 6037, being buried ^C on the left side of the church. Finally, Ignatius, who was also formerly called Nicetas, having been chosen as presiding bishop of Constantinople, many years later deposited his sacred body in the monastery called of Satyrus, which he had happened to build from the foundations a short time before.

This monastery is also called "of the Rising One" for the following reason. As to "Satyrus," it is so called because at a small distance from such a monastery is the old site called Satyrus, in which there was a temple built by the Greeks to the same Satyrus, and because of the proximity of the aforementioned monastery, it is called by such a name; from which also the Emperor Theophilus, having built the palaces of Bryas, took away the materials and built those [palaces]. ^D As for "Rising [Anatellon]," it is for such a reason: while the Emperor Nicephorus was once hunting in the parts where the monastery is now, because it was wooded and difficult to traverse and suitable for the hunting of animals, a very large stag appeared and was chased and captured on the very spot where now the sanctuary of the monastery is established. An old table was found supported by a column, bearing this inscription: *This is the altar of Michael the prince of the heavenly host, which the apostle Andrew placed.* But these things were not done then, but long after a great deal of time had elapsed.

^A 11. Meanwhile, the discourse must be recalled, and the cause sought which, as if by compact, persuaded both parties—Michael not to exert himself at all in defending the empire against the enemy (for even in an ant, as the proverb has it, there is bile), and Leo to step forward boldly and venture to seize it. For I would say that this is the truest schooling and training for political acts, to understand the most evident cause of anything, and not only this, but also that which is hidden; for if a history book is stripped and denuded of this, I know not if it will bring any benefit to its readers. There was a certain serving-maid near to Emperor Michael. This woman, at certain intervals of time, being moved by fury and carried by a spirit, would prophesy and utter things to come. To whom, as she frequently came to the shore called the Bucoleon, she would call out from there in a loud voice: "Descend from there, Michael, descend; and yield to another," directing these voices at him. This having been done so often, it became so widely known that it could not remain hidden even from those who were purposely deaf and intent solely upon the pleasures of life. At last, therefore, it came to the very ears of the Emperor, infusing his mind with a sinister rumor. ^B He immediately—for everyone gladly reveals his heart’s pain to his friends—communicated the reports that rumor was spreading to a certain Theodotus Melissenus, surnamed Cassiteras, whom he regarded as a true friend. He, furthermore, advised that something singular and truly safe be done; namely, that at the time the girl was seized with madness, he should inquire with skillful investigation what the family, name, and bodily appearance of the future emperor might be. The advice was pleasing; and the woman, inspired by a Pythic spirit, without delay answered his questioning thus: "When you come to the citadel at such a time, two men will enter: the name of one, who shall be riding a mule, is Leo; the other has a different name: he is the one who will obtain the empire." This most wicked man therefore swore to the Emperor that he had heard these things, and he spoke nothing of the deeds that had been done, but called the woman’s words trifles, containing nothing sound. Yet, in truth, he did not consider them trifles himself, nor did he think they were words spoken rashly. ^C For he departed at once, and, just as he had heard, finding the man in the sanctuary of divine Paul, designated for the support of orphans, and having conferred with him, and having given and received pledges, and bidding him be of good and confident heart, he said that a divine voice had been revealed to him in secret, which clearly declared that he would be emperor. These things, therefore, spoken in secret and into the ear, like secondary colors (as is generally done in painting) added with greater expression to the prior shadows (I mean those first revealed by the monk of Philomelium), so affected him that he no longer saw the empire in an empty appearance and a thin, spectral representation, but naked and as if he had already clearly possessed it. ^D This matter, therefore, rekindled with new fires the flame of Leo’s hope, which had been nearly dead and as if languishing, and plunged Michael into an abyss of great despondency, and while it raised up the strength of the former’s soul, it grievously shook that of the latter.

^A Not only the small woman, but also Cassiteras, who had merited the faith, had truly deceived him. But we must return again to the series of the narrative.

12. Leo, therefore, having accepted the imperial office, being publicly proclaimed emperor in the month of July, in the sixth indiction, advanced Michael Balbus to the dignity of patrician, whose son he had also previously adopted as his own at the sacred font; but he appointed Thomas, his own particular contemporary and with whom he had been educated as a youth, as tribune of the Foederati. He also enrolled Manuel, the protostrator of Michael, among the patricians, and having established him as leader of the Armenians, he said, "It was not right for you to take up arms against me, having been a counselor to the emperor and to Procopia." To whom he, using the greatest liberty, replied: "But neither was it right for you, against him by whom you had been affected with benefits, and who, moreover, was your fellow-godparent, to lift a hand." Then indeed Leo, having heard these things, was silenced, having revered the virtue of the man.

13. ^B When he heard that the leader of the Bulgarians, being puffed up by the previous victory and bearing himself with greater pride, was again ravaging the neighboring land and reaping and plundering the fields and carrying off much booty of both men and cattle, and burning houses from place to place, and was altogether becoming intolerable, he first thought it worth the effort to remind him of duty and peace through an embassy; but when he did not persuade him, he himself rebuilt the ruined works of the walls and quickly brought help, and having come to the city of Mesembria, he dealt with the enemy by such a stratagem as this. ^C For many days he remained in a certain place, having trenched himself and the army, and feeding daily from our own soil, and being in want of nothing necessary, nor even of anything for luxury. But when he heard that the Bulgarians who were lying in wait and armed against him were laboring under a scarcity of necessities, he departs by night from the place where he was encamped with a chosen band of soldiers, trained in strength and endurance, having revealed his intention to no one else, and he proceeds toward a certain mountain, having stated the signal for battle and the time. ^D As the day shone forth and the general was being stripped from the emperor, all confessed that he—the emperor, that is—had taken to flight, knowing nothing of what had happened. Whence the enemies, having taken heart, were not at all able to remain in their own position, but even rose up and thought to have the army in their hands. When night therefore had come on, Leo descended from the ambush upon those who were unsuspectingly suffering from evils, and having encountered them, men unarmed and relaxed by sleep and by the confidence of the emperor’s flight, he caused such destruction and slaughter that the Romans, having poured in from all sides according to the signal, took the camp as if by universal assault, so that not even, as they say, a fire-bearer escaped. But he also, having made an incursion and carried off by pillage every age, and dashing their children against the stones and the earth, [his own—]

reason, from that time the name of "Leo's hill" was given to that hill; and the Bulgarians who travel that way, shaking their heads, point out the place with their finger, and by no means suffer the memory of the disaster then received to be blotted out.

14. This success, therefore, made him somehow bolder and more reckless, and plunged him into that ferocity in which he had been nurtured. For there was for him no distinction between a greater or lesser crime; but against all, whoever was caught, there was one sentence, one retribution: the amputation of any necessary limb and the public hanging of the severed member before the eyes of all. ^B Since he was devising such terrible things against everyone and provoking grave hatred against himself from all, he reaped that harvest. For since he cherished that native, dire, unbridled ferocity, which was in no way chastened or inclining toward gentleness and mercy, but cruelly oppressing and holding in contempt his own kindred race, he truly achieved the result that everyone hated him and no one loved him.

15. He was acting in this manner, and it came to his mind to think of the monk at Philomelium, and he thought it right to repay him for his prophecy, sending him gifts beforehand to show his gratitude toward him, and asking him to implore God that he might increase his empire with victories. But he had already departed from the living, ^C and a certain evil and envious demon (for I would not call a man one who mingled and disturbed everything, and, in the manner of the ancient serpent, poured poison into the ears of the wretched Leo—of a man, that is, whose whole mind was foolish and inconsiderate) had occupied that old man's little cell under the pretext of religion. His name was Sabbatius. This man loaded Leo's own messenger with a cartload of insults, and cast curses against the emperor, not behind his back, but to his face. He nevertheless requested, with all fear cast aside, that he make it known that Leo’s reign would be short, since he applied his mind to idols (O, the execrable tongue!) and placed his hope in the spirits of the pardalis ^D and Baccha and Taraxius (thus indeed, by a petulant tongue, calling the Empress Irene and holy Tarasius in the matter of the holy images).

But Leo, a true idol of demons, a slave of ignorance, a man more speechless than a shadow, when he ought to have spurned these things, or if not that, to have referred them to him who held the rudder of the Church and explained them, and indeed to have gathered a synod to inquire magnificently into such great matters—not with men who tasted nothing sound, and who were not intent on his advantages but on their own gains and the management of their own affairs first (alas for a friendship composed with deceit!)—he communicated it to his friend Cassiteras, and brought the things reported to his light. And he, not curing evil with good and madness with sanity, but rather inciting them, identified another man, who held the same opinion regarding the holy images and resided in the portico of Maurianus, and assured him that this man was vastly eloquent.

Use him, therefore, O Emperor, as a guide in such matters; and if you do what he tells you, you will not fall short of your duty.

15 When he had finished this counsel, he determined to go over to the monk, and having overcome him with trifles, he added that on the following night he would bring the Emperor to him in private attire, to consult him about the faith and other matters not to be held in contempt. He urged him then to promise that he would govern the empire for seventy-two years, and to number himself as the thirteenth apostle, and to prophesy that he would see his children's children upon the throne of the empire, if only he would make up his mind to follow the edict of Leo the Isaurian; but if he would not promise, but refused to perform this, he was to adjure him with threats of slaughter, destruction, precipices, and chasms from God. ^B Having instructed the wily monk in these things with a wicked mind and perverse intent, he brought the Emperor at the appointed time. And when they had entered together with Theodotus and were beginning their secret discussion, "It is not fitting," said the monk, "O Emperor, for you to cast aside the purple and change into private attire, and to feed the minds of the many in this way." He, hearing this word, was vehemently affected and struck in his mind; and since he otherwise believed that he spoke from divine foreknowledge, he followed the monk like a shadow follows a statue, and was entirely dependent upon the monk's words, just as a vessel depends on its handle—as some indeed have joked about in verse before our time.

17 Straightway, therefore, he decreed the abolition of the venerable images, ^C and demanded that the patriarch (this was Nicephorus) should signify his agreement to this in a handwritten document, under penalty of exile if he did not. But he, having already perceived from other sources the tyrant's ill-disposed mind toward the worship of God, and judging it better to be carried off to death than to associate with a man of such character, yielded himself of his own accord to the exile decreed against the confessor. Meanwhile, Theodotus Cassiteras, as a reward for his efforts, obtained the episcopal throne around the time of the holy feast of Pascha. It is worth not passing over the indication of his mind that preceded this. For the divine Nicephorus, seeing that he presided over the priesthood, demanded his assent to the divine faith through the profession of the symbol. But he said that he would not do this then, but would delay it until his imperial acclamation was completely ratified and confirmed; ^D by this delay clearly showing that he himself had been steeped in the madness of the heresy from birth, and thus portraying his own character.

18 Another sign, clearer than what has been mentioned: for just as when he was first proclaimed and was not yet adorned with the diadem, and the high priest had to place it upon his accursed head, he approached it and was struck with terror—not as if touching soft hair, as it seemed, but in truth he felt thorns and thistles, which were in fact there, and he felt himself pricked, as it were, by certain stings and his hand pierced by pains. But these things concerning him…

were before. But then the patriarch, having accepted the decree of his condemnation, was departing into exile, when it is said that while he was being carried on a ship, he saw from afar, from a certain coastal place, the blessed Theophanes ^A, who was honoring him with incense and candles, conducting him as if in a kind of triumphal procession for that noble confession. Receiving this service and honor with a willing mind, as was appropriate, and committing him to God with his prayers, he lifted his hands on high as if to embrace him, planting a last kiss from afar. When one of those who accompanied him asked to whom he was so heartily and longingly giving that final kiss, he replied with prophetic tongue, "To the confessor Theophanes ^B, the head of the monastery of the Field." And this happened not long after; for he himself never saw him again, and the other attained the crown of confession. And so much for the things concerning the divine high priest.

19. But he, having imposed upon his own reign the beginning of a right administration, as it were, in that he had settled the affairs of the Church in such a state, and, laboring with the ambition of any other who undertakes the care of public affairs, carrying with him everywhere a sting ^C like wasps, both exercising military units himself and raising cities from their foundations in many places throughout Thrace and Macedonia by his own care and labor, and traversing the whole Roman world and all the provinces, so that he was a terror and a dread even to the enemies themselves. On account of which they say that Saint Nicephorus also said once, after he had departed from the living, that even if he was impious, still the state had lost a man energetic in the care of public affairs. And he was also exceedingly formidable to magistrates and praetors, not only civil but also military; and while he himself was superior to the love of money, he preferred those who most of all kept themselves from bribes above all others, honoring each one according to how excellent he was, not according to wealth. He wished to appear most tenacious of equity and justice, and yet he was not. However, he devoted himself to the administration of law, and sitting himself in the Lausiacus, he settled most disputes. Indeed, when someone once complained to him about the abduction of his wife, whom some one of the illustrious men had abducted, and the prefect, although repeatedly importuned, had taken no account of it, he ordered that man to be brought immediately, and, having neglected the accused, he compelled the proof by witness, and adjudged him to punishment, ordering him to cease, and rebuking him more severely, while he ordered that the adulterer be handed over to the law.

20. But although by these things he fawned upon the state and, if one might say so, trafficked in the goodwill toward him, yet regarding the faith he raged mightily, to the point that it seemed not even honorable to him to name God. For when the thirty-year truce was to be entered into with these Huns, whom they call Bulgarians, and the treaties of peace ^D were to be confirmed by oath,

^A he did not employ our own customs, calling upon God, the heavenly powers, or the Mother of Christ our God who was born in the flesh as inspectors and witnesses of what was said and done; but, like some barbarian soul stripped of godly fear, he employed as witnesses for what was done dogs and those things to which the impious nation offers sacrifices, and he did not shudder to divide them and to bring them to his lips for confirmation. These things, with which they filled themselves, and in which he himself, to confirm his faith, did not dread to partake with his mouth—fearing that the Christian faith, which he had entrusted to them for the future when they might at some point be led by us to it, it seems—he did not even feel shame in his impiety. For in that he cast the pearls of the faith, according to the Lord’s word, ^B before the swine, and compelled that impious and truly detestable man to use them with his mouth, he was worthy of abomination. And that he, the ruler of the Roman empire, did not blush in a public assembly, in a theater filled with a promiscuous multitude of both infidels and believers, to be initiated and consecrated, he deserved no other reward than the eternal worm and fire. Furthermore, if he found any who were firmer in the true faith, he tortured them bitterly and cruelly. On the other hand, he gathered together and joined in one place companies and assemblies of men of his own mind, placing them at his side and overwhelming them with benefits. Among these was numbered John the Grammarian, a man devoid of the light of any virtue. By them, Leo was ordered to write a certain new and impious confession of faith, and he directed his course against the divine images. ^C He fanned the flame, as it were, and raised it to a great height, for he was a man of light character and did nothing with a sober mind, being the head of the sacred college and the palace clergy. For, lying in wait long before, and like one hunting to capture a man in the manner of Proteus, when at one time this statement was being proclaimed in the hearing of all in a public assembly of the church: *To whom have you likened the Lord, and to what likeness have you likened him? Has the craftsman made an image, or has the goldsmith melted gold and gilded it over, or has the artificer made a copy?*—when, therefore, this sentence was being chanted and proclaimed in a loud voice in the sacred church of the Pharus, he gradually drew near and, bringing himself into the middle, said: “Understand, O Emperor, what the divine oracle speaks; and let no repentance for what has been done beset you; but if any remainder of the holy images is seen, ^D having removed them from the midst, cleave to the right religion of those who offer them no worship.” By these words, as I said, he was thoughtlessly inflamed, and, incited by that wretched soul of his, he stirred up his entire madness against the pious, and his own divine and just indignation against the impious. For by a decree he summoned all the bishops from exile, despoiling them and removing them far from the sight of the patriarch, casting them out

or abdicating, as if he would make them obedient to his own resolve by that means. Many, however, became authors of a good confession, by which the constant athletes of the faith refused to obey the tyrant. ^A

21. But God, of such a manner—not harsh or sharp, but patient and mild!—was indeed brandishing the sword, yet he did not strike. For at one time, plagues and squalor and excessive cold of the sun, and at another, earthquakes and eruptions, and sometimes flames like jets cast forth into the air, and from elsewhere, civil strifes, were being brandished as the most severe of evils. But it was not possible to restrain that soul, which had plummeted headlong like a boar down a precipice. ^B Therefore, the sword that strikes, albeit tardily and opportunely, went forth from God, so that nail might be driven out by nail and evil cured by evil. This was Michael, who then, holding the prefecture of the foederati, and having been accused of the crime of high treason, could with difficulty and much labor ward off the charge. But it was to happen that he whom he always had under his teeth, he would not long after display like a torn-apart victim. Furthermore, Michael, being accustomed to the vice of a headlong and insolent tongue, and being one who had grown up with him and was pleased with the praise of courage gained by his own hand, did not cease to traduce the savage character of Leo. Leo, however (for he who is lord of all would not gladly suffer anything at all from a foolish man, unless he be one who is truly ruled not by the command of men, but by the command of anger), appointed men to listen secretly in ambush, so that, like crannies, they might convey his words to him. For he suspected what was to be, nor had the prophecy of the Philomelian monk fallen from his mind, in which he had announced that Michael should be saluted as emperor after Leo. ^C Among those who were watching was Exaboulios, a man of such a nature that he could probe the character and disposition of a man. Since, therefore, as time went on, he did not abandon his ribaldry or mockery, but like some river of surging waves, he untimely spewed up all sorts of filth, and threatened Leo with utter destruction; and since a wicked rage was nurtured, and these things were carried back to the emperor, he is snatched up straightway, and finally, the accusers confirming the heads of the accusation, he is adjudged guilty of attempted tyranny and high treason. ^D These things were done on the day before the birth of the Word, Christ our God. Since, therefore, the crime was explored from every side, the Emperor himself judging the case in the hall of the secretaries as if before a tribunal, there was no place to escape, and a capital sentence was passed upon him; and not that he should be put to death in any ordinary way, but that he should be thrown under the very gaze of the prince, and as it were before the author of the deed himself—whether the passion of anger had so impelled him, or he was otherwise delighted by cruelty—namely, that he should be cast into the furnace of the palace bath, to be consumed by the sharp flame therein. This was decreed; he himself, intending to become the spectator of the tragedy, hurried on before. At this, however, Theodosia his wife, the daughter of Arsaber, rushing forth in unkempt attire and rashly, as though driven by some Bacchic fury, hurried to stop this and checked him in his course, calling him an avenger and a fighter against God, since he was not even keeping the day with restraint, being about to partake of the divine body.

Reverencing, therefore, the evil consequences and turning the matter to religion, and fearing lest he should thereby excite the wrath of God against himself, for the present he granted life and safety to Michael, handing over his guard to the care of the *papias*, although he retained for himself the key to the iron fetters. But he also threatened his wife: "You," he said, "O woman, and the offspring of my womb, shall ere long see what shall come of this, even if today you have delivered me from the crime of that act"; and by these words he unwittingly became an evil prophet of the future event and the impending calamity for himself. ^B

22. For a fear had settled in his soul from a certain prophecy, which spread the report that on the feast day of the birth of Christ our God according to the flesh, all the prosperity and empire he had built up would be cut down. The prophecy was indeed Sibylline, stored in a certain book in the imperial library, which contained not only the bare oracles, but also the figures and forms of those who were to rule, represented in colors. Now, there was a lion, a shaped beast, upon which the letter χ was inscribed from its back to its belly. Behind this, a certain man running up was piercing the lion with his spear through the χ. When, therefore, the enigma was proposed to many for solution, one who then held the office of *quaestor* clearly explained the oracle: that it would come to pass, surely, that a certain emperor, Leo by name, would be taken away by a destructive death on the day of Christ's nativity. ^C

23. Moreover, the vision of his mother filled him with fear; which, though at the time it was related, he had considered of no account, now laid hold of his soul, biting it deeply. For when she was constantly visiting the divine temple at Blachernae, there appeared to her a young woman, surrounded by a great crowd of attendants in white, and the temple was filled to overflowing with blood. Then this young woman ordered one of the bystanders to fill a pot with blood and present it to the mother of Leo to drink. She, however, pleading her long-standing widowhood, through which she had tasted neither meat nor anything else endowed with blood, and therefore that the pot had nothing to do with her, the young woman, then angry, replied: "How is it, then, that your son does not cease coating me with blood, and by this provoking both my Son and God?" From that time on, she was constantly entreating her son to depart from the heresy of the iconoclasts, recounting this vision with great tragedy. ^D

24. And another vision by night terrified him no less; for he had seemed to hear in his sleep the renowned patriarch Tarasius, who had long since departed this life, exhorting and ordering a certain man named Michael to rush upon Leo, kill him with a deadly blow, and cast him headlong into a deep abyss. He was also agitated by the prophecy of the monk from Philomelium, as well as by the sudden changing of the praetorian cloak.

^A And so, while these things were gathered together ^B and he was shaken with fear and wavering in his mind, he found every sleep of the night hateful. Therefore, when the night was already deep, he formed a plan that might better befit a clever scout than one shining with imperial dignity; having broken through the small door that gave passage to the *papias* (since he was a man of very robust hands), he advanced as far as him. But when he had entered the room, a spectacle met him that struck him not with an ordinary fear and amazement. For he found the accused man on the *papias’s* bed in fine attire, but found the *papias* himself sleeping on the floor. He brought his hands toward Michael’s head and ears, wishing to know whether he was sleeping a calm and sweet sleep, or a troubled and chastened one, such as is customary for those who are anxious and brought to the peril of their lives. But when he found him deeply immersed in sleep, free and removed from any anxiety or trouble (for he did not even wake him by touching him), he nursed an even greater anger at this sight, which was contrary to his expectations, and he departed, threatening a dire end not only to him but also to the *papias*. Nor did this matter escape the *papias*, because one of those who were keeping guard by Michael’s bed, having recognized the emperor by his purple boots, had reported everything clearly. Being most gravely troubled and terrified by the greatest fear by these things, they deliberated on what would be their salvation.

25. Now the dawn was already brightening, and a pretext arose for Michael, who was attributing certain sins of the soul to himself, to desire to disclose them to one of the religious men through Theoctistus, whom he later adorned with the dignity of *canicleius*. The emperor permitted this and gave him leave for the matter. And Michael said to Theoctistus: "Truly, announce to the conspirators that I will reveal everything to the emperor, unless they do something brave to deliver me from this death and prison." Having heard this, the conspirators devised this plan: It was the custom that the holy clergy—not as it is now inside the palace, (which was first introduced from that time and on that occasion), but each one staying in his own home—should gather at the ivory gate at the beginning of the third watch, to render morning praises to the Lord God. Into these the conspirators mingled themselves, with daggers hidden under their armpits; as they remained hidden in the darkness and clothed in priestly vestments, they entered freely together, and keeping watch in a certain dark place, they awaited the signal. Therefore, when the hymn was finished and the emperor was standing not far from the singers, as he was often accustomed to do, and had begun that melody—despising all things for the love of the Sovereign (for he was, by nature, elegant of voice and surpassed all the mortals of that age in the sweetness of chanting divine praises)—they rushed in together and in their first assault and onset were deceived by the prefect of the clergy, whether because he was very similar in body to the emperor, or because he had covered his head with a similar covering; for since a great cold was freezing in the harshness of winter, both were enduring it with the same covering, namely by covering their heads with a very sharp cap. But he, with his cap removed from his head and his baldness revealed, easily found salvation. Leo, however, withdrawing himself into the inner sanctum of the altar, sought defense in a vain attempt. To guard ^D

^A himself, therefore, he seized the chain of a censer, or (as some maintain) the divine cross, and endeavored to hold off the assaults of his opponents. But they, being many and not rushing on one by one, kept wounding him, though he defended himself and repelled the sword-strokes with the material of the cross. Finally, however, like a beast attacked from all sides, he grew exhausted. When he had despaired of his safety, he saw someone of tall stature, not unlike a giant, delivering a blow; him he adjured and earnestly besought, by the grace dwelling in the temple, to spare him—for he was of the race of the Crambonitae. To whom that man replied, "This is not a time for sacraments, but for slaughter," and, swearing by that very divine grace, he struck his hand with a blow so powerful that he not only completely severed it from the collarbone, but the horn of the cross was also sliced off and flew away to a distance. At the same time, another man cut off his head and left his body a headless trunk.

26. Leo met this end of life in the month of December (at the tenth hour of the night), after having reigned for seven years and five months. He practiced cruelty and, moreover, impiety, if any of his predecessors did; and by these vices he obscured the diligence he otherwise applied to public affairs and his martial valor. It is said that a voice immediately broke forth from heaven, bringing the joyful tidings of his passing to the ears of the multitude; and some mariners, having heard it and marked the exact moment and night, ^B afterwards discovered that it was truly that very night.

BOOK II. ON THE REIGN OF MICHAEL THE AMORIAN.

1. Those who were around Michael, having slain Leo—as has been revealed to us in the preceding account—dragged his corpse forth without mercy and without restraint through the Skyla, and led it out to the Hippodrome, no longer deterred by any fear, because the whole royal court was filled with conspirators ^C and those who had plotted against Leo’s life. They also cast out his wife, together with their four children: Symbatios, who at his inauguration was renamed Constantine, Basil, Gregory, and Theodosius. They placed them all upon a skiff and led them away to the island of Prote; and there, after they had been emasculated, it befell Theodosius to die, whose deceased body was buried along with the corpse of his father. ^D Michael, meanwhile, once he had been brought up from the guard at the Pappikion...

still having his feet bound in iron—because the key, kept by Leo, had not yet been found so that he might be held more securely—sat upon the imperial throne, ^A and was hailed as emperor and worshipped by all who were then in the palace. Now around midday, when the rumor had spread everywhere and the shackles had been with difficulty shattered by a hammer, without washing his hands, without having taken any fear of God into his mind, and without having done any other of the things that were needed, he proceeded to the divine and great temple, ^B desiring to obtain the crown from the hand of the patriarch and the acclamation of the whole populace, having as his only rampart and bulwark those who had been accomplices in the murder and conspirators with him. Here one might wonder at the malice of both sides: of the one, in how he did not have at that time any helper among so many sycophants and friends, all having retreated like serpents into their lairs and holes; of the other, his boldness and bloodthirstiness toward all, whereby he moved through the square as if a victor returning from battle and not a hangman—for this came to pass under the guidance of that Providence that directs all things—when he ought rather to have been covering his face and mourning, not just because he had shed blood that was rightly to be poured out (though even this is not among the things to be praised), but because he did so not in a place of slaughter, but in a divine and holy place, where alone the blood of the Lord is poured out daily for the expiation of our sins and transgressions.

^C 3. But let history return to that which nurtured him, and let it take him as its subject, as it professes to set forth his affairs. The city of Upper Phrygia, called Amorium, brought him forth. In it a frequent multitude of Jews and of those whom they call Athinganoi is always settled. And some other heresy, from the association of some with others and from constant custom, has sprouted up, having a new way and doctrines entirely formed from strange and unheard-of decrees, of which Michael himself was also a partaker, having inherited the superstition from his ancestors. ^D This sect indeed allows those who are initiated to receive the divine laver, as being saving and having been explored and proven by their own people; but in all other respects, except for one, that of circumcision, it keeps to the rite of the Mosaic Law. Whoever is initiated into this sect has at home a teacher, and as it were a master, some Hebrew or Hebrew woman, entirely devoid of the divine baptism, to whom he entrusts not only those things which concern the soul and salvation, but also the administration of his household affairs, and makes him overseer of his house and property. Being instructed by this person from childhood and imbued with his initial teachings, Michael did not even then keep the opinion which had first taken root in him pure, but, as if he were a sink of corrupt and illegitimate religion, he soon after adulterated it, and defiled both the Christian and the Jewish faith with spurious additions. Up to this point, he followed it and carried it into man’s estate, having, as a vine has tendrils, rural stubbornness and ignorance attached to him.

^A He was trained accordingly, and approached studies in a way fitting to those who have trained him; and often, having attained imperial authority, he seemed to pride himself in these, and to be more adorned by them than by the diadem itself. As for logic, seeing that it overturns the arguments he brought forward, and is capable of persuading and teaching one not to follow his heresy and religion, he despised it and cast it out from his treacherous soul. And yet, it was within his power to worship his own beliefs and not despise ours, whenever he was not able to contend against such a choir of men, who had shone forth in wisdom and had prevailed in time and number.

^B 4. Nevertheless, he honored his own pursuits. And these were, to predict regarding newborn pigs which will be well-fed and not lacking in size of body, and which will be held back by the opposite, and to know how to stand near kicking horses, and to drive away kicking donkeys as far as possible [h in the text, 18 /h] with skill; to be an excellent judge of mules, and which of these were suitable and capable for burdens, and which carry their riders comfortably, not becoming fearful through any fright [h 19 /h]. But furthermore, also to distinguish horses by the mere casting of his eyes—which were naturally vigorous and swift for racing, and which for war maintained great endurance—and the ease of birth of sheep and oxen, ^C and as many as had received by nature a plenty of milk, and, which is the greater thing, to be able to distinguish, even if they were silent, of both the mother and the newborn offspring, to which each belongs. And these indeed were the studies and "noble" pursuits of his first age, and I dare say, of his last as well.

5. But when he was already in his prime, living a life of poverty and enduring it, and was hastening to cast it off by every device, at one time he presented himself to his commander. While he was showing himself to him, and provoking the ruler with the stammering of his tongue, a certain Athinganos, a man known and familiar to the commander, predicted that both this Michael and ^D some other person would shortly be renowned and would attain to the empire itself, and not long after. The commander, inflamed in his soul by these words—and, as it were, harvesting the future—did not think it wise to push away the occasion by delay, a moment which, once slipped away, is neither easy nor simple to regain. Immediately, therefore, a table is prepared, and leaving all others aside, he invites these men to a feast. [P. 29] When the drinking was at its height, the commander brought forward his daughters and promised them as brides, and made them his sons-in-law. Although at first, at the novelty and unheard-of benevolence of the matter, they were struck with amazement, such that their very voices failed them, yet afterwards they approved and agreed, thinking perhaps that it was God, not man, who was thus favoring them.

^A

6. I might propose many things concerning the art of divination—the flight of birds, the observation of dreams, the inspection and dissection of bodies of every kind—lest I, being but one, contend too contentiously against many, I shall not dwell on them long. That this art could be pure and exempt from the service of demons who strive to drive man far from God, I would neither say myself, nor would I think any man of sound mind would say, since we have heard that even those who pursue a life not sincere and pure, but blameless and ignoble, have achieved perfect knowledge of it. Why have I raised this question at this time? So that no one, swept up by some divine inspiration, might think that those who busy themselves with such things are revealing something of this nature, and make God the author of their unjust opinion—or, which is the same, of their rule—nor deem those who give themselves over to these things to be temperate and prudent men, since they are deceived by the outcomes every day and bring destruction upon themselves. Rather, let him blame the ancient evil serpent, who, roaming the world and finding suitable instruments, casts the seeds of rule and tyranny not in just one or another man, but in many; and, suborning and instigating them to rise up, to overturn peoples, and to stir up civil wars, he stands as their author, ^B not much unlike one who is blind and often throws stones: for in aiming at many, it may happen that even without seeing, he finally by chance hits the very person he had in mind. These things, then, we have set down apart from the thread of the history, lest anyone refer acts of this kind to the Deity himself, or indeed attribute empires, made more illustrious by the very magnitude of their crimes, to Him, especially relying on that authority which says: *They have reigned, but not by me.*

7. Michael, therefore, having heard this voice of the Athinganos diviner as if it were some divine prophecy, and again, at another time, recalling the prophecy concerning Philomelium, as I have mentioned before, fulfilled the murder of Leo with somewhat greater boldness; and from that time, having this as his constant meditation, he again made his progress to the divine temple more quickly and confidently than was proper, behaving wickedly toward his first benefactor, namely Bardanius, and even worse toward the second, Leo, returning the most ungrateful of favors to him who had also adopted his son in holy baptism. But he takes a certain portion from the confiscated property of Leo, which he assigns to be used by his children, mother, and wife; he also bestowed some of his servants, though not all, upon them for their service. He commanded the mother and wife, by his own authority, to live in security in the monastery which they call that of the Despotes; but as for the male children, as has been said, it was commanded that they should occupy the island of Prote. In which place also Constantine, who had been renamed Basil, when he had lost the use of his voice after his genitals were excised, prayed to God that the impediment might be loosed, and that his tongue might again recover its ability to produce sound, and he also prayed to him who was brilliant in theology. ^{C D}

^A For he saw that divine character standing erected somewhere in that place, and he heard his prayer during the festival of the Lights. For he saw that divine image speaking to him at dawn, and saying: "Take the wax, and read." And he, believing what was said, went in and read in a clear and pure voice the [beginning of the prayer for that day]: "Again my Jesus." From then on, he did not cease to loathe the folly and ignorance concerning the divine images that he had received from his father, but he was changed, and he did not cease to embrace the characters of the saints. But these things happened late and only after a long time.

^B 8. Now when Michael had assumed the imperial power and was governing affairs as he wished, the blessed Nicephorus sent a letter to him, requesting that the faith be restored and that honor and veneration be paid once again to the holy images. To whom Michael replied: "I have not come to innovate anything in matters of dogma and faith, nor to disturb or overturn those things which have already been handed down and acknowledged. Therefore, let each man do what he thinks best and what is desirable, without being afraid—not fearing any toil or anything that might cause him trouble." Yet he did not remain steadfast in this intention to the end, for he was not a true Christian even from the beginning; but as he became more master of the empire, so much the more did he, by his evil and cruel nature, stir up a fiercer war against the Christians and those of his own race, at one time looking down upon the monks and tormenting them with all kinds of dire punishments, devising one torture after another, and at another time casting other faithful and religious men into prison and sending them into exile. From this, he also cast out of the city Methodius, who shortly thereafter ascended the patriarchal throne, and Euthymius, who was at that time the bishop of Sardis, because they did not yield to his will and would not be persuaded to deny the veneration of the holy images. ^C And indeed he delivered the holy Methodius into custody on the island of the Apostle Andrew, which is near Acritas; but he put the blessed Euthymius to death through his own son Theophilus, having him cruelly beaten with bull-hide whips. And as much as he oppressed the inheritance of God and ravaged it like some wild beast, so much did he lighten the burden of taxes and tributes for the Jews, whom he loved and cherished above all other mortals. And just as painters set before themselves the most beautiful things in bodies, which they may imitate with brush and hand, so this man, having the life of Copronymus as a sort of model and example set before him, strove most accurately to render it; wherefore he arrived at the very pinnacle of impiety. ^D At one time he would decree fasting on the Sabbaths, and at another he would sharpen his tongue against the divine prophets, and he disbelieved in both the future resurrection and the good things that accompany it. He insisted that there was absolutely no devil, as if Moses had not handed down such a teaching. He embraced fornication, and he ruled that only God who is over all should be sworn by, and

^A ranked Judas with the blessed in his unbridled tongue, and mocked the feast of the saving Passover as if it were celebrated wrongly and at an improper time. He rejected Greek and secular education, just as he spurned our own divine training, to such a degree that he would not even allow the young to be instructed in it, so that no one might ever be able to stand against his ignorance and refute him, and so that they might not, by the swiftness of their eyes and tongues, be forced through education to carry off the second prize in comparison to him; for he was so slow in combining letters and reading syllables that another person could more easily read through a whole book than he, owing to the slowness of his mind, could account for the elements of his own name. But these matters, as they have been publicly denounced by the holy men of that time, should be left aside; for books exist which record and expose his shameful deeds. We, however, shall proceed with the rest of the history and see what evils his impiety produced.

9. For at this time a civil war began from the East and filled the Roman world with all kinds of evils, and, despite the enormous abundance of men, it reduced the human race ^B to a narrow and brief number, specifically when the right hand of fathers was armed against their sons, and of brothers against those born from the same womb, and finally of a loyal and excellent friend against him who himself most especially wished to hold sacred the laws of friendship. The originator and author of these evils was Thomas, concerning whom a double account is reported. Since we are human and have received these matters only by hearsay, not by our own eyes, and since we possess such records of history after so long a time, in order to preserve the truth intact in all respects, it is necessary to write down what has been handed down by some and others—namely, these various rumors. This ambiguity and error does not in the least harm the subject we are treating; indeed, from it the truth will be founded on more certain grounds for us than for those who always contend about whether the matter happened in this way or that. It would indeed have been best if we humans could have perceived all things with bare truth and without any veil; but because the long time that has flowed by acts like an intervening veil and makes our knowledge weaker, it is worth the effort that, by obeying rumor and conjecture, we bring matters into the light with at least a faint ray, rather than handing them over completely to the whirlpool of oblivion.

10. The one and first account, to which I myself subscribe, finding certainty in some written documents, is this: namely, that Thomas was born of obscure and base parents, and furthermore of Sclavonian stock, who often settled in the East and in Asia. Scarcely sustaining his life in poverty and wishing to seek some fortune, he left his fatherland and came to Constantinople. There, attaching himself to a certain man of senatorial rank, and having become addicted to his service and a menial, he proceeded to such a point of lust and foulness that he even attempted to defile the couch and bed of his master. When this was discovered, as he could not bear the great disgrace and the...

^A fear of the punishments established for such crimes, he fled to the Hagarites. Having proved himself to them, both by the compatibility of his morals and by the formal abjuration of the faith of Christ our God, over the course of many years—for he had already spent twenty-five years among them—he became a leader of a certain military phalanx and was armed against the Christians, promising with a most powerful hand to bring the Roman empire under their control. And so that no one among the Romans might hinder him, but rather that all might join him and take up his defense at their own peril, he revealed that he was Constantine, the son of Irene, and spread this rumor—he who had long ago been deprived of his sight and his life, along with his empire, by the madness and cruelty of the customs of that time. ^B But because the magnitude of his deeds and the expectations that sustained him required some partner in his affairs—for he did not think he would otherwise be victorious by land and sea—he adopted a certain stranger as his son, a man whose physical appearance clearly showed the foolishness of his mind. Having assigned to him equivalent forces for the expedition, he ordered him to ravage and overrun the Roman domain in his part. Leo the Armenian was then guiding the reins of the Republic, toward the final days of his reign. He, having gathered forces against him that were insufficiently strong, was the cause of his own defeat, for as soon as they encountered the enemy, they turned their backs, which made him [the enemy] bolder and spurred him to conceive of things greater than his position. This is the first and widely celebrated and common narrative of his initial movement and revolt.

^C 41. Another claims that this Thomas was the very same man, with no difference in his name, who had formerly been in the household of Bardanius and whom Leo, once created emperor, had honored. He was at that time in command of the federates and was stationed in the Anatolic theme. When he heard that Michael had shortly before murdered Leo, intending to avenge his death and at the same time satisfy his own anger—for he had not gotten along with Michael since his youth—and also fearing the prophecy of the monk of Philomelium concerning himself, he moved against him. ^D He did not move with small or unwarlike forces, but with a huge army, equipped with manly fortitude and vigorous strength, as no age suitable for bearing arms was left behind. For in other respects Michael was hateful to almost everyone, both because he was polluted by the commerce of the nefarious heresy of the Athinganoi, as has been said, and because, laboring under the defect of a lisping tongue, he had the reputation of being unwarlike and effeminate; and even more because he was considered no less hindered in his spirit than in his tongue—a man, of course, of perverse morals, who was considered an object of execration and irksome to the common people. Thomas, however, although he had a crippled leg and was a barbarian by race, was nevertheless venerable for his gray hair and was more loved by all, because he was easy of approach and urbane, as the soldierly mob is accustomed to be, since these qualities had been united in him from childhood, and those [qualities] pertaining to the nobility of his body...

he yielded to no one. And so, having brought the collectors of public taxes to his own side, and seeking to win over the common people with magnificent largesse, he emerged from obscurity and a lowly state to become famous, and from a very small hand, he became great. For he won over some to himself by the allurement of words and a certain guise of friendship—all those, that is, whom a love of innovation and wealth had seized—and others by force and against their own will, all those to whom the evils of civil strife were already known by experience. From this beginning, therefore, civil wars erupted, and like the cataracts of the Nile opening up, they irrigated the earth not with water, but with blood. Hence, slaves armed their hands with blood-stained iron against their masters, the garrison soldier against the cohort commander, and the centurion against the general of the army, and all of Asia, overwhelmed by these evils, groaned. Entire cities of Asia, terrified by fear, made their submission to Thomas; those, however, which had served the emperor and resisted for a long time, afterward bowed their necks as well, following much slaughter ^B and the violence of plunder and pillage. Finally, all of Asia conceded to his side, except only the commanders of the Opsicians, Catacyla, and of the Armeniacs, Olbianus. These two alone, among such a multitude of army commanders, overtly kept their faith to Michael. Therefore, Michael, showing gratitude in that they had not betrayed his cause, granted them a discharge from the single silver coin that was accustomed to be paid into the prince’s treasury (which was called the "hearth tax"). For since all others had long ago been paying, and they themselves likewise, two *miliaresia*, mindful of their goodwill, he remitted one to them.

12. When the Agarenes learned of this state of affairs among the Romans, they took it most gratefully and found it entirely delightful. For turning this to their own advantage, ^C they set out to ravage all the provinces and islands securely, with no one standing in their way. When Thomas heard of this, fearful lest his own people should plot some revolution and defect from him, if he took no care for those who remained at home and for the rest of the East, but allowed their children and wives to be plundered and led into captivity, he judged it worth the effort to restrain the onslaught of the Agarenes for the time being, and by presenting a large army, to strike fear into them and compel them to peace with his experienced guile. And the matter succeeded according to his wish. For when he had burst into their region and the Saracens could not sustain his attack, he held a parley with them, composed a peace, and joined them to himself as allies in war, having covenanted and promised what ^D we mentioned above: namely, that he would betray the borders of the Romans and subject their empire to them. Wherefore he was not frustrated in his counsel; indeed, he even obtained the crown, the insignia of the empire, and was proclaimed emperor by the one who at that time occupied the see of the Church of Antioch, Jacob by name. And he gathered a huge army—or rather, he received one that had been assembled—to strengthen his empire for himself, not only from those...

^A of the Agarenes who are our neighbors and borderers, but even from those who inhabit more remote and interior regions: Egyptians, that is to say, and Indians, Persians, Assyrians, Armenians, Chaldeans, Iberians, Zechs, Cabires, and all those who follow the doctrine and opinions of Manes. Protected, therefore, by these as by a most secure bulwark, and hedged in on every side, he thought it best to change his name along with his customs, and to adopt a son, as has been stated above.

13. He then invaded and ravaged the whole of the East, and spared no age if they did not come over to his side by persuasion. When the Emperor heard of this, judging the report to be of greater consequence than the reality of the deeds, he sent against him13 an army that was neither sufficient nor notable. Thomas, engaging with them in battle, ^B destroyed them all; some he absorbed like one thirsting for a drink of water, and by putting the rest to flight, he further strengthened his own position. And preparing biremes and other round transport ships for the supply of grain and the carrying of horses, with this equipment he brought the imperial fleet itself into his power, and ordered the entire fleet to assemble at Lesbos. Now furthermore, as he seemed capable of being overcome by no one, he ravaged all of Asia. For having eighty thousand armed men in his army, and leading them where he would at a single word or nod, he sought Abydos, intending to cross over from there. And since, having ravaged everything on his journey, he had reduced not only the humbler towns but also the more fortified ones to ashes and dust, yet one somewhat more noble place had remained and had been immune from his plundering, he ordered his adopted son to attack it ^C with that part of the army which he commanded. He, however, elated by certain demonic prestidigitations and puffed up in soul by prophecies, had proclaimed this the day before to all his followers, saying that on a certain solemn day he would enter the imperial city. Then, therefore, riding recklessly, the wretch fell into grave ruin. For as he was wandering too freely with none of his men in battle order, because he surmised that the fort was stripped of soldiers, he fell into an ambush of the Olbiani and immediately lost his head. This, having been cut off, the Olbian sent to the Emperor Michael. He immediately transmitted it to his father, who was urgently continuing his journey and whom no difficulty or annoyance of affairs could deter. Thomas had now received the head, when, without delay, from the maritime town which they call Horcosium, having seized the time when the moon, through conjunction, emits no light, he made a crossing in many ships and landed in Thrace. The concern for this matter had made Michael anxious even before the crossing; whence, after having toured all of Thrace, he exhorted them to be of sturdier heart ^D against the deserter, and to be zealous for their cause even unto blood, so that they might assuredly neither violate the faith of the Emperor nor forget their own virtue and fortitude. But the sight of the selfsame Michael was something weak to the common people. Wherefore, even when he had been received into the imperial city, the very presence of Thomas alone so easily changed everyone, as...

^A neither to require words, and at the same time, to join him in his campaign against the Queen of Cities.

14. These things did not escape the Emperor as quickly as they should have; hence, he gathered a certain army from those who were still remaining in Asia, and assembled other forces through the agency of Catacyla and Olbianus, already fearing the danger to his kingdom. Yet he did not neglect the naval force, but with great speed prepared an opposing strength against the enemy by both land and sea. He reached such a state of difficulty and distress ^B that he even extended an iron chain from the acropolis to the small town opposite, keeping the path inside unapproachable.

There lived then on the island of Scyros, one of the Cyclades, a certain man who was an exile; he had often served as a general, but had recently become bitter in soul towards Michael. This man was named Gregory, known as Pterotus, a cousin of the Emperor Leo; not long after Leo was taken away, he was relegated because he could not force himself to be silent, but out of the fervor of his spirit and his love for Leo, he had approached to salute Michael and had besmirched him with many insults, reproaching him with the murder. To him, Michael had said: "I know the ocean of your despondency and the magnitude of your grief," and bidding him patiently endure what had happened, three days later he relegated him to that island of the Cyclades. Thomas, having taken this man as an ally in the war, appointed him general of a body of his land forces, about ten thousand strong. Having also equipped the fleet which he had, and appointing another commander over it, he sent them both on ahead as vanguards to attack the royal city of Constantine, believing it would be to his advantage if he attacked it by land and sea at the same time.

^C When this had been done, and the naval and land forces simultaneously appeared at the Gulf of Blachernae (for the stretched-out iron chain afforded no impediment or protection to the city), their presence was considered to be of no consequence or at least of very little moment; whence nothing worth relating was accomplished by them. But Thomas himself, having had rams, tortoises, and other engines, by which he thought the walls could be shattered, constructed by certain craftsmen among them, and having adopted as a son and declared a partner in his tyranny a certain Anastasius—who had recently abjured the monastic life and turned back to this professional and secular way of life, being black in complexion and black in soul—traveled with a huge multitude and a ^D numerous army toward the royal city, thinking that as soon as he approached the city, the gates would be opened to him, due to the hatred for Michael. But when he was disappointed in this hope, and was instead washed over by their insults and revilings, then at last he pitched his general’s tent and camp near the house of Paulinus, where also the temple of the venerable Anargyroi, which has been built in the likeness of a palace, is fixed and fortified. Having also designated a portion of his army, he invaded the whole region reaching as far as the Euxine and Hieron and the towns beyond them, forcing them to defect, so that he might suffer no enemy at his rear. With these matters thus arranged to his mind, while approaching...

^A for several days to make preparations, he caught sight, as if from a watchtower, of Michael planting the military standard upon the roof of the temple of the Theotokos, and from there beseeching and drawing upon himself strength against his enemies; and he saw his son Theophilus going around the entire circuit of the city with the sacred order, carrying about the life-giving wood of the cross and the garment of the immaculate Mother of Christ our God. This matter cast his expectations into deep despair, and he was turned in his mind, like a chameleon, in a varied and doubtful agitation of thoughts, if indeed he was forced to fight against not only visible enemies but also against certain invisible powers.

Being at a loss as to what he should do, and besides this, relying upon such a great multitude, he decided that the trial of such thoughts should be judged by the contest of battle. Therefore, at light on the following day, having given the signal for war, he brought his men out of the camp. To his son he entrusted the land wall, ordering him to carry on the war and the assault there, while he himself, with the greater part of his forces and the war engines through which he intended to test the city wall, made his attack against the towers of the Blachernae. He brought ladders that corresponded to the height of the walls, and tortoises elsewhere, and rams on another side, and utilized archers and stone-throwers from all sides—those with which he intended, by appearing in all ways and from all places, to strike terror into the citizens and thereby gain control of the city. He did not, however, neglect the seaward ^B walls, but surrounding it on all sides with his fleet, he commanded them to attack it lavishly—one might say, rashly and with no judgment or skill—with fire, arrows, and certain four-legged siege engines.

Wherefore, such a great force of men fighting for him brought him no advantage. For immediately an adverse wind scattered the fleet, and drove the ships here and there, as there was a huge storm and the sea was turbulent. On land, too, as the citizens fought strenuously, and up to that point rendered his ladders useless with a hail of missiles courageously shot from the towers—to these were added engines, some of which did not reach their target (a fact which brought the greatest weight to affairs and proved him to be inexperienced in waging war), and others which did reach and strike but were too weak and not strong enough to shake the walls or even to drive out and put to flight the defenders from the towers. When, therefore, these things appeared not according to the former reputation that had broadcast and heralded everything afar, but rather as lesser things and such as a very feeble mind might govern and bring forth, the besieged city straightway resumed its spirits and boldness, and discharged its long-range ballistae with such ^C force that, leaving behind all that equipment of engines, it compelled the ranks of the besiegers to withdraw afar off and to take counsel for their own safety. Wherefore he found the city not as he had supposed it to be in his siege, but far stronger than his estimation. Moreover, the weather itself also made the air more severe. Just so, as winter approached, and through the winter, the remaining provinces...

of Thrace being harsher than others, he turned his attention to winter quarters and led his army back.

15. ^A Since the spring was now shining warmly and compelling the soldierly throng to emerge from their hiding-places and lairs, he judged it best to attack the city of Constantine again from both directions, by land and by sea. But he did not find Michael as he had been before, but now equipped with certain land and naval forces. Therefore, he again attacked the same quarter as before, namely the gulf of Blachernae, and with the same equipment. ^B Therefore, at first light, the signal for battle having been given, and while the walls of Blachernae were already being shaken, Michael found an opportunity to address some of them from the higher wall; he promised them an amnesty for their evils and vowed to give them many good things, if only they would change their plan and cross over to him, and not suffer their minds to be defiled by the blood of their fellow citizens and brothers. ^C But when he poured out these speeches to them—as the saying has it, into a leaky jar—he rendered them more defiant, for they were being besought; indeed, one might say they were freed from fear of the enemy, no longer concerned with maintaining order or conspiracy, and he added strength and firmness to himself. Wherefore, suddenly pouring out his men from many small gates, where they expected nothing of the sort, he engaged a portion of them and, having inflicted a sufficiently just slaughter, he won a clear victory. But the victory was augmented by sea even more than by land. ^D For when the imperial triremes were heading for the deep, and the time for joining battle had arrived, and the deserting fleet itself was in the heat of gathering, with stones being thrown, I know not by what chance or by what terrors they were struck—when the stern was turned toward the land, they withdrew. A part of the sailors, trusting in this, deserted to the emperor; another part proceeded to their own camps by land, denying altogether that they were at sea or in any condition to fight. Thus, without labor, the fleet of Thomas was dissolved, and it came to nothing, having accomplished no feat illustrious either for the number of ships or for the virtue of the sailors.

16. Hence, also, the aforementioned Gregory, having perceived that this very deserter was of small authority and that much of his reputation had departed, and that more would depart from him in the future—for he was a man addicted to the cup, and lacking in that prudence by which, most of all and before every other virtue, victories are prepared—took with him a certain part of the legion subject to him, and having previously communicated his plan with the emperor through a certain monk of the Studite college sent by the emperor, he contemplated a rupture. He came up behind the deserter, at once striking him with terror and filling him with confusion, and at the same time [securing] those sins he had committed against the emperor, as well as...

intending to provide for his wife and children (for they were kept in custody, having been assigned to that Thomas), he sought reconciliation and pardon. ^A But the emperor did not yet reach the point of hearing these things; for every route outside was so thoroughly blocked, nor would anyone, not only of those who were nearby, but not even if someone from further away, have taken his side. Thomas, fearing that the great authority of Gregory might suddenly prevail and strike terror into his own ranks, did not break off the siege or move his camp from the city, fearing that the enemy might pursue him from the rear; instead, he took a few men, as many as he deemed sufficient to overwhelm Gregory, and marched out against him, and having caught him in flight, slew him. ^B And again, he quickly returned to the forces besieging the city, and by sending letters in all directions declared his own position, as though he had been victorious, which was not the case, and ordered the fleet that was approaching along the Hellas to be brought up quickly, so that it might again assault those at sea with stronger parts of his force.

But those ships, totaling three hundred and fifty war-galleys along with supply vessels, put in at the port of the Byridenses in Thrace, having sailed with a following wind. The imperial fire-bearing fleet, having set upon them there while they were unsuspecting at their anchorage, captured many of the ships with their crews, while others it burned with great force; and very few who survived the slaughter sought refuge in the Blachernae gulf by rapid flight, solely intent on joining the land forces, which in fact came to pass. ^C Thus, matters at sea were directed and proceeded in this way, and with such a happy outcome. On land, however, there were almost continuous skirmishes and slaughters, now with Michael, and now with his son Theophilus, leading out their men against the enemy along with Olbianus and Catacylas, dealing and receiving mortal blows at times; yet no brilliant and bold battles from a set engagement and equal force gained the upper hand, since Michael was by far inferior and unable to stand against the well-equipped cavalry of the other.

17. While things were thus, Mortagon, the king of the Bulgars (for the report had already spread throughout the world announcing that the Roman emperor was being besieged), ^D secretly sent some men to the emperor, promising of his own accord to send reinforcements and pledging to give him such aid as would be sufficient against the enemy. But Michael, whether out of true respect and pity for the multitude of his own people serving in the camp of Thomas, or whether he was also sparing of money (for he happened through stinginess to have the hands of the other emperors under his control for a long time), praised the Bulgar’s intention but declined his aid, and signified that he did not wish to make use of any assistance from the rebel. However, Mortagon, as one who otherwise delighted in wars and booty and spoils, and [having made] a thirty-year treaty...

made with him by the late Leo, prepared an army against the tyrant, and having boldly entered Roman territory, he pitched camp at a place called Ceductus. Report of this spread, and it was impossible for the irruption to escape the notice of the tyrant. He was justifiably troubled and utterly stunned in spirit; yet when he emerged and collected himself from that agitation, he resolved to move against him. Since he saw that by dividing his army he would be altogether weak and vulnerable (for he needed not a small but a numerous and strong army to besiege the imperial city, all the more so since the emperor had already prepared an army that was not to be despised, which could fight in close quarters and did not rarely inflict slaughter upon enemies; nor could he prepare a battle against the Bulgarian forces except with a great and powerful army), he did not want to be divided into two, ^B like some rapid torrent split into two rivulets, appearing weaker to the enemy than his former virtue would warrant, and thus easily overcome. Therefore, he abandoned the siege of the city entirely, and leading his forces against the Bulgarians—whom he considered himself an equal match for—he engaged them in battle at the aforementioned place of Ceductus.

18. Now the tyrant was heavily defeated in this battle; he did not inflict slaughter upon the enemies, but was himself afflicted with great slaughter by them. And since there was no other way to secure salvation ^C [p. 42] they sought it in flight, and, scattering into some difficult place that was not easy of access, they deliberated on how they might reunite and restore their battle line. The Bulgarian leader, however, immediately taking the captives who had fallen into his power and having become complete master of a huge amount of booty, returned to his homeland, fierce and exultant in his victory. Upon hearing of the slaughter of their fellows, the navy that had been left to besiege the city defected in its entirety to the emperor and joined him. Furthermore, the deserter Thomas erupted into such rashness—aided, it seems, by the demons who were his allies in war—that, although he was worn down and struck on every side by disasters, ^D and from most flourishing circumstances had been driven into straits, having never achieved victory in a proper battle, either in open, pitched conflict or from the great apparatus of siege engines brought daily against the walls of the city, he gathered his forces again in a plain named Diabasis, which was situated some distance from the city, and settled there, as it was a place suitable for camping, both due to the produce of the land and the abundance of flowing water. From there, he laid waste to and burned with fire all the elegance of the suburbs, though he did not show himself to the city as he had before. When Michael understood the situation, having conscripted a suitable army and having Olbianus and Cataculas with their legions—men most vigorous and of untarnished loyalty—he marched against him. He encountered him, not fearful or anxious in expectation of the event, but bravely advancing to meet him with zeal.

^A, having discovered that he was prepared for a confrontation, decided to engage in battle. The tyrant, desiring to outmaneuver the emperor with a stratagem, was himself outmaneuvered by his own trickery and missed his aim entirely. For he ordered his men, as soon as the battle was joined, to turn their backs to the emperor, failing to understand the mindset of those who had been forced into this position. They were men who had long been deprived of their wives and children because of him, and they were staining their hands with fraternal blood. At first, indeed, having hoped that the campaign would be short and that they would not have to spend so much time in the open, they had been obedient enough; but when time dragged on—for the third year was already coming to an end—and the daily tasks they were forced to undertake seemed futile, they saw that they were serving the lust and madness of a single man. Thus, when they received the order, they took it not as he intended, but as they themselves thought best. He had allowed them to retreat only so far as to break the order of the emperor’s battle line, so that they might then wheel around and strike them down with force. But the emperor’s army, [P. 43] advancing with order and tactical skill, was not easily dispersed, as he had imagined, and the rebels, once they began their flight—which they did not feign, but executed in genuine, disorganized fashion—fled and scattered in all directions. Some, now a few and then others later, deserted to the emperor and pledged their loyalty. The rebel himself escaped with a few men to Adrianople, and there brought his flight to a halt. His bastard and spurious son, Anastasius, meanwhile, fled and seized the fortress of Byza. And this, I believe, happened not by chance but by a certain providence, so that as each of them drew the emperor towards a siege, they provided the other with lulls and time to forage.

^C 19. The emperor, however, shadowing their every move, first decided to besiege Thomas and exact from him the penalty for his past crimes. He laid siege to him, not by employing engines or other similar devices to bring him down—seeking both to avoid the devastation of civil war and being unwilling to teach the Scythians bordering that city about such weapons, with which cities are usually taken—but rather by famine and the lack of vital necessities, which the city, being short of supplies and lacking abundant provisions, was shown to possess. This, therefore, became his plan, and in this manner the operation began. The besieged Thomas first expelled from the city every kind of animal useless for war, and indeed every person who, due to age, was not permitted to bear arms. He carried this out—one might say—not with gentle words composed for supplication, but with a tyrannical and rigid spirit, which fanned and increased the hatred the townspeople felt toward him. Then, as famine grew more severe and hope of salvation faded, the belly nonetheless continued to demand its due, and he, like a harsh tax collector, required his tributes. Those confined within the city walls, some slipping away secretly through small gates, others lowered from the walls by leather straps, began to surrender themselves to the emperor, while others [fled] to the son [at the fortress] of Byza.

^A flee. Since therefore they had consumed not only the necessary things, but also the detestable and foul, and necessity had driven them even to the eating of putrid hides and old sandals, some of the townspeople entered into speech with the Emperor, and having begged for and obtained pardon for their offenses, they surround ^B and seize Thomas, binding his hands, and deliver him into the power of the enemy. ^B The Emperor, observing the custom which had long ago been established for kings and had by now arrived at common usage, first places his heel upon his neck and lops off his feet and hands, and setting him upon an ass, orders him to be led around through all the ranks for the sake of ignominy, with him uttering only this in a mournful voice: "You who are truly king, have mercy on me." ^B And when the Emperor asked if any of the friends he had about him, or others, were his fellow-conspirators, he might perhaps have denounced many, had not a certain man named John Hexabulius advised the Emperor that it was not fitting, and indeed clearly absurd, to have faith in enemies accusing friends. By this speech he warded off greater punishments from the wretches who were his citizens and friends. Thus did the deserter also meet the end of his life, consumed by slow torments and dying not easily, like a beast, about the middle of the month of October; a man who at the beginning had seemed capable and courageous for undertaking the greatest affairs, and a doughty executor of his purpose, but in [his] progress he appeared, and was, far worse than his former self, and not equal to the opinion he had stirred up and held in the minds of others. ^C Whether, however, it turned out this way for him because he had become another person and changed his character for the worse, or because the diverse method and mass of his enemies had suddenly arisen, does not matter much. For as long as he was at war with himself from within—which he had previously stirred up by his own audacity and rashness—and was doubtful regarding the securing of his affairs, his deeds were no less powerful than his words, and things proceeded according to his mind. But when he had subjected almost all of Asia and having crossed over into Europe with no unwarlike spirit, having found no one in his way, being a man not sprung from letters and education, but reared in base and vulgar conversation, he was already kindled and puffed up, and was sailing out of his own wits, led and increased by certain loves and unchaste marriages through daily drunkenness and revelry. ^D But as concerns the outcome of these things, we give to others also the opportunity to judge according to their own discretion, if what we say does not please them. But thus far for these matters. The Byzians also, for fear of the impending danger, quickly changed their mind. For as soon as they received the news about Thomas, entering upon a similar plan for similar deeds, they brought Anastasios bound hand and foot. He, having been butchered with the same torments as his father, made an end of living. 20. Although the tyrant was thus removed, the maritime cities of Thrace, namely Panium and Heraclea, still defended his cause and—

^A offered resistance: such was the hatred for the Emperor that had taken root in the minds of all—in part, perhaps, for other reasons, but principally because he was unwilling to stop the persecution unleashed against the holy icons. Yet when he did approach them, since an earthquake occurred and the walls of Panium were leveled, the way into it lay open to Michael without effort. Heraclea, for its part, although it offered resistance, was nevertheless captured from the seaside without the slaughter of any citizens, and, having pledged loyalty to the Emperor, it ceased its devotion to the tyrant.

Thus ended the affairs concerning Thomas, starting from the aforementioned origin, and thus the Emperor returned, triumphant, from the cities of the mainland. He decided nothing harsher against the associates of Thomas’s defection than that they should be led around at the spectacle of the Circus, organized for this purpose, with their hands bound behind their backs, and he ordered only that those who were guilty of the greatest crimes should be sent into exile.

Soon, moreover, to Chœreas and also to Gazarenus the Coloniatis—men who had once been house-members of Thomas and were still keeping faith with him (the one, Chœreas, holding the fortress of Cabala, and the other, Gazarenus, occupying Saniana; from these garrisons they were making frequent raids and lived in the manner of brigands and tyrants)—Michael sent a golden bull, that is to say, an imperial diploma, promising to elevate them to the supreme honor of magistros and to grant them amnesty for their evils, signifying to them that Thomas was now dead. Yet the messenger sent by the Emperor was unable to recall those men—haughty and possessing an intractable soul—to their duty. ^C However, having corrupted certain of the garrison soldiers serving under them and brought them over to the Emperor’s side, he persuaded them, once the leaders had gone out for their accustomed plundering and raiding, to shut the gates of the walls against them and to leave them no room for negotiation. And this is exactly what happened. Finding the gates closed upon their return and being terrified, those men hastened by flight to Syria. Yet they were captured alive, hung upon the wood, and departed from life.

It is worth not passing over how the betrayal of Gazarenus was carried out and how he was shut out of the walls. The man sent by the Emperor, having received a certain rustic who was fond of modulating his voice and who took pleasure in singing, in a rustic manner, songs that were loose and unrefined, composed a certain ditty, the import of which was directed at the man’s steward. It was in these words: “Listen, Lord Steward, what Gyberis says: If you give me Saniana, I shall make you a metropolitan and entrust Neocaesarea to you.” While this was sung repeatedly, it opened the steward’s mind so that he might understand the situation. When, therefore, he had perceived the meaning and realized what those words signified, he shut the gates against Gazarenus as soon as he had gone out, and left the man outside. So much for what concerns those two little towns that were almost threatening the clouds, and how they were brought back into the faith by Michael.

21. Yet the course of evils was not destined to stop here, but since the two continents, we mean Asia and Europe, like a head and a tail—

^A (even if they did not understand that they had been disciplined by murders, fires, earthquakes, looting, civil raids, unexpected shifts in the fortunes of cities, signs from heaven, and signs from the air), finally, the miseries also spread to the wretched islands, like some musical string, so that the plague might be bodily whole. But there was no teaching those who had denied the divine human form to worship it. When, therefore, at the time the revolt began under Thomas—since these things were heard of everywhere—the Hagarenes who inhabited the western gulf of Iberia, bordering on the Ocean (whom long passage of time has renamed "Hispanos"), having increased to a multitude of bodies and finding prosperity in their race, seeing that their own western side was wretched and only moderately fortunate, and that it fell far short of possessing the virtue and abundance of the land—and moreover even the eastern and southern parts of Iberia were suffering from this same defect (for not every land is suitable and fertile for every kind of virtue, but the western side, as has been said, is more arid and wretched than the rest, and for this reason it was unable to feed and sustain men who possessed large bodies and who grew by an abundance of goods, not by their lack)—these people, therefore, approached Apochaps, their amir, and asked that they be allowed to lead a colony and migrate to another place, since they were crowded by their multitude and pressed by a lack of necessary things. He at once equipped some large ships, and having embarked a not inconsiderable force of these same people, he headed toward the islands situated in the East and belonging to our dominion, ostensibly for the sake of ^B raiding—covering his intent—at once to satisfy what they desired, providing for them from the wealth of others, and at the same time to look around to see if any of the islands was fertile and rich enough for them to lead their colony there conveniently. When, accordingly, he approached many of the islands and found no one resisting him, nor any larger or smaller ships opposing him (for all had been stripped of every guard, because their entire fleet had sailed off to provide assistance to Thomas against Constantinople), and having gained immense booty from all the islands at which he had called, he also came to Crete. Having raided and devastated it as much as he could, and having perceived the quality of the soil from every side, and how fertile it was for every kind of charm and abundance of crops: "Look," he said, "this is no other than the land flowing with milk and honey." And at that time, having loaded his ships with every kind of booty, he returned home; and once back, he fitted out a strong and huge fleet. Furthermore, as the winter was ending and spring was shining forth, having filled forty ships with warlike men and having watched for a favorable wind, he headed straight for Crete, having set aside the other islands. He was now approaching ^C and had brought his fleet to land and anchored at the promontory called Charax. But when nothing appeared to them either at the landing or at the disembarkation

^A that was cause for grief, and they were already freely gathering spoils and making forays, the rationale of their plan for achieving their goal seemed easy. He sent suitable men, according to their custom, to maraud and capture booty; he himself, with the others, once those men had traveled a little further—about ten or fifteen stades—and with the wind picking up, set fire to the ships and burned them all. The entire army, suddenly terrified by the spectacle of the burning fleet, turned immediately back to the camp, and then more fiercely began to demand an accounting for so great a crime. To them the leader said, "That which you were long desiring has come to pass. You yourselves were the authors of this matter to us, you who were seeking a colony and good land. As far as I am concerned, I have judged none better than this. And I undertook this journey so that I might both provide you with goods and free myself from the nuisance of your complaints." But when they also remembered their wives and children, and that their care must not be neglected, Apochapsus replied, "Your wives are at hand—the captive women—and the children you will soon beget from them." ^B Thus quieted by such words, and judging what was said to be worthy of approval, they first raised a deep trench and planted a palisade within it; wherefrom the place even now preserves the name it received, being called Chandax, there they spent the night, keeping the customary watches and storing their goods and resources there.

22. A long time did not flow by, and rumor informed the emperor of all these things. And so he entrusted the entire management of affairs pertaining to Crete to the protospatharios Photinos, the great-grandfather of Zoe, the God-crowned Augusta of blessed memory, who was at that time the strategos of the Anatolics. ^C When he had arrived there, and had both seen some things with his own eyes and heard others reported by others, he clarified in detail to the emperor what was happening, and requested that some forces be sent from the City to drive out the enemies from that place. Accordingly, the emperor sent Damian, the count of the imperial stables and protospatharios, with a large army and equipment to the aid of the strategist Photinos; and they, having joined their forces, arranged the war against the Agarenes, yet they achieved nothing of utility in the end. For the aforementioned Damian, upon the arrival of battle, immediately fell wounded and was handed over to slaughter, and became the cause not of victory and continuing to fight bravely for the rest, but of flight and disaster. ^D Photinos, in that rout, barely escaped by boarding a light vessel and fleeing to Dia, and himself became the messenger to the emperor of the disaster that had occurred. However, because the emperor greatly honored the man, he ordered him to preside over Sicily with command instead of Crete.

23. While the Spaniards were still living in some confusion and concern, a certain monk who had descended from the mountains of the island advised them that there was another place for them more suitable for the building of a city, and that they might enjoy a more abundant supply of grain and live in safety.

He then took Candax and showed it to them, where their city is built even to this day; and Apochapsus was at that time the governor of it. ^A Setting out from this as from a kind of citadel, they would ravage the entire island and certain neighboring regions, not least by settling in them, having brought the inhabitants themselves and the native population into servitude. They captured twenty-nine cities of Crete, with their light-armed troops and infantry, with only one remaining from that time on unassailed and unharmed, which, while remaining subject in word, preserved its own customs and the Christian religion inviolate. At that time, Cyril, the prelate of Gortyna, because he could not be persuaded to deny Christ, was slaughtered like an innocent victim; his blood, like that of Abel or even Zacharias, ^B cries out to God, remaining unchanged. From his tomb, although the faithful freely draw the oil pressed out with sponges, they are unable to change the staining color of the blood. There also exist there other tombs, and the sepulchers of many others who at that time suffered martyrdom for Christ, as well as the famous ten martyrs, have been erected. In such a way, and at such a time, were the Cretans taken from the midst of the Christians.

24. But when Michael had at last and with difficulty shaken off the enemies ^C who were encircling and beating against him, and, being freed from the fear of them, he ought to have turned to God and rendered Him placable and propitious through good deeds, he did the opposite. Just as if he had attained salvation not by the will of God but by his own power, he fashioned his way of life against what the public laws and statutes permit. Accordingly, after his wife had died, while he courted the opinion of the populace so that they would think he was affected by her inconsolable grief, he nevertheless acted through secret and hidden messages ^D with the senate to induce him to enter into nuptial bonds again, and urged them not only to use persuasive words with him, but also to compel him and threaten to use force if he did not perform the deed entirely. They were to show that an emperor could not live celibate, so that their own wives might not lack a mistress and Augusta. Thus, he finally yielded to their feigned words, although it could not be that the story would not eventually be exposed by time. And first he bound the senate with a written document and exacted an oath that they would perform what neither could happen nor ever be, namely, that they would defend and fight for his future wife and the children he would have by her after he had departed from the living, [note: no D-marker follows, but page concludes.] and that they would have them as emperors and her as mistress, as is appropriate. To such a degree did he think he would rule not only in this age but also after his own death, when all things should have been hoped for from God—not as if they depended on the hand of men—through Whom kings reign and tyrants hold the earth. [a] Nevertheless, he yielded to that senatus consultum—he, the one who ruled the entire earth—and he, who had embraced a life of chastity, reluctantly consented to be joined. He was thus led toward marriage.

^A His choice was not just any woman, but one who had long ago renounced the world and its affairs, and having been betrothed to Christ, had from childhood been trained and devoted to God in the monastery situated on the island called Prince’s Island. Her name was Euphrosyne. She was, of course, the illustrious offspring of that Constantine who had been blinded by his mother in a quest for justice. By this deed, he did not merely fail to appease the divine Power, but rather provoked its wrath even more severely against himself and the Roman state.

^B 25. Therefore, he sent out another fleet against those who were holding and ravaging Crete, under the command of Craterus. When he was serving as prefect of the Cibyrraeots, he took seventy biremes from those under his command and from all the thematic fleets, and, fuming with a great spirit [P. 50], he arrived at Crete with threats. And since it seemed that the Agarenes could not avoid the gamble of battle, but rather had to engage in a struggle to test their own strength and military prowess—for they were truly skilled in such things, as are those of the other Agarenes—they both engaged boldly. From the break of dawn until midday, neither side gave way, but both fought strenuously, displaying a remarkable example of military skill and courage. Finally, as the day inclined toward evening, the Cretans were overcome and took to flight. Many of them were killed in the fighting, and more were captured by the pursuing Romans after throwing down their arms. And perhaps they might have taken the city that very day with greater diligence and haste, had not night falling caused the situation to turn in the opposite direction; and, seeking respite, it brought forth for them not salvation, but slaughter and ruin. For, as if they had already won, and hoping that they would easily capture all of the few who remained the next day, they gave themselves over to drinking and debauchery, as if they were at home and not in enemy territory, without any regard for guard duty or any other safety measure mandated by the laws of war, thinking only of sleep and of the listlessness and sloth that easily overturns and destroys everything. Hence, around midnight, when the Cretans—for they were anxious about their affairs—learned through their own scouts that the Roman camp was overwhelmed by wine and sleep, they sallied forth at once and slaughtered everyone with the sword, so that, as the saying goes, not even a messenger returned or survived the disaster. Only the commander, Craterus, managed to save himself by boarding a merchant vessel. But when the leader of the Agarenes inquired everywhere and could not find him, yet heard that he had escaped, he sent ships and commanders to search for the man and pursue him. Having overtaken him on the island of Cos, they seized him and hung him upon a cross. And such were the events of that battle and conflict, which brought a great calamity upon the Romans—not merely on account of the slaughter they suffered, but because...

^A that many-headed hydra, having taken root from that time, endured; and as it was always being cut down there and in other places, it sprouted and revived elsewhere.

26. After these events, a man of military experience, not devoid of prudence and shrewdness, nicknamed Coryphas, gathered an army by the emperor’s command—a force then called the "Forty," because forty gold pieces had been distributed to each man. He invaded other islands which they held with small numbers and few colonists, and partly by setting ambushes and partly by engaging in battle, he utterly destroyed and brought to ruin the Hagarenes in them. But this one, about which our discourse is concerned (that is, Crete), he transmitted to us, as it seems, to be liberated from this pestilence. ^B But as for the things concerning it, God will surely care for them; and it will be a concern also for us, whose souls the anxiety of avenging it torments and consumes by night and day.

27. At the same time, a certain Euphemius, a tourmarch in Sicily, fell in love with a certain virgin who was living in a convent and had long ago assumed the monastic habit; and he was possessed by a vast desire to satisfy his lust by taking the virgin as his wife. Since he had not far to look for a precedent that neither hindered nor deterred him—namely that of Michael (for he too, as has been said, had recently perpetrated a similar crime)—he snatched the virgin from the convent and dragged her, unwilling, to himself. The brothers of the virgin therefore approached Michael, denouncing the deed that had been done. ^C But he commanded the strategos: if he found that the truth was indeed as they had reported, he was to cut off the nose of the audacious Euphemius in accordance with the rigor of the law. When Euphemius learned of this—both the observance of the law against him and the imperial threat—he took into his conspiracy those who were under his command as well as some of the other tourmarches, and when the strategos came for this purpose to exact punishment from him, he evaded him by flight and fled to the Emir of Africa, promising that he would subject all of Sicily to him and would pay large tributes, if only he would proclaim him emperor and provide some aid. He therefore proclaims him emperor of the Romans and gives him a large force, and he becomes master of Sicily, having received it from this very man—and not of this place alone, but also of other regions that were brought to ruin by the assistance of such men. ^D The details of this are set forth most clearly and more broadly in the history written at that time by Theognostus, who also wrote on orthography, which has come into our hands; whoever wishes may consult it and learn everything in fuller detail. Yet Euphemius, not long after, received the wages of his defection and the reward for his wickedness: the loss of his head. For while wearing imperial attire, he was going around Syracuse; and having ventured farther than a bowshot from his own retinue and bodyguards, he approached the city, addressing the citizens with tyrannical and royal arrogance. As he was thus...

coming, two brothers caught sight of him; both, with the same conspiracy and one counsel, approached him peacefully, paying him the honor due to an emperor. Euphemius willingly accepted their salutation and heard from them the same titles. Then, he invited the men to himself with kindness, intending to return the greetings in turn. Therefore, as he bowed his head and brought his mouth to the mouth of one of the brothers, the latter seized him firmly by the hair, while the other amputated his head from his shoulders. And indeed, Euphemius departed this life in such a manner. ^A

28. Moreover, the Agarenes from that time were not only masters of Sicily, but also of Calabria and Langobardia, raiding and plundering that entire region, until the times of the emperor Basil of happy memory, when they established their seats there. For indeed, his history will declare this. Michael, however, after holding the empire for nine years and eight months, was extinguished by a difficulty of urine arising from an affliction of the kidneys, having neither put aside his most hostile hatred for God (on this account: that he would not worship the image of Him who assumed flesh for us; nay, rather he cast out His worshippers, Methodium and Euphemium, of whom mention has been made above), nor having set aside the implacable war of the Agarenes; and God, because of his wickedness, had brought upon him the rebellion of Thomas and the war of the Saracens, the Cretans, and the Africans, as has already been said. ^B But also, the whole of Dalmatia at that time departed from the Roman empire, and all became autonomous and independent until the reign of that famous Basil; for then they were again subjected to the Romans. The oracle reported concerning him was also fulfilled, saying thus: ^C The beginning of evils shall fall upon the land, When the Babylonian dragon shall rule things, Of brutish tongue, and most desirous of gold. His corpse was deposited in the church of the Holy Apostles, in the heroon of Justinian, in a green Thessalian marble sarcophagus.

BOOK III. ON THE REIGN OF THEOPHILUS, SON OF MICHAEL

BOOK III. THE REIGN OF THEOPHILUS, SON OF MICHAEL

1. The deeds of Michael the Stammerer during the nine years and eight months that he held the reins of power have been set forth by us in the preceding book. His son, Theophilus, having by now reached man's estate, assumed the paternal authority and empire in the month of October, in the eighth indiction. He indeed made a show of a most fervent zeal for justice, and wished to appear a diligent observer of civil laws.

^A While outwardly keeping himself safe from those plotting against him, so that no one might act with youthful rashness against him, he feigned these things. Fearing, therefore, the danger that hung over him, he decided to deliver to destruction and slaughter all those who had procured the empire for his father through conspiracy, and had risen up against Leo. ^B Hence he issued a decree that all who enjoyed royal favors, and moreover all who had shared in any royal honor, should assemble at the Magnaura. When this had occurred and no one dared to disregard the command, concealing the savagery of his soul as if in darkness, he spoke thus in a brief and gentle voice: "My people and inheritance," he said, "my father of glorious memory wished and earnestly desired to reward with many great honors and other goods and gifts those who had brought him aid and had fought valiantly for the acquisition of the empire. But since he departed from the living sooner than he had intended, and the opportunity fled before he could carry out his intent, lest he seem ungrateful to many, he left me not only successor to the empire which he adorned, but also debtor to them for that debt and gratitude. Let each one, therefore, stepping forth from the midst, show himself to us." Deceived by these words and falling into the trap, the wretches each betrayed themselves and made themselves manifest to all. Soon, therefore, he commanded the prefect to execute the civil laws. "Come now," he said, "you, repay them according to their deeds—not only because they did not fear God, defiling their right hand with human blood, but also because, wretches that they were, they destroyed the Lord’s anointed emperor." Having said this, he dismissed that first, truly marvelous assembly; and if any should praise it as an exercise of legal severity, I do not know if he would be close to admitting [the emperor's] leniency and nobility of mind. And so he removed them from the midst in this manner. ^C This he certainly added, which was worthy of praise and honorable: he expelled his stepmother, Euphrosyne, from the palace and forced her to return to the monastery where she had first taken the veil. ^D This woman, whom we related elsewhere as having been the second spouse of Michael, was not helped at all by the written documents and oaths made during that narrative, for they were neither performed nor brought about in a holy or religious manner. And why not? Because he had not taken her as wife with hope placed in God (otherwise he would have taken a woman to a lawful bed, and not one who had already bound herself to Christ by a vow), but in his own audacity and in those great oaths, which led everyone far away from God.

2. And his beginnings were in this manner. As for what followed, he proved to be a severe cultivator of justice, and struck terror into all the wicked, and admiration into the good: into the former, because he was hostile to the wicked and just; into the latter, because he displayed a heavy and austere character. Yet he could not be free from all vices. For this reason, while he held to faith in God and his all-holy mother, as he claimed,

Book III

^A regarding the heresy of the Iconoclasts, which he had received from his ancestors, he clung to it, and by this he disturbed the pious and all-holy people and afflicted them with various kinds of miseries, not allowing them to remain at peace during the whole time of his reign; nor did he receive in return the appropriate reward for his brave deeds in war; but he was always defeated and did not return as a king should.

3. Therefore, being diligent in justice, though not in the faith and zeal toward the mother of God, as I said, he would ride on horseback along the middle street and the main thoroughfare to the divine church in Blachernae each week, accompanied by his guards. ^B The purpose of this procession was that he might show himself to all, especially to those suffering any injustice, to hear their complaints, and that no evildoer, fearing punishment from him, might hinder their approach. At the same time, as he rode through the market, he would inspect the goods for sale. He would inquire about the price of everything for sale in the market; and he did not do this in a perfunctory manner, but very actively and persistently, and not only regarding one kind of merchandise, but every sort that could provide a human being with nourishment, whether it was eaten or drunk, and every sort that served for warmth and clothing, and simply everything displayed in the market for those wishing to purchase. ^C For this reason, one would not easily find him having gone out for a pleasure trip, as he displayed great zeal for public affairs and diligence, now in the tribunals, and now, as has been said, on his weekly processions.

4. When the things that provide delight to the eyes outside the city very often attract the kings to themselves, he pulled down the walls of the palace facing the sea from their ancient foundations, and toward the sunny spots—where it once happened that a royal son had been drowned in a cistern—by making gardens, he filled in what was lacking and amused and refreshed himself with these, as is natural. ^D Once, while he was spending time there, or as the story goes, dining, it happened that a massive merchant ship, sailing with the wind, with its sails spread wide, overshadowed the harbor with its great size and threw the emperor into amazement. He immediately inquired whose the ship was and what kind of provisions it was carrying. When he heard that it belonged to the Augusta, and the matter was too well known to be hidden, he is said to have remained silent then and waited for the day when he was accustomed to go to Blachernae. But when the day arrived and the ship's anchorage was known to the emperor, having learned it from someone, he set out on the road leading to the ship—it was along the Bosphorus. And when he had arrived [D (new)/56] and stood by the stern of the vessel, according to his custom, he asked the senate, not once only, but twice and three times, whether anything was lacking to anyone of those things which were for the use of the household and for provisions, namely wheat and wine or any other foodstuff. When

they had been questioned many times they finally replied with difficulty, once, that they lacked nothing ^A so long as they enjoyed the good fortune of his Lordship and Empire, and added that they knew nothing of those things about which they were being asked. “Do you not know,” he said, “that I, who by the nod and will of God exist as Emperor, have been made a ship-owner by the Augusta, my wife?” And he added, indignant: “Has anyone ever seen a Roman Emperor or his wife practicing commerce?” And since no one gave an answer to this, he ordered that the men who were on the ship should be taken out immediately, and he set fire to that ship, with its anchors and sails and all other cargo, greatly railing afterward and accusing his mistress with every kind of insult, and even threatening her with death, if ever she were caught doing such a thing from that time on.

5. Now Theodora (for this was the name of the Augusta) ^B graced with her birthplace Paphlagonia and the town of Ebissa; her father was Marinus, not an obscure man or one of private station, but one who had been a drungary or (as others hold) a tribune; and her mother was Theoctista, who was surnamed Florina, both of whom had been reared in pious ways and in the true faith, and who—in accordance with the character and heresy of all men of that age—had not at all denied the worship of the venerable icons, but instead venerated them with the most ardent zeal, embracing them with their mouths, hands, ^C and bosoms. Moreover, Theodora had long since been adorned with the imperial crown according to the custom of emperors, and her mother Theoctista had been honored with the dignity of *zoste* (that is, the girt one) and of *patricia*. Therefore, this Theoctista, in her own house—which she had situated in the place where the monastery of the Gastria is now built and founded (she had purchased it from that patrician Nicetas)—would call to her the daughters of Theodora (who were five in number: Thecla and Anna, Anastasia and Pulcheria, and Maria). She would flatter them with small gifts, by which this sex is accustomed to be cajoled, and then, taking them aside, she would exhort them not to grow soft or remain merely female as they were, but to summon manly spirits worthy of their mother's milk, to abominate their father's heresy, and to embrace and kiss the forms of the venerable icons. And placing the latter into their hands—for she kept them stored away in a certain chest—she would apply them to her face and lips, sanctifying the girls and exciting them to love for these things. Since she did this repeatedly, and was kindling in her granddaughters a burning desire for the icons, the matter did not escape Theophilus. For once, when he was questioning his daughters as to what gifts they had received from their grandmother, and what kindnesses and favors she had bestowed upon them, while the others, with alert minds, steadfastly avoided his questioning as if it were a trap, Pulcheria—immature not only in age but in understanding—began to relate how kindly they had been treated and with what various fruits they had been gifted, and added thereto the veneration of the venerable icons, thus speaking in her simple way, and saying that she had many “dolls” in the chest, and these...

she kissed and held to her face and mouth. The emperor was driven to fury by these whispered reports. But the respect and piety of the woman, as well as her boldness—which was no less, for she openly mocked and reproved him for the daily persecutions of the confessors and the declared heresy, and ^A she alone, one might say, made manifest the hatred of everyone toward him—prevented him from taking any harsher or more bitter action against her; yet he did cut off the visits of his daughters to her, and prevented them from being frequent.

6. A similar thing happened to the Empress Theodora. There was in the palace a certain doting dwarf, in no way different from the Homeric Thersites; his name was Denderis, a man of indistinct speech, kept in the palace only to provoke laughter and for amusement. This man once burst into the empress's private chamber and found her embracing holy icons and devoutly bringing them to her eyes. Seeing them, this half-witted creature asked what they were, and stepped closer to look. The empress, speaking in a rustic manner, said, “They are my beautiful dolls, which I love very much.” At that time, the emperor was dining at the table, and seeing the man coming toward him in haste, he asked him where he had been. He replied that he had been with “the mother” (for so he called Theodora), and had seen her taking beautiful dolls out from the cushion. The emperor understood; and full of rage, he rose from the table and went to her, ^B raining upon her many other insults and calling her an idolater with unbridled tongue, while at the same time reporting the words of the half-witted man. But she, meanwhile appeasing the anger of her husband, said in a ready answer: “It is not so, O Emperor, it is not as you suspect; but when I was looking into the mirror ^C with my maidservants, Denderis, seeing the forms reflected in it, came and foolishly reported to his master and emperor that they were painted icons.” Thus she extinguished his anger for the time being; but after a few days, she subjected Denderis to discipline and taught him to be wise, hinting that he should never speak of the beautiful dolls to anyone. And so, when Theophilus, after drinking, was ^D boasting and bragging against the empress, he asked him about her, whether the “mother” was again kissing the beautiful dolls. Denderis, placing his right hand over his mouth and holding his rear parts with his left, replied, “Hush, hush about the dolls, O Emperor.” And these things took place in this manner.

7. Furthermore, when a certain man was performing deeds of valor in war, possessing a youthful hand and a fine horse, it happened that the general under whom the soldier served was overcome by a desire for the horse, by which the man had been saved and had often escaped death. Since, therefore, having frequently requested it, and having tried all manners and favors—for he promised to give the man much—he met with a refusal, and the general also applied force, yet even so he did not have the man yielding, he removed him from the office he held, and in many ways...

he was leading a life of ease, and held the horse as a delight. A considerable time had also passed, which was calling ^A the man to war out of rivalry, but also consuming him, as is wont to happen to those who are sorely afflicted by adverse fortune. It happened, therefore, that at the time when he was being pressed by adverse fortune, Theophilus was looking for a high-bred horse; and having sent letters, he ordered all the leading men and magistrates or generals to search diligently for such a horse and send it to him. The praetor, seizing the opportunity, took the horse brought by the man even against his will, intending it as his own property, and sent it to the emperor. This was the crime, and this the loss of the horse. But since some warlike necessity had arisen and matters were in turmoil, the emperor had ordered that all who were in any way exempt from military service should set out for war; and it came about that this man also, being stripped of the protection of that high-bred horse, was killed while serving in the military, leaving behind a poor widow and children. What then did the woman do, when she heard that the emperor lent an easy ear and was tenacious of law and justice, and as she was burning with intense longing for her husband, and had no means to provide the necessities of life for her children? She sought the royal palace and, catching sight of Theophilus on the day he was accustomed to go out to the Blachernae, riding the very horse of her husband, she fell upon her knees, lamenting and holding the bridle of the horse, and as a suppliant she prayed, and taught him that this horse was her own, and that no other than he himself was the author of her husband's death. ^B That great confidence of the woman struck the emperor with astonishment; and being quite amazed, and understanding nothing of what was being said, for the time being he ordered the woman to be kept safe until he himself should return to the palace. Returning quickly, he summoned the woman. She was soon present and taught him everything clearly, setting forth the whole matter. The emperor therefore ordered the praetor to be brought before him, and made a vigorous inquiry about the horse. But when ^C he was asserting that he had not sent it from anywhere else nor through force and rapine, but from his own house, the woman was produced in his sight, destined to convict the guilty man of violence. The praetor, upon seeing her, no longer dared to flatter himself with a lie; and at once, as a suppliant, in a pitiable manner, weeping and wailing, he clung to the feet of the emperor. What then did he do? He assigned the man’s property to the widow and her children in fixed portions as if by hereditary right, and removed him from his office; and in that way his just sentence, and how greatly he hated iniquitous plunderers, became known to all. ^D

8. Nor was he less diligent in his buildings; for he showed his own care. For the walls of the city, which were rather low, he rebuilt from the foundations, as if wiping away their old age, and having raised them to a height with equal beauty, he made them inaccessible everywhere to his enemies; which walls even to this day show his name written upon them. Nevertheless...

he drove the harlots from their dwellings, and having cleansed that entire place, he constructed a hospice bearing his name, most beautiful in elegance and most vast in size, airy and having a pleasing prospect, by which means harmful passions and diseases are eliminated, and healthful remedies are provided. Such, indeed, was his disposition toward harlots. ^A They say, however, that when he was living somewhat more freely at one time, having been captivated by the beauty of one of Theodora’s handmaidens, he had fallen into corruption with her; but when he perceived his error from that good path, and in any case since this had not escaped the notice of Theodora—who was dejected, unkempt, and sorrowful—he thereupon confessed the matter to her, swearing oaths and in a fearful manner lifting his hands to God, affirming that he had only that once slipped, and begging for forgiveness from his wife. In addition to these things, he built and erected with a lavish hand a certain house and palace for his daughters near the place called the Cariani, remnants and mounds of which preserve the memory of them even unto our day.

9. Since, in following ancient custom, he wished to make the affairs of the imperial majesty evident to those of Hagar, either to take them as partners in his joy or rather so that he might appear terrifying to them, he deems John—who was at that time his syncellus and before that, as we have said, his teacher—worthy of such a task. For he loved him and honored him far more than all his contemporaries, as he was a man highly instructed in the knowledge of organizing civil affairs, tenacious of the heresy which he practiced, and besides this, keen in the skill of disputation; ^B for which reason he also sent him as an envoy to the ruler of Syria, bestowing upon him many other things by which the empire of the Romans is admired and the race of the foreigners is struck with awe, and further providing him with gold, an amount exceeding four centenaria. But those former things he sent to the Amermumnes ^C as gifts, while the gold looked towards John’s own munificent largesses, at once for the sake of ostentation and the increase of his reputation. For if it is permitted to him who performs an embassy to scatter gold as he wishes at will, like sand, much more, surely, is he who sent him to be wondered at for his piles of riches and immense treasures. Therefore he also bestowed upon him two vessels wrought of gold and precious stones, which the common and impure tongue calls *cherniboxesta* (we may call them wash-basins), in order that he might thereby celebrate and honor his envoy with magnificence. And when he had arrived and entered the city of Bagdad, he was held in high regard ^D for the keenness of his mind and his skill in prophecies, and likewise highly regarded for his wealth and all his external refinement and majesty; for he provided not small things to those who were sent to him or who came to meet him of their own accord, but magnificent ones.

and which alone suited the Roman emperor. ^B Hence, admiration for him and the fame of his name flew far and wide. But as soon as he reached the lands of the Barbarians, he struck everyone with astonishment; and he would fill with wonder, by the munificence and abundance of his gifts and of gold, those who came forward to meet him out of friendly curiosity and inquired only of how the emperor fared and how good his health was. Then, having approached the Ismailite [Caliph] and been admitted into his presence, having reported the emperor’s words to him, when he had finished his speech, he withdrew to his lodging for refreshment. And being stirred by the intention of exalting Roman affairs all the more, whenever anyone approached him for any reason, whether of greater or lesser importance, he would present him with a silver vessel full of gold coins as a munificent gift. Once, while dining at a common table with the Barbarians, he ordered the servants to deliberately lose one of the two wash-basins that we mentioned, which were used in his service. And when no small disturbance and clamor arose because it had been lost, and all the Barbarians, feeling aggrieved by the loss of the vessels—on account of their beauty, elegance, and immense value—were using every diligence in searching, and, as the saying goes, were leaving no stone unturned to bring to light what had been stolen, he ordered the second one to be brought out. Telling the servant to let the first one be lost, just as he had stopped the others from searching for it, he brought the Saracens to astonishment, having quieted their inquiry. ^C Whence also the Ameramne, striving to outdo him in munificence, and not wishing to be seen as second to him, treated him with other gifts—not that he was captivated by their splendor, but rather cast them before him like dust—and presented him with one hundred captives recently taken from prison, dressed in elegant clothing after their captives' rags had been removed. Yet he, for his part, praised and approved highly of the giver's munificence, but declined the gift for the time being, saying that those men would live with him in greater ease and freedom until he could return the favor and receive these Romans back in exchange for other Saracen captives. Things coming to pass in this way struck the Saracen with wonder. And now he treated him not as a guest, but as an intimate and necessary associate, constantly inviting him to his side and showing him his treasures and the elegance of his houses, and whatever else was held in high honor according to the customs of the race; and he seemed to honor him in this way until he sent him back magnificently to Constantinople. ^D Having returned to Theophilus from his embassy, and relating the affairs of Syria to him, he persuaded him to build the Bryas palace in the likeness of the Saracen buildings, in the same shape and variety, so that nothing at all would appear different between the two. The man in charge of the work, carrying it out according to the account of John, was a man named Patricius, who also thrived in the dignity of the patricians; he did only this much more, that he erected a church in the bedchamber [P. 62] in the name of our most holy sovereign, the Theotokos, and in the courtyard of such palaces a three-conch church, most beautiful in elegance and differing from many others in size, and the middle one to

^A the name of the Archistrategos [Archangel Michael], and those on either side of it to the names of the holy female martyrs.

10. Now, Theophilus seemed magnificent and admirable in matters such as these; but in regard to us, the faithful who worship the venerable and divine icons, what kind of man did he show himself to be? Clearly, as one barbarous and harsh, striving to surpass all his predecessor tyrants in name and in hatred. For those who were before him—Leo, and Michael who was his father—had already set the tone: the one [Michael] decreed that the name "holy" should not be engraved upon any of the depicted icons, even if they happened to be painted somewhere, as if it did not suit this title to be inscribed upon anything other than the Divine; ^B having aimed, with his mind, at no successful mark. For how, since God Himself, having bestowed the voice of "God"—which is far more exalted—upon men (I mean those who are gods not by nature, but by adoption, if indeed it was He who spoke through the prophet), would He have deprived them of the name "holy," which is far more humble? Yet that was the decree of the one, he says. But the other, Leo, decreed that they should not be worshipped at all. "But I," he says, "order that they not even be outlined or fashioned with colors, because it is not fitting for a humble and degenerate mind to be fixed in admiration of such things, and all the intention of the mind must be directed toward truth alone." Hence, the divine forms were cast down in every church, and in their place beasts and birds were erected and painted, testifying to his ^C bestial and slavish mind. Hence, the sacred treasures were insulted in the marketplace by profane hands, were otherwise thrown upon the ground and consigned to the fire, and things that bore the divine forms engraved upon them were deemed common and precious [merchandise]. Hence, the public prisons were full of those who rendered honor to them—of painters, monks, bishops, pastors, and the flock—and the mountains and caves were full of those who were destroyed as evildoers by famine and thirst, as well as by the terrible blockade. For just now, having ordered that the cities be kept inaccessible to the monks, and having decreed that they be driven away everywhere as an abomination, and that they not even dare to be seen in the countryside, ^D he turned their monasteries and hermitages into conspicuous gathering places for the masses and worldly habitations. For some of them, who did not wish to betray their virtue and their holy habit, wasted away by hunger and hardships and departed; others, unable to even look upon such a struggle, neglected their habits but managed their own salvation as best they could; others, living more slothfully, embraced a loose and relaxed life, having shown no regard for divine hymns and songs and their vestments, the tyrant willing that not even these gatherings be held—which they are often the only ones able to keep and, as it were,

a bridle for those slipping uncontrollably into passions. ^A

11. Yet it could not happen that the freedom of speech should seem to have been utterly banished from human life. But of those who were moved by greater fervor, some individually, others in a crowded column, like the Abrahamite monks, accosting the man, they demonstrated with erudition—both from the words of our holy Fathers, the divine Dionysius, Hierotheus, and Irenaeus, that the monastic way of life and discipline was not something newly and recently devised, but was ancient, primeval, and held in high esteem by men; and further, they showed that the representation of holy images was something that grew up with the apostles and was familiar to them, since the divine Luke depicted the form of the holy Theotokos, and Christ our Lord and God himself, having left an imprint of himself upon a linen cloth, left it to us, fashioned without the work of human hands. ^B These most divine men, therefore, having provoked the tyrant’s madness and beastly nature by the extreme boldness of their speech, were after many other tortures cast out of the city. Having fled to the oratory of the Forerunner, known as Phoberus (as if one were to say "the fearful"), situated on the Euxine Sea, and having been altogether exhausted by the dread blows of scourges, they were granted the heavenly inheritance. Their sacred remains, having been for a long time cast and thrown carelessly onto the ground, not even attaining the honor of burial, were preserved whole and unharmed, until, having been recognized by the faithful and lifted up, they were bestowed with honor befitting those who had suffered martyrdom for Christ.

12. ^C Similar to these and distinguished by an equal deed was a certain monk, who had just ascended to the pinnacle of the priesthood and, full of divine zeal, resolved to rebuke the tyrant and, if possible, to persuade him to venerate sacred images. Standing face to face with him, among many other things he also put forward what the apostle Paul said, the very word that declares: "If anyone preaches to you a gospel other than what you have received, let him be anathema." But the tyrant, having inflicted many blows upon him, when he perceived him to be wiser according to his own method and sharper in disputation, sent him away to John, his own one-time tutor and teacher, ordering him to cast the man down with dialectical reasons and arguments. But this famous combatant, having silenced the man—making him more speechless than a fish—not with sophistic and dialectical arguments, but with apostolic and evangelical testimonies, was for the time being released from him. Later, however, he came to the mountain called Calon (as if you were to name it "the Beautiful"), and there falling in with a certain divine and God-inspired man, Ignatius, he received from him the gift of ordination, and having prophesied concerning future events and the successions of emperors, and persevering until the time of the Christ-loving Leo Augustus and his children, ^D he departed to the Lord.

^A 13. Since the tyrant had decided to remove all those who produced the divine forms ^B or, if they preferred to save their lives, to spit upon the holy images and, as if they were base things, cast them onto the ground and trample them underfoot, and thus save themselves, he determined to coerce the monk Lazarus (who at that time was renowned for the art of painting animals). But finding him superior to his flatteries and also superior to his own will, and having been reproved by him not once or twice, but many times, he tortured him with such severe scourges that at first his flesh flowed away along with his blood, and he was thought by many to be not even alive at all. But when he heard that he had been shut up in prison again and, having barely recovered, was occupying himself with his craft and restoring the images of the saints upon panels, he ordered that white-hot iron plates be applied to his palms. The fire therefore devoured his flesh and continued, until, overcome by the evil, he lay half-dead. But it was fitting that he should be preserved by divine grace as a beacon for posterity. Therefore, when the tyrant heard that he was already breathing his last, moved by the entreaties of the Augusta and certain others of his intimates and those closest to him, he released him from prison. Thus, at last, he hid himself in the temple of the Forerunner, which they call of Phoberos (as if one were to say "terrible"), where even while still suffering from his wounds, he painted an image of the same Forerunner, which exists even to this day and dispels many diseases of the sick. And this is so far as that is concerned. But when the tyrant had been extinguished and the light of the true faith had shone forth, he himself with his own hands restored the image of the God-man Jesus Christ in the Chalke gate (that is, the bronze gate). And when he was invited by the illustrious Theodora to grant a pardon and to petition her husband, he said, "God is not unjust, O Augusta, so as to forget our love and the labors and sufferings we endured for his sake, and to give more consideration to the other’s hatred and excessive madness." But these things come later.

14. Also, he once summoned the confessor Theophanes and his brother Theodore—whom he knew well practiced a higher erudition than the common run of people—to the Lausiac triclinium to dispute publicly concerning the faith, and said, "Come now, you accursed ones, by what passages and testimonies of Scripture are you persuaded to worship idols (by which he meant, of course, the holy images, calling them thus with an impotent and impure mouth), and insist that it is a worthwhile work for the simple common folk to do the same?" And he added other blasphemous and discordant remarks against the image of Christ God with a louder and more strenuous voice. To these the blessed men replied: "Let the mouth that speaks iniquity against God be stopped" (Ps. LXII, 12), and with this thunder of their voices they suppressed the audacity of the tyrant (for an unjust king does not patiently endure being reproved to his face); meanwhile, he temporarily dissembles...

^A and asks for testimonies to be brought from the prophets regarding this very matter, and by which it might be urged that images are to be worshipped. When the blessed Theophanes brought forward some passage from the prophecy of Isaiah, Theophilus replied that his book did not have it so; and at the same time, turning over his own book, he showed his words to be the true ones. Thereupon, Theophanes cried out that not only this book, but all those that had come into the hands of Theophilus, had been corrupted by him. He said that they should bring him the codex which existed in the patriarchal library of Saint Thomas, on such and such a shelf and in such and such a place, to confirm the truth of his words. Someone was therefore sent, and he brought the book more quickly than a word could be spoken. The Emperor, on purpose, was deviating from the place, and, led by shame, was turning over [pages] in another section. But when the blessed Theophanes pointed out ^B and with an intent finger showed that, if three more leaves were turned, they would come upon the sought-for passage, then indeed, no longer bearing the boldness of the men and being himself conscious of the truth, he cast off the mask of patience he had hitherto simulated and revealed the beast [he was]. "It is not right," he said, "for an emperor to be insulted by such men." Consequently, he ordered them to be led into the inner garden of the Lausiacus, to be beaten with two hundred rods each, and to have inscribed upon their foreheads, in barbarous fashion, by pricking and infusing ink, these silly iambic verses of which he was the author. They are these:

To the city, where all desire to flee, Where the all-holy feet of God the Word Were planted, for the world's establishment, These came—wicked vessels of superstitious error— To that venerable place. There, having perpetrated many foul deeds of impiety Out of lack of faith against God, They were driven thence as apostates, And having fled to the city of the empire, They did not cease their lawless follies. Wherefore, branded as criminals for their appearance, They are condemned and driven out again.

^C When this had been done with all speed, they indeed carried off the crown of confession and martyrdom; but the fierce emperor, while prevailing over all those wretched men in greater wretchedness himself, acquired the name of blasphemer and persecutor among all, and was held to be the worst of all the heretics that have ever existed. Furthermore, he also cast Michael, the syncellus of the holy city (of the church of Jerusalem, that is), along with many other monks, into prison, hoping to break them down by long-term maceration.

15. And such were his outrages against the faithful and the saints. Against Him who, while being the true God, became man for our sake, he was contumelious in this manner, and he afflicted His holy servants ^D not for a short and fleeting time, but for as long as he remained alive, wearing them down with hardships and tormenting them with extreme evils.

16. Moreover, he composed certain hymns and set them to melody, and ordered them to be sung; in which he included the *Benedicite* in the fourth tone, and from the eighth ode, "Hearken, O daughter."

^A It is also rumored that this same Theophilus, being captivated by the love of the melody, and acting toward the chanters as parents do toward their children and grandchildren, did not think it unworthy of his dignity and office, on a solemn feast day in the Great Church, to lead the choir with his hands and gestures according to the proper rules, having for this purpose donated to the clergy of said church one hundred pounds of gold. They also say that the sticheron for the feast of the olive-bearer, "Go out, ye nations, go out, ye peoples," is a product of his own spirit.

17. Because he had a sparse head of hair by nature and was bald, he decreed that it be shorn to the skin everywhere, and that it was not permitted for any Roman to wear it longer than the neck. If any transgressor of the law were caught, he was to be corrected with many stripes, in order to recall him to the ancient virtue of the Romans, for by this coiffure they were also accustomed to distinguish themselves. Therefore, it was guarded by law that no one should let their hair grow beyond the neck at all. ^B

18. It was also fitting that he should provide for and manage his own affairs and those of his family as he saw fit. And for this reason, since he happened at that time to be the father of five daughters, but lacked male offspring, he decided to give in marriage to a husband the youngest of them all, Maria, who was exceedingly dear to him beyond the others. The man descended from the line of the Krenitai, Armenian by country, Alexios by name, surnamed Moseles, elegant in form and in the flower of his age, living in the part of the acropolis at the buildings called the Krenitissa.

To him, first, the dignity of patrician and proconsul was conferred by Theophilus, due to his love for his daughter; then he was made master, and finally Caesar, and being given a sufficient army, he was sent to Longobardia, as circumstances then demanded. ^C When Alexios had set out, his affairs proceeded excellently, and according to the wish of his father-in-law. From this it came about that, as the emperor’s love and longing for him grew, the envy of men toward him increased all the more. There were not wanting those who brought accusations and cast certain curses upon him, as if the desire for dominion had seized him, and that he would one day usurp the empire, as the *d* would eventually overwhelm the *th*.

Wherefore, when Alexios Caesar learned of these slanders concocted against him, as if fearing and guarding against envy, he begged the emperor with many prayers that, having pity on his lot, he would allow him to pass over to monastic vows. But at that time Theophilus did not consent, alleging that it was a grave matter for his daughter to be a widow, and the said Caesar remained in great peace, giving his attention to public affairs. But when Theophilus had sired Michael, and the Caesar's wife—Theophilus's daughter—had departed this life, he honored her to such a degree that he even placed her ashes in a chest covered with silver plates, and by iambic verses inscribed upon it, he established the right of asylum for those guilty of any crime whatsoever who took refuge there. ^D As for Alexios, who had secretly exchanged his order and taken up the monastic habit, when

he could not be persuaded to cast it off again, the Emperor, after barely granting his consent—though he reproached him with many insults for choosing not to dwell with him in the palace but preferring to live obscurely in a corner—bestowed upon him the royal monastery at Chrysopolis, and in addition those of Boursis and the one at Elæa. ^A While he was abiding at the monastery in Chrysopolis, having gone out one day for a walk and reached the place of Anthemius, which looked out towards what was then the Imperial Arsenal, he began to reflect that each of these monasteries keeps the names of its founders in a green and immortal memory. Having obtained an imperial mandate, he decided to purchase it and, having made it his own, to adorn it as a built monastery; this was granted by the aid of the Augusta Theodora, his mother-in-law. ^B Therefore, having beautifully adorned the place and arranged it for the form and use of a monastery, he ceased to live there and was buried, and the fact that he is the one we have mentioned is confirmed both by his tomb and by the image that was once placed there in his name. Indeed, his own brother Theodosius is also buried near him, having attained the rank of patrician, leaving behind many testimonies of his excellent life in that monastery.

19. Moreover, as the Hagarenes were pressing in, and the leader Ibraim was moving an expedition against the Romans with many myriads, Theophilus, also desiring the praise of great spirit and courage, and fostering not a single timid or feeble thought in his mind, undertook the expedition himself. For even if there was some fear, the military experience and virtue of his men easily turned it aside and drove it far away, to the extent that it existed. The men were called Theophobus and Manuel. ^C But Manuel was formidable in bravery and known to all the adversaries. For he was of Armenian descent; under Emperor Leo he had been in command of the Oriental forces, and he had been chief of the equerries of his predecessor, Michael, the one they call protostrator. The account must also explain Theophobus, and whence and how, being born of the Persian line, he became known to the Emperor and wed his sister. ^D A certain man, born of the royal Persian stock, had once come to Constantinople in order to perform a legation, and he departed the city having had, not by a lawful union but by a secret and clandestine intercourse, a son, Theophobus. Since, however, an inviolable law prevails among the Persians that no one can otherwise become master of the kingdom unless he stems from the royal line, and since the men of the royal family had failed due to the continuous wars and the Hagarenes who compelled and drove them to change their seats here and there, and since a great rumor had in any case spread among those who inhabited the Persian region that there was someone in Byzantium named Theophobus (for indeed he had been given as such by his father who had at that time disseminated the rumor), it seemed good to the satraps and nobles of the Persians to send certain men secretly to inquire into the matter diligently. They therefore arrived at the Roman [territory] and with difficulty found him once while he was with his mother and dwelling near the Oxeia. Since then, not from...

only by obscure clues, but also by the very distinct marks of his mind and body, and since he was recognized as the very one [they sought] (and there was not lacking even among the neighbors one to testify that the woman had had relations with a Persian, for nothing hidden will not be known to the many), those who had been sent revealed themselves to the emperor and explained the whole drama, promising peace, treaties, and that the entire nation would be made subject, if he would not refuse to surrender him to them. The emperor, therefore, rejoiced at the promises, and since he found the truth to be such as it was, he caused him to dwell and be quartered in the palace, and to be cared for with studies and education.

20. There is also another account regarding Theophobus (for it is well for both to have been recorded), which seems to differ slightly at the beginning, but preserves the rest of the written details and is on par with them. For there is one who says that he did not receive his bastard birth from any embassy, but that by some change in the events of war and the vicissitude of things, his father also—whether he was king or close to the king by kinship—fled from Persia and flocked to the imperial city to lead a life of poverty, and there, being enslaved to the services of a tavern-keeping woman, after many long years, was united with her by love and lawful marriage and begot him, and in that manner ceased to be among the living. But he [Theophobus] came from among men, and it was by some astronomy and divination (for they say these arts still flourish among the Persians) that they learned about Theophobus, while they were seeking whether there was anywhere one born to them of the royal line. And when they learned that he did exist, they ran with haste to the city of Constantine ^B for the search of the one sought. In this way, he became known to the emperor when he was found. Since, therefore, his appearance and his presence in [the imperial] life became known to all those in Persia through the apostles who had returned, it appeared pleasant and desirable to all to conceive of revolting from those of Hagar and joining the Roman empire, so that they might be blessed with a leader of their own race.

21. It happened also that the leader of the Persians, Babec by name, ^C had already defected from the Ameramnis for five years and had lifted his heel against him with seven thousand [men]. He, both from longing for Theophobus and from fear of the Agarene from whom he had defected, came to the Roman empire at the city of Sinope, and submitted himself and his whole nation to the emperor. For this reason, Theophilus promoted Theophobus to the dignity of patrician, and gave him his own sister in marriage; he also legislated that it should be lawful for all Persians to contract marriages with the Romans and to join in unions through intermarriage, having made many of them distinguished with imperial honors; and he recorded them in the military ^D registers, and established a legion called thus, the "Persian," and for those against the Agarenes...

^A he ordered them to be mustered.

22. Theophilus, therefore, relying on these men, since he also knew otherwise that they were valiant in battle, set out to war against the Agarenes and Ibraemus, who, as has been said, had also marched against us. Since, therefore, the leader of the Saracens and Theophilus had come near one another, and there was need of counsel, Manuel said that it did not seem right for the Emperor of the Romans to fight in a pitched battle against the Ameramne, but that one should send someone with a part of the army against the enemy, and that this should be done during the day. Theophobus, however, desired that the Emperor should be present in the battle line, but that they should attack them by night with the Persian infantry, and that when there was need, the cavalry should surround them. But he did not persuade the Emperor, as many said ^B that Theophobus was usurping the glory of the Romans and for that reason wished to fight by night; however, it was decided to join battle openly by day. And Ibraemus, whether boasting in some other way or fearing to be surrounded by the Emperor, took a part of the army and withdrew, but sent off Abuchazar for the battle against the Emperor with eighty thousand armed men, who, as both sides fought very stoutly for a long time, finally forced the *scholae* with their Domestic to yield and turn to flight. Whence the Emperor, with the imperial retinue ^C and two thousand Persians, to whom Theophobus was also added, was saved upon a certain hill, fearing for his very life. And until evening, the fighting around him was heavy, with some confident that they would take the Emperor, and others defending him and enduring in order not to betray him. Therefore, when night had just arrived, those with the Emperor used claps of hands and shouts, pretending to rejoice, and filled the air with the noise of lyres and strings and otherwise with the sounds of trumpets, wishing to create not insignificant hopes of new reinforcements for the enemy. And this is what happened: ^D for those who had withdrawn six miles back, suspecting this very thing and fearing lest they themselves should be attacked and surrounded by the enemy, retreated. Whence, obtaining a small respite, those with the Emperor used the flight of night to secure their safety, and were saved near the army which had betrayed him and turned its back to the enemy. The Emperor subjected the army that had betrayed him to many reproaches, but he held the greatest gratitude for Theophobus and his men, and received them magnificently with rewards and honors. Hence the Persians, kindled with a fiery love for Theophobus and animated by incredible joy, begged that the war against the Agarenes be entrusted to them under his leadership alone, and they guaranteed victory for themselves, being certain of crushing the enemy by their unconquerable strength of spirit; and for this reason the Emperor decided that Theophobus should be the commander of the Persians.

23. In the following year he set out again with forces.

^A against the Ishmaelites, and having engaged with those who were puffed up and arrogant from the earlier victory at Charsianum, he subdued many of them, carried off more than five thousand captives, and returned to the imperial city with a brilliant victory. Among the captive Agarenes there happened to be one celebrated for his dexterity of hand. The commander of the schools testified in writing to his great military virtues, and affirmed that he was adroit in horsemanship and noble in the strength of his body, and that, using two spears, he approached those pitted against him in an extremely artful and skillful manner. Now, when the triumph of the domestic ^B was being celebrated in the hippodrome, and this man was walking in the first place among the captives, confirming by his very height of body and the haughtiness of his spirit the rumors that had been spread about him, the Emperor, having seen him and being moved by his celebrated fame, ordered a horse to be brought, and having taken two spears, to demonstrate his skill and mastery before the whole city. When this was done, and it provided entertainment for the less experienced, Theodore, surnamed Craterus—the same who not long after became the leader of the company of the forty-two holy martyrs—approached the Emperor and mocked the Agarene, asserting again and again that he displayed nothing of a brave spirit, nor anything that ought to strike one with awe ^C by such an exercise. To whom the Emperor, indignantly, said, "But, you effeminate and unmanly fellow, can you yourself perform any such thing with the strength you possess?" Craterus replied, "I have neither learned nor am I able to use two spears, O Emperor; for there is no use for such nonsense in war. However, having taken one, relying on the help of God, I am confident that I shall cast this man down and tumble him from his horse." Unable to bear that freedom of speech, the Emperor swore by his own head to Craterus that he would deprive him of his life unless he fulfilled by deed what he had boasted of in words. ^D Therefore, Theodore immediately mounted his horse, took up a spear, and joining hand-to-hand combat, faster than a word and without a long circuit, he did not allow the Saracen who had been sitting on the horse to be anything other than cast headlong. The Emperor was ashamed to see the Saracen thrown down not by a man of magnificent strength, but by a eunuch and one he considered not noble. Yet, in the meantime, with a crafty and wily plan, and respecting the man's virtue, he received him with friendly words and gifted him with robes and garments, fearing to offend the minds of the citizens if he treated a man differently.

24. Now, spring having returned again and driving the warriors against one another, Theophilus, having collected a great force, set out against the Saracens, having brought the holy Methodius out of prison and attached him to himself. Nor did he do this then for the first time, but always followed this practice, keeping the man with him, either so that he might resolve for him matters that were obscure and unknown to the multitude, and reveal them to him because of the wisdom that resided in him (for Theophilus was a diligent investigator of hidden things), or indeed preventing that any disturbances should arise due to sacred

^A images being stirred up in the city. For the principal citizens, and among them men of religion, valued Methodius highly and honored him exceedingly. Therefore, it seemed to Theophilus, for the sake of his office, that he should take him along with himself, and not leave him behind. And so, when the battle was joined on both sides and the Ishmaelites were prevailing, it happened that the emperor was somehow surrounded by the enemy and brought into danger of his life; 117 at which time Manuel the general, considering it a terrible thing—and beyond terrible ^B—that the emperor should be taken captive, encouraged those around him and, saying, "O men, imitate the bees which, driven by the force of their love, fly after their king," he broke into the middle of the wedges seeking the emperor, like a lion fighting for its cubs. Finding him exhausted and despairing of safety out of cowardice, and making the excuse that he did not wish to escape by leaving the army, he exhorted him to give himself as a companion to him as he went before and opened a path with the slaughter of many. But when the emperor, fearing and trembling as he broke out, did not follow immediately, he broke through the ranks with many a second time, so as to rescue the man from danger. And not even then achieving his goal, a third time, with a more resolute spirit, he parted the wedge that was surrounding the emperor on all sides, and penetrated even to him, so that he was even able to bind the bridle of the horse on which he was sitting, and again set him free. The man was wounded in his soul, fearing that the emperor of the Romans would be led off captive and become a footstool for his peers ^C, wherefore he made his return faster and more skillful at the same time, and having threatened him with death if he did not follow him, he barely and with difficulty saved him from the danger, with a few men beating back the pursuing enemy from the rear, and restored him unharmed to his own. Therefore, Theophilus received him with the same benevolence, honoring him and cherishing him with becoming gifts, often calling him benefactor and savior.

25. However, the man who had stood alone against the emperor in the midst of thousands of soldiers and had delivered him from the midst of the enemies was overcome by the evil arts of a few royal courtiers ^D and men of his own race. Therefore, he was accused of high treason and conspiracy through the utmost wickedness and slander; and perceiving the great force of the envy, and having been informed by a certain very faithful man, who had formerly been his own slave but had then earned the favor of the prince and was Theophilus's cup-bearer and ministered to him, that he was to be blinded and deprived of his eyes, he dared to defect and transferred himself to the Agarenes, by whom he was considered a man of great distinction and presented with great honors. Thus, he severely infested the enemies neighboring the Agarenes (they call them Cormati), and as victor he dealt them no slight slaughters, for he surpassed the common crowd in his skill and knowledge of military affairs. And—what cannot be sufficiently described in words or pondered by reason—he performed these exploits by means of Roman captives, and those who were imprisoned, pledging faith to them that they would not flee; that those who considered it a terrible thing and beyond terrible

to be in prisons, they acting as soldiers, were being executed, having given their word to the Hagarenes that they would by no means flee from them. When they also report that he had taken Khorasan and subjected it to the Ameramnes, such a man accomplished this not only by his notable bravery, but also because he appeared to them in a way that was new and somehow altered; for both the change in his formations and the unexpected shifting of the signals and the voices forced the enemies to fall into cowardice. And furthermore, having delivered them from many untamed beasts that were ravaging and harming them, and having become the cause of great goods for them, he was especially beloved both by the leader himself and by his senate.

^B 26. But when repentance for these things took hold of the Emperor as he listened, and he became the cause of great grief, he seemed to move every lever to recall the man and compel him to return. Whence some say that he had made peaceful treaties through the monk whom we mentioned, Jannes, at the time he was sent to exchange captives, and had brought him over to his own side, when he also sent through him a golden bull and oaths of security confirmed by himself and many others before him. But others prefer that the matter was accomplished through the same Jannes, not, however, by such an open conference and meeting, but by one secret and hidden from the many, so that Jannes, by the order of Theophilus, having set out, and having changed his garb and dressed in the rags of the Iberians and of monks who were traveling to Jerusalem with supplication, having feigned to be one of them, joined himself to them, and in that guise entered the house of Manuel in Baghdad. There, under the guise of a beggar having gained access to him, he taught him that the Emperor repented, and confirmed his pledge with words, presenting the insignia of the Emperor’s cross and letters, in which he solemnly promised him safety and a total amnesty for all offenses. Manuel, having received the letters into his hands, with his spirit burning with fervor, seriously pondered returning to his fatherland and home. Since, therefore, through the very length of time and the achievements against the enemy of the Ameramnes, which we related above, he had proved his loyalty to him more and more each day, and was no longer troubled by any suspicion, he signified that it was his intention to take the field against the Romans and to avenge himself upon the enemies (his own accusers before the Emperor) who had their dwellings in Cappadocia. And so that he might the more conceal his plan, he asked that the son of the Ameramnes himself be sent with him. Ishmael (the Ameramnes) acceded to his request, and sent Manuel against those enemies whom he had desired. When he had almost touched the borders of the Romans, he made the situation clear to the governor of Cappadocia and signified his return to the Romans, and at the same time taught him how it was necessary for an ambush to be set in a certain place: "So that," he said, "when I arrive there, having dismissed the Saracen raiders to some other place, I may personally fall upon the troop of the Romans, and thus return to my native hearth"; which also happened. For when he had already approached near to that place, greeting and kissing the son of Ishmael profusely: "Go," he said, "go, my son, safe to your father; know, however, that I am setting out not to another, but to my true Emperor and lord."

Having been saved from there, he came to the Queen of Cities and to the divine church in Blachernae, knowing that Theophilus did not have an ordinary faith in him. ^A Henceforth he is honored with the rank of magister, and from that time on he is called the compater of Theophilus, and is promoted [to be] Domestic of the Schools. There are some, indeed, who say that Manuel had used flight to the sons of Hagar, and—as has been stated—was recalled through the efforts of Theophilus; that, however, he had not been accused of lèse-majesté for having fled during the reign of Theophilus, but [rather] during the reign of Michael the Stammerer, his father, whether he had fallen away [from the empire] due to hatred for him, or because he held his old enmities in suspicion.

Meanwhile, Jannes is ordained Bishop of Constantinople on the twenty-first of April, on a Sunday, ^B obtaining the priesthood as a reward for his impiety, his perverse faith, and his refusal to venerate the holy icons.

27. Now, Theophilus, being inquisitive and applying himself diligently to the knowledge of those men destined to rule, came to know through the report of certain persons of a woman who had been captured from the Hagarenes during these wars and was possessed by a Pythonic spirit. Theophilus therefore brought her to himself and inquired who those might be whose reign would last for a long time. ^C When the seer answered him that his son and his spouse would succeed him, but that afterward the race of the Martinakioi would hold the empire for many years, Theophilus immediately tonsured this Martinakios—even though he was connected to him by affinity—and made him a monk, and turned his house into a house of God and a dwelling for monks. Nor did the woman prophesy only this, but also many other upcoming events: for she indicated that Jannes would be cast down from the patriarchal throne, and clearly foretold the restoration of the veneration of the sacred icons. Theophilus, becoming troubled in his soul by these [predictions] and bearing these things with difficulty, would often ^D urge his Augusta, and in addition to her the logothete Theoctistus, and would bind them with many oaths, that they should never permit Jannes to be cast down from the patriarchal throne, nor the icons to be venerated. Indeed, he bestowed so much effort upon searching out and tracking down these successions of emperors of this kind, that through the divination of the basin by Jannes, he even clearly saw Basil as the one who would take up the pinnacle of the empire. Besides the Emperor, the woman also answered others who were inquiring of her. Among these, she predicted to Constantine Triphylios, who was asking and entreating her intensely about future events, that he himself and his sons would, under Emperor Basil, put on the clerical habit; which also came to pass. She also predicted to George, the prefect of the military rolls and registers, that he would be killed in the fund of the Circus and that his property would be added to the imperial treasury. And these things, then, [are] as far as this, according to Plato...

28. In the following year, the Hagarenes and Theophilus, having both undertaken an expedition against one another, returned home entirely without success, [doing nothing] out of fear of each other. At about the same time...

the Chagan of Chazaria and the Pechus sent envoys to the Emperor Theophilus, requesting that he build for them the fortress called Sarcel, which in interpretation means "white house." Further, the location is on the Tanais River, where, on both sides, the Patzinacites and the Chazars were separated, and where three hundred Chazar garrison troops, changed in shifts over time, held their station. Theophilus, persuaded by their request and supplication, sent the spatharocandidatus Petronas, [surname] of the Camateri, with the imperial fleet and the Catepan of Paphlagonia, ordering him to carry out their request to completion. Upon reaching Cherson, he brought the long ships to land and left them there in their moorings, but he embarked his forces on round ships and transported them to the Tanais, to the place where they were to build the city for them. Because the location lacked stone, he made lime from the gravel of the river; and by firing clay from the underlying earth in kilns into bricks, he completed the work—a difficult construction, indeed, but gloriously realized through the multitude of laborers—and returned home. Indeed, Petronas, having returned, advised the Emperor concerning Cherson, as one who, having learned through experience the customs of the people and the spirit of the place, had recognized that he would not otherwise be master of the region and the cities with full authority unless he appointed a governor and leader of his own choosing for the city and the people, and [warned him] not to entrust their affairs to the indigenous nobles and primatës. For up to that time, no governor had been accustomed to be sent from Constantinople to administer the region; rather, the one whom they call the "primat," together with the city's fathers, was governing everything. ^C The Emperor Theophilus, approving this counsel, judged that the aforementioned Petronas, as one experienced in the place, should be sent as governor, having honored him with the rank of protospatharios, and ordained that the primat and the others should obey him without hesitation. From that moment until our time, it has been the practice to send governors from Constantinople to Cherson. Thus, then, the construction of Sarcel took place, as well as the [subsequent] dispatch of governors to the Chersonites.

29. Theophilus again goes forth against the Agarenes

held to their purpose, but also kept him in their midst for encouragement. But Theophobus covertly reveals what had been done to the emperor, and confirms with an oath that he himself was not the perpetrator of the rash act, but rather they. The emperor gladly accepts his intention and calls him back to ^A the palace, restoring his former dignity. He also granted the Persians pardon for their fault, and with a promise of oblivion for the injuries, ordered them to depart from Sinope, or perhaps from Amastris. And since they had given way to such a great multitude ^B and had increased until they numbered up to thirty thousand, it did not seem expedient to the emperor for them to be free and unrestrained; but, having deliberated well, he sent two thousand to each theme, to be under the hand of those appointed to the command, over whom he also set ^C turmarchs to oversee them. Hence it has come to pass that even until our time those cohorts and turmae in which they were dispersed retain the name of Persians. This rash act, therefore, having seemed somewhat bolder and more insolent to Theophilus, he dispersed them in that manner, and not long after brought death upon Theophobus. Although another cause also supervened, which we shall narrate in its proper place.

30. But the Amīr al-Mu'minīn was so wounded in his soul by the capture and plundering of his homeland that he ordered it to be proclaimed ^D and heralded everywhere to gather every age from Babylonia and Phoenicia and Coele-Syria, Palestine, and Lower Libya, such that they should inscribe "Amorium" upon their shields, hinting with boldness at his expedition against that city. He gathered, therefore, his forces; and at Tarsus, from being very few, a sudden and numerous host appeared, seething with madness at the disgrace of his fatherland. But Theophilus also set out against him and reached Dorylaeum, which is a three days' journey distant from Amorium. Many, then, were they who advised the emperor to move the people living in Amorium and for the time being to evade the unceasing onrush of the Saracens (for their number had greatly increased and he was bringing an unceasing host), as it was a huge and immense army. But Theophilus, deeming this shameful and unmanly, judged it a noble and courageous course to rather fortify it and preserve it safe by the counsel of a brave commander. Aetius the patrician and commander of the Anatolikon was chosen for this task. But because it still required sufficient forces, Theophilus also sent these, so that he might oppose the enemy on all sides and snatch victory from him. To these cohorts he appointed as leaders those who would shortly after be martyrs, Theodorus surnamed Craterus, and Theophilus, and Babutzicus; who were not only leaders of that army sent at that time, but also became the leaders of the phalanx of the forty-two martyrs.

31. Since, therefore, at Tarsus, the prince of the Saracens arrived with high spirits and a powerful army, he did not

^A immediately believe it wise to advance upon Amorium. He judged that it was not in his interest to attack Amorium straightway; rather, he believed the Roman army should be tested first by sending against it a portion of his own forces, together with his son. For he said, "If my son is victorious, without doubt victory will follow for his father as well; but should the opposite occur, it is better to remain quiet, since victory is not readily at hand for me, and one must wait for the outcome." Having therefore taken Amera, who at that time governed Melitene, along with some ten thousand Turks and the entire army of the Armenians and the leader of leaders, he pitched camp at Dazemon. ^B Theophilus, for his part, set out against him, having at his disposal a force no mean in size, drawn from the Persians, the Westerners, and those stationed toward the sunrise. When he arrived at the place known as Anzen, he desired to view the enemy’s host before the battle was joined. Manuel, the Domestic of the Schools, took Theophilus up to a hill which commanded the surrounding terrain, and judging by his estimate, the number of the Saracens appeared to be smaller. However, Manuel did not agree with this, as their forest of spears seemed equal in quantity. "But, O King," he said, "as you look at the strength and the solid line of spears of both sides, consider the density of their thicket of lances." Once Theophilus judged the enemy's ^C army to be stronger than his own, they consulted as to what bold and daring strategy they could devise. Manuel and Theophobus were of the mind that the enemy should be attacked at night; but other commanders insisted that the daylight was better, and the Emperor was persuaded by them. As soon as the day dawned, a savage battle was engaged. The Emperor’s regiments fought with great spirit, and the army of the Ishmaelites was turned to flight, abandoning the struggle. But the Turks, employing a persistent rain of arrows, beat back those of the Romans who were pursuing them, which encouraged the Saracens, so that they halted their flight and turned to face them. Gathering themselves together again and hurling their missiles ^D bravely from a distance, they changed the fortune of the war. The Roman army, unable to approach them, and yet, because of the heavy bombardment, unable to sight them even from afar, turned their backs and abandoned the Emperor. Yet the leaders of the imperial regiments and the Persians did not dare to flee or even conceive of doing so; instead, they gathered around the Emperor, desiring to save him, even though the enemy had surrounded them on all sides and were raining missiles upon them. They would have perished to a man had not night fallen and a light rain descended, which caused the bowstrings, with which the enemy were defending themselves and maintaining their advantage, to slacken; this provided the Romans a brief respite from that great storm of arrows, and at last gave them a difficult opportunity to find safety.

32. When the night was already deep, and Manuel was intent with all his effort upon the watch, he heard the Persians conversing with the Saracens in their own language and striking an agreement, namely, promising to [betray… the Roman army].

...as he was about to betray, and that they would return to the prince from whom they had defected. He immediately reports this secretly to the emperor, urging him to look to his own safety with his chosen men and not to wait until he should fall into the hands of the enemy. When he asked: "But how can it be that such a great multitude of soldiers, who have clung to me, should escape unharmed?" "Do you, Emperor," he says, "only be concerned that you yourself are saved by God; the remaining ones will soon arrange their own affairs." Finally, at the very break of dawn, the emperor having escaped and reached Chiliokomon, the deserters among the commanders having encountered the emperor, declared themselves unworthy of life for having betrayed the emperor in battle; and they were already exposing their chests to their own swords and throwing themselves at his feet, their cheeks bathed in tears. But Theophilus, touched ^B by the sight, being more distressed in spirit for them than for himself, said, "Since I have escaped safely by divine help, you too shall escape, if you fight bravely against the enemy."

33. This stratagem, then, of the enemies, and the nightly parley of the Persians—or, if you will, their compact—became a second cause and a timely occasion for calumny for the enemies of Theophilus and those plotting his death, and for the Ameramnun who had heard of no small victory and the raid against Amorium. Both armies were therefore joined against the emperor’s homeland, that of the Ameramnun himself and that of his son, who had already fought bravely, and having drawn a rampart, the siege began. ^C Meanwhile, the emperor, having returned to Dorylaeum, attempted to test the mind of the Ameramnun with gifts, to see if he could possibly be appeased by these and recalled from the expedition and sent back to his own lands. But he would not obey, bearing deep in his heart the injury of a destroyed and devastated homeland. Nay, he spurns the embassy; he calls him a slave and a coward, and mocks and derides him heavily because he did not yield to him before, but does so now when matters are poised on a razor's edge. Indeed, he detains the envoys whom he had sent, so that he might employ them as eyewitnesses and witnesses of the events.

34. And as time passed, the city would have escaped destruction, while they employed every machine by which cities are wont to be stormed, and the others valiantly repelled them; and many were lost while they struggled on both sides with such pugnacious contention. And up to this point the Agarenes labored in vain, and with many of their men slain and their army greatly diminished, they were losing ^D heart; for after the city was taken, it was discovered by a census that seventy thousand of them were missing. But it was not possible for the sword which God had brandished from above to pass by, because of the insults with which the Divine was received by them as the heresy grew day by day. For this reason, a certain man from the common rabble—Boiditzes was the name of the wretch—as they were already about to retreat and return to their own lands in disgrace, threw a letter among the missiles and suggested the following: "Why, friends, do you depart exhausted by such toils, with your work unfinished and overcome by miseries? Come, therefore, to those towers where from above a stone..."

ox, and on the outside a marble lion, stands; having arrived there, you will find those who share your sentiments and who are united with you in the worship of religion; and since the ramparts are otherwise weaker in that quarter, you will become masters of the city and will greatly honor me." They came therefore just as they were instructed, and at the first approach they entered, slaughtering and wounding those they encountered. There was no one who did not die. All were being cut down and were falling, making rivers of blood. Thus, then, was Amorium captured and betrayed into the hands of the impious more lawlessly than by the lawless; only those survived who were sent as far as Baghdad—the great men and most powerful lords serving in the themes and legions, among whom forty-two martyrs might also be numbered. All the rest were dispatched by the enemy's sword. For not even thus did Theophilus persuade the enemy by sending a second embassy, with two hundred centenaria, to ransom and redeem the captive people from the enemy—or, if not all, at least those who were connected to him by kin and who had been sent there for his alliance. But ^B he, boasting greatly and swelling and puffing with pride, sent back both the first and these second ambassadors, having mocked them and washed them with abuse, saying, "Do you wish to ransom them with so few centenaria, when you spent up to a thousand centenaria to make a show of your munificence and liberality?" Afflicted by this in his heart, Theophilus, as if burning or goaded by some fire, asked for water squeezed from snow to be brought to him to cool himself. Since, however, because of the heat of his heart, it seemed somewhat lukewarm to him, it happened that he also was seized by the disease of dysentery from that drink, and against his will, he departed from this life by that illness. And thus much for the affairs at Amorium.

^C 35. The Agarene, having returned to his own region, shut up the aforementioned leaders in a certain dark prison, tied in chains, commanding them to survive on a little water and bread. And the place was buried in such deep darkness and they were held in such strict custody that not even at high noon did any light shine upon them. There was only the human voice by which they recognized one another: they had no association with anyone except the guards, being completely cut off from all others, and they lived as if in the deepest desert. They struggled with these evils for seven whole years. Now, on the fifth of the month of March, Boiditzes, who had betrayed Amorium and apostatized from Christ, coming to the prison, called for Constantine, a man prudent and educated in the study of wisdom (for this Constantine, as the monuments of history testify, was serving the Patrician in the writing of letters). "There is no need," he said, "for anyone to be inside with you and to be a hearer of the mysteries which I am about to entrust to you in secret." And when Constantine affirmed that no one was present, "Come, tell me," he said, "most beloved of mine,"

^A and sweet soul (for you know the longing for you that has been planted in me from the beginning), decide together with the Patrician to join the first councillor in prayer and to observe the rites after the manner of the Saracens tomorrow, so that both of you may not be destroyed by the sword and by scourging. For since he is diligent and intent upon this as a matter of advantage to him, I thought it worth the effort, as a faithful friend, to reveal it to you. Be willing, therefore, to offer prayers with him openly, but in your heart believe in God, who searches out hidden things, and you shall not be deprived of His eternal life." By these words the unconquered champion, not softened nor deceived in his mind, said, "Depart from me, worker of iniquity, depart." And with the word he withdrew, having told the Patrician in private nothing of what had been said openly, lest some more fearful thought creep into him, but only that a sentence of death had been pronounced ^B against them for the morrow. The Patrician gave thanks to God for these things, and having arranged his affairs, through the help of Constantine he roused all his companions to spend the whole night without sleep in divine praises and canticles.

36. In the morning, a commander having gone forth with insolent pomp, ordered only those who were the leaders among the rest to come out. There went forth, therefore, forty-two men, and he immediately ordered the prison to be closed. He asked them, therefore, what year they were already spending in the prison, and was stirring up other foolish prattle, wishing to make these men listeners to his own nonsense. But they answered regarding the year, that it was the seventh, and having refuted the discourse of the Hagarenes with bold and courageous resolve of mind based on the divine Scriptures, ^C they received the sentence of death. And when they had come to the Euphrates, on the bank of which is built their city, Samara, the vile wretch attempted to cross-examine Theodorus the Crater, if by any means he might persuade even him to avoid death. "For how," he said, "Theodore, do you trust that you will escape to God by the path of death, and confidently hope for the goal, you who have not loved His saving commandments, as you call them? For were you not from the priestly clergy, in which you were formerly enrolled, having embraced the habit and discipline of laymen? And were not your hands, when they were innocent of blood, now again filled in wars with the filth and pollutions of it?" But Theodorus, not hesitating and without any delay, said, "This is the very reason why I will not refuse to shed my blood, so that it may be for me both ^D a ransom and a washing of my sins, bringing back the kingdom to Him, by which, if one of your servants has fled and afterwards returned, and were to perform the service pleasing to you, he would be held worthy of pardon, and you would not punish him as a wicked man." And at once he entered into the stadium of the contest just as some Olympic victor, and said to the Patrician Constantine, as if warding off from him the cowardice and fear that were creeping in, "Come then, O soldier of Christ, you who have attained greater honors than all of us before the earthly king, be the first also to receive the laurel of martyrdom." To him the holy Constantine said: "Rather to you, as to a more valiant one...

^A one, this dignity is becoming, and wherefore you shall have me as a companion, once you have first offered yourself as a victim to God.” And thus, mutually encouraging one another with such words, each pressed on toward death through martyrdom, according to the greater dignity each had held in secular service, with everyone marveling at the struggle of these men, undertaken with such confidence and noble resolve. But more of these things later.

37. Then indeed the Emperor Theophilus, not bearing the defeat and disgrace he had suffered at the hands of the Agarenes, sent the patrician Theodosius, who was called Babutzikos, to the king of the Franks, requesting that valiant and numerous troops be sent to him from there. For he believed that his own men had never succumbed to victory through weakness of strength or softness of spirit, but that this had always happened to them through a shunning of battle, or—which is the same thing—through treachery. And he would clearly have had experience of this, and would have perceived the power and strength ^B of the nations whose aid he had requested (for the king had willingly accepted the request for aid to the emperor), and the unfortunate Theophilus (for he had assumed this name to himself, because he always emerged defeated in battle) would have undertaken an expedition against the Agarenes, had not the Theodosius who was sent already departed this life. For the death of that man was the reason that those troops did not come to the imperial city, and a dysenteric disease that was growing in the emperor brought him death, and did not grant him the opportunity to take up arms again.

38. It is time also to bring the affairs of Theophobus into the middle and make them clear to all. For not only because of the aforementioned reason—that he was to organize the battle against the Agarenes by night—but also because of the secret nocturnal conversation that, as we said, took place with the Saracens, and for other reasons from elsewhere, accusations of treason arising and growing against him made the man hated and feared. And since he was not able to resist, knowing Theophilus to be easily deceived ^C into slander, he took flight with his children and wives and some chosen men to Amastris (this is a city in Pontus). A fleet was immediately sent against him, and a fierce war was prepared as against an manifest enemy of the emperor, and the leader of such a fleet was the drungarios of the watch named Ooryphas. But Theophobus, having taken into himself the fear of God, said it was not right, being a Christian, to rejoice in the blood of the faithful; and so he yields, deceived by the oaths of the emperor, and is brought back to him, trusting in those oaths. But Theophilus, setting these at naught, for the time being has him detained and guarded in a prison at the Boukoleon; and on one of the days, when he knew he was already failing and breathing his last, he orders that he be beheaded by stealth in the night, as ^D a bitter and grim sepulchral victim, and orders his severed head to be brought to him.

^A When it was brought as he had commanded, seizing the nose of the head with his hand, "Now," he said, "neither are you Theophobus, nor am I Theophilus." There are those, however, who ascribe the death of Theophobus to Ooryphas, and not to the Emperor, saying that as soon as he had surrendered himself to him, he had suffered the capital penalty by his hand, secretly by night. Thence it spread abroad among the Persians, even until now, that Theophobus did not undergo death, but attained the eternity of an incorruptible life, because his death was never openly declared. ^B 39. About the same time, the Cretans, having brought out their full fleet, were ravaging the maritime regions of Thrace and driving off captives. And to such a degree did their insolence and martial fury proceed, that they not only attempted to plunder the sea-coast, but also, with drawn swords, rushed upon those who inhabit the mountain called Latrus and lead a monastic life, making all their equipment, as they say, a plunder of the Mysians. However, Constantine Contomytes, who was at that time the governor of that province, because they had abandoned their ships and ventured too far inland, slaughtered them like dolphins caught upon the shore, and delivered them all to destruction with a vigorous hand. Also, during the reign of this same Emperor Theophilus, in the month of October, in the 8th indiction, the Roman fleet was defeated in a naval battle at the island of Thasos and perished entirely. ^C And subsequently, the fleet and army of the Ishmaelites did not cease from pillaging and devastating the Cyclades islands and indeed all others as well. And again, Theophobus and Bardas, the brother of the Augusta, sent with an army into Abasgia, conducted operations so disastrously for all involved that very few returned from that expedition. But also excessive heat, and again, overflowing rains, and altogether the inequality and intemperance of the air, harmed the earth and the farmers, and thence came scarcity of supplies and famine. Scarcely even one day, as long as he held the reins of power, did the earth cease to be shaken by earthquakes.

40. But because diarrhea and wasting had exhausted every substance of his body, and his soul could no longer be contained but sought to fly away and depart, being anxious for his son and his wife and providing for their security, he convened a common assembly of all at the Magnaura. ^D There, supported with difficulty by those who lifted his bed and removed the necessary items, fetching a deep sigh, he said: "Another might lament in such sickness and such a turbulent storm the ruin of the flower of his youth and such great happiness, which envy, having from the beginning lain in wait for me, now looks upon with grave malice and casts me out of human affairs. But I, foreseeing the coming widowhood of my wife and the miserable lot and orphanage of my son, and likewise the loss of my servants and attendants who were raised in noble character and good service, and finally the deprivation of my Senate and nobles, lament and deplore—O your presen-

present concio, ^A that you leave behind me, your gentle emperor, as I depart for that life of which I know nothing, and as I exchange this glory for one, the site of which I am ignorant. But be mindful of my tongue until now, which you shall never hear again; which spoke harshly whenever reason and upright utility demanded it, and now that I have passed from the living, bestow kindness upon my son and my wife as they return to you, thinking altogether that whatever character each has shown toward his neighbor, such shall also befall him in the future." With words of this kind, the emperor’s tongue softening and soothing the entire assembly, there was no one who could hold back his tears, and the groaning and wailing bursting from everyone’s breast was more than any man could sufficiently conjecture.

^B 41. A few days after this, on the twentieth day of January, he paid the debt of nature, having held the empire for twelve years and three months. Throughout his entire life he bore an implacable hatred toward the professors of the true faith, and he brought every storm upon them at every hour and on every occasion, granting them no pardon or indulgence; it happened that he acquired the name of the unfortunate among all men as if by a certain hereditary right. Never, in proportion to the majesty of the empire, did he erect a trophy worthy of praise against the enemy, nor was he ever able to sufficiently repair the disasters he received, although he undertook eighteen expeditions against the enemy throughout his whole life and engaged with them in battle so many times, nor did he lead into battle contemptible forces. But since Theophilus has thus finished his life and been left behind by us, let us proceed to the remaining of his buildings standing in the palace, as they are most magnificent and worthy of ^C memory.

42. Immediately, therefore, entering from the Lord’s [palace], you will find them as they come into your face. For the Carian house—so called because, from its steps, it displays a certain level-ground like a river, paved with Carian stone—which even now is the storehouse for silk garments and is called the wardrobe, is the work of his care. But also the neighboring Triconchos, which has a roof covered in gold and is named for its shape. For it rises with a triple apse [concha], one constructed toward the East, which is supported by four Roman columns (called porphyry columns), and ^D two transverse [apses], one facing North and the other, I say, South. The part of the building that looks toward the West is supported by two columns and provides an exit through three doors. The middle one of these has been fashioned of silver, while those on either side of it shine with gilded bronze. The exit leads to the place called Sigma, having received its name from the similarity to the [Greek] letter. It bears a beauty on its walls resplendent and equal to that of the Triconchos; for both this and that are inlaid with marbles of various colors. Now what they call the Sigma has a firm and most magnificent roof, supported by fifteen columns of Docimene stone. From here, through the styrax, there is access to its base.

and you will find it having the same shape and likeness, supported by nineteen columns, and having a pavement laid with piperinus stone. Near this pavement, somewhat more inward and to the east, the craftsman constructed a Tetraseron, which is also embraced by three conches, according to the likeness of the Triconchus above it; but it has enclosed one toward the east, and the other two—one toward the west, and the other toward the south. The northern part, however, is separated by two columns of genuine piperinus, forming a "Mystery"—this is the name that is appropriate for it. And the reason is that, just as caves return a harmless echo to those who hear, so too if anyone approaches the wall of the eastern conch, or indeed of the western one ^B within the Mystery, and speaks something to himself, another person standing at a distance and opposite to him, if he puts his ear to the wall, will hear quite clearly that voice which is whispered in the Mystery. Such is the miracle that happens there.

43. Attached to this building, in a way, and constructed together with it, is the Sigma peristyle, which we mentioned before. From this, a certain open-air atrium spreads out, having in the middle a bronze phiala, which has its rim wreathed in silver. Because it has a golden spiral, it is called the "mystical phiala of the Triconchus," having taken its name from the nearby built Mystery and the Triconch building. ^C Near this very place, there stand steps of white Proconnesian stone, and in the middle of these steps I mentioned is a marble apse, supported by a double row of thinner columns. There too, at the eastern side of the Sigma, two bronze lions stand with gaping maws. These, spouting water and filling the whole middle area of the Sigma with liquid, provide no small delight. At the season when nuts, almonds, and other fruits and apples are fit for eating, the phiala, filled with seasoning, would pour out from its spiral, and whoever of the bystanders wished, it would mix and provide delicacies, ^D without doubt for all the performers, but more so for those who sang with instruments and more vigorously. On the steps, the whole populace and the magistracy, together with the officials of the emperor's retinue, would stand and fill the royal order, having in their midst, that is to say in the marble apse I mentioned, if it happened that they were present, the Domestic of the Schools with the Excubitus and the two tribunes of the factions, that is, of the Green and the Blue, in such a way that the tribune of the Blue faction stood near the Domestic of the Schools, and the tribune of the Green near the Excubitus; but if at any time it happened that the Domestic and the Excubitus were missing, they had at least the tribunes we mentioned. Of all these, the emperor was the overseer, with all pleasantness

^A repletus, as he sat upon a throne of gold and precious stones, rising not before he had been delighted by such gesticulations and the dancing of the citizens—as both the tactical books and imperial statutes prescribe—in order to enjoy the spectacle of those leaps and political games. These things were thus constructed for Theophilus for that reason, and such was his love for them that he would even conduct the customary hearings of cases in the Triconchos itself, proceeding thither daily. Directly in front of the silver-wrought gates of this building stands a roof, lifted high by four columns of Thessalian (that is, green) stone. Opposite this, towards the front, near the aforementioned steps, at the western part of the Sigma, are the triclinia ^B constructed by the authority of Theophilus. One, the lower one, is called the Pyxites; the other, which is the higher one, is nameless, and possesses a royal lot to be lived in. Along the side of this Pyxites are engraved verses, the product of the vein of Stephen the secretary, of the Capetolitos; but those inscribed in the portico of the Sigma are monuments of the genius of Ignatius, who was called universal master. To the left side, as towards the eastern part of the Sigma, another triclinium hangs, known by the name of Eros, which served him as an armory. Hence, one would see nothing in it but shields and armor of every kind depicted on the walls, and on them expressed, as is proper, in colors by the hand and brush. ^C From there, one may see the buildings raised up from the Triconchos as far as the western parts; towards the eastern part, however, you may see that which is called the Margarita. This triclinium was raised from the foundations by Theophilus; its ceiling is supported by eight columns of variegated Rhodian marble, its walls are variegated with all manner of painted animals, and its entire floor is paved and tessellated with Proconnesian stone. One may also see the circle of the ceiling of the bedchamber that is there, adorned with gold and supported by four Bathuin columns; four porticoes are also supported by Thessalian columns, both on the eastern and the southern side, with walls ^D and floor magnificently paved just like the Margarita. Theophilus used to spend his time in this bedchamber from the vernal equinox to the autumnal, and beyond. But now, with the approach of the winter solstice, he would move to another bedchamber in the Carian triclinium, which he himself had constructed, in which he would protect himself from the more vehement and violent blasts of the southern winds; and this is what one can see today as the residence of the pope. No less will you see what exists there, the so-called Solarium, established by him towards the north, from which could be seen what was then there: the old Spharisterium, where also a new church was built; and there are two phialae and an interior garden, chosen by the emperor Basil of glorious memory. Indeed, these are his buildings towards the eastern quarter: but towards the south, having first extended the Solaria, as we said above, and established the gardens that now exist, he furthermore constructed additional bedchambers, one which they call the Camila, and another adjacent to it; and what again

^A follows this in order, a third, which even now is the vestiary of the Augusta. Now the Camila, the bedchamber so called, has a ceiling adorned with gold, which six columns of Thessalian stone—that is, green—support on high. The lower parts of the walls are paved with similar marble slabs; but the upper parts display certain figures composed of tesserae, which are plucking fruit. Furthermore, the floor is paved with Proconnesian stone. Also, an oratory was built, containing two altars, one in the name of the most holy Mother of God, the other in the name of Michael, prince of the heavenly host, and subject to it ^B is a promenade, looking through a marble lattice into the Golden Triclinium, which was assigned for library use by the Christ-loving Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus; the upper chamber of which, in turn, has walls resplendent with Bathuin marble, while the floor is entirely composed of small marble tiles of various colors. The second bedchamber that follows the Camila has a ceiling similar to the first, supported by four columns of Docimian stone, and a floor paved with Proconnesian stone. The air of the walls (the lower parts, that is), just like the first bedchamber, has tesserae of gold everywhere, but the rest, where the small tiles are missing, is filled with certain trees and variegated ^C figures of green marble. Subject to this is a bedchamber, which is also called the middle promenade or ambulatorium, assigned as a residence for the eunuchs entrusted with the care of the women’s quarters. Finally, the third [bedchamber], together with the bedchamber which now serves as the vestiary of the Augusta, has a ceiling similar to these and a floor paved with white Proconnesian stone, while the walls, all of them, were later—though not at that time—splendidly adorned with painted images by the Emperor Michael, son of Theophilus. The lower chamber joined and connected to this is supported in its ceiling by seven Carian columns, five to the south and two to the east, and is fortified by a double wall, to which slabs of Roman, Peganusian, and Carian, as well as green ^D Thessalian river marble, provide decoration. This apartment is called the "Musical"

Musicus

^A And the walls are fashioned with Bathuin slabs. But this, as we have said, is near the Augusta’s chamber. The other that is to the west of the Music building, however, is connected in such a way that there is a way down and an entrance to the same sacred chamber through a staircase. It leads, moreover, to the new building, the chamber, and the triclinium which the glorious Emperor Basil built, and to the portico of the fifth chamber, in which place the oratory of Saint Paul was founded by the glorious Emperor Basil.

44. Now these buildings in the palace, to the north and to the south, were constructed by Theophilus, but they are recorded in history by us, because we do not wish for his works, whatever they might be, to be consigned to oblivion, so that his intention of serving the citizens might not remain hidden from anyone, but be handed down by means of written records. ^B But he also decorated the triclinia, both the one called the Lausiakos and furthermore that which is the construction of Justinian, with gold-gleaming tesserae; he also took the capitals from the palace of the tyrant Basiliscus and applied them to the Lausiakos. He also constructed another triclinium together with four chambers, august and brilliant, of which two face towards the middle space of the second chamber which is after the Kamilas, having a roof gleaming with gold and four apses, and they extend toward the Porphyra; it is so called because the Augusta has for long had the custom of distributing there "the sharp" [spices/gifts] to the noble ladies during the time of the Brumalia. Two other chambers toward the side of the Lausiakos, from which it also has a view into it, he built, having paved their floors with Proconnesian stone ^C and adorned the walls with colors, though not with marble; these, however, although they were such, were destroyed by fire. And Thecla, his eldest daughter, raised from the foundations the most beautiful chamber at the Blachernae, where also is the oratory of the Protomartyr Thecla; and in that place, while confined to her bed, she departed from this life.

LIBER IV. THE REIGN OF MICHAEL, SON OF THEOPHILUS

^D 1. Such was the end of life which Theophilus met, and his son Michael succeeded to the empire, being in his third year since he had been brought into life by his mother Theodora. But the curators and administrators of affairs whom Theophilus had left, both Theoktistos...

the eunuch, who at that time held the office of *kanikleios* and logothete of the dromos, and the patrician Bardas, brother of the Augusta, and Manuel the magister, who was of Armenian descent and was the paternal uncle of the Empress, were the ones concerned. The political situation having thus been stabilized, and affairs having been governed correctly up to that point, it was destined that the veneration of the holy icons should be restored and should again receive its ancient honor. ^A Manuel, however, was struck down by a dire and grievous illness; and the monks of Stoudios—for he had no small faith in them—flocking to him, promised that his recovery would be easy and swift, if only he himself would consent to the veneration of the holy icons and act as an advocate for the emperors to confirm it everywhere. Furthermore, many of the God-bearing Fathers from other mountains, who were bound to Manuel by friendship from the time when he was general of the Armeniacs, came to him and, requesting the same thing, finally drew him to the right way of thinking and induced him to promise what they desired, if only he were relieved of his sickness; and this he attained through the urgency of their prayers to God.

2. Since he had been delivered from the sickness, the monks did not consider the matter to be neglected, but by beseeching him, they asked him to remember what he had piously promised to God; by this admonition, they set his soul completely on fire with divine zeal. ^B Having therefore shared his plan with his fellow administrators, and having persuaded them that it was worth the effort to set matters in a good state from the very beginning, and having brought them over to his own opinion, he went to Theodora to take counsel with her on this matter. She, being a pious mistress and truly a queen and Augusta, when she heard about the right faith, said: "This is what I have always desired, and I have never ceased to turn it over in my mind, even though the huge number of senators and nobles who favor that heresy has hitherto deterred me from attempting anything in this regard. ^C Nor less so do the metropolitans, who claim for themselves the role of defending the church, and most of all the patriarch, who, even though my husband had received a small root of such a heresy from his ancestors, made it grow far more and rendered it stronger by his own instructions and frequent exhortations, causing him to turn to cruel beatings and tortures, for which that wretched old man was the new inventor, initiator, and teacher of such evils every day against the saints." ^D "What is the reason, then, Augusta," they replied, "that when you think this way and plan for the best, anything prevents you from carrying this into effect in practice and ordering this public festival and celebratory day to be brought to pass?" Immediately, therefore, she summoned the *droungarios* of the watch (this was Constantine, the father of Thomas the patrician and subsequently logothete of the dromos) and declared to the patriarch that...

^A many pious monks, having gathered from everywhere, have made a petition to our imperial Majesty that the most holy icons be commanded to be restored. If, therefore, you are in agreement and harmony with these, then let the Church of God recover its ancient adornment; but if you are doubtful and do not hold a correct opinion, then get out of the throne and the city, and withdraw for a little while to your suburban estate, until a meeting of the holy Fathers is held with you; for they are neither ready to engage in a trial nor to dispute and persuade you, while you speak ill of these matters.

3. At that time, [the Patriarch] was lying on a couch in the *trichlinos* of the patriarchate called the Thessalun, receiving imperial messages. Struck in his soul upon hearing these words, he replied only this: that he would deliberate well concerning these matters; and having spoken thus, he dismissed the bearer of the message. Quicker than a word, he snatched a knife or a lancet into his hands and cut the veins in his belly, knowing that the profuse flow of blood would effectively terrify the common people and stir them to pity, while he himself feared no death or any other danger. ^B Immediately, therefore, clamor and shouting from the tumult filled the church, and indeed reached the imperial ears even before the return of the *droungarios*, [asserting] that the patriarch had been slaughtered by the order of the Empress. Thus, the patrician Bardas was sent to be a precise investigator of what was being said; he quietly discovered that the wounds had been inflicted by his own hand, and the drama could not escape the exposure, as the servants themselves were the informers and brought forth the instruments of the cutting (which were phlebotomes) into the middle [of the room]. From that time on, with no one having any pity, ^C as one who was caught in such a charge and as one acting against his own life, the wretch was driven away and expelled from the Church, being confined to his suburban estate called the Psyx; there was brought in [instead] he who had saved the things of virtue uncorrupted through many toils and labors, and who, as was to be expected, had lost his hair from the long-standing foulness and stench of his imprisonment, yet was owed the governance and the steering of the Church by the will of God and the Empress Theodora—this was the great Methodius, the invincible defender of the Church.

4. ^D Consider also how [Theodora], having gathered in one place all the Orthodox who were anywhere throughout the world, acting as a noble and truly vital helper to her husband, and not an opponent, and having commanded that freedom of speech be assumed, spoke to them thus: "Come now," she said, "O inheritance of God and Fathers, since I provide and give to you the restoration of the holy and most venerable icons with the greatest good will, I ask that you, in return, grant me a just favor, and [one that pertains] to me, who am the Lady and Augusta—not some lowly or small thing, lest it be considered no favor, nor something unfitting or unprofitable to those who give it to you or to me, who am asking, but something suitable, lasting, and regarded as acceptable to God: namely, that for my husband and emperor, concerning these matters, there be granted forgiveness, pardon, and oblivion from God for such error.

If, however, you do not do this, you will have neither me following your decrees, nor the adoration of the venerated images which you might solicit from me, nor, in truth, will you receive the Church back.

5. When the sermon was finished, the Orthodox Church, and Methodius, who was her leader, said: "Your petition, Augusta, is just; nor can we resist it. For justice and the consideration of what is right demand that we should lavishly return appropriate thanks to those from whom we have received benefits, especially to sovereigns, provided that a tyrannical hand does not rule, but rather a pious and religious mind. Yet, we can by no means deliver from the punishments appointed for him by God one who has migrated to the other life, as that would be to claim more for ourselves than our capacity allows. It is permitted to us (and for this purpose we have received from God the keys of the heavens) to open them to all who wish it, but only to those who are still ordering their lives in this world, before they have migrated to the other. Although, indeed, sometimes even for those who have departed from this life, when their offenses are light, for which repentance is not lacking. But as for those who have departed from life without a good hope, and who bear publicly the sentence of their own condemnation, we are by no means able to remit their penalties."

6. Then the Augusta, whether truly or otherwise inflamed by the power of love for her husband (which is evidently the case, and we concur), nonetheless affirmed to that sacred choir with a solemn oath that, when he was in the hour of his death, he gave vent to great mourning, and lamentably wailed and deplored, and openly explained how great would be the odium that he and his household would incur in such a city on account of such a heresy—namely, exclusion from prayers, the prolix force of curses, and the defection of the people—and that he had undergone repentance for this matter, and at the same time had asked for the images, and with a fervent mind, while the Augusta herself placed them in his hands, had kissed them, and had surrendered his spirit to the angels who were leading him away. Upon hearing this voice, and revering the customs and character of the Augusta—since she was the most religious of all women and a lover of Christ, and since they were otherwise seeking to restore the cult of the holy images—by common vote and judgment, provided that the situation of Theophilus was as she said, they declared they would entreat from God pardon for his offense, and at the same time they handed to the Augusta a written security regarding the matter. ^C Meanwhile, the Church having been received, and the most holy Methodius having been elevated to the pontifical honor, on the first Sunday of the holy fasts, having performed together with the Augusta night vigils in praise of God and canticles in the most sacred shrine of our Lady and Mother of God at Blachernae, in the morning they came with a solemn supplication and procession to the great temple of the Word of God, and the Church, the sacred rite being duly completed, received back its own adornment. And in such a manner the Orthodox Church progressed, and, to use the words of Scripture, was renewed.

^A As an eagle, the Scripture says, all heretics under the sun being put to shame, and their high priest—this was John, who, on account of his own impiety, was named Jannes by the faithful—was not a newcomer or a stranger, but a native and a product of this imperial city (for we have heard of a bramble growing on a vine), and one not descended from some obscure line, but from a very noble, lineage—the one called that of the Morocharzamii.

7. This man then, so that history may disclose the things concerning him, from being the superior of the monastery of the holy martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, which is situated at the Hormisdas palace, and being numbered among the imperial clergy, was especially beloved by Michael of the Stammerer, whether solely on this account, that he was a companion in his heresy, or because he had gained a certain reputation for learning. However, he was beloved and was installed as tutor to Theophilus. And when the latter held the reins of the empire, he first honored him with the dignity of syncellus, and later made him Patriarch of Constantinople, since he had announced to him certain presages through ^B lecanomancy and sorcery. And the sorcery was of this kind: A certain infidel nation, led by three commanders, was invading and plundering the lands of the Romans, and, as is natural, Theophilus and all his subjects were disheartened by this. Jannes, dismissing that distress of mind, bids them to hope for the best and to rejoice, if only they would resolve to follow his counsel. And the counsel was as follows: Among the bronze statues erected in the Euripus of the Hippodrome, it was said there was a statue fashioned with three heads, which, according to some spell, he linked to the leaders of that nation. He ordered, therefore, that three iron hammers of immense size be made, and that they be handed to three men excelling in physical strength. And at a certain hour of the night, while they stood near the aforementioned statue with the hammers held aloft in their hands, he commanded them to strike ^C the heads with all their might at the moment he gave the order, so that with one blow and effort they might cut off these heads. Encouraged by these words, and at the same time struck with amazement, Theophilus ordered the work to be carried out. So, when it was already deep night, the men came there carrying the hammers; and John, concealing himself in the dress of a layman so that he might not be recognized, after reciting his magic spell—having transferred the power within the leaders into the statue, or rather, having cast down what previously remained in the statue from the former evocations of the demons—ordered the men, with all their strength and force, to strike. And two of them, putting forth very powerful strokes, cut off two of the heads of the statue; but the third, striking somewhat more softly, ^D indeed bruised it a little, but did not altogether cut the head from the body. It fared not much differently with the leaders of the nation. For a grave contention having arisen among them, when it had broken out into civil war, one and another of the commanders, under the third commander,

falling by the sword, with only the third surviving, though not in good health. Thus, the nation, having been reduced to nothing, retreated again to its own lands in flight and disaster. But such were the illusions of the sorcerer. ^B 8. Furthermore, this sorcerer had a brother by blood, Arsaber by name, who had been honored by Theophilus with the rank of patrician. This man possessed a suburban estate on the left side of the Euxine as one sails out, at the monastery of Saint Phocas, which was furnished with great and magnificent buildings, colonnades, baths, and, in addition to these, cisterns. It is said that the patriarch—who was accustomed to frequent the place—had constructed there an underground dwelling, not unlike that of Trophonius, ^C and in its rear there were readily accessible doors, with many steps leading from there for those who wished to enter inside. So this was his nefarious workshop. There, at times, sacred virgins and other women of remarkable beauty were kept for the pleasures of his chamber, with whom he would defile himself in a profligate manner; at other times, divinations by the inspection of livers, by basins, and other sorceries and conjurations of the dead were practiced, with these women as his accomplices and helpers. From this, it happened not infrequently that he predicted even certain true things with the assistance of demons, not only to Theophilus, but also to others of the same mindset and heresy as himself. ^D Indeed, this impure dwelling of his was eventually sold by his brother Basil to the then-attendant and was transferred into a sacred monastery. And not only that, but also the remaining things that belonged to him; and from its foundations, the monastery of the holy great martyr Phocas was established.

9. Then, he and all his gang, as has been said, having been subjected to deposition, did not deem that they should pass their lives in peace, but were still plotting against the holy icons. After his deposition, when he was in exile in a certain monastery, there was an icon painted on the ceiling—one that seemed to be gazing fixedly at him—and as he could not bear the sight of the image looking down on him from above, he ordered it to be removed by one of his servants and its eyes to be gouged out, adding only this: that he could not bear to look at the form of this icon. The Augusta heard of these things, and with the chastisement becoming to a man of his standing, she subjected him to the lash and the whip.

10. Nor even then was he disposed to love a quiet life; rather, they attempted to fasten some stigma upon Methodius, who is among the saints, a charge of the seduction of a woman who had an only son—this was Metrophanes, who not long afterward became the bishop of Smyrna—and having bribed many with gold, and having promised others additional things, if only she would agree to their fraud, they accused him bitterly before the Augusta and the guardians of her son. Thus, a tribunal for such a fearful case was immediately set up, made up of civil officials.

^A No one who was pious, no one who was impious, was absent; all the monks, and anyone capable of hearing or speaking, were present. For some, shame regarding the strangeness of the accusation kept them downcast, while for others, the base pleasure of applauding and rejoicing held them. The accusers, therefore, were brought into the midst, and the woman who was to be the proof of the claims was also brought forward.

Methodius, as soon as the woman stood there, without any hesitation at all, asked her in the hearing of all, "How are you, lady?" (for she was long known to him through her virtue), and "How are so-and-so and so-and-so?"—referring to her husband and those related to her. Such was the unaffected candor that flourished in him. The others, shouting even louder, exulted with pleasure, enlarging the charges and, therefore, providing clear proof. But when he finally perceived the nature of the accusation, ^B fired with zeal, lest the affairs of the Church and of Christ be shaken on his account—knowing well that there is one time for modesty and another for holding one’s tongue and for gravity—he raised himself slightly from the throne, and gathering his bosom toward himself, he revealed his private parts, shown to be withered by a miracle, and not such as those of men are—and at the same time, he recounted the miracle as it had happened: how, having gone a long time ago to older Rome, while the passions of the flesh were still vigorous and flourishing in him, a certain love had burned in him more intensely than the mere impulse of the passion.

Seeing that he was in danger of being overcome by this, he spread his hands toward the temple of the primate, Peter, and entreated him to obtain some help and assistance. And, as he had finally fallen asleep through the labor of his prayer, the apostle appeared to him in a dream, touching that part and extinguishing all sense of the passions, adding only this: "You are released, Methodius, from the tyranny and harsh power of the passions." By these things, he convinced that great assembly and filled the enemies of the truth with shame. ^C Yet Master Manuel did not deem that the charges against him were absolved by these things, but even threatened the woman that he would surely take her life if she did not teach the whole truth. She immediately made the entire scheme known and clear, saying that she had been bought for so much gold, and that "It is in one of my chests, just as it was given, sealed and kept with their seal."

Immediately, therefore, they sent, and just as the woman had said, they found the gold in the chest and brought it. And these men, through the sympathy and intercession of the patriarch to those in power, did not suffer the common punishments for their crimes, which they deserved, but were granted pardon, having received only this as an expiation and penalty: that every year, on the day of the feast of Orthodoxy, they should come with torches from the venerable temple of the Mother of God at Blachernae to the divine and renowned temple of Sophia, and hear the anathema pronounced to their own ears on account of their hatred ^D toward the holy [orthodox] icons. And this, being observed, appeared for a long time and was kept even until the end of their lives. And while such a heresy had grown for a long time, such a...

turn of events, by the will of God, it received, and the holy images and forms shone forth with their ancient splendor, which we do not honor with divine honors as if we were worshipping them as gods, but through which we transmit our veneration relatively and surely to the exemplars and the primary forms themselves. ^A

11.

Concerning the celebration of the feast by Theodora and the words of the holy men

12. But another heresy, called that of the Zelotes, having arisen with its founder named Zeli, who was an *asekretis* and flourished especially in that dignity, was cured and brought to a sounder sense during the imperial procession, its followers being received only by the anointing of ointment with new white tunics—which they call *photia*—and thus, by that garment of purity and by the pompa, attaining ^D their perfection.

13. The ruler of Bulgaria (this was Bogoris), having heard that a woman was holding the reins of power, became more ferociously puffed up. He therefore sent messengers to Theodora, saying that he would break the treaty and lead his forces against the land of the Romans. But she, harboring nothing feminine or lacking in manly spirit, sent this reply: "You shall find me in turn leading forces against you, and I do not doubt that I shall attain victory. But if it does not happen that way, and you conquer me, even so I shall have conquered, for..."

^A this path will be the future laws of manifest victory, since not a man, but a woman has yielded to you, defeated. Terrified by this response, the barbarian preferred peace to war, daring to attempt nothing more ferocious, and renewed the treaties of friendship again.

14. Meanwhile, Theodora decided that the monk so named Theodore, by the surname Cuphara, should be sought out with all diligence, whether warned by certain dreams and visions, or induced by some other reason: he, however, had been carried off long before among the captives. Therefore she sends to the prince of Bulgaria, and with letters given

^A he determined should receive, harvesting from thence the fruits of their ill-doings, for the judge, so to speak, was repelling the attempted punishments more severely from himself. As the sovereign gazed upon this completed tablet—for such it was—and received into herself the fear of God from the sight, and was finally instructed in the divine mysteries of the Christians, in the dead of the night she obtained the gift of divine baptism. Having become manifest through this, she stood against the insurrection of her whole nation. Having defeated these with a few men, and carrying the sign of the divine cross of the Lord in her bosom, she no longer made the rest Christians in secret, but altogether openly, even those who were eager for the thing. ^B Since, therefore, she had been transferred to piety, she wrote to the empress regarding land, being straitened by the multitude of her own people, and requested from her, with greater freedom of speech—as they were now no longer two, but one, bound together by the indissoluble tie of faith and friendship—that she herself would be subject to her, and promised to maintain a peace eternal and never to be broken. She heard him graciously and gave the region which was at that time deserted, whatever was from the Iron [Gate]—this is the name of the place, the boundary at that time of the Roman and Bulgarian domains—as far as Debeltum, which is called Zagora by them. Thus, then, the whole of Bulgaria was transformed to piety, God calling them to the knowledge of Himself, and thus from such small sparks and blows, and thus being deemed worthy of the land of the Romans as if it were some other promise, they subjected themselves to an indissoluble bond of partnership.

16. The state of affairs in the West

^C 16. In such a way, then, did matters in the West stand in a glorious state, and they were heralded everywhere, because they were so well ordered. Furthermore, Theodora, elated by this success, and as if desiring to add greater trophies to her achievements, also attempted to transfer the Paulicians in the East to the true faith, or, if not, to uproot and take them from the midst; which thing filled our empire with huge evils. She sent, therefore, some of the officials for this purpose (those who were sent were said to be the son of Argyros, the son of the Duke, and Sudales). ^D Some they hung on a tree, others they delivered to the sword, and others to the depths of the sea. About one hundred thousand of the people thus perished were numbered, and their property was taken and brought into the imperial treasury. Now, there was a man in the service of the general of the Anatolics (this Theodotos was the one from the Melissenoi family), Cardeas by name, holding the office of protomandator, who boasted of and was honored in the faith of these aforementioned Paulicians. When he heard that his own father had been hung on a tree, deeming this unbearable, and looking to his own affairs, he took with him five thousand others who had shared in such a heresy and fled to the then-ruler of Melitene, the Amera, and from thence they proceeded to the Ameramnun. Having been received with much honor, and having likewise received a pledge of safety...

they soon set out against the land of the Romans. And for the sake of trophies—since they were yielding to their own great numbers—they also attempted to build cities for themselves: the one so called Argaous and the other Amara. And again, as many were flowing together there, strengthened by the same wickedness, they began to build another, which they named Tephrike; from there, they would sally forth and become many. ^A The Amer of Melitene (whom the multitude, via a corruption of the letters, called Ambron), and the prefect of Tarsus, Ales, and this same miserable Carbeas, did not cease from arrogantly devastating the land of the Romans. But Ales, having been sent to rule a certain province of the Armenians, ended his life there sooner than expected, together with his untimely army. Amer, however, having entered into civil war with his colleague, Sclerus (for so he was called), due to rivalry—and he was destroyed even in that conflict—did not think he ought to wage war against others. The strife between them had grown to such a degree, and they were so maneuvering against one another, that their strength, which had been about fifty thousand or a little more, was barely reduced to ten thousand. ^B When, therefore, this man gained the upper hand over his enemies, he decided, being once again spurred on by rashness, to move against the Roman forces, joining with Carbeas. Petronas, who at that time held the office of Domestic, took the field against them. In name and title, this dignity belonged to Bardas; but since he was forced, as regent, to be at leisure, he requested his brother, who was the general of the Thracesians, to perform this duty for him as his deputy.

^C 17. Moreover, Michael the emperor also wished and was ever desirous to take the field against the Ishmaelites and to counter-attack (for he had by then just passed his childhood years and was hastening toward the years of manhood). But before this, he knew how to act only as he was advised, not of his own origin or his own volition, but by the opinion and counsel of his tutor, Bardas. From where and how this came about, this history will declare; for the body of history is in truth somehow mute and void when it is stripped of the causes of the deeds. But where the timing is not well perceived by us, may the studious surely grant us indulgence, for they wish to write what is true, not what is fabricated, for which even the common man has a ready supply. Where, however, the cause is clear, it is worth the effort to declare it and make it plain to the readers, since from there, and nowhere else, all their benefit ^D is to be captured.

18. There arose in this Bardas a love of the empire, not an unworthy one, and a love not like that of others, now increasing, now checked by the impulses of reason, but a sort of ill-starred and inescapable passion. Or rather, to carry the story a little further back, a certain discord had arisen between Manuel and Theoctistus, who were both acting as regents and—in some way—his own...

^A imperial majesty was being called into question; nor were there wanting those who quickly whispered this into his ear. Manuel, fearing this accusation and seeing the violence of the envy against him, which was insurmountable and not easily to be overcome by any effort, thought that it must be amputated and removed, provided that he could withdraw a little further from the palace. And so he retired to his own house, which was situated by the cistern of Aspar, which later he converted into the form of a religious house, and there he deposited his dust (that is, his mortal frame). Thence he came daily and took part in those things being administered in the palace by the tutors. But Bardas, who through the agency of Theoctistus—and not his own—had thus removed Manuel from the palace and, if I may so speak, shaken off the burden, with fortune smiling upon his prayers, decided no longer to accomplish all things through another's help, but through his own efforts. In the meantime, he resolved to remove Theoctistus, that he might not hinder him from further progress, and at the same time to cast off and drive far away the huge disgrace arising from the intimacy with his daughter-in-law (for he kept reproaching him with this continuously). ^B

19. There was, therefore, a tutor for the Emperor Michael, a man of dissolute life and one very far removed from any nobility of character. Michael was asking his elders in the palace that he and Theoctistus and his mother be honored with higher offices. Theoctistus did not obey, nor would he let himself be persuaded to yield to their desires. For he used to say that the offices of the empire, on account of merit, ought not to be conferred upon the unworthy. Bardas, having found in this tutor a most wicked instrument, did not cease sowing certain tares concerning Theoctistus in his own soul and in the Emperor's mind, and saying many other things that disparaged the present state of the republic: that affairs were not being administered well; that Michael, the heir to the empire left behind, was kept far away from public duties by the work of Theoctistus. He was even planning a marriage with the mother of Michael or one of her daughters; as for the boy himself, he ought to be cast far from his eyes. ^C By these darts, as it were, fixed deeply in the mind of the Emperor, he provoked him, and said that the matter should be expedited by a wise and very swift counsel, lest anything of this sort should happen. As they had gathered frequently concerning this matter, the final settled opinion and decree among them was that Theoctistus should be removed from the midst by some fraud and trickery, or at least be relegated to exile. The plan was thus approved, and Bardas urged that what had been so settled in their minds should be promptly executed. The method decided upon for bringing about the death of the man was that when Theoctistus had finished his duty of making a report, and had cleared up those matters relating to the treasury, he should depart for the Lausiacus, and the Emperor should follow after a short interval; and then he should cry out to those who were of the sacred chamber to remove the man. ^D Bardas was then sitting in the Lausiacus. Theoctistus had scarcely stepped out, when, seeing the signal being given by Michael and preceding him and going before him, he tried to provide for his safety by flight. His flight was toward the Hippodrome, which was the area where the location of those who were "a secretis" was; for at that time the headquarters of the secretaries was there. But being seized by many, the one man was compelled to remain, and not to flee.

^A Bardas himself, with drawn sword, threatened in his own hand those who might prevent him, ^B towards the murderer of those under his command. But no one at that time dared to touch him, and he was led away to the Scyla, to be held under guard until judgment concerning him should be pronounced. But because they did not think it advisable for the Augusta that he should live, and lest he be released too soon, they sent one of the associates, who was to rush upon him with a drawn sword. When he saw the man coming with a sword, he ducked under a bench, wishing to escape the handles; but he was struck in the belly and delivered to death, his entrails being poured out. ^C At which time also Manuel, as if possessed by a divine spirit, is said to have clearly declared to Bardas: Once having drawn the sword for the murder of Theoctistus, Prepare yourself for slaughter day by day.

κ'. But Theoctistus thus received the end of his life, and after his slaughter Bardas took upon himself the care and honor of the *kanikleion*. ^D When Theodora learned of these things, she ran about with loosened hair, filling the palace with much wailing and lamentation, and cursed both her son and her brother, saying, "O shameless and utterly defiled beasts! Why do you, ungrateful offspring, repay your other parent with evil in return for good? And you, envious demon and most wicked one—lamenting over your brother—you have polluted my reign, which had been kept pure and undefiled! There is a God who is the overseer of these daring deeds, who will deliver you both to no different, but to a like and murderous death." And at the same time, as if prophetically, stretching out her hands, "May I see, O Lord, may I see the vengeance falling upon the head of this man." Therefore, no longer bearing her frequent curses and insults from that time on, and at the same time pursuing the path he had begun, Bardas and those with him decided to push her from there and to proceed with bare-faced boldness to everything that seemed good to them. Which she, having discovered (for she was capable of seeing and inferring), did not think it right to resist, shunning the slaughter of men and the harm of her own kin; but she decided to make known to the Senate the wealth thus far stored up in the palace, both to hinder the wanton expenditure and to demonstrate her own virtue. And standing before them, she cried out that ninety-nine thousand *kentenaria* of gold were deposited in the royal treasury, and about three thousand of silver, and that her husband had been in the habit of consuming and squandering it.

κα'. But even though the royal treasury was so great, it went to nothing at all because of the madness of Michael and his untimely ambition. For being delighted, if any other was, by the horse races, and he himself driving (O the humility of those who were then the treasurers and providers, while he himself did not consider...

it beneath him ^A to act as a charioteer in the Circus—how trodden down and abject was the dignity of the empire at that time!), he would drain the treasury for the sake of those who were accustomed to play and compete with him in this spectacle, by standing as godfather to their children. To each of them, he would grant no less than fifty, forty, or at the very least thirty pounds of gold. Once, when a certain patrician named Himerius (he was called "the Boar" because of the rustic nature of his face and features) was playing a scurrilous part at a banquet with shameful words, and, with shocking impudence, passed gas from his impure belly in the face of the emperor and the assembled guests—to such an extent that with the sound of his belly he extinguished the lamp which was lighting them—he bestowed upon him, as if out of wonder at so unheard-of a marvel, one hundred pounds of gold. On another occasion, he also bestowed as many pounds of gold on Cheilas, one of his fellow charioteers, when he took his son from the holy baptismal font. Thus did he squander public funds to no good purpose.

When in a short time he had wasted such great wealth on these theatrical and disgraceful acts, being a most abandoned lover of the circus games, and the day fixed for royal largesse approached while no means of raising money remained—with which the troops, who were gallantly contending against the battle lines of the enemy and defending the Roman state, were to be rewarded—he gave orders for that famous golden plane tree, the two golden lions and two griffins of solid, hammered gold, and the organ of solid gold, as well as the rest of the royal magnificence of the furnishings, weighing no less than two hundred centenaria, to be melted down ^B and coined ^C to be brought into the treasury. Nay, he even exposed to be melted down certain royal garments, both of the emperors and of the Augustas, and even senatorial robes, some solid with gold and others interwoven with gold, which were kept in the private imperial treasury, being pressed at last by poverty. Although, while Michael was still alive, they were not yet melted down: the renowned Basil, having gained the empire himself, found them still entire and unharmed, recovered them, and commanded that they be coined into the money which we now call the *senzaton*. Finding among such great riches nothing else besides three centenaria of gold and nine sacks of *miliarensia*, he produced them before the senate, and, setting them before everyone's eyes, he lamented the state from which he was obliged to manage the affairs of the commonwealth.

[22.] But these things happened as time went on. At that time, it was the custom of Theodora to go frequently to the holy shrine at Blachernae, both to offer certain prayers to God and to bathe. When, therefore, she had gone there ^D as was her custom, Michael and Bardas sent Petronas, her brother, and had her and her daughters tonsured, and for the time being relegated them to the palaces at Carianus. Afterward, however, not once but twice, they sent ministers and confiscated the wealth that remained to them, letting them live not as royalty, but as private persons—as women from the common crowd. But not long after, Theodora departed from this life. The renowned Emperor Basil, having assumed the empire, transferred both her corpse and her daughters to the monastery of their grandmother, which they call Gastria.

^A to dwell there and to live and conduct themselves piously. In this way she departed this life, leaving to her son a good and venerable name, not one that was evil and hateful, as those others did. In the previous book, we showed the origin and parentage of Theodora, how she came into the palace, and how many daughters were born to her; this book will show the remainder of her kin.

There were, therefore, the two male brothers we mentioned: Petronas, who was at that time Strategos of the Thracesians and a patrician, and the aforementioned Bardas, who, having been caught by Theophilus in some unbecoming act when the customary procession was taking place, was ordered by the Horologion to be whipped sixty lashes. There were three sisters, who were called by the honorable name of Calomaria, and Sophia, and Irene. Sophia was given in marriage to Constantine Babutzikos; Calomaria married Arsaber, then a patrician and subsequently a magister; ^B [Irene] was married to the brother of Irene, mother of Photius (he who later held the patriarchal throne); from whom she also bore two sons, Stephen the magister, and Bardas, his brother and also a magister, who was the son-in-law of the patrician Constantine, the praetor of Sicily (who was also called Kontomytes—from whom that name also fell to him), and he maintained a relationship with the Patriarch Photius; for both these magistroi were his nephews and cousins.

Their mother, having lost her former husband to death, since she did not wish to see a second one perish in vain, living as a widow and dwelling in the palace with her sister, wearing a squalid and humble garment, and taking the eparch by the hand—not, however, the wall-guardian, but also bringing along the numerus—at the beginning of every month she went on foot through the schools to those who were held in the prisons of the Chalce, the Praetorium, and the Numeri. ^C Questioning each one about the cause of their imprisonment, and through her own personal efforts, as well as by prompting her sister, she looked after them, bestowing on each no small blessing and alms. Thus far for what concerns the women.

§ 23. Bardas was entirely occupied with administering and managing the affairs of the empire, and, as a kinsman of the Emperor, he was loved more than the others. Hence, he was honored with the dignity of curopalates, as it were a reward for his sister, and he went out to war against the Ishmaelites and Amer, as we were saying, together with Michael, who was just then reaching manhood, while the down of youth was blooming upon him, with all their full force and military strength. ^D As soon as they crossed into the land of the enemy, they were led to the city called Samosata, a city powerful in the multitude of its citizens and in its strength, and they began to besiege it. But they had failed to realize that they were not raising their hands against Theodora, but against a very crafty race of men. For as the third day of their encampment was there (the first and principal of the days), and they were about to fulfill the bloodless mystery, as if...

^A either performing them carelessly, or even holding the city in contempt through inexperience, thinking that no one would dare lift a hand against the Roman emperor, at the very hour when they were about to partake of the divine mysteries, they burst forth from the city armed on all sides. There was not one of the Romans ^B who did not resort to flight. There, too, Michael was seen having mounted his horse with difficulty and fleeing, not fighting in the vanguard; thus with difficulty he had saved himself, having left behind the tents themselves and all the equipment that belonged to these men. There they say that the aforementioned Carbeas, who also was the founder of Tephrice, displayed his valor, not only slaughtering many of the common crowd, but also capturing great commanders, namely the *tzangotubos* Abessalon and Seon the Palatine, and other sub-commanders and *tourmarchai* up to the number of a hundred. These aforementioned commanders were therefore kept in custody after the skirmish of the war; and they paid a considerable sum to Carbeas, having summoned it from home, seeking their own ransom. But when Carbeas had received the money, he asked Seon at once whether he felt amorously inclined toward sexual desires and felt the passionate stirring of the body. When he denied it and asserted that he was not affected by such things, he asked the same question again to Abessalon. Abessalon, however, having discovered the man's wickedness and deceit, or perhaps even because he was actually affected by this, replied that he was indeed affected in this way and endured such stirrings of the flesh. Then Carbeas said to him: "Be free from your bonds," and released him at the same time. But to Seon, he said: "Certainly God does not will that you be freed from prison," and at the same time, having returned the ransom money that had been given to him for his release, he locked him up in custody until ^C he breathed his last.

24. Since a second year had already passed and he heard that thirty thousand had made an irruption into the Roman dominion, Michael, desiring to recover from the defeat again, having gathered forty thousand from the Thracians and Macedonians, went forth eagerly against him. But when he had pitched his tents at a certain pasture-rich plain called Celarium, Amer, already pressing forward with hostile standards against them, having wandered too far from the public road, was making for Chonarium. There, halting and drawing up his battle line for conflict, and having joined a fierce battle, he forced the emperor, unequal to the assault, into flight. And indeed he persisted in the flight as long as he thought that the speed of his horses was vigorous and neither intermitted nor grew tired. Now, therefore, mid-day having arrived, and because of the sun's scorching heat, they were forced to ascend ^D a certain elevated location named Anzen, difficult to approach and rough with stones. There the emperor, having retreated from the flight, took shelter; and Amer, following at his heels, encircled him, as if wishing to catch him in a net. And he would have taken him prisoner, had not the strength of the imperial guards, fighting bravely, and the very height and ruggedness of the place afforded him some moment of salvation. The danger to his life was such that

^A Michael compelled Manuel to offer counsel on how both of them might escape the present peril. Manuel advised the emperor to lay aside his royal robes and, donning commoner’s dress, to break through the enemy’s phalanx with a select band of brave men and escape entirely. When the emperor asked again about the crowd and the soldiers who would be left behind, and how their safety might also be looked after, Manuel replied: "I pray that you may reach safety, Emperor; as for them, God will take care. For the danger is not equal for an emperor to be captured as it is for any one of the Roman camp." The emperor, therefore, changed his clothing and, keeping close to Manuel's side, attempted to break through the enemy’s phalanx together with his companions. But at the very point of the crisis, when the enemy line was nearly to be engaged, he was overcome by fear, losing all courage and strength of hand, and preferred to remain behind rather than go before Manuel. Manuel broke through the rank, and once he had himself reached safety, seeing nowhere the emperor, he turned back, fearing for his life. When another clash occurred and the Saracens were terrified by the town, Amer seemed to withdraw a little further to seek water and fodder, sounding the retreat; at which time Michael, finally summoning his courage, escaped safely and returned to the Queen of Cities.

^B 25. A second year had scarcely passed, and again Amer, having campaigned with forty thousand troops, began to ravage and plunder the Armenian territory as well as Amisos near the sea, because there were no military garrisons to guard them sufficiently. At this time, it is said, he imitated that foolish deed of Xerxes, and ordered the sea to be beaten with rods, because it had not receded further, but had prevented him from carrying off plunder from the vicinity. Michael, taking this heavily and being distressed in spirit, ordered Petronas, brother of the empress, who then governed the Thracian theme, to take with him all the Roman legions and march against him, and not to overlook his plundering the Roman territory any longer. ^C Bardas’ son was then commander of the imperial guards and the schools, though still a mere child of about nine or ten years, Antigonus by name. It occurs to me to marvel that a man who seemed to pursue sagacity and was considered prudent—as they say—grasping everything for himself and drawing all things to himself, did not entrust such a prefecture to another, especially in such troublesome and difficult times for the commonwealth. Nevertheless, he deferred the role of this office in the meantime to his brother, that he might act as his deputy. Hearing then the imperial letters, by which he was ordered to take up arms against the enemy and act strenuously, he was disturbed in spirit and wavering, and, pondering how he might successfully wage the war, he remained on the Holy Mountain, which lies adjacent to Ephesus, whether yielding to despair and, as it were, ^D

^A shrinking from the task, or seeking divine assistance. While he was lingering there, a rumor preceded him, announcing that that famous monk John—a man of tall stature, who always went barefoot and lived in the Latros—was coming of his own accord. That age wondered at a solitary man who never left his cell. Therefore, when the patrician heard of him, and that he was not far off, traveling on a donkey, he hurried to meet him and embraced his feet. To whom John immediately said: "Go, and comply with the imperial letters against the Saracens. Go; for you shall have God as your deliverer and your leader, if only, in place of any other amulet, you clearly display the most beloved John, depicted on the shields of all." And he added that there was no other reason for his having undertaken this journey here. Armed with his prayers, Petronas found Amer encamped in a certain place called Poson, made naturally secure by rocks and sheer cliffs. A river flows by this place, running from north to south, named the Lalacaon; and a meadow lies adjacent, which in the rustic tongue the inhabitants call Gyrin. Petronas, therefore, learned that he was encamped there, and spared no effort to block every path by which he might escape or secure his safety by flight. He immediately sent the generals ^B of the Armeniacs, the Buccellarians, Colonia, and Paphlagonia to hold the side situated toward the North; and for the Southern side, he sent the generals of the Orientals, the Opsikion, and Cappadocia, along with the governors of the passes of Seleucia and Charsian. He himself, with the four imperial regiments and the generals of Thrace and Macedonia—for when matters with the Bulgarians were settled in peace, it was the law that they should join the Orientals in war and share the dangers—occupied the Western side, having also with him in arms a cohort of Thracians. When Amer heard that he was thus walled in on every side by the Romans and surrounded like a wild beast in a hunting net, he thought he should have recourse to omens; and summoning one of the captives, he asked him for the name of the place, the meadow, and the river. The captive, when questioned, slightly changed the letters and said "Proson" instead of "Poson." ^C Amer explained that this signified his own ruin, and that the river, by paraphrase, indicated the destruction of his army, and that they were to be wretchedly turned back by the Romans from the incursion upon the meadow, which was called Gyrin. Yet he exhorted them not to lose heart, but to rouse their strength and fight bravely in the battle to come on the morrow; at the same time he commanded all to take up their arms and to show their newly polished swords, as if they were freshly forged and wrought. But because the dawning day seemed to offer some respites for overcoming the Romans, he thought he should attempt an escape by breaking through the Roman battle line where they guarded the northern side. But when the difficulty of the terrain and the strenuous efforts of the generals stationed there had broken and repulsed his attempt, he made an assault upon the southern side. But there ^D too, as a similar line of adversaries blocked his way,

^A he realized that, drawn by the lay of the land (for it was level and accessible), he should have proceeded instead toward that side where he saw Petronas encamped and standing guard. Having raised a din and clamor, he charged the enemy, but he found the Romans not at all yielding; rather, they were stronger, resisting him heroically and standing their ground with great vigor. Consequently, he recoiled a little, collected himself, and once again pressed forward with force, seeking some outlet or descent for himself. But even then they did not give way; rather, they met him, turned him back through the strength of their formation, and compelled him to do this until he was hemmed in. But when he saw that lines had appeared on all sides, and that those who inhabited the northern and southern regions were leaping upon him from every quarter, then, despairing of his safety and struck ^B as if by a thunderbolt in his senses, he charged into the swords, not even neglecting those who had come before. There, having received a mortal wound, he himself fell in a miserable state, and not one of his men escaped destruction anywhere.

When word spread that his son had taken flight with a certain cohort, the *kleisourarches* of Charsian followed behind, captured him with his troops, and delivered him up to the *strategos* Petronas. Thus, Petronas, having set up trophies over Amer from that time forward, held the monk in great veneration and honor, calling him a second prophet. Entrusting him with the matters of his soul, he brought him to the Queen of Cities, presenting him to the Emperor ^C and Bardas, and eloquently praising the man’s virtue. Furthermore, Petronas no longer played the role of a Domestic, but he was himself elevated by the Emperor to that very dignity.

When the monk learned by divine revelation that he was to depart to God, he admonished Petronas of the fact. "Where, then," Petronas said with tears, "my pastor and my beloved, do you wish to leave your little sheep? In this age? But I fear that I may slip once again into former transgressions, and that my latter days may be no better than the former." "But does it please your mind," said the monk, "to follow me?" "Yes, Father," he said, "I will follow most gladly." Falling ill himself upon his return home, he related what had happened to the abbot; the monk, in turn, told him that he had said that he too, as he had requested, would follow him in death shortly. And indeed, a few days later, when the monk was called to God, Petronas ^D immediately followed him magnificently, as if by agreement; and indeed, although they were separated by so short an interval, both departed at the same time, so that neither was able to hear the news of the other’s death. Manuel, however, had died before this, having been seized by a certain illness.

26. Bardas, meanwhile, was also moving forward, and he was constantly receiving the honors flowing from the Emperor, just as a certain new, proud, and ambitious youth was changing the various honors through the profuse generosity of the prince, not otherwise than a young man

^A shifting his functions, ascended to the dignity and glory of Caesar, while Michael was held by no other concern of the state than to be free for the theaters and the Circensian games. And what is even more serious, he not only gladly attended these spectacles and devoted his efforts to them, but, holding the citadel of the Roman Empire, he drove chariots himself, making himself a subject of ridicule and scorn to all. Thus did Bardas discharge the functions of the curatorship; a life which, as is fitting, should not even have been in his prayers, had it not been for this practice of a life of servitude that distracted him. Meanwhile, however, he administered the public business, and in his own mind he destined the empire for himself, of which he seemed to himself that he would one day be master. But these things were reserved for him for the future; in the meantime, he undertook the care of secular and profane wisdom. Since for many years the more humane letters had fallen into disuse and, through the barbarism and ignorance of the emperors, had almost become extinct, by establishing schools of mathematical disciplines at the Magnaura he caused it to flourish again magnificently and, as it were, to grow young again. Yet this achievement of Bardas, although it exhibited the highest honor and was most celebrated for its glory, was not able to wash away the rest of his sins. ^B Presiding over this school and serving as the teacher of philosophy was that great philosopher Leo, who was by blood a cousin of the Patriarch John, and by rank formerly Bishop of Thessalonica. Then, however, having been ordered to cease and having been removed—because he was a devotee of the iconoclast heresy—he was placed in charge of this business, and by his work and industry he drove away and put to flight ignorance.

27. It is worthwhile, moreover, to see how a man of such stature came to the notice of him who was then in power. That man was Theophilus, the progenitor and father of Michael. Since he had perfectly cultivated the entire knowledge of the disciplines, and had thus attained the perfection of all disciplines, of philosophy and its sisters—I mean of arithmetic, and geometry, and astronomy, and also of that celebrated music—and had pushed them to the limit, so that in all of them he alone had advanced as much as no other had in even one, he taught his students, in the quiet of solitude, in a certain humble dwelling, and with the dexterity of his genius, the science that each one preferred. When, however, a long time had passed and many, through his instruction, had made progress not to be repented of, it happened that a certain young man among his students, having attained through him the highest skill in geometry, gave ^C himself of his own accord as a companion to one of the commanders of the secrets—who was to make a brief summary of affairs for him—as he was setting out for war; and while he was there, by I know not what chance, he fell into the power of the Agarenes, and because he was in the green and flowering period of youth, he was given as a slave to one of the illustrious men. Mamun by name, at that time the Amermumnes of the Ismaelites, was devoting himself to other Greek disciplines and especially gave his attention to geometry. Now it happened that the master of that ^D young man of whom we spoke was [struck] by a concern about that [..]

[..] ^B discipline and the attention [paid to] the mathematical sciences, as he was speaking indeed also about geometry; the young man, hearing this, said that he desired to hear also from his teachers, inasmuch as he himself possessed some knowledge of geometry. When, therefore, the Ameramnun ^A understood this, with much great joy he summoned him and inquired of the captive whether he possessed the knowledge of such a science. And when he made his assent, the barbarian, not yet having entrusted belief to those words in his mind, ^B did not say that there were others under heaven besides his own teachers. But when the young man said that he desired to hear from these and [to receive] their teaching, they straightway, standing by, departed for this, and began to outline the triangular and quadrangular figures, and brought forward the canons of Euclid; and that they were teaching in a manly and scientific fashion, saying this, they [also] had such a name [for them] and such another, but as for the cause and the reason, and why they were thus, and [why they] had this name, they could render no appropriate [explanation] whatsoever; they were displaying their own inexperience and ignorance—not, however, by any narrowness of tongue. When, therefore, the young man saw them boasting and thinking highly of themselves for the mere drawing of the figures, "Why," he said, "O you, when in every word and matter the power of the cause and the 'why' holds the first place, do you, while stating them to be mere existences, pass over the reasons for these as unnecessary, and bring the one being taught to the same [level] where [you bring] one who is uneducated and knows nothing at all about these?" And when they were at a loss, and were urging him to clarify and teach the causes of these things, since they listened to him interpreting clearly and speaking plainly—how this ^C particular thing has the stated name and drawing on account of this and that—at the same time their mind was opened and they understood what was being said; so that, being seized with amazement thereafter, [they asked] how many such learned men Byzantium nourished. And when he said that there were many, and counted himself among the number of the students, not the teachers, they asked again concerning that master: whether he was still living and was upon the earth. He, however, said that he was indeed "above the earth," and extolled his virtue, saying that he led a life of poverty and was unknown to the many, though shining forth in wisdom. Straightway, then, Mamun ^D sent a letter to that man, containing this sentiment: "As we have known the tree by its fruit, so have we known the master by the disciple. Since, therefore, being such as you are in the knowledge of existing things, you are unknown to your fellow citizens because of your virtue and the depth of your knowledge, and [since] you have not yet received the fruits of wisdom and knowledge—in that you have been deemed worthy of no honor from them—do not disdain to come to us and to share your teaching with us. For if you do this, the whole race of the Saracens will bow its neck to you and will heap upon you such a store of gifts and riches as has never befallen any man." With these letters given to the young man, and he having been generously gifted, he [Mamun] orders him to set out to the teacher; and again he promises honors and gifts; and if he is willing, he will even grant the power of returning to his homeland, if only Leo, in order that [he might cross over] to them...

persuade him to abandon the land of the Romans. When he reached the imperial city and stood before the master, the sight of him inflamed and, as it were, warmed him, compelling him to lament, and bathing not only his cheeks but also his neck and chest with tears. And first, the teacher was seized by aphasia at what he saw, not knowing who it was, nor for what reason he should be doing these things; for his appearance, altered by time and the hardships of captivity, led him to think that the young man was a different person, not the one he knew. But when he gradually made himself known, gave his name and mentioned the subjects he had studied, and recounted the captivity and the cause of his ransom and arrival, and at the same time placed the writing into his hands, then they both broke out together in a common lament and wailing. However, since Leo reasoned that it was not without danger to have received a letter from the enemy—should he ever be caught—he approached the logothete (this was Theoctistus, whose death Bardas plotted) and related all the words of the captive and pupil, and at the same time handed over the letter of the Ameramnun. Thus it happened that the man became known to the emperor and was numbered among his close associates. This pupil and the letter, which had hitherto remained in a corner, brought Leo’s wisdom out into the open and, by means of that letter, rescued him from the poverty of his lot in life. For the logothete showed the letter to Theophilus; and he, having summoned him, enriched him and had him publicly appointed as a teacher in the sacred church of the Forty Martyrs. When not many days had passed, Mamun, realizing that it was not by Leo's own desire that he had left his own country to come to him, sent some difficult problems in geometry and astronomy and other sciences, for him to solve and explain with the skill of his mind. And when Leo had duly interpreted each one and rendered the solution to each, he also added some signs of things to come for the sake of admiration ^B. Then the Ameramnun, having received the letter in his hands, was affected in his soul by a great desire for the man and lifted up his voice, captivated by the admiration of his philosophy and learning. Therefore, he soon wrote a letter not to Leo, but to the emperor himself, containing roughly this sense: "I desired myself to come to you, as is the duty of a friend and pupil; but since the empire entrusted to me by God and the great multitude of people under my hand do not allow this, I ask that you send for a short time the man whom you hold to be far-famed in philosophy and other disciplines, and order him to converse with me, so that he may impart to me his learning and virtue, for which I burn with such great love. And do not let the difference of religion and race delay you from granting this; but rather, because it is such a man who asks, the wishes will easily have an end among good and gentle friends. In return for this favor, I will pay one hundred and twenty centenaria of gold, and we shall establish peace and a perpetual treaty." He thought the presence of the man was to be bought at such a high price, and that he should make use of him. But Theophilus, having given his reply, and not considering it consistent

that what is properly one’s own should be given over to others, or that the knowledge of existing things should be made common property for the nations—by which the Roman race is wondered at and honored among all—he did not assent to that man’s request. Instead, holding in greater esteem that John who was then laying claim to the patriarchal throne ^A in the metropolis of the Thessalonians, and seeing that he was full of wisdom and related to him by blood, he ordered that he be ordained.

28. When, after his ordination, ^B Leo had arrived in Thessalonica, he held the minds of all the citizens in his sway, as they revered and honored him for his virtue; but they honored him even more brilliantly for a certain reason, which our account shall declare. At that time, there was such a sterility of the earth and such an insufficiency of all crops that death itself already seemed to be imminent. Leo, seeing the great misery of the citizens and being deeply affected by the pity of a compassionate heart, exhorted them to lay aside their sorrow and not to waste away in their calamities, provided they wished to obtain divine aid and to be helped by his assistance as well. Therefore, at a certain time—which he had learned from astrology to be the moment when, by the rising and appearing of certain stars, more benign influences from heaven are sent down to these lower regions—he ordered them to sow the seeds and consign them to the bosom of the earth. Upon this being done, such ^C fertility and abundance of crops occurred, as spring approached and the harvest time arrived, that the collected grain sufficed for many years thereafter; and indeed, God granted that abundant harvest, having shown Himself ready toward the prayers and supplications of the needy, and not because that vain astrological observation was the cause of such great kindness. However, this matter stirred up and increased the power and flame of the love of the Thessalonians for Leo, as was only natural.

29. Furthermore, when many were wondering about his wisdom, ^D and by what means he reached the summit of all sciences, it is said that he stated to one of his intimates that he had mastered grammar and poetry while residing in Constantinople, but rhetoric, philosophy, and the study of arithmetic while living on the island of Andros. For while there, he had established a connection with a certain learned man, and having been imbued by him only with the principles and a few select rules and theories—and not having attained the depth of erudition he desired—he wandered through the neighboring mainland, visiting monasteries, examining and acquiring for himself the books stored therein, and studying them with keen diligence on the mountain peaks and meditating upon them, until he was elevated to such a pinnacle of knowledge. Then, being abundantly filled with the disciplines, he returned again to the royal city, [sowing] the seeds of the sciences in the minds of those who wished to utilize his work.

inspersisse. Verum hæc prius: modo autem, post tres annos (tot enim fluxerant ab arrepto sacerdotio) iterum cessare jussus ac gradu motus philosophiæ scholam ad Magnauram regendam susceperat: Theodorus vero ejus discipulus geometriæ ludo præsidebat, Theodegius astronomiæ, Cometas linguæ Græcæ grammaticæ. Iis Bardas dum large sumptus suppeditat, ac quo scientiarum desiderio accensus videbatur, sæpe ipse quoque scholas frequentans discipulorumque animos confirmans, intra justi temporis moras velut alas doctrinis addidit, eisque plumescendi (ut sic dicam) ac profectus maximi compendium fecit. ^A

30. Idem Bardas in judiciis in Circo agitari solitis assiduus erat, animique juris quique tenacis laudem ambiens vulgo utique adeptus esset, tempore obscurante ea quæ illi jam iniqua patrata erant: quia tamen iterum res Ecclesiæ miscuit ac turbavit, rixæque ei et malorum ac exitii auctor exstitit, pro tranquillitate, qua fruebatur, hinc merito non gloriam, sed probrum labemque reportavit. Etenim Methodio, ubi annos solummodo quatuor sedem Cpolitanam rexerat, ex humanis sublato, Ignatium monachum ac monasterii Satyri tum præpositum, Nicephori imperatoris ex filia nepotem ac Michaelis filium, virum scilicet omni pietatis atque virtutis laude clarum, qui rerum potiebantur ad patriarchalem sedem ^B provehunt, eique orbis gubernacula concredunt. Hic itaque post annos aliquot, dum Bardam Cæsarem, quod nulla legitima causa aut crimine repudiata uxore cum nuru sua commiscebatur, neglecti canonum juris non indiligens vindex et ultor, ecclesia arcet; quamque illi pœnam indixerat, ejiciendo ab ecclesia, eamdem ab eo vicissim sustinuit. Atque ut famem sitimque præteream, humique distento corpore verbera ac sævissimas membris omnibus plagas taceam, ubi unum hoc tantummodo dixero, cœptam ^C historiæ seriem repetam.

31. Traditur ad Barda Ignatius carceri, idque immani funestissimoque. Fuit ille in sanctorum apostolorum delubro, non in magna ac venerabili Apostolorum æde, sed ubi et dicuntur sepulcra et exstant. Ibi in quodam sepulcro includentes, quod Copronymi fuerat, geluque ac frigore (pistillo, quod proverbio dicitur, nudiorem) conficiendum in ejus superioribus statuentes, in ea incommoda morbosque, qui eam aeris intemperiem sequi solent, ipsum conjecerunt, dysenteriam scilicet, ^D intestinorumque gelu frigorisque exsuperantia per ventrem dejectionem, indeque acerbam mortem. Ac plane ex custodum immanitate et sævitia ea exstinctus esset (erant illi Joannes Gorgonites et Nicolaus Scuteloptes et Theodorus Morus), nisi quis miseratione tactus (Constantinus scilicet Armeniacus) illis tum per cibi sumendi occasionem et [alt-version omitted] illis tum per cibi sumendi occasionem exindeque hominem demittebat, et...

^A had sent him away from there while absent, and had mitigated the pain somewhat with a little wine and bread and also a small poultice. But when Bardas thought he had paid enough of a penalty, he relegated him to exile on the island of Mitylene. But because some bishops were opposing this, and were objecting that the law had been defeated in him and he had been ordered to be far away, and whatever might happen, they threatened that they would receive no one else, nay rather that they would be equally cut off from the church, Bardas, fearing a disturbance of affairs, thought that these too should be attacked with deceit and fox-like cunning. Therefore, calling each one separately and secretly to himself, he promised and gave not a small thing, or what might seem deservedly to be scorned, if only they would depart from Ignatius; but the very see of Constantinople. ^B But with all yielding and overcome by the ambition for glory, and having no regard to resist for the sake of law and justice, then indeed he warned each one that the emperor would indeed fulfill what he had promised, yet that they must keep what exists from the reason of decorum and honesty; and that they should not acquiesce as soon as he called to accept what was offered, so that the emperor himself might be an admirer of your virtue beyond measure, he said. And so, with each one called not together but separately, he is the author that they should not immediately fly into the dignity. And these, indeed, asked only from the greeting and refusing, were betraying themselves imprudently: for overcome by the love of glory, they made a loss of virtue; nor did they attain glory, because they had betrayed the cause of Ignatius not rightly and from the reason of honesty, but insidiously.

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53

^A devastated, but having at that time been filled with divine wrath, and with Photius, who held the helm of the Church, entreating the Deity and rendering Him favorable to the city, they returned home; and not long after, having sent legates to the city requesting divine baptism, they obtained it, which also came to pass.

34. Such was the trouble caused by their incursion. Furthermore, the fleet of Crete, setting sail with up to twenty small vessels (they call them cymbaria), bringing seven galleys and certain transport ships with it, plundered and harassed, now wandering through the Cyclades islands, now ranging along the entire coastline as far as Proconnesus. Continuous earthquakes also damaged and razed things to the ground. One of these, on the day when the solemn memorial of our Lord and Savior’s ascension into heaven is celebrated, leveled to the ground a third part of the Exacionion, namely that ^B which faces the south and has temples built with elegant workmanship and magnificent houses. Another [earthquake] overturned statues—both that of Victory, which was situated at the Golden Gate of the city, and those which stood firmly on their bases in the Deuteron (as one might say, the Second) at the church of Saint Anna. Leo the mathematician, seeing it fallen, declared that it signified the overthrow of the second man after the emperor. It would be a long task to recount the drying up of rivers and springs and other such portents being seen both in Isauria and in each of the provinces.

35. The emperor, putting all these things in second place, was entirely occupied with equestrian contests at the church of Saint Mamas built on the Euxine. But—and I shall first narrate a certain custom—the incursion of the Saracens against us was signaled and revealed to the emperor in a moment by means of a torch. There is a certain fort and garrison near Tarsus of Cilicia, ^C called Loulon. Those stationed to guard this, as soon as they perceived their incursion, would reveal it by means of a beacon to those keeping watch on Mount Argaios; and again, those on Argaios to those on Isamos, and these in turn to those on Aigilos, and this to those on the hill of Mamas again; then to the latter [the height of] Kyrisos succeeding, and again to the Mo- ^D cilos; from him to the sentries at the hill of Saint Auxentios, who were in the great palace at the sun-dial of the Pharos, and who made these things clear in a short time. Once, therefore, when Michael was preparing to race horses at the aforementioned church of the martyr Mamas, and the signal for the equestrian contest had already been given, because at evening the beacon from the Pharos, lit by the Papias, had signaled that the tribes were invading, the emperor was so seized by struggle and fear—fearing lest his charioteering might cause the spectators, smitten by that news, to be not sufficiently attentive—that he reached such a state as hardly another would in the very danger of his life, and one who would rather apply diligent effort to repelling the same enemies. So indeed did he indulge in spectacles, nor was he ashamed of such a thing. Therefore, so that neither anyone of his contests

^A deesse contingeret, neve aliud quid tristis nuntii ea ignium indicatione languidiores spectatores redderet, e vicinis urbi speculis ignes accendi deinceps vetuit, altoque silentio ac longa oblivione talia aboleri præcepit.

36. Rursus alias (quo viri dissolutus animus ac vecordia clarius innotescat) cum in curru staret jamque equi carceribus emittendi essent (incedebat ipse Veneto habitu, Prasino logotheta Constantinus, Thomæ pater dromi logotheta, albo Cheilas, ruseo Crasas : at neque protoasecretis neque protonotario dromi a Circi rebus vacabat, sed alter factionis Venetæ combinationum, alter Prasinæ scriba erat) - his itaque in curru, solemni equestribus ludis stola stantibus, allatoque nuntio Ame- ^B rem graviter Thracensium regionem populari ac diripere jamque ad Malagina prope accedere, ac mala imminere: eaque re mœsto animo dejectoque vultu protonotario domestici scholarum responsum nuntiante, acceptasque ab eo litteras in manibus habente ac ostendente, Qua, inquit, heus tu, audacia me tam necessario certamine occupatum istis de rebus interpellas, cum in hoc unum incumbam, ut eum qui medium tenet in lævam partem avertam? de quo mihi totum hoc certamen est.

37. Neque vero hoc duntaxat desiderio aut (si mavis) libidine perditoque amore laborans, ab ^C aliis turpioribus immunis vitiis erat: sed præterea dum modestiam citra modum sectatur, a decoro quam maxime excidit, eaque gravitate quæ imperatorem condeceat. Obviam quandoque mulierculam habuit, cujus e sacro fonte filium susceperat, e balneo redeuntem, ac quæ manibus situlam gestaret. Tum equo desiliens alios senatorii ordinis viros, qui ipsum comitabantur, haud procul in palatium abire jubet: ipse cum impuris libidinosisque, quos sibi asciverat, ex vulgi fæce hominibus, mulierculam secutus, ablataque ei e manibus situla, Bono animo sis, inquit, o mulier, meque tua domo accipe, furfuracei panis recentisque casei (præstat enim ipsam ejus vocem ponere) appetentiorem. Cum autem mulier inaudita spectaculi ^D novitate stuperet, omnique egestate premeretur, ac ne mensam quidem haberet aut lintea quibus illi sterneret, Michael dicto citius, asperiorem pannum ex balnei usu detergentis siccandisque corporibus, madentem adhuc inde a muliercula allatum accipiens, mappa loco linteique subtilioris pro mensæ usu sternit, ereptaque mulieri clave unus omnia fit, imperatorisque et mensam instruentis coquique et convivæ munus obit. Proluctisque quæ paupercula mulieris penus erant, cum ea epulabatur ac concænabat, Christum meum ac Deum bello eo facinore referens atque imitans. Peracto convivio, lento pede in palatium redit, magnæ stultitiæ ac arrogantiæ ac fastus arguens priscos imperatores: quibus illa, si audivissent, ineptiæ viderentur. Verum non aliter luxuriantem

^A et talia ludentem, aiunt, oportuisse te facere, potius quam nostram superbiam damnare; aut cum prius belli labores sudasses, parvoque victu militum contentus cum iis lubens esses, non cum copiis malisque ac impuris mulierculis comissarer. Hæc itaque omnia invisum reddebant Michaelem, Deique in illum justissimam iram provocabant.

38. Quodque est gravius, sodalitium quod secum habebat (Satyri quidam ii erant, ganeones ad omnem turpitudinem parati; dixisses Bacchi thiasotas), his ille honorem habens eosque colens, divinorum contemptu, sacerdotales auro contextas vestes ac pontificum humeralia eis adhibebat, ad hæc ^B que turpiter ac impure, quæ pura sunt, eos peragere cogebat. Ejus chori principem, sic nuncupatum Grylum, patriarcham vocabat; reliquos undecim præcipuarum illustriumque sedium metropolitas: quibus nisi ipse sodalis sociusque accederet, ne gratos quidem habebat imperii fasces. Idcirco Coloniæ præsulis sibi ipse nomen indebat. Quia vero etiam cantillare divinaque peragere mysteria illis incumbebat, cantica modulosque explendo citharam adhibebant, modo sensim pulsantes, et ut illa stridulum argutumque sonum ederet, hoc æmulati quod sacerdotes secreto agitant; modo pulsu libero ac claro sonitu, pro eo ac sacerdotes sic clare quasi perorando pronuntiant. Aurea quoque ac gemmis baccata vasa aceto ac sinapi im-^C plentes, atque illis impartientes qui erant percepturi, per eum modum impollutis mysteriis illudebant. Accidit autem ut quandoque chorus hic beato Ignatio patriarchæ obviam fieret, cum is supplicationis causa ex ecclesiastico ordine cum clericorum pompa procederet. Hunc ut conspexit Grylus, lubentissime rem capessens pulsare auspicatur, retractaque casula cum sodalibus, contentiore citharæ sonitu, sanctissimos viros conviciis compluit verbisque turpissimis fatigat. Quin Theodoram quoque matrem adhuc superstitem atque in palatio versantem quandoque ad se vocavit, quasi illo ei precaturo, quem beatum Ignatium esse finxerat. Ut ergo sanctissima mulier religiose animo incitata modesto cultu accessit, humi prostrata pro se vota concipi petit: latebat enim adhuc quis esset, cum his de facili barbam ^D tegeret. Tum ille statim ventris crepitum fœtoris plenum verbaque obscena edens, Augustæ piorumque aliorum in se sodalesque diras excitavit, quæ et filio vaticinata, divina providentia ac protectione prorsus extorrem fore prænuntiavit.

39. Verum fieri non poterat ut qui a recta via ac virtutis tramite abscesserat, ad meliorem iterum frugem rediret, ac quo beati præstamus, iter iniret. Quapropter talium auctores et inventores non mala longius procurarunt, sed iidem ipsi sibi ascive-

[index: entries preserved]

- ^A they were. And first Bardas turned those things upon his own head; indeed, Theoctistus, the prefect of the canicle, was even earlier than him in this, whether because they all indulged the man with a kind of common conspiracy, and did not strive to recall him from baser pursuits in accordance with the duty of guardians which they performed; or indeed because, when one was rebuking him, the other, out of contention, did not equally repress his insolence, but rather allowed him to act according to his own nature, examples of which have not been lacking even in our own age. Be that as it may, they certainly drove evils upon their own heads. And indeed Theoctistus, as has been said, is now slaughtered, now found to be most ill-omened in the things he had undertaken to perform. For having assumed the power of a leader in many expeditions more often, and having attacked many of the enemy in war, he never returned a victor, as he had at times before, nor superior to his enemies; but he was always defeated, and the forces he led were destroyed in slaughter, whether he was destitute of prudence and the judgment of reason and was unskilled in military affairs, to which he had never devoted effort or applied study, or for some other reason superior to us, or even that which I was just mentioning. For when the sun had suffered an eclipse once and again, Theoctistus, having been appointed commander-in-chief of the army against the Abasgi, most unhappily experienced the wrath of God: for a part of them unhappily lost their lives in a shipwreck, and those who were received onto the shore were nonetheless participants in the disaster. And indeed that army perished in that way. And not long after, having attacked the war with more prudence and greater audacity, he lost more than forty thousand of his army. And again, having undertaken an expedition against the Cretan Arabs, he returned with a vain effort, not a few of his men being missed there, because he had used flight and suddenly abandoned the business he had begun. But these things he did earlier.

^D 40. Then, however, certain clear signs, the rising of comets, and dreams seen, revealed the evils that were to overtake Bardas; these, however, not by chance or by some other blind impulse, but by a certain providence of Him who does not seek the death of the sinner as much as that he should be converted. And so he seemed to himself in his dreams to be proceeding to the temple of God, which they call Sophia, together with Michael, in a festive gathering of the whole people and in solemn procession: when he had come there and had advanced to the middle of the temple, two men dressed in white of angelic appearance had met him; and then, proceeding to the further parts, they saw nothing else except an old man sitting on the patriarchal throne. They thought this was Peter, the prince of the apostles, at whose feet Ignatius, having thrown himself down, was demanding vengeance for the injuries he had received. The old man, moved by a feeling of pity, replied that he would soon avenge him; and then, having handed a dagger to one of those standing by—since two appeared splendidly adorned in garments interwoven with gold—he spoke these words: "Come now," he said, "this man"

^A *Theogristum* (for so he called Caesar) cut member by member; the other, however, the *Asebotecnon* (for so he called the Emperor), place on your right side, but announce to him a similar punishment." Thus the dream had its end, which was not a dream itself, but the truth.

Bardas was planning to undertake an expedition against the Cretans together with Michael, having taken up all his forces. Coming, therefore, to the church of our most holy Lady, the Mother of God, which they call the Hodegetria, in order to commend himself and his affairs to her and as if to say farewell, he entered with torches leading the way. But in the very depths of the temple, his cloak suddenly slipped from his shoulders, providing an omen of the greatest evils. The day before he had departed from the city, whether of his own accord or driven by the fate of the future, he gathered his friends and, having received them at a banquet, exhorted them to be mindful of his friendship toward them, and, as if he were departing from life, he distributed legacies to them.

But it was necessary that those matters reach their end. When, therefore, the expedition had begun and they had arrived in the region of the Thracensians at a place named Cepi, those who had occupied the place beforehand were zealously and diligently pitching their tents. In this it happened, whether by intent or by the carelessness of the attendants, that the tent of Michael was spread out on low and level ground, but that of Caesar on a certain hillock and in a slightly more elevated location. Those who were speaking against Caesar to Michael seized upon this as if it were a windfall and an unexpected gain; they slandered the man and plotted intrigues against him.

The vast power of Caesar, however, disturbed his enemies ^B and made them more sluggish in daring to commit the crime. For Antigonus, the Domestic of the Schools, obeyed and followed Bardas more readily than he did the Emperor, as if he were a son to a father; and the other generals, and Symbatius, the Logothete of the Drome—who was the son-in-law of Bardas through his daughter—were compelled to favor his interests. But Bardas did not know that he had been won over to the faction of Michael by fraud, and that he would be the primary author of his death.

When, therefore, the plan had been prepared and the ambush arranged, and those who were to carry out the deed were ready, the signal for the crime was entrusted to none other than Symbatius. Now, therefore, having read the reports, Symbatius had gone out from them, and having impressed the sign of the cross on his forehead, he had given the signal. But again there were delays and fears, because the company of Caesar's federated troops was present and in view. Michael, therefore, fearing that amidst these delays the matter would be discovered and the sword would be turned against himself, confirmed the conspirators through a certain very faithful man ^C and, promising them goods and honors, made them bolder in spirit. And indeed, Caesar was very nearly safe from the danger and escaped death: for the conspirators were struck with such great fear and were so languishing in heart. But again, having sent a messenger, Michael signified to Basil, who was lying nearby, that the necessity of the matter stood on the edge of a razor: that he despaired of his life; that he should quickly prepare himself for the murder of Bardas. Having heard these things, Basil, and concerning... ^D

the emperor fearing great dread, persuaded them to cast off their fear, saying, “O what manliness and bold soul!” He suddenly winged them on and made them rush into the struggle. Bardas, seeing them suddenly with drawn swords and being struck with terror, recognized his death and threw himself at the feet of the emperor. Yet it was not possible for him to escape ^A this; whence they immediately dragged him off from there and cut him limb from limb, on the twenty-first day of the month of April, in the fourteenth indiction. Then, having hoisted his privy parts upon a pole, they exhibited them as an example and triumphed over him. A great tumult and disturbance having arisen, one could see Michael also nearly at the point of losing his life; but the drungarius of the watch (Constantine, it was) having rushed into the middle, dissolved that great tumult, ^B both by acclaiming him with favorable omens and by drawing up a battle line of armed men against those who were rising up. Thus was Bardas removed from the number of men, and thus the expedition against the Cretans having ended, the emperor returned to Byzantium.

41-42. And another sign also occurred two or three days before to Bardas. For Theodora—whether otherwise brought by divine inspiration or whether having learned of the snares plotted by Bardas through the report of someone—had sent to him, under an enigma, a certain garment, very beautiful indeed and embroidered with golden partridges, yet ill-suited to the length of his stature and far ^C too short for him. For both the fact that partridges—not some other birds—were embroidered in it, and the very shortness of the garment, were an omen that he would be caught in a trap sooner than he should have expected.

43. Nevertheless, the emperor was returning, and because he did not have a son, he adopted Basil, having adorned him with the dignity of magister. And because as time went on ^D Michael was not able to manage public affairs, and he was aware of his own simplicity, and at the same time heard that the senate was plotting sedition and revolt against him because Roman affairs were being poorly managed under him, he even placed the sought-after diadem upon his head, and on the holy day of Pentecost, the twenty-sixth of May, in the fourteenth indiction, he appointed and proclaimed him emperor in the Great Church, which is named the Wisdom of God. But who this Basil was, and whence and how he came to the acquaintance of the one holding power, the following history of his deeds will declare. By now, therefore, having been gifted with the imperial dignity, he applied himself to the cares of the empire, and he abstained from the daily games and hippodrome contests, and from the impurities of the most shameful Grylos and pseudo-patriarch, in which Michael importunately delighted. For it has been said by many that there is a surfeit of all things, both of shameful and of natural things, and experience is the exact teacher of these; but for Michael, who was then in power, there was no surfeit, as they say, of the hippodrome games or of the other intemperate drinking and shameful acts. Trying to restrain these...

and to draw Michael away from them—at one time by admonition and exhortation, and at another by setting before him the hatred of the citizens, the curses of the priests, and the almost rebellious spirit of the senate, painting these, as it were, on a tablet before his eyes—Basil ^A inadvertently brought upon himself his hatred, and the friend who had been adopted was held to be an enemy and loathed. Soon after this, he brought forward a certain Basilicinus, who was then a rower of the imperial cutter—the brother of that Capnogenes who held the office of eparch in the second rank—and arrayed him in purple, placed upon him the diadem, and adorned him with the foot-coverings, which are the insignia of emperors. In this attire, he led him by the hand before the senate and spoke to them in these words: "It was fitting, Conscript Fathers, that I should long ago have brought this man before you in this illustrious garb, for in him there dwells: ^B First, a form worthy of the imperial power, Next, a kindred diadem belongs to this man, And all things are suitable for the dignity." How much better, he continued, would it have been to make this man emperor rather than Basil, whom I regret having made emperor? This act and these words were the origin of Michael's ruin. Such a pronouncement, ringing in everyone's ears, struck all with excessive stupefaction, and made the word cling in everyone’s mind, that Michael was daily producing emperors born of the earth, after the manner of the mythical Giants. From that time on, the hatred against Basil grew, flaring up like fire with a more vehement flame, having as its fuel and cause the fact that Basil would neither allow himself to be corrupted with these men's vices nor follow their unbridled license. For Michael, overwhelmed by unmixed wine and drunkenness, ^C would often burst into such folly that, in that state and at that time, he would command terrible and beyond-terrible things, ordering now the ears of one to be cut off, elsewhere the nose, or finally the head of another to be severed. And if certain men, moved by pity, had not thought it best to neglect the orders and postpone them to the morrow, hoping that Michael would perhaps eventually be recalled and repent of the act—which indeed would sometimes happen—all who were with him and constant in his court as his attendants would have utterly perished. Little was also lacking for Basil himself to be involved in a similar destruction, as he often became the object of his drunken petulance. Yet he endured, and believed that at length Michael might be led to some sort of repentance. But it was not possible for one who had been bent from a tender age, not unlike a chariot wheel, to recover his native and pristine rectitude, whatever might happen. ^D Therefore, more atrocious plots were devised against Basil. These were laid in such a way that, while hunting, under the pretext of striking a beast, one of the attendants would in reality run Basil through with a spear. This plan was made manifest to all by the very man who had received the command and brandished the spear, when he was brought to the end of his life and confessed the truth, so that nothing could be doubted about it. He did, indeed, cast the spear, but it missed Basil. And thus Basil was saved, having been very near to death, by the grace of God who has trampled death underfoot. These things, having become known and manifest to all, sharpened the sword against him. For, that he might not also see Basil, as a little before he had seen the Caesar, slain, and before that, having been either by the counsel of the...

they see the Caesar being slaughtered. And before this, he ^A himself, Theoctistus, was slaughtered—whether by the will of the senate or by the decision of those who loved Basil (for death was threatened commonly against them as well)—by the emperor's own chosen men at the palace of the holy great martyr Mamas, on the twenty-fourth day of September, in the first indiction, in the year 6376, at the third hour of the night. He had reigned with Theodora his mother for fourteen years, and as sole monarch for eleven, and for one year and three months after Basil was added.

44–45. Now, all the things mentioned so far are theatrical and pertain to the circus; but it is worth mentioning also those things that merit some praise. For the offerings which he presented in the celebrated temple of the Wisdom of God, being crafted with diligence, are worthy of praise. For neither in size is any of the ancient and sacred heirlooms or of those things crafted in temples since the time men began to exist equal to the disk, nor has any such comeliness and beauty blossomed forth in any of the things that have been made, as all beautiful and precious things have converged there; and the chalice ^B is also very appropriate to this. But neither does the circle constructed by him for lighting, which they call a *polykandylon* (many-candled lamp), fall short of any others; for it, too, being made entirely of gold and weighing sixty pounds, differs greatly from the others, and to this it yields the primacy and the pride of place. ^C

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE AND DEEDS OF BASIL, THE RENOWNED EMPEROR

[P. 132] 1. There was a desire and a longing long held to implant ^A experience of affairs and knowledge into the minds of the more studious through the medium of immortal history, by the mouth of everlasting memory,

and I wished, if it were at all possible, to record the deeds and more notable actions of the emperors of the entire period of Roman rule in Byzantium, as well as of the magistrates, generals, officers, and individual subordinates beneath them. Since, however, this task required much time, constant labor, an abundance of books, and the leisure that comes from being free of public affairs—things which I clearly saw myself lacking—I necessarily turned to a second, safer course. I set before myself the task of commemorating the deeds, ^B the entire conduct, and the principles of at least one emperor, who elevated the power of the empire to a great height, who was even the namesake of the empire (from which he took his imperial or reigning name), and who became of great benefit to the Roman state and its affairs from the beginning until the very end of his life. I did this so that the first font and root of a royal line, which has been extended for a long time, might not remain unknown to those who come after, and so that his descendants might have at home an uplifted standard of virtue, a statue, and a primal form to which they might direct their imitation. If, however, there are granted to us still longer spans of life, and if there should be some small respite from diseases, and if nothing from elsewhere should hinder us, perhaps we shall add in a continuous series the entire narration of history down to our own generation.

2. ^B But indeed, this man whom the discourse now promises to reveal, Emperor Basil, drew his origin from the region of the Macedonians, but he possessed the lineage of the Arsacid race of the Armenians. For when ancient Arsaces, who led the Parthians, had attained ^C great glory of virtue and praise, a law became established among his successors that neither the Parthians, nor the Armenians, nor even the Medes should have rulers from anywhere else but from the line of Arsaces and his descendants. Thus, then, as the aforementioned nations were ruled by such a succession, at certain times when the one who held authority over the Armenians departed this life, it happened that a dispute arose concerning the kingdom and the successors to such a principality. Artabanus and Clienes therefore, not only despoiled of their ancestral rule but also brought into danger of their lives, come to this queen city of Constantine. Leo the Great was at that time directing ^D the Roman rule, the father-in-law of Zeno. He, therefore, receiving the men and treating them magnificently in accordance with the splendor of their lineage, assigned them a residence and an appropriate allowance for their sustenance in the royal city. But when he who at that time was administering Persian affairs learned of their flight from their fatherland and their arrival in this reigning city, and how favorably they had been received by the rulers, he sent letters, assuming a mask of benevolence toward them, promising to restore them to their ancestral rule, while in truth he was striving by that artifice to reconcile the nation to himself and to bring it under subjection. Having received the letters, while they were still deliberating on what needed to be done, the matter is reported to the emperor by one of the servants, and the letter itself

is handed over. When the thing became known—that the Persian, in wishing to summon them, was intent on subjecting the nation not so much to their own rule as to himself, a course which was profitable neither to those who were called nor to the interests of the Romans—foresight was exercised to ensure that what the Persians desired would not reach completion. And for this reason, so that the emperor might cut off, if possible, the ease of their escape, he moved them under a pretext of propriety—as if for more open pasture and greater security—to Nicaea, ^B a city in Macedonia, along with their wives and children (for these also were later stolen away to join them).

As time passed and the affairs of the Saracens grew into a greater principality, the *amir al-mu'minin* of that time put forward the same trial to the descendants of the Arsacids, and by means of letters he began to call them back to their ancestral power and rule. But this ruse too was discovered by Heraclius, who was emperor at that time, and the letters were seized. Since he perceived that their recall was not done out of good will, but for the purpose of the own dominion of those who were contriving these things—for the Saracens hoped that, if they only had these men with them, they would easily draw the nation to their own side through the affection for the ancient Arsaces—for this reason, the emperor moved them again to Philippi, one of the cities in Macedonia, as if for the sake of greater security; then, from there, he again transferred them to Adrianople, as if to a more illustrious city and a better situation. When the place seemed suitable to them, they settled as if in their own tribe and clan; they increased in multitude and became established in sufficient prosperity, while preserving their ancestral nobility and keeping their lineage unmixed.

^C 3. Later, in the years when Constantine was reigning with his mother Irene, that Maiktes, who himself was of the blood of Arsaces, was entering this illustrious Constantinople for the sake of an embassy or some other business. ^D By chance he happens upon a man of his own race, named Leo, and recognizing him from his external appearance and the particularity of his dress not as one of the common and lowly, but as noble and illustrious, he entered into conversation with him. Finding this conversation accustomed and familiar—since he had learned of his lineage—he prefers to live in a foreign land rather than his own, because of the virtue of the man. And having embraced an alliance with him, he took one of his daughters in marriage; from them originated the father of the one whose history we are now weaving. A certain noble and modest woman, living in Adrianople, whose husband had died, was living her widowhood chastely and soberly. There was a report, not entirely obscure, that she traced her lineage from the Great Constantine. She seemed more distinguished than the rest, and those among whom she lived, and for this reason, her [fame]

^A father took in marriage her daughter, who was outstanding in nobility and bodily beauty and adorned with modesty. From them sprouted this royal root, Basil, deriving on his father’s side the lineage from Arsaces, as has been said before; but his mother was adorned by the kinship of the Great Constantine, and on the other side boasted of the brilliance of Alexander. Emerging from such ancestors, Basil immediately showed many signs of his future glory: a scarlet ribbon was seen—like the first growth of hair—around his head, and purple dyes were about his swaddling clothes.

4. ^B Hitherto the race of the descendants of Arsaces had lived as a separate tribe, even if it often intermingled in marriage with the local inhabitants, having its residence in Adrianople. But when that Krum, the prince of the Bulgarians, having violated the treaties which existed between him and the Romans, besieged Adrianople with a hostile force and, keeping it under siege for a considerable time, brought it to surrender due to a scarcity of necessities, and transported all the citizens and inhabitants—and indeed also Manuel, the bishop of that city—into Bulgaria, it happened that Basil’s parents, along with the others, were transported into the land of the Bulgarians while he was still in swaddling clothes. There, while they guarded their own Christian faith undefiled—both that wonderful prelate and the people who were fellow-captives with him—they brought many of the Bulgarians to the true faith of Christ (for the nation had not yet been brought to piety) and in many places they cast the seeds of Christian doctrine, drawing the Scythians away from the error of the gentiles and leading them to the light of the knowledge of God. Upon which, Mutrago, the successor of Krum, being moved to anger against them, because he was unable to persuade that most holy Manuel and many others denounced for this same matter to renounce the faith, after trying and failing, handed them over to death by martyrdom after they had been tortured with various torments. And thus it happened that many of Basil’s blood relatives and kinsmen obtained the glory of martyrdom, so that he could not seem devoid of the nobility that comes from that source. Now indeed, when God was visiting His people and ^D providing their return to their homeland (for the prince of the Bulgarians, no longer able to endure the forces and armies of the Romans for long, was agreeing to submit his neck again), the crowd of Christians who were to be sent back to their homeland was gathered before him. Casting his eyes upon the boy Basil, who was beautiful in his noble form and was smiling graciously and skipping about, he was delighted by his disposition and appearance, and drew him toward himself, and gave him an apple of marvelous size. The boy, with the candor of his soul and with equal confidence, leaned upon the prince’s knees, giving in that simplicity of manners an illustrious specimen of his inborn nobility, to such a degree that the prince

^A even wondered again and again, while the band of guards was inwardly moved with silent fury.

5. But that I may abridge the intermediate events, all that people of the Christians, who had been led away like captives, departed by the propitious kindness of God to return to their own homes; and the parents of Basil also departed with like indulgence, bringing with them their most beloved child. Now, immediately in his first infancy, a certain wonderful thing happened to him, a sure presage of his future fortune; and I do not think it right that it should be passed over by us in silence. For at the time of harvest, when his parents had gone out to their own field, and were presiding over the reapers and urging them to apply themselves strenuously to their labor—as the day was advancing toward its height, and the sun was already burning more fiercely with its midday rays—they constructed, as it were, a tent from bundles of grain, and placed the child inside it to rest for a while in sleep, so that he might pass through the heat of the sun’s warmth ^B without harm. While they were turning their attention to the reapers, an eagle flew down, and hovering above, sat with its wings spread out, providing shade for the child. A shout went up from those who saw it, lest perhaps the eagle might harm the child; and presently the mother (who was, as you would expect, excessively fond and loving toward her child) ran toward the boy. But seeing the eagle providing shade for the child with its spread wings, and that it was not at all frightened by her approach, but was gazing at her kindly as if in a charming manner, she was not able—not having any higher reasoning ready at hand—to think anything better, but threw a stone at it; and so the eagle flew up and, as it seemed, went away. But when she had returned again to her husband and the workmen, the eagle was present again in the former manner, shading the child; and again there was likewise the cry from the spectators, and the mother’s rush to the child, and the eagle driven away by the blow of the stone, and the return of the mother to those who were working. ^C But when divine Providence wished to show more clearly that what was happening was not by some chance or fortune, but by divine foreknowledge, these same things happened a third time: the eagle hovering over the child, a cry from the onlookers, the mother toward the eagle, and the eagle at last departing with difficulty and by force. Thus does God always lay down in advance, as if on a foundation, certain signs and sure indications of great things long before they occur. Furthermore, this same thing often happened to him in the subsequent period of his youth, and he was frequently seen to be sheltered by an eagle while sleeping. But then ^D almost no account was taken of these things. For before the virtues with which he was supported were manifested, although the things that shone forth were great, they were nonetheless neglected and remained in the dark, since no one could bring into his mind how such things could come to pass in a humble and plebeian house. However, since to dwell upon these things at greater length might perhaps seem not far removed from an inclination to sycophancy, and we might be thought perhaps the text continues; note: the final English phrase connects the end of the Latin column to the next page.

^A to be involving the history in such matters to the exclusion of better things, we shall pass over everything of this same character appropriate to childhood, and we shall advance our narrative with haste to what lies before us, pushing aside the insatiability for praise, just as one might discard some other thing that is not praiseworthy.

6. The boy, therefore, was brought up by his father, and having obtained him as his instructor in action, his interpreter in speech, and his master and trainer for everything virtuous and praiseworthy, he had no need, like Achilles, of a dual-natured Chiron ^B, nor of Lycurgus the lawgiver, nor of Solon, nor of foreign and alien discipline and the training of manners; but, practicing and cultivating the finest qualities of virtue under his father alone, he shone forth brightly as a summary of all virtues: toward God, in holiness and piety; toward parents, in reverence and a mind prone to obedience; toward the elderly, in an easy modesty of yielding; toward equals and tribesmen, in guileless goodwill; toward those in power and magistrates, in subjection; and finally toward the poor, in a charitable disposition. Showing himself chaste and sober from his youth, with a manly spirit, and an exceptional lover and cultivator of equality and prudence, he was in no way puffed up or arrogant against his inferiors; by these qualities he won over the hearts of all, and was held by everyone in desire and love.

7. Now when his childhood had passed ^C and he reached the age of youth, and when he had the opportunity to advance to more manly pursuits, his father departed this life and moved to the future state. Thereupon, as is to be expected, mourning and lamentation broke into the house: widowhood for his mother, bereavement for this most excellent youth, and the sorrows and afflictions that naturally arise from such a situation. A swarm of anxieties concerning the management of his life flowed in; for all the care of the household and the concern for his mother and siblings ^D fell immediately upon him. Since, however, the support usually obtained from farming appeared to him small and of little value, he deliberated upon traveling to the queen of cities, that he might from there obtain by honorable means the necessities for himself and his own, and might extend to his dependents a magnificently useful patronage and care. For he knew that in great cities, and especially in the royal city, industrious natures become famous, and those who excel in any particular quality shine with a more splendid fortune; whereas in the more obscure and lowly cities, as in rustic and pastoral ways of life, virtues are darkened and perish, and through not being displayed or admired or praised, they wither away and fade. For this reason, a journey to the queen of cities seemed to him profitable and advantageous; yet he was held back and detained by his love for his mother, and by his supreme desire to alleviate her troubles, and because that lady placed before him the hope of her old age

^A and required his presence and support in necessary matters.

8. But since it was necessary that the divine plan should prevail and that he should gradually move forward toward that which was ordained for him, the visions of dreams persuaded his mother to yield to him, and not only to desist from restraining his urge toward the capital, but rather to urge and exhort him herself to reach the imperial city and to demonstrate there the meadow of his soul and the excellencies of his noble spirit. For it seemed to his mother that she saw, in a dream, a very large plant growing up from her, ^B as the mother of Cyrus had once seen the vine, and that this stood above her house, flourishing with flowers and heavy with fruit, and that the great main stem rising from the ground was of gold, and the branches and leaves were golden in color. Having related this to one of her acquaintances who was considered to have skill in such interpretations, she heard that this signified that a brilliant and great future awaited her son. And again, after a short time, she saw in her dreams an old man, from whose mouth fire issued, saying to her clearly, "The son beloved by thee, Basil, shall have the scepters and steering-oars of the Roman empire ^C entrusted to him by God, and thou must urge him to come to Constantinople." The mother, overflowed by this joyful message and filled with gladness, did reverence to the old man and said to him, "Who art thou, my lord, who hast deigned to appear to thy handmaid, and to bring me such joyful news?" He said, "I am Elias the Thesbite"; and with this word he flew from her sight. Awakened from sleep, and by these auspicious visions—or rather divine revelations—lifted by hope and inflamed with a new flame, she herself briskly urged and sent forth her son to the imperial city, and as a mother, she counseled and entreated him to hold the fear of God ^D continuously in his soul, and to consider always that the eye of Providence was watching over every action and every thought of his, and to take care not to attempt anything unworthy of such a watch, but by appropriate composure to demonstrate the evidence of his virtues, and by no crime or harm to stain his ancestral nobility.

9. Having departed therefore from Macedonia, he made his journey to this queen of all cities, with the intention of joining himself to one of the powerful and illustrious men and of devoting himself to his service and attendance. And having traversed the intervening distance, and having arrived at the Golden Gates of the imperial city, and having entered through them as the day was already declining, he approached the monastery of the Holy Martyr Diomedes which was nearby, and being weary from the journey, he rested his body, casting it down in such a neglected state on the steps provided in front of the vestibule. And behold, around nearly the first hour of the night...

in a dream, the martyr Diomedes stood before the superior of the monastery, commanding him to go out to the vestibule of the monastery and call for Basil by name. And whoever should ^A answer his call, he was to bring that person into the monastery and deem him worthy of care, providing food, shelter, clothing, and all necessary support and treatment; for he happened to be anointed by God as emperor, and he himself would, in time, contribute to the rebuilding and expansion of the present monastery. When the superior, thinking the vision to be merely a fancy and a vain fabrication of the mind, disregarded what he had seen and once again gave himself over to sleep, he saw and heard the same things for a second time. And as he was still somewhat sluggish and heavy with sleep, as it seems, and did not bestir himself, he saw the martyr for a third time, no longer commanding him mildly and cheerfully, but threatening him fiercely and attempting to ^B inflict blows, as it seemed, if he did not promptly carry out what was said. Then, having at last barely awakened and shaken from his eyes the sleep that was akin to death, he stood by the vestibule and, according to the martyr's command, called him by name: "Basil." He immediately answered: "Behold I am here, master; what do you command your servant?" Bringing him inside the monastery, and seeing him filthy and unkempt, and having been deeply sunburnt on his face, he deemed him worthy of the necessary care and treatment and bestowed upon him every kindness. Then, charging him to keep the mystery to himself and to speak of it to no one because of the danger involved, he revealed to him the prophecy of the martyr and ^C bound him by an oath to remember it after the event. When Basil seemed not to accept this, as the matter exceeded his station, but rather begged that, through his introduction, he might be permitted to devote his service to the retinue of some more noble person, the superior readily undertook to act on his behalf. Since a cousin of the Emperor Michael and of Bardas the Caesar—whom they called by the diminutive form Theophilitzes, bearing the surname Paideuomenos—was accustomed to visit the monastery more familiarly and frequently, the superior commended Basil to him. For this Theophilus was rather young, ^D puffed up with thoughts and not averse to magnificence, but he was eager to have in his retinue men who were active, notable for the elegance of their form and stature, and outstanding for their bravery and physical strength, and he wished to please and be honored by them. You would have immediately seen them dressed in silks and adorned in other clothing with great distinction. To these, Theophilus added the newly arrived young man, Basil, and, seeing him far surpass the others in both physical strength and qualities of the soul, he made him his protostrator, following him with greater love day by day, and admiring him for his exceptional gifts. For he was perceived to be both vigorous in his hands and prudent in his mind, and altogether prompt and skillful in performing whatever was enjoined upon him.

^A His mother, meanwhile, was constantly lamenting for him, and because she had not yet learned how his journey had fared, she was depressed and anxious. Once again, in her sleep, she saw a great tree, similar to a cypress, standing in her courtyard, covered with golden leaves, and having golden branches and a trunk; upon its top, her son Basilius was sitting. Awakening, she told the vision to one of the pious women who, like the ancient Anna, did not depart from the divine temple day or night, but occupied herself with prayers and fasting. The woman exhorted her to be of good cheer regarding her son, and, interpreting the vision, affirmed with certainty that it indicated that her son would become the Emperor of the Romans. Now, therefore, adding this to her previous premonitions, the mother no longer grieved or suffered, but, nurtured by good hopes and awaiting divine help from above, she bore her old age with relief.

^B 11. It happened at that time that Theophilus, the master of Basilius, was sent to the Peloponnese by the Emperor Michael and Bardas Caesar, as the demands of public business required. Basilius accompanied him, for he was attached to his service and was performing his duties in his retinue. Upon arriving at Patras in Achaia, whom I have mentioned, Theophilus entered the temple of the First-Called Apostle Andrew to offer prayers. Basilius, however, being occupied with his own duties, as was fitting, did not enter with him, but afterwards, coming alone to pay his own due respects to the Apostle, he arrived at the same temple. Now, a certain monk who resided there and spent the greater part of his time diligently frequenting the Apostle's temple saw Theophilus entering but did not rise, nor did he salute him, nor did he deign to speak a word, nor did he show reverence for the cohort that accompanied him, as is customary, nor for the man's splendor and dignity. But later, as Basilius entered, he rose as if for one of higher station and offered him the acclamation customary for emperors.

^C When some of those present saw and heard this, they reported it to a certain very noble and wealthy matron of those regions, who was named Danelis after her husband. She, however, knowing from experience that the monk had been favored with the gift of foresight, did not treat the report with indifference, but, having summoned the monk, she reproached him, saying: "It has been so many years, spiritual Father, since I first became known to you; and it is surely no secret how much I excel, by the standard of the common people, those residing in this place, and how I stand out and rule among them. Yet, never once seeing me have you arisen or offered a blessing; nor have you shown such honor to my son or my grandson. What reason is there, then, why you have now seen a man of little account and a stranger, not even known to the commoners, and have both arisen and honored him as an emperor?" To her, that pious and holy monk replied: "Not as you say did I see one of the common people, but as a great emperor anointed by Christ..."

wherefore I stood up and cheered; for to those honored by God, the honor of men is also surely due." ^A Since his master Basil remained in those parts for some time, and after finishing the public business entrusted to him was preparing to return to the imperial city, Basil happened to be seized by a bodily illness and was left behind there. Receiving proper care, he recovered from his illness after some time and also prepared for the journey back. The aforementioned matron Danelis summoned him and received him with many great gifts, very prudently and wisely, as if casting seed into good soil, so that she might reap a vast harvest in due time. She gave him a sufficient amount of gold, thirty slaves for his service, and vast wealth in clothing and various kinds of furnishings, requesting nothing from him beforehand other than that he establish a bond of spiritual brotherhood with her son Joannes. He, however, excused himself for the invitation, as being beyond his capacity and dignity, due to the matron's manifest eminence and his own condition, which appeared humble and lowly to the eyes of onlookers. Yet, as she urged and requested him more and more, he finally yielded his spirit. Then the woman, as if assuming greater confidence, said to him openly, "God holds you to be a great man and is going to elevate you to great honor. As for me, I ask and require nothing from you ^B than that you love and have mercy on us." He promised that he would place all that province under her jurisdiction, if possible, once his affairs had succeeded according to his word. And so, leaving there, he himself also went up to the imperial city and to his master. Furthermore, with the wealth he had accumulated there since his return, he bought large estates in Macedonia and enriched all his relatives and kin; and just as he had grown in virtues, so too he became enriched and wealthy in property and money. Nevertheless, he remained with his master, devoted to his service to that point. ^C

12. One day, the patrician and Domestic of the Schools, Antigonus, prepared a formal banquet in the royal palace in the area near the royal court, and made his father, Bardas, the guest of honor at the feast. The Caesar, taking with him the chief men of the Senate, his relatives, and his associates, as well as the Bulgarian friends who were living in Constantinople as was their custom at the time, came to the banquet. Theophilus, Basil’s master, was also present at the feast, as he was himself a relative of the Caesar, and so was Constantine the patrician, the father of Thomas, who in our time was the logothete of the drome, a man of the highest standing in matters of philosophy and truly ^D completely incorruptible. Now the Bulgarians, always insolent and boastful in their arrogance, since they had with them a Bulgarian who excelled in physical strength and musculature,

was a master of wrestling, whom practically no one of his previous opponents had ever thrown, they thought it intolerable to show restraint concerning him, but rather they boasted beyond all measure. As the drinking continued and the revelry grew boisterous at the banquet, that little man, Theophilus, said to the Caesar: "I have, my lord, a man in my retinue who, if you command it, will wrestle with this famous Bulgarian. For it would be a great disgrace to the Romans, and no one will endure their arrogance, if he returns to Bulgaria having been defeated by no one." The Caesar ordered it to be done; and the aforementioned Constantine the patrician, who was very friendly toward Basil, ^B inasmuch as he also traced his own origins from the Armenians, seeing that the ground of the arena was somewhat damp where they were going to wrestle, and fearing that Basil might perhaps happen to slip due to its slipperiness, begged the Caesar to order the place to be sprinkled with sawdust. It was done; and Basil, having engaged in the wrestling match with the Bulgarian, quickly grasping and constricting him, just like a light and lifeless bundle of dry hay or a dry fleece of wool, raised him and threw him onto the table with no great effort. There was no one present at that feat who did not admire Basil and praise him with great spirit. But even the Bulgarians themselves, struck with amazement at such ease and strength, were silenced. From that hour, the fame of Basil began to spread ^C ever more throughout the entire city, and he was on everyone's lips, having now become a prominent figure.

13. There was in the possession of the Emperor Michael a horse, restive and unruly, stiff-necked and haughty, yet otherwise high-spirited and excellent, great and admirable in both stature, beauty, and speed. If it happened that he got loose from his rope or was set free in any other way, he was very difficult to get back into one’s hands and caused a great deal of trouble for the grooms trying to restrain him. Once it happened that the Emperor had gone out hunting and, riding this very horse, struck a hare with a rod he held in his hand. Immediately, in his delight, the Emperor leapt down from the horse to seize the hare. The horse, left free, bolted; ^D and although many ran together—both the officials of the stables and the manglabitai and the rest of the retinue—there was no one able to catch the horse. Whereupon the Emperor, inflamed with anger, ordered that if the horse should ever be caught, its hind legs should be cut off. But Caesar Bardas, who was present, begged the Emperor not to rashly destroy such a fine quality in a horse on account of one fault. So Basil, who was attending his master, said to him: "If I outrun the Emperor's horse, and leaping from my own horse, seat myself upon it, will the Emperor be angry with me because it is saddled and adorned with his imperial trappings?" The word is whispered into the ears of the Emperor; and he orders the thing to be done. Basil, ready...

and clever, ^A performed this. The Emperor, having seen it and having loved his cleverness and prudence alongside his courage, immediately took him from Theophilitzes and enrolled him among the imperial grooms. He cared for and loved him, seeing in all things his difference from the rest of the common herd by a great margin. On this account, having often given a sign of himself before him, he raised him to the rank of protostrator, ^B as established by custom.

14. Afterwards, a hunt having been announced at the place called Philopation, the protostrator was riding in front of the Emperor according to the custom of the protostrator, and he was carrying the imperial mace—which usage calls a *bardoukion*—on his belt. A great noise being made by the crowd of hunters, an enormous wolf burst forth from the woods, so that almost everyone was terrified and fell into confusion. Basil, rushing against it and hurling from behind him the imperial *bardoukion*, struck the beast in the middle of its head and split it in two. The Caesar, walking behind the Emperor according to custom and having witnessed what happened, said to some of his attendant friends and acquaintances: "I think that this man is going to be the destruction of our entire family." For he inferred this from the fact that all things were turning out for him exactly as wished and prosperously, and that the Emperor's disposition toward him was, on account of this, inclined in his favor. And not only on account of this, but because they say he had heard from Leo, a man who held the first place in every kind of wisdom, when he inquired of him quite often: "At first, I find that your family is to be overturned by a certain youth." Then, as Basil went on to prominence, he had even shown him to the Caesar with a finger, saying: "This is the one of whom I was saying that he would be your successor." Hence the Caesar also held him in suspicion; and he would make no end to plotting against Basil, although he could not make void anything of that which had been decreed by divine will. For fate is not as unexpected as it is always inescapable. And these things, even if perhaps said by way of a digression, are nevertheless not beside the point.

^C 15. The Emperor being fond of hunting, a few days later he crossed over for the sake of hunting and a moderate outing to the place called Armamentarea; then, dinner having been prepared separately, and the Emperor dining at table with Theodora his mother and his own kin and those of the senate who were more intimate, the protostrator was invited by the Emperor's command. And when he was seated, the Empress Theodora began to fix her eyes upon him, and to look at him, and to observe and examine him more closely. Finally, having recognized certain marks in him, she gradually fainted away, so that she was scarcely revived at last, once water and rose-scented oil had been poured over her. Then those who were present withdrew. Having recovered her senses and being refreshed, she asked...

her son, who was also emperor, what indeed had happened to her, and why such a sudden fit of ecstasy had befallen her. She, having with difficulty collected her thoughts from the confusion of her mind, said: "That which I heard from your father, my lord and my son, that one is destined to destroy our lineage, is this very man whom you call Basil. For the signs which he said the one who is to succeed us would possess, this man indeed possesses. When, therefore, I had grasped the whole matter in my mind, and saw before my eyes as it were our destruction, I was distraught and fainted."

The emperor, removing his mother's fear and drawing her back to her ^B composure, and comforting her, said: "You have judged ill, O mother. For this man is an uneducated fellow and very simple, possessed only of the strength of a Samson of old, and nothing more; but he exists in our day as a sort of Anak or Nimrod. Therefore, have no fear of him, nor harbor any evil suspicion." And so, at that time, Basil warded off such a storm, being protected by divine providence.

16. At that time, the emperor had a eunuch named Damianus, a Slav by birth, who served as his ^C *parakoimomenos* (chamberlain). Because of his devotion to his master, he would often speak to the emperor about some others who were not conducting affairs as they should, but especially about his uncle, Bardas Caesar, asserting that he was transferring the greater part of the imperial power to himself, and that he frequently exceeded the bounds of what was just and honorable; he also overturned some of the Caesar's arrangements, teaching the emperor that matters stood otherwise than the Caesar represented.

Therefore, the Caesar, being persuaded by his own friends and those who appeared to advise and counsel him with sincerity, plotted against Damianus. Having heaped many calumnies upon him before the emperor, and having constructed a plausible accusation, he turned the emperor's mind against him and withdrew his goodwill, so that he was even the primary mover in having him removed from his dignity. Damianus having thus been expelled, that office remained vacant for some time.

But when divine Providence wishes to bring matters to their predetermined conclusion, human prudence is rendered vain, and craftiness is caught in its own snares. ^D For while the Caesar and many others were speaking of one person after another to be appointed in place of Damianus, and were secretly soliciting the appointment according to their own personal inclinations, the emperor, contrary to all their expectations, after a short time by his own decree appointed Basil as *parakoimomenos*, having also conferred upon him the dignity of the patriciate, and having given him in marriage a woman who in bodily form, grace, and modesty was among the foremost of almost all noble ladies—the daughter of Inger, a man at that time celebrated among all for his nobility and the praise of his wisdom. This having been done, and as the emperor's love for Basil grew from day to day, seeing

^A the Caesar, stung by envy and dismayed by fear of the future, frequently reviled and reproached those who had been the authors of the plots against Damian and who had urged him into them, calling them foolish and ill-advised. "To these men," he said, "I, trusting more than I should have, have cast out a fox and in its place introduced a lion, that it may seize and devour us all."

17. Now when the Emperor Michael had set out against Crete with his uncle Bardas ^B the Caesar, and the Caesar was making use of affairs rather arrogantly and issuing commands and orders with greater authority than befitted his office, frequent and continuous accusations against him began daily to strike the ears of the Emperor Michael. When they had come to Kepoi (a place on the coast in the Thracesian theme by the Meander), and whether by chance or by design, the imperial tent or court was pitched on low and level ground, while that of the Caesar was expanded in a conspicuous and elevated position. Having seized upon this as if it were a plausible excuse, those who had long been burdened and who hated the Caesar cast many accusations against him, as one who was now growing insolent and openly breaking out into contempt and insult toward the ^C emperor, since, not content with all else, he had even sought in this, as a display of his ambitious spirit, to ensure that the emperor’s tent should appear low and humble, while his own stood conspicuous and lofty. Persuaded by these things, the emperor turned his mind to preparing snares for him, and began to think and deliberate seriously about his removal. For it was not possible for him to bring anything against him or to decide anything openly, because he was almost his equal in honor and a partner in the empire, and because all feared his faction and organized group, and because all the nobles and commanders of the army were devoted to him ^D and looked to him rather than to the emperor, inasmuch as he was more vigilant in affairs than the emperor and changed all things by his own judgment and nod; and especially because his son, the proconsul and patrician Antigonus, was at that time the domestic of the palace schools. But the emperor still had many who were privy to his plan, who had undertaken to fulfill the slaughter themselves. Thus, in the morning, the Caesar came to the emperor's tent as usual, although he had seen all manner of evil omens beforehand, intending to take counsel with him about present business. The emperor, thinking this an opportune time for his slaughter, signaled with a nod to the patrician Symbatios, the logothete of the drome, who had married the Caesar's daughter and was a partner with the emperor in the plot against him, to go out and bring in those who were to be his executioners. He went out and gave the sign which had been agreed upon among them, which was to sign his forehead with the sign of the cross. When the sign was given, perhaps a softer spirit seized the men with dread, and at the very moment of the crime, because of the enormity of the deed, they were seized with dizziness of heart.

^A Since therefore a delay occurred and the Emperor was brought to an impasse, he learned from one of the chamberlains of the sacred bedchamber that they had become fearful and cowardly and were postponing the undertaking—though it was in truth a daring stroke of the mind and required a courageous spirit and boldness. He then sent one of his close and trusted domestics to Basil the Patrician and *parakoimomenos*, and in terror he declared to him: "Unless you quickly restore the spirit of those who are prepared for this task and urge them to set their hand to the work immediately, I know for certain that I shall be murdered by him straightway; for it is impossible that he does not know of the plots I have laid against him, and you will rather appear to be the authors of my death and assassins." Upon hearing these things, Basil, anxious lest some evil should befall the Emperor, quickly made the terrified men bold and raised up those who were trembling with confidence, inciting them to serve the Emperor’s will. As they were filled with spirit and suddenly leapt into the Emperor’s tent, the Caesar, realizing what was happening—that the rush was made against him—leapt up and threw himself at the Emperor's feet. The assassins dragged him from there and slaughtered him before the feet of the Emperor, on the twenty-first day of the month of April, of the fourteenth indiction. Immediately, therefore, the expedition was dissolved by the Emperor, and he returned to the Queen of Cities.

^B 18. But as Providence was leading Basil craftily toward what he desired, immediately after his return from the expedition the Emperor adopted him as his son (for he happened to be utterly lacking in issue of his own) and honored him with the resplendent dignity of the magistri. ^C Symbatius the *logothete* was torn by envy at these events; and, being unable to bear the sight of the man against whom he had flared up with jealousy growing in great increments day by day, he resigned from the office which he had held until then, as if he could not live in the royal city, and requested the command [of the province] of the Ionians, that is to say, the Thracesians, and that he be appointed *strategos* over them. The Emperor, acceding to his requests, appointed him *strategos* of the aforementioned *theme*. A short time having elapsed, as affairs were tossed about on the sea of danger and the Empire was wavering and seeking a *praeses* and caretaker—because the Emperor was applying his mind to matters other than how to conduct public affairs according to the requirements of the office (which, indeed, was not so obvious to most people beforehand, because the Caesar, as colleague in the Empire, was administering the urgent matters, and the entire burden of affairs and all the care of administering the Roman world rested upon him)—protests and grumbling against the Emperor began, both from the senatorial council and the citizenry, and from almost all those who were in charge of administrations and managed affairs, and furthermore ^D from the armies and the entire urban multitude; being informed of these through his necessary and intimate associates

^A the Emperor, narrowly and with difficulty recovering his senses, and recognizing his own negligence and sloth in the administration of public affairs—and not only negligence and sloth, but also incapacity and folly—and fearing that the agitated multitude might stir up troubles or revolt, he decided to take as a helper in the management of affairs and as a colleague in the empire one who might assist him. And since he had adopted Basil not many days before, and knew him to excel the rest of the common people not only in strength but also in wisdom and sagacity of mind, and that he was capable of fulfilling what was lacking in his own industry and labor in steering the vessel of the world, and since divine Providence was also promoting the matter, he confirmed his mind in this counsel, and altogether decided to appoint Basil as Emperor ^B. And indeed, with God supporting the plan and the matter, on the very day of the holy Pentecost, on which the Paraclete of the Father came to the disciples of Christ our God, in the renowned temple named after the Wisdom of God, Basil was crowned with the imperial diadem, by the hand of the then-reigning Michael, but by the vote and judgment of Christ, who reigns forever. It was the twenty-sixth of the month of May, in the fourteenth indiction according to the Romans. When Symbatius, who was living in the province by reason of his office, heard what had happened, he could not bear up humanly against the envy that was consuming him; but having taken along Peganes—that patrician who was commander of the Opsikion—as a fellow-conspirator in his own madness, they considered defection and resolved, with rashness, to stir up a tumult. Having brought the ranks under their command into their view, they carried out their councils: they acclaimed Michael as emperor, in order, clearly, to attract the multitude thereby and not appear to lift the heel of rebellion against the Emperor, but they ^C attacked Basil with maledictions and lacerated him with all manner of verbal impudence and overwhelmed him with insults. With such preparations, and fretting in a very foolish manner, they invaded at the time of the harvest, and devastated with fire and sword many fields of the notables near the Queen City, and burned not a few ships of those sailing toward the imperial city that they caught at their moorings. When winter approached, however, they broke up, with the partners in their crime fleeing secretly and one by one. Wherefore the authors of the tragedy tried to provide for their safety by flight. And Symbatius entered the fortress called Lata Petra, while Peganes occupied Cotyaeum. Nevertheless, they gained no advantage from this stratagem. For they were caught by the Emperor’s soldiers, bound, and brought before him. The Emperor was then staying in the imperial palace of Saint Mamas; and seeing them, and after casting many reproaches for their madness, rashness, and contumacy, and not without insult, he had them first beaten copiously with lashes, and finally, proceeding according to the law, condemned them to punishment. Symbatius, indeed, with one eye gouged out and one hand amputated, was sent into exile; but Peganes, also deprived of his eyes and with his nose amputated by iron, was banished. ^D

punishment of the law. And Symbatius, stripped of both eyes and one hand, was sent into exile; and Peganes, falling into the same punishment of the excision of his eyes and the cutting off of his nose with a sword, was also sent into exile. But the noble Emperor Basil, once he had received the sole power, recalled them from exile and generously restored to them all the honors they had enjoyed before the rebellion. Showing not a trace of resentment against them, he often had them at his table, comforted them with words, and, by benefiting them with deeds, made it easier for them to bear the misfortune born of their own folly.

^B 19. But these things happened later. At that time, reaching its fulfillment was the prophecy and utterance that had been made three hundred and fifty years previously by Isaac, the most clairvoyant of priests and monks, who himself traced his descent from the Arsacids, and had learned through a vision that, after so much intervening time, someone from the descendants of Arsaces would ascend the scepter of the Roman Empire. The event happened according to the prayer of those in office, the entire populace, the army, the generals, and all the masses throughout every land and city. For everyone prayed that there should arise in affairs a man who had experienced a lesser fortune, and who knew of the maltreatment of the poor by those in positions of power, of the unjust exactions made by them, of the uprisings, as it were, of the humbler folk, and of the enslavements by their own kin—all of which had found occasion for growth during the reign of Michael, since the emperor was attending to other things rather than wishing to concern himself with such matters.

^C 20. But rather, since I have arrived at this point in the narrative, I think it worthwhile to pause the history of the Emperor Basil for a little while, and, taking it up from further back, to explain briefly, as far as possible, what the life of the Emperor Michael was like, in what things he delighted, and upon what things he wasted all his time, effort, and public funds. I do this so that any who wish to know may conclude that it was truly a divine vote that called Basil to rule (for it was impossible for affairs to remain in the state they were in), and that Michael himself sharpened the swords against himself, emboldened the right hands of those who killed him, and provoked them to his own slaughter. He had so distanced himself from all duties, had so reveled in every lawless action, and had so mocked divine things and insulted the laws of the state and of nature alike. ^D For, gathering around himself a chorus of lewd, filthy, and entirely wicked men, and dishonoring the dignity of the imperial majesty, he spent his time in revels, drunkenness, lewd loves, and shameful tales, and furthermore, regarding charioteers, horses, and chariots, and the resulting madness and derangement of mind…

^A he likewise spent his days, and he lavished the public funds upon such people. And what is most wretched of all is that, mocking and taunting even the very symbols of our faith, and establishing from his own company of mimes and buffoons a mockery of the venerable college of priests, he exposed these things to derision and ridicule. I shall relate some of these things, not many, so that from the few you may discern the rest.

21. That he was a charioteer and a driver, sitting upon the chariot of horses dressed in the garb of a charioteer and contending in the race–courses against fellow craftsmen—both within the Imperial City and the palaces, and outside in the royal residences that are in [the shrine of] Saint Mamas—and that he squandered an immense amount of money on these things, so that the funds for the military were converted to the use of spectacles and games, and the Roman wealth was poured out into theatrical dances and trifles, and that the royal treasuries were prodigally and lavishly exported into impure and wicked revels and lascivious loves, is a matter known and manifest to all, and one which I believe I may omit. But that he made the divine rites his own games, and out of that impure, obscene, and effeminate sodality of his associates he called one man patriarch, and out of those he designated eleven metropolitans, as if he himself were the twelfth to complete the number—this, indeed, I shall relate. * For he called that profane and most wicked Grullus the name of patriarch, and having adorned him in an archieratic vestment embroidered with gold and shining brilliantly, and placed an omophorion upon him, and having fashioned ^B others, eleven in number, in the order of metropolitans from the same college of his associates, as has been said, and naming himself the twelfth as Archbishop of Colonia, and giving a cithara to each to carry beneath their priestly vestment, and ordering them to play them secretly, he thus performed—pretending to play and dance—the sacred rite and liturgy with them, the most wicked with the most wicked, the profane with the impious. When a secret prayer was being recited, it was enjoined that the citharas should resound softly and gently; but when the time required the priest to raise his voice or the choir to respond, then it befitted them to strike the citharas forcefully with the plectrum, to resound, and for their melody to echo around to the ears of the bystanders so that they might be clearly heard. In addition to this, into the sacred vessels—which were adorned with the brilliance of precious stones and pearls, and wrought of silver and gold, and which had not infrequently been used in the divine mysteries—they cast mustard and vinegar, and thus distributed [the contents] to their likes ^D with much laughter and foul and obscene words, and with most filthy and execrable gestures. But let us leave these things be.

22. When at some point the most holy Patriarch Ignatius, accompanied by all the ecclesiastical clergy and order, was performing pious supplications in the district outside the walls, and was proceeding toward a certain divine temple with the customary sacred melodies and the order…

^A of his state. It happened that the impious and profane patriarch, Grullus, clothed in priestly vestments and riding upon an ass, with his fellow metropolitans who surpassed even him in impiety, and with his whole stage-play and Satyric chorus and entourage, was proceeding from the opposite direction, theatrically exaggerating and singing trifles in accordance with his own deeds. When they drew near, having hoisted their phelonia onto their shoulders and struck their citharas with greater intensity, and singing back harlot’s words and odes against the cadence of the sacred melody, and dancing in a Pan-like and Satyric manner, clashing cymbals, and mocking the priests and the high priest as if they were artistic rivals, they continued their diabolical dance and procession. The high priest of God, having inquired and learned who they were, and by whom and ^B for what reason this assembly had been gathered, sighed deeply and lamented their leader and prime mover; and having prayed to God with tears to put an end to such blasphemy and insult and to scatter the impious ones, so that the holy, mystical, and venerable things might not be profaned and dragged through the mud, he continued on his way, keeping to the hymnody he had set out to perform.

XXIII. At another time, to insult this praiseworthy Patriarch Ignatius and to mock his own mother, the senseless and deranged emperor ^C contrived such a thing as this: In the brilliantly shining Chrysotriclinos, seated upon the imperial throne, and having ordered that the most filthy Grullus—clothed in archieratic vestments as if in place of the true patriarch—should sit at the seat closest to him, and having shown him the honor and reverence befitting a high priest of God, and having forced him to cover his most filthy and abominable beard with the head covering, he informed his own mother through one of the chamberlains of the sacred bedchamber, saying, "The most holy patriarch Ignatius is sitting here with me, and if you wish to receive his blessing, come and you will find it with me." ^D She, as a most pious mother who loved God, possessing great affection and a burning faith for the most holy Ignatius, having heard this, hurriedly ran out, and being unable even to lift her eyes because of modesty, and being outside of all malice and suspicion and having suspected nothing at all wicked, she fell at the feet—as she thought—of that holy high priest, and asked him to pray for her. But that most polluted man, rising slightly from the seat and turning his back to her, and having released an asinine sound from his filthy bowels, addressed Her, saying, "Do not say, lady, that we did not consider you worthy even of this." The emperor burst into laughter, and that most profane man himself laughed most excessively, and as they chattered much, or rather, having acted most mindlessly in an obsession of their wits, the Augusta, recognizing the deception and the fraud, and deploring with deep groans the most wicked act, and casting many curses upon her son, finally declared: "Behold,"

^A wicked child, God has taken his hand from you, and a reprobate mind has been given to you to do things which are not fitting." And having said these things and with lamentations and weeping pulling out her own hair, she departed. Such were the energetic deeds of the noble emperor, and such was his holiness and reverence towards divine things and holy men.

24. Since such things and worse were committed by him daily throughout all the time of his reign, and since even after he had taken Basil as his partner in the empire he continued in the same ways, ^B the latter, seeing and hearing these things, was exceedingly distressed and grieved in his soul, and could not bear to live. Revolveing this in his mind, that he should apply every possible remedy and omit nothing that seemed to look toward correction, at first he indeed attempted through others to call him away from such pursuits and bring him back to what is proper; later, however, he dared even by himself, with benevolent intent and ready will, to rebuke the emperor and, if possible, to turn him away from such impieties, and he discoursed to him in this manner with a submissive and humble frame of mind, ^C gesture, and demeanor: "It is just, O master and emperor, that one who has been gifted by you with so many benefits and honors should give counsel regarding what is required by duty, and should hand on the best instruction, and bring to mind things that are useful and salutary. We are loathed (let it not escape you, master), we are loathed—for he even included himself, to avoid seeming arrogant, although he took part in none of the wicked things done by him—by the entire city and by the senate; and by the priests of God we are held to be accursed and devoted to destruction, and everyone accuses and disparages us. ^D When, moreover, we account as nothing the indignation of men and their hatreds, it is necessary nevertheless to fear the formidable indignation of God, and to dread lest we experience Him becoming angry and wrathful." But saying these things he was sowing upon rocks and addressing the shore and seemed to be washing an Ethiopian. So deeply implanted and fixed was the wickedness in him; so had he become deaf to every salutary admonition, stopping his ears like an adder to enchantments. For not only did he not return to a better state, but he already hated and turned away from his monitor; and to such a degree, that among his companions and revelers he was accusing and mocking him, alienating his heart from him, and then even more clearly showing it. And when those criminals and pests perceived this, they were stirred up and prepared against him, and by plausible reasoning suborned calumnies. Indeed, they called his gravity audacity and insolence; and because he would not join in their pleasures, they called it malevolence; and because, finally, he would not sin in equal covenant with them, they termed it contempt. "For how," they said, "might he claim to love you, who does not rejoice in those things in which you yourself delight, nor strives to provide for you those things which are to your pleasure?" Yielding more to these, the emperor...

^A plotted the death of Basil and sought a plausible excuse for his removal, but could find none. His madness, however, proceeded to such a pitch that he was driven to secret murder; and he commissioned some of that body of assassins in whom he placed entire confidence, that when they went out hunting, upon the pretext of striking a beast, they should hurl their spear at him and in that way dispatch him. They say that one man did this: he cast his javelin, but it missed its mark, and the spear, flying past, stuck into the ground; but the horse, suddenly biting the bit, snatched him up and dashed him headlong over the crags, and by that fall he ended his life. When they say that he, led by vain repentance, charged his companions that they should not henceforth dare to attack the innocent man, unless they wished to lay down their own lives in the same destruction as he; and having called for a certain religious man, along with his other failings and transgressions, he confessed and declared this as well.

^B 25. But since the emperor could no longer find any way or pretext to remove him, he turned to other counsels, wicked indeed and abominable. For he decided within himself to introduce another heir to the scepter. And indeed that man called Basilicinus, who was himself one of that same abominable association, a worthless and vile person, effeminate and a slave to his gullet, hailing from Nicomedia, own brother to Constantine Capnogenas, who afterwards once and a second time obtained the office of Prefect of the City—at that time, however, he was enrolled among the rowers of the royal trireme. ^C This ill-omened Basilicinus he one day draped in the much-celebrated royal purple, and having placed upon his head the conspicuous and envied crown, and having put on the silk chlamys and red shoes set with precious stones, and the other insignias of royalty, he led him out to the senate, holding him by the hand and serving him in the capacity of a minister, not otherwise than that Nero of old did with the much-famed Eros. And he said word for word:

"Look upon him, all of you, and marvel. Does not the royal dignity become him? First, his appearance is worthy of the empire; Second, the crown sits upon him as if innate, And all things harmonize with his worth."

^D And: "How much better was it to make this man emperor than Basil!" All who were in the palace, seeing and hearing these things, stood motionless, stupefied by the man’s irrationality and the ruin of his mind. Thus, surely, under the influence of immoderate drunkenness and most wicked and impure acts, he had completely shaken off whatever of honor and duty remained, and was of a deranged mind, insane and reeling in his reason.

^A Yet he possessed not only the gentle, wine-loving, luxurious, relaxed, and soft nature that comes from the drunkenness of Dionysus, the giver of graces—whom he thought he was imitating and striving to copy—but also, like an implacable pursuer, he carried within himself that vengeful and Titanic spirit; and often his comic nocturnal revels ended in a tragedy of misfortunes. For, drunken with wine and intoxicated by his good fortune, he broke out into every sort of lawless impiety. Therefore, when he was completely full of strong drink and drunkenness, and had utterly lost his proper senses, he would proceed to murders and to bizarre punishments and slaughter of innocent people, and he would command his servants: "Take such-and-such men," he would say, "and deliver them to the executioner; gouge out the eyes of another; cut off the hands and feet of a third." ^B "Let this man pay with his head, and let that one be burned with fire." The servants, taking these men and knowing that he was not in his right mind when he issued these sentences, would place them in custody but would not actually carry out the punishments. Often, however, if there was someone with whom they were not on good terms, but rather hostile, they would abuse the emperor’s command and, even though the man was innocent, they would seize him and punish him as if he had been justly condemned by a judge. Then that wretched and miserable man, not even knowing at the time what he was doing, would be reclined by his chamberlains upon the imperial bed and would be overcome, like a slave, by a sleep that was a neighbor to death; but in the morning, when sleep had with difficulty scattered the vapors of the wine and that thick fog from his brain, ^C he would awake remembering nothing of what had been done the previous evening, and would often ask for certain of those against whom he had passed judgment in his drunkenness and had consigned to death. Upon hearing from his guards and servants what sentence he had passed against them the previous evening, he would repent and groan. And sometimes those he sought were found, but at other times his repentance for the wicked deeds was useless, as those against whom he had passed judgment had already been put to death. Then, when evening came again, and as the drinking was vigorously prolonged late into the night with the most vile words and deeds, he would relapse into the same behavior. Who, hearing and seeing these things, even if he possessed a heart of stone or a soul of iron, would not be moved to anger and grow hot with the desire to avenge those who were perishing innocently? ^D I do not believe that even David, the meekest of all men, would calmly endure such insolent evildoing. For such indulgence or withholding of the power to punish is stupidity and torpor, not gentleness or equity.

27. Concerning the depletion of the treasury

27. Now, since the treasury was almost entirely exhausted, its wealth having been shamefully squandered on pursuits and affairs of this kind, there loomed the inevitable, openly expected slaughter of all the nobles—that is to say, of the patricians or senators—and the confiscation of their property, so that the emperor would not lack funds to bestow upon charioteers, harlots, and other such impure men and...

^A ganeones. For the seventy ^B centenaria of coined gold, besides the quantity of silver both raw and minted, which had been left by his father Theophilus and kept in the imperial treasury, and to which his mother Theodora had added thirty more to complete the number of one thousand centenaria, he had, in not even fully fourteen years during which he alone held power, utterly squandered and consumed, so that after his death nothing more was found than three centenaria. And how could they not have failed, even if they had flowed in like rivers, when they were so ruinously and profligately dissipated? For when once a charioteer, by the name of Chila, had taken a son from the sacred font, he, as a magnificent donor, presented him with an entire centenarium. But also to the patrician Himerius, whom the emperor himself called "Pig" because of the harshness and inelegance of his face—a man who, on account of his swinish and filthy manner of life, seemed worthy of such an appellation—when he once, in the presence of the emperor, gave vent to obscene language and indulged in stage-frivolities, having cast off all shame and thinking nothing base or shameful to be alien to himself, let out from his villainous belly a ganeon’s flatulence, so heavy and strongly discharged that it extinguished a burning torch like a gust of wind, the emperor, as a liberal benefactor, bestowed fifty pounds, as if he had performed some Herculean feat. And so likewise did his gifts and rewards to other, similar base men surpass all measure. If, moreover, these things were lavished with such easy liberality upon soldiers and champions and brave men, or upon those excelling in any other virtue, one might consider them tokens of magnificence, liberality, and a great and generous spirit; but because they were madly dissipated upon mimes, charioteers, dancers, buffoons, sycophants, and the most base and defiled of all men, while not even an obol was provided as a reward to honest men and for virtue, it may be judged certain evidence of prodigality, madness, and stupidity. When these funds were failing, it was necessary, as I was saying, for temples to be plundered, for holy and sacred houses to be subjected to reckless pillage, and for all who were slightly wealthier than the rest to be put to death and slaughtered after their property was confiscated. For which reason the most honorable of the dignitaries and the wisest of the senate, acting in one conspiracy through the soldiers who stand guard for the imperial bedchamber, slew him in the palace of the holy martyr Mamas, as he was, in his excessive drunkenness, unknowingly joining his sleep with death. ^C For just as men, once they have caught sight of scorpions and vipers, kill them because of the venom inherent in them before they can even inflict a wound, so too do those who expect danger from poisonous and bloody men hasten to remove them before they can wound and destroy. ^D Thus did he, living and dying as he did, and being both to himself and to the state so shameful and destructive, meet such an end, one befitting the deeds he had committed throughout his life.

[28.] Basil, who up to this time held the second place in the state, is immediately advanced to the supreme command of all. And he is proclaimed emperor by the honorable senate, the lower ranks, the whole army, and the remainder of the urban populace—the very man who had even before this been sought after through suppliant prayers to God. As soon as he had obtained the rule over all things, he dedicated both himself and the reins of the state to God, praying in these words: "Christ the King, having received the empire by thy judgment and nod, I consecrate to thee both it and myself." ^B Summoning at once the leaders of the senate and those preeminent in dignity, he opened before them the treasury of the palace. And in that great multitude of funds, nothing else was found—just as I said a little while ago—but three centenaria alone. The emperor, therefore, searching for the registry of expenditures, and having found it with a certain aged eunuch, the protospatharios Basil, and having understood where those funds had gone, took counsel about this matter with the nobles. Their unanimous decision was that those who had received them unlawfully should be required to return them to the public treasury. The emperor, tempering the severity of his judgment, decreed that each should return one-half of the amount he had received to the royal fisc. It thus happened that for them—even though they were undeserving of any munificence—a not inconsiderable part of the received gift remained, while three hundred centenaria returned to the public treasury; whence the emperor began to provide for urgent business and to conduct the affairs of the state according to the requirements of the office.

[29.] On the very day that Basil came to the imperial power, as if God were indicating a change for the better in Roman affairs, it happened that reports of many victories reached this august city, and news was carried of the liberation of a multitude of Christian captives from servitude. ^C Accordingly, with a formal procession, the emperor proceeded to the great temple of God, which is named after his Wisdom, and having rendered thanks to Him for all things together, on his return he distributed consular gifts. He bestowed a huge sum of money upon his subjects and the populace, not from the public funds (which were not available), but from his own, which he had possessed previously. His wife, the Empress Eudocia, together with her sons Constantine and Leo, also exercising equal liberality, gave many funds of her own to the state. And although at that time the emperor was still pressed ^D by a great scarcity of funds, as has been said, yet afterwards he acquired sufficiently abundant riches: partly by the gift and nod of God, who, because of the emperor’s mercy toward the poor and his justice, was pleased that many treasures hidden under the earth should be brought to light during his days; and partly also from the gold which was in the private treasury of the emperor—namely, the gold that his predecessor, Michael, having melted down works of exquisite workmanship and supreme beauty (I speak of that which was called the golden planetree, and the two gryphons made of solid gold, and the two hammered gold beasts [lions],

and the instrument of solid gold, and other various works of gold upon the table, and the imperial and Augustiac robes, and the garments befitting the great magistrates, all of which were woven with gold)—all these, having amassed them, as has been said, he intended to squander for his own pleasure. But as that man was seized beforehand, the gold was found, and having been minted, it became entirely useful to the emperor. "For," he says, "there is need of money, and without it nothing of what is necessary can be done." But this is a matter for later.

^A 30. Then, since Basilius had been raised by the nod of divine Providence to the steering-oars of the empire, he at once from the starting line, as they say, and from the very barriers, applied himself diligently ^B to show himself worthy of the magnitude of the task. He was awake by night, and searched by day, setting every calculation in motion and turning over every plan, that he might become a source of some good to all those under him, and that affairs might receive a manifest and great change for the better. And first of all, for the magistracies, he appointed the best of all men, having selected them most impartially; and it was both from their own nature, as they were the best, and from the precise scrutiny of the emperor, that their first work and study—before all other things—was to keep their own hands pure from every kind of graft. Then, after this, to honor justice more than all virtues, and to provide ^C that equality might be practiced everywhere, and that the poor should not be oppressed by the wealthy, nor unjustly subjected to any penalty, but that the poor and the needy should be rescued from the hand of those stronger than them, and that he should little by little restore these men whom he knew to have been dispirited and perishing on account of the injuries that had previously occurred, and that, strengthening them, he should make haste to restore all to their ancient prosperity. And since, because of the initial inclination toward better things (for such were the men altogether chosen) and because of the ruler’s concern ^D and wakeful oversight looking in every direction regarding these matters, they strove eagerly to surpass one another in every kind of duty, all injustice was immediately driven far from all, and justice was spoken of freely, and the hands that previously—more than those of Briareus—used to reach out for what belonged to others, seemed now like benumbed and paralyzed limbs; and the previously weak members of the poor took strength and vigor, for the reason, of course, that since each was freely tilling his own clod of earth and enjoying the produce of his vineyard and his ancestral olive and fig tree, there was no one who dared to usurp these for himself by any injury, but each rested in the accustomed paternal shade of these. And in this way the pious emperor acted towards all his subjects, both those in the country and in the towns, and those living in the cities, as far as the dominion of the Roman empire extended. But if anyone, as if a branch of malice, was too strongly entwined in some place and could not be plucked out or cut away by the individual prefects and magistrates...

it was either changed or altered by the emperor himself, or at any rate received healing in various other ways. ^A For this most excellent emperor, striving to utterly extirpate injustice throughout his entire dominion, everywhere issued decreed ordinances and sent them through every region, by which every tax and exaction that until then seemed to have a justification, yet—on account of the evil custom of long standing—was not alien to reason, was removed and cut away, and all parity and justice, as if from some long exile and flight, seemed to be led back into the usage of life and to be practiced among men.

31. But he also appointed those suitable for judging, who were known to be sufficiently instructed in studies, and who were testified to have enough discernment and a pious and incorruptible intent. Raising them up from a lower station and exalting them, he honored them with ^B bestowed ranks, and with annual stipends, grain distributions, and other gifts, he provided for them generously, establishing them in almost every street and religious house. Most especially, however, that building which they call the Chalce, formerly a conspicuous and admirable edifice, which had been weakened in many places by the injury of time and the negligence of those who held power—and perhaps also by the force of fires—its roof being old and collapsing, he himself, with labor and profuse expense, cleaned and repaired it, and designated it as a judicial forum, far more august than the Areopagus and the Heliaea. Nor did he provide for those who complained of being injured ^C just by the selection and promotion of the judges, but he also provided for them by supplying daily food for those who, through the violence of stronger men, were forced to come into the city every day. For fearing lest, through a lack of necessary provisions, some might often depart from the city before the business concerning them had reached its end, he established sufficient revenues from which the litigants might be sustained until a judgment had been pronounced for them by the judge. And not only were these things devised by him for the complete eradication of injustice, but he also gave himself over to this task. For whenever he was free from leading armies or giving responses to ambassadors arriving from everywhere, he would withdraw from the palace ^D and, sitting in the tribunal placed in the Genikon—the place being so called, it seems, because people from every place would congregate there for public accounts—he examined with great labor and assiduous diligence those who were often injured by the publicans (as is wont to happen on account of the amplitude of the empire) and who, as if fleeing to a prytaneum, would take refuge in such a place of judgment and put forth their own complaints. And thus he would stand as a defender for those who were afflicted by injury; and those who committed such acts, he would deter through legally prescribed punishments, so that they would not dare to do such things thereafter. It is said that at a later time, having gone down to such a place to see to the defense of those who had been injured—and as it happened that no one was complaining, and suspecting that some might be prevented from approaching him—he sent out his bodyguards to inquire through various parts of the city whether anyone had a complaint against another. When they returned, saying that they had found no one who [had any of the grievances]

any complaint against another, they say that the noble man was moved to tears of joy, and in this way gave thanks to God. Seeing, however, that there was for the wicked an opportunity to do harm, because the ancients in the registers of the collection of taxes were accustomed to use, for the sake of brevity, parts and points of numbers—that is, the half, the sixth, and perhaps even the twelfth—he wished to remove this opportunity for those who wished to do wrong, and he decreed that the tax-registers should be written out in simple letters, legible even to peasants, and with the quantity of the calculated amounts clearly indicated by full figures, having provided at his own expense for the paper, the writing, and the scribes, so that no injury might be done to the poor. And this was such and so great a mark of his care and diligence for his subjects, and proof that he wished no one to suffer any injustice; such was he in the administration of civil and public affairs. ^B

32. Since he did not wish to appear to neglect the churches of God either (for since they are contained within the vessel of the world, they also fall under the providence of the ruler, and all the more so under that of such a man, who was a lover of God and possessed great piety toward divine things), he saw that these too, as it were, were being tossed in a sort of surge and tumult, because of the common contagion from his predecessor, and that those who were lawfully in charge of them had been driven from their own seats and flocks, and another had been introduced in their place. He did not neglect these either, but by a common synod and assembly of the bishops of God from all places, ^C he stilled the storm in the churches as much as was possible, confirming the seventh holy synod that had preceded him, and consigning the remaining iconoclast heretics to anathema, and canonically restoring to the Church her legitimate Spouse and to her children their Father, and ordering the intruder who had been introduced in his place to remain idle until the Lord should take him to Himself. And thus he ordered the affairs of the Church well and rightly, and provided for it with his own zeal and foresight the tranquility that was possible for it.

33. Having found also that the civil laws were unclear and in great confusion due to the intermingling of good and bad—I mean the undiscriminating and strange mixture of those that were repealed and those that were in force—he amended them appropriately and as much as was ^D feasible, removing the uselessness of those that were repealed and clearing away the multitude of the masters, and, as if in a summary, including in chapters, for ease of memory, what had previously been an infinite confusion.

34. But since envy always sprouts up against the good,

^A just as worms are wont to be generated in sweet woods, so too do evil demons, envying the annual fruits of the earth and the abundance of crops, attempt, through the agency of wicked men, to disturb the flow of good things. Out of their number, Symbatius and George, equipped with the guile of a conspiracy and armed also unto murder, together with a crowd of impious and wicked men, set themselves against the Emperor. Yet it was not granted to them at all, for God did not permit that evil, once suppressed and defeated, should quickly revive its strength as if from new growth, and drive equity and justice from the world. Through the betrayal of one of the conspirators, their scheme was brought into the light. When the proofs of the crime followed and the case was proven, the extreme punishment hung over them by the severity of the laws, namely, that those condemned with the proscription of all their goods should also be deprived of life. ^B But the clemency of the noble prince determined the punishment to be only the gouging out of the eyes of those who had been the originators of the evil counsel; and he would have moderated the vengeance even more, had he not clearly perceived that through such extreme clemency others would also be incited to dare the same crime, and then he would be under the necessity of exacting more atrocious punishments. Therefore, the punishment I mentioned provided them with time for repentance, and at the same time restrained the rest of the wicked. Desiring, moreover, to restrain to a greater degree the spirits of those who unjustly hunger for the slaughter of others, and to take away from them all hope, he promoted to the dignity of the empire his sons who were oldest in age—who had already been reared royally, were educated, and trained in every virtue according to the requirements of the empire—Constantine and Leo, ^C as if planting stronger and more numerous roots in the empire, and raising upon it the noble branches of the government.

35. But since I have reached this part of the history, I wish to speak also of his other children, and to declare how piously he decreed the status of each of them. For just as with the pious and blessed men of old, nay, even beyond them, God also gifted this man with abundant and virtuous offspring. After some time, therefore, he bestowed the imperial crown upon Alexander, his third son. As for the youngest of them, Stephen, he presented him to God and enrolled and consecrated him to the Church of God, just as Abraham did with Isaac. ^D He dedicated his daughters, equal in number to the males, to the sacred and most illustrious monastery of the martyr Euphemia, and consecrated them to God as a welcome gift and an offering, adorning them in conduct, in habit, and in every manner, with which those virgins who are purely and uncorruptedly joined to the immortal bridegroom, Christ, are wont to be adorned. These things, although they were done in later times, are nonetheless placed here, so that, just as in nature, so too in the narrative, they might be joined to the quaternion of brothers.

36. Since, then, matters at home were in good order for him and directed toward a pious and God-pleasing goal, the ardent concern for the state also called him to take up external wars,

so that by his own labors, fortitude, and greatness of spirit he might extend the frontiers of the empire and drive the enemy further away and repel them; nor did he consider this part to be neglected. ^A First, however, he filled up the military rolls, which had been diminished because the customary bounties, stipends, and royal rations had been withheld from them, by means of a new levy and recruitment, and he strengthened them with the necessary provision and distribution of supplies. Then, training them in tactical exercises and making them experienced in the struggle of war through constant labors, and having accustomed them to be most attentive to discipline and to be concerned about obedience—since he knew that they should be subject to their tribunes and leaders—he undertook an expedition against the barbarians together with them on behalf of the tribes, his kin, and his subjects. For he knew that no art, not even a mechanical or lowly one, can be known before it is learned, and that there is no one who, without a teacher, appears to have mastered even the art of cobbling—let alone one of the more serious arts, which are acquired with great toil. But if the science or art of war could be acquired by anyone who wished it without discipline and sufficient experience from the use of the thing, those who labored much on this subject in tactical writings—the greatest of emperors and generals, who erected many trophies from many victories—would not have been of sound mind, but would have been raving; yet not one of them ever dared to engage a hostile line with a crude and untrained army. ^B But it is not possible for one who has not learned to know, or for one who has not practiced and trained to fight. For this reason, that noble man, having first trained and organized the military ranks, and having mixed the newly recruited army with the veteran one, and having fattened their sinews and strengthened their right hands with fitting largesse and gifts, thus engaged the enemy with them and erected many trophies and won countless victories. I shall narrate this, however, as briefly as possible.

37. Having found a suitable time to settle the affairs of the city and having finished his business, when spring shone forth ^C he took up arms and reviewed the military rolls, believing that a true ruler ought to face danger for his own people, and that, in order for all his subjects to live securely and in peace, he ought to take upon himself labors and hardships voluntarily. And since in those times the leader of Tephrice, who was named Chrysochiris, appearing to surpass the rest in excellence and prudence, was sorely afflicting the Roman land and its people, every day taking many of the country folk prisoner, and was acting proudly and arrogantly and setting himself above others, the emperor led an army against him and the city under his authority. Yet that proud and ^D bold man, trusting in his pride and audacity, not daring to openly confront the noble efforts of the attacking army...

but retiring and deciding only to guard and protect his own city, the Emperor marched, with no one to stop him, pillaging, ravaging, destroying, and setting fire to all the villages and towns that were under the dominion of Chrysocheres, laden with immense booty and dragging a huge crowd of captives. He then attacked the city of Tephrice itself, and attempted to take it by a kind of tumultuous assault rather than a long siege, but seeing it strongly fortified by the solidity of its walls, the multitude of the barbarians, and an abundance of supplies, and that it could only be stormed with difficulty—especially since the entire surrounding countryside had been laid waste in a very short time by the large number of troops, and the army had nearly run out of necessary supplies—he desisted from a long stay for the siege. Having set up garrisons around it, and having plundered Abara and Spatha and certain other ^B places, he returned with his entire army unharmed, with many spoils and captives as has been said.

38. When the other city of the Ishmaelites (which they call Taranta) saw the great slaughter that had occurred at Tephrice, it sent envoys to request peace and to ask to be inscribed on the list of allied cities. The most noble emperor, showing as much gentleness and clemency toward those who were submissive as he showed strength of courage toward those who resisted, allowed himself to be won over by the speakers, and granting peace to those who requested it, he gained them as allies instead of enemies. From this, not a few others, and in particular a certain Armenian, Curticius, who at that time held Locana and constantly harassed the borders of the Roman ^C realm, fled to him and submitted his city, his arms, and his people to the Emperor, admiring his equity and clemency paired with fortitude, and his justice with virtue.

39. Meanwhile, as the enemy had their attention focused on him and were watching to see in which direction he would turn his attack, in order to bring aid themselves to those who were struggling, he sent a selected band of warriors against the city called Zapetra. Having quickly overcome the narrow passes of the road, they fell upon the city itself and took it at the first assault; they slaughtered many within it, gained huge booty and spoils, and freed from prison those who had long been held bound there. Then they set fire to the surrounding lands, plundered Samosata, and with the same momentum crossed the Euphrates, as no one offered resistance ^D anywhere (since, in fact, the enemy camp was located not far from the Emperor); and enriched with many captives and immense booty, they returned to the Emperor, who was still staying near the Zarnuchos river, where Caramisium is—seeming to be idle, but by the highest industry and skill ordering such things through his subordinates.

40. Departing from there with his entire army

^A he traversed the road leading toward Melitene. Arriving at the banks of the Euphrates, when he saw it swelling and overflowing in the heat of summer, he thought it ignoble and unworthy of the power around him to sit idling through the crossing, waiting for the river to become shallower; he decided to bridge it, and everything was quickly prepared for the work with diligence. ^B Wishing to alleviate the fatigue of his soldiers and persuade them to bear their labors easily, and simultaneously to exhaust himself in these voluntary toils, so that if—as often happens—anything should occur unexpectedly, he might not appear overly sensitive or unaccustomed to such things, he joined the soldiers in the work, and very eagerly, carrying greater burdens on his own shoulders to the bridge. One might have seen then that the emperor bore with ease a weight of such magnitude that three soldiers together could scarcely carry.

Having crossed the Euphrates in this manner, he immediately took the fortress they call Rhapsakion. He ordered the Chalds and Coloniatas to scour the region lying between the Euphrates and Arsinus, and through them he secured much booty and many prisoners. He took and plundered the fortresses called Curticii, Chachon, Amer, Murinis, and Abdela. ^C He himself attacked Melitene, which was at that time flourishing and possessed a great multitude of barbarians. When they poured out against him before the city with barbarian shouts and clamor, he displayed his own virtue in such a way that not only those under his command, but even his enemies, openly admired his courage and dexterity with astonishment. For, engaging the enemies both wisely and vigorously, appearing brave in hand-to-hand combat and preeminent in daring, and showing himself courageous and dauntless in the face of terrible sights, he was the first to rout those drawn up against him with great slaughter. Then those with him, each of them pursuing those opposite them as far as the city, cut them down, so that the field before the city was strewn with many corpses, and the water before the wall was mingled with blood. Many were taken alive, others willingly defected out of fear, and the remainder were shut up in the city, finding themselves cut off from any further exit. ^D There the emperor intended to set up machines and to transport all siege equipment, and to perform acts of daring and generosity in the scaling of the walls. But when he saw that the city was strong in its circuit of walls and difficult to capture due to the multitude of those defending from the wall, and having learned from deserters that it was abundantly supplied with necessary provisions and that he need not fear a lengthy siege, he departed from there and attacked the land of the Manichaeans. Having cut down the woods, consigned their houses to fire, and destroyed everything in his path, he burned and razed their fortress called Argauth, and those of Cutacius, Stephanus, and Rachat. Afterwards he subjected

^A all the troops under his command to generous and abundant gifts, and having honored each of those who had distinguished themselves with rewards for valor, he returned to the royal city with much spoil and garlands of victory. And having entered through the Golden Gates, in much the same manner in which the ancient emperors used to celebrate triumphs in the great and noble city of Rome, he was welcomed with favorable acclamations and celebrations of victory by the people, and he proceeded, just as he was, straight from his journey, to the great temple of the Wisdom of God, in order to pay his vows and the fitting thanksgiving to God. And being crowned with a wreath of victory by the patriarch who was then presiding, he was received into the palace.

41. And once again political cares succeeded him, and he applied himself to giving responses to the ambassadors of various nations; and having relaxed his mind for a little while with his children and his wife, and having piously visited the holy and divine temples throughout the city for the sake of vows and prayers, he applied himself again, according to custom, to civil administrations and judicial matters, manifesting his diligent and wakeful care for his subjects. Nevertheless, he did not cease daily to enter the holy and divine temple and to implore the Lord, and to put forward to God as intercessors to this end both Michael, the prince of the heavenly host, and the prophet Elijah, that he might not depart from this life before he saw the destruction of Chrysochir ^B and fixed three arrows into his foul head. And that which was to happen later came to pass. For in the following year, when the aforementioned Chrysochir had invaded the Roman lands and was plundering them, the emperor sent against him, by custom, the Domestikos of the Scholae. The latter, having set out ^C and taken with him the entire Roman army, since he shrank from openly joining battle with him, followed the Roman cohorts at a certain distance, checking him and preventing him from daring to run hither and thither and disperse his forces across the country. When, therefore, the barbarian, partly because things were succeeding according to his wishes and partly because his attempt had been frustrated, and with time also calling him, had decided to return to his own lands and was returning home laden with heavy booty, the commander of the Scholae charged two of the generals—the one in command of the Charsianites and the other of the Armeniacs—with the troops they were leading, to follow behind Chrysochir as far as the Bathyrrhyax; and from there, if he were to launch his forces against the Roman frontiers, to signify this to the Domestikos, but if he were to return straight to his own lair, then having let him pass, to return to him ^D again.

42. Now when the barbarian army had arrived at the place called Bathyrrhyax toward the time of evening and had encamped down at the foothills of the mountain, and the Roman generals had occupied the higher ground and were observing what was about to happen, a certain quarrel and contention arose between the soldiers of the two themes and the commanders of the companies and the manipuli—

[P. 170] ^A of virtue’s excellence occurred. The Charsianites claimed for themselves the primacy of virtue in fortitude; on the contrary, the Armeniacs contended that they were in no way inferior to them in that virtue. As the quarrel grew more intense and the ferocity of both parties was stirred up, it is said that the leaders of the Armeniac contingent spoke in these words: “Why do we individually boast and brag in words to no purpose, when it is ready at hand to give proof of the virtue about which we dispute? For since the enemy is not far off, it is possible for those who are excellent men to become famous by deeds performed, and for him who excels in strength of body to secure the primacy by judgment.”

The commanders, having heard these words and observing the strong spirit and eagerness of the people for valor, ^B and having also considered the advantage of the place—that they were about to attack from a high position those who were encamped on the plain—divided the force in two. They decided that a more select band of six hundred, along with the commanders themselves, should rush upon the enemy; the rest, not many in number, were to remain on the high ground, presenting the appearance of a crowded multitude, with a signal given at the right moment, so that when the others attacked the enemy, they too, with the greatest shouting and trumpets—the mountains themselves resounding along—would raise a terrifying cry, while they themselves donned their armor and secretly approached the enemy’s camp during the night.

But at daybreak, before the sun had yet fully emerged having crossed the hemisphere beneath us, raising a mighty paean and shouting together, “The Cross has conquered,” they attacked the enemy, while at the same time the others sounded the military battle-cry from the mountain. The barbarians, suddenly terrified by the unexpected event, having neither time to gather themselves together nor to observe fully the number of the attacking host, nor being able to consider any plan for their safety at all, gave themselves to flight, while the emperor’s persistent prayer to God utterly terrified them and drove them to destruction.

The Romans pursuing ^C them, and continually calling out to the commanders, the ranks, and the prefect of the schools—as had been ordered for them—to pursue the fugitives, who were being driven into greater fear and confusion, the pursuit lasted for thirty miles, and the intervening space was strewn with countless corpses.

43. It is said that at that time the shameless and bold Chrysochir, while fleeing with a few of his men, was pursued by a certain Roman, bearing the nickname Pulades, who, having once been a captive at Tephrica, because he was witty and charming, had become known and familiar to Chrysochir. When the barbarian saw him in full pursuit with such fury and eager spirit, he turned to him and said: “What evil have I done to you, poor Pulades, that you so insanely pursue me wanting to kill me?” To which he replied in brief: “Because...

^A patron, I am confident in God that I shall repay you for your benefits today, and for this reason I pursue you.” As he went on, then, as if his mind were impaired by God’s judgment, desperate and fearful, while the other followed with recklessness and youthful courage, the pursued man encountered a deep trench, which his horse hesitated to leap across and faltered. And while Chrysochir was intent on this, Pulades struck him in the side with his pike, and he, immediately overcome by the pain, fell from his horse. One of his company, whose name was Diaconitzes, throwing himself from his own horse, took care of his fallen lord, and placing his master's head upon his own knees, mourned for what had befallen him. Meanwhile, others came up to Pulades, and leaping from their horses, they severed the head of Chrysochir—who was by then swooning and expiring—from his neck, and they added that Diaconitzes to the number of the other captives. Thus, the enemies having been ^B overcome in this extraordinary event beyond all expectation, and the glory of the Christians having been exalted, the head of Chrysochir was quickly sent to the Emperor with the announcement of the joyous news. He was at that time staying at the place called Petrion, where there was a monastery in which his own daughters were practicing the wrestling matches of piety. When the head was brought, mindful of his vows and prayers, and with the eye of his mind directed in tears toward Him who does the will of those who call upon Him, he ordered a bow and arrows to be brought to him. Quickly tensioning the string, he shot three arrows into the wicked head from behind, and in not one did he miss, thinking that he was offering this as an expiation worthy of the impiety and crimes of a wretch like him, in exchange for the many thousands of men whom he had destroyed over the many years of his reign. And this was the end of the affairs of Chrysochir, and thus the power of Tephrica, which was flourishing at that time, vanished, with the help of the Divine, who was made favorable by the constant prayers of the piously reigning Basil.

44. Now when the illustrious Patriarch Ignatius had piously and worthily finished his life, and, ^D adorned with abundant grey hairs and the surrounding chorus of virtues, and praised and acclaimed by all upon departing this present life to pass on to the better one, he restored the Church to him who, while it had once seemed he did not rightly claim it for himself, was now rightly restored, and he lawfully and canonically established the most wise Photius on the vacant throne of the Queen of Cities. Indeed, even before this, he did not cease to receive him with all kindness and to honor him because he was endowed with every kind of wisdom and virtue. But although he was disturbed from his throne—for he cared for nothing more than justice and worship—he nevertheless omitted nothing that could serve to console the man’s fortune. Whence, having assigned him a residence in the palace, he appointed him the instructor and teacher of his own children.

Thus, as far as he was able, he overlooked no one who was in distress, but behaved toward everyone with kindness and gentleness, and in whatever way he could, he applied relief with all zeal. ^B 45. Yet, although he was so paternally and solicitously disposed toward those under his hand, there were still those who hated him, or rather, who envied him and conspired against his life. For a man named Curcuas, having grown insolent through wealth and luxury, as is typical, lusted after tyranny; and having taken to himself a multitude of like-minded conspirators, he awaited a favorable time for his assault. But when the details of the plot were revealed to the Emperor by one of the conspirators before the attack, the wicked men were handed over to the laws. Yet again, the philanthropy of the noble Emperor broke the severity of the laws and moderated the punishments. Therefore, while the eyes of the ringleader of the conspiracy were gouged out, the rest were punished more humanely with stripes upon their bodies and the cropping of their hair. And in this manner, they were recalled to their duty and a sounder mind, more by paternal indulgence than by despotic severity.

46. Moreover, the anxiety for the common good and the trophies that still remained to be won would not allow him to sleep. ^C But first, he recovered, by his own wisdom and care and by a lavish provision of gifts—using both persuasion and force—the most fortified of castles, known as Lulum, which was of such great utility to the Roman state; it had been captured by the Agarenes due to the foolish negligence of former times and the disregard for affairs useful to the common cause, and had been fortified and held by them on account of the security of the place, but he snatched it from the dominion of the barbarians and brought it back once more under the Roman Empire. From this, the castle of Meluus also surrendered itself to him voluntarily and recognized the Emperor as its master. He also sacked the city of the Manichaeans, called Catabatala, at that time through his own generals. But it did not delight him so much that it had been sacked and pillaged by others, ^D and he was troubled that he was not erecting these trophies by his own labors. Therefore, once again, taking his eldest son Constantine with him—in order that, as if he were a noble whelp, he might give him a taste of the slaughter of enemies, and that he himself might be his instructor in the art of war and in a courageous and bold spirit amidst dangers—he set out with him against Syria. And having reached Caesarea, which is at the foot of Mount Argeus, the foremost city of the Cappadocians, and having tactically drawn up the forces under him, he selected a portion of chosen men from among them and sent them ahead as scouts and vanguards; he himself followed behind with the heavy infantry, so that the liveliness of the fighting sword might lead the way, and the more solid force might follow. Having quickly traversed the deserts, they sacked the fortresses of Psilocastellum and Paramocastellum, and led away the captives found therein. Terrified by the fear of the approaching forces, the inhabitants of the castle of Phalacri voluntarily surrendered to the Emperor.

^A The son of Ambri, Apabdeles the Anazarbian emir, who had previously been behaving with barbaric insolence from a distance, upon the approach of the Emperor, mingled with the Melitenian squadrons and sought safety in flight, deeming it the only sufficient security to hide himself in whatever mountain cleft or lair he could ^B bury himself. As a result of the devastation caused by such an eruption, Caisus, also known as Catasama, and Robana, also known as Endelechone, were sacked, as were also Ardala and that place called Eremosycaea. Then also Semas, that son of Tael, who had been lying in wait in the rugged defiles of Mount Taurus and ravaging the frontiers of the Romans, fled for refuge to the Emperor.

47. If we report such great events briefly and plainly, as if in a running account, let no one be surprised, nor let anyone accuse us. For the narrative itself seems to emulate the speed of those very ^C actions, and for this reason it is simple and fast-moving; for those places were captured then, and those deeds reached their consummation, faster than they are now narrated. Moreover, since the long lapse of time has obscured the individual actions through the intervention of silence, and we have no way to know or describe the methods of the battles, the sudden attacks, the extensions or contractions of the phalanxes, or the opportune use of stratagems, there is no reason for us to spend time on the details or to dwell on them willingly, which would only expand the narrative. As for those things which are handed down with no certain witness, even if they are reported by frequent rumor and fly from mouth to mouth, we for our part do not allow ourselves to accept them without examination, lest we appear to attribute to the Emperor a fabricated account of things that did not even happen, especially since he himself, while he was still among the living, did not appear to welcome words which others insinuated as if for the sake of ^D flattery. Indeed, since we are unable nor have the leisure to commit to writing even the things that are attested by the mouths of all, surely we would hardly prolong our account concerning doubtful matters. But let the discourse be turned back, and let it return to the path it proposed for itself from the beginning of the narrative.

48. After these events, the Emperor crossed the river called the Onopnichten and the Sarus with his army and went to Cucusus; there, having set fire to the forests and cut down the trees, he made the places that were impassable for travel into convenient paths, and dispersed the roving bands therein. When he had reached Callipolis and Padasia, and had to make his way through rugged and broken terrain, he dismounted from his horse and traversed the narrow passes of the road on foot, refreshing with his own labor the weak strength of his subordinates. Then, making for Germanicia, since all his adversaries withdrew upon his appearance and confined themselves within the walls, and there was no one who dared to join battle, he consumed with fire all the surrounding [districts] and left the suburbs wretchedly desolate, at

^A Adatam, having reached it, he arrived. The townspeople, not daring to contend in open warfare, but having gathered themselves within the walls, determined to sustain a siege. The Emperor, having laid waste the suburbs and destroyed a small neighboring town called Gero, granted the spoil to his soldiers; and by that gain having rendered them more courageous, and having added alacrity to their toil, he assaulted the walls, and by employing siege engines, he was encouraged by no small hope that, relying on his robust forces, he would take the city by storm. But seeing that the besieged, freed from fear, endured the assault, and although the destruction of their fatherland appeared almost imminent, they were not at all disturbed, he inquired by what confidence they seemed to have no concern for themselves. ^B Hearing from one of the natives that they had received assurance from a man among them who was religious and pious—whether he held this from divine inspiration or from the precepts of some science—that it was fated that the city would be sacked, not by him who was now besieging them, but by another of those related to him by lineage, named Constantine, and that for this reason they were not alarmed by those who were attacking them. When he pointed out his own son and explained that he was so called, and when he said that the oracle which they had must not necessarily fail in the present, even if their city were to be captured by him, the one who recounted the oracle replied that he was not yet the Constantine who was to overthrow their city, but some other one of his grandsons, after a sufficiently long series of years. ^C At this the Emperor, nearly provoked to anger, and striving to refute by the deed itself the empty rumor which had been rashly spread and which they boasted of so much, pressed upon the siege with greater force and effort than before. But seeing that whatever effort he applied, he achieved nothing and was supported by no hope sufficiently firm, and considering the no slight damage to the army, which spent the nights under the open sky while the weather was cold, and deeming it more valuable to keep his own men safe than to capture and subdue the enemy, he judged it worthwhile to withdraw before winter. But thus far regarding these things. As for us, it occurs to us to marvel, having seen the outcome of that prophecy after so much time, how such exact knowledge and comprehension of the truth existed among those ^D barbarians, who were not at all distinguished by their way of life or by religious observance. For although he was not able to take the city at that time, now in our own times Constantine, the shoot of the purple, the son of the wisest Leo and his grandson, laid claim to that achievement as his own unique gift; and the deed of the slaughter of the inhabitants of Adata was ascribed to him. Therefore, as the author Homer says, it was a good thing that the son of the deceased was left behind, so that, evidently, a son might be preserved as an avenger for those things which they had dared to insolently commit against his grandfather’s majesty. But let our discourse again return to its tracks and relate what follows.

^A 49. The emperor, therefore, having filled his army with many captives and spoils, and then having ordered the burden of prisoners to be lightened by the sword on account of the difficult and long windings of the road, turned his mind toward his return, leaving great fear of himself to the descendants of Hagar. Yet, anticipating some attack upon himself in the narrows of the places (for he knew that it is a foolish commander’s saying, "I would not have expected"), he stationed his troops in ambush in convenient places, and captured alive many of those who were thinking they would capture others. Seeing these things, that Abdelomeles, who ruled the places there, sent envoys and begged for pardon and peace, promising that he would be an honest servant and devoted from his heart, and that he would submit and surrender the fortifications and places held by him. The emperor, assenting to his prayers, granted his requests, and from then on held him as a willing ally against his own tribesmen. Having then again crossed Mount Argaeus and arrived at Caesarea, he received news of victories from Colonia and Lullus; and there were signs at hand, a huge quantity of spoils and captives brought together from Tarsus and the cities of the Manichaeans. Among these, he ordered a vast crowd of Curti that had been brought to be slaughtered, for they were of almost no use, and the army, already burdened with rich spoils, did not wish to carry them along or transport them, as they were a useless encumbrance for the journey. Having been led to Medaeus, the emperor, after distributing gifts to his men and conferring honors according to each one’s virtue and excellence, and having received all with every kindness and dismissed the cohorts to their winter quarters, continued his journey. And arriving at Byzantium, he received, as was the custom, the crown of victory from the hand of the patriarch, and the triumphal shouts from the people.

50. Now, as time went by, when the power of Tephrice had been flattened and almost completely extinguished, the strength of the Tarsians began to revive and increase, and again the outskirts of the Roman borders were being constantly oppressed by them. At that time, that Andrew the Scythian had frequently acted bravely against them, and, in proportion to the force around him, had killed and captured many of those who were running out for plunder and were separated from the whole army. And since he was daily giving sufficient proofs of bravery and prudence, he was promoted by the emperor to the rank of patrician and to the command of the Schools. And then indeed, with greater authority and forces, he often joined battle against those from Melitene and those from Tarsus, and rendered them defeated. But when the amir of Tarsus once sent to him words of blasphemy filled with madness against our Lord Jesus Christ and God and his most holy Mother, saying, "See what the son of Mary will profit you, and she, that woman who bore this,"—he received the insulting letter, and with many tears upon the letter of the holy Theotokos...

^A who bears the Son embraced, he offered it, saying: "Behold, O Mother of the Word and of God, and You who are eternal from the Father and subject to time from the Mother, how this barbarian and arrogant man, a new Sennacherib, has insulted and raged against Your own peculiar people. Be a helper and defender of Your servants; and let all nations know the power of Your dominion." Having prayed ^B these things to God with a contrite heart and many tears, and having said them, he took up the Roman forces and set out against Tarsus. And when he arrived at the place called Podandos, where the river of the same name also flows, he found the barbarian army drawn up in opposition. But that noble man, having attacked with trust in God and with all the force around him, which he had previously strengthened for the struggle with encouraging words, and having performed many deeds of both prudence and valor—with the commanders, ^C captains, and entire multitude under him fighting manfully—he turned the multitude of barbarians to great slaughter, the emir himself and all the force blooming around him having fallen first. A few, however, of those on the barricades and those positioned at the outermost places, having barely escaped the danger, were saved by fleeing to Tarsus. Having buried his own men, and having gathered the enemies into one spot and made a great mound of them, so that it might serve as a trophy even for those who come after, he returned home with spoils, booty, and many captives, having behaved modestly regarding the victory and acting out of regard for God alone, ^D ascribing to Him the strategy and this great triumph. Therefore, fearing that by the insatiable longing for victory and the desire for more, the envious Nemesis—as often happens—might undermine what had already been accomplished, he restrained himself from proceeding further. Having made the things performed clear to the emperor, he was hindered by the envy of his peers from receiving prizes worthy of his deeds; for they, constantly whispering and preoccupied with poisoning the imperial ears, kept slandering the man as having acted in bad faith and having robbed the Romans of the capture of Tarsus. "For when," they would say, "God had given it into our hands, had he pursued the victory while the multitude was emboldened by the things they had accomplished, we lost it through the negligence of the general." By these things being said repeatedly, the emperor was persuaded—for even prudent men are often deceived by those who tell them what they wish to hear—and he revoked the command of Andreas as one who had not sufficiently followed up on the feats performed against the enemies, and in his place he appointed that Cestas, called the Styppiotis, to lead the ranks and the whole army, as one who promised that Tarsus would be stormed by him and who foolishly thought and boasted that he would accomplish many other brave deeds.

^A But as soon as he had taken all the Roman forces and set out against Tarsus, he showed that Andrew was neither cowardly nor shrinking, but rather cautious, prudent, and an excellent general. For, considering the barbarians to be ready prey—without having considered anything of what was necessary beforehand, without having weighed the situation, and without having exercised thought worthy of military experience and good counsel—he drew near to Tarsus at the place called Chrysobullon with mindless arrogance and thoughtless rashness. ^B The barbarians, perceiving his lack of precaution, in that he had neither occupied secure positions nor fortified his camp with a rampart and ditch, nor performed any other of those things which prudent and skilled commanders are accustomed to prepare, resolved to secure victory by guile; and, using a stratagem that was, as the event proved, clearly clever and suitable for their own straitened circumstances and afflicted fortune, they attacked him by night, unprepared and carefree as he was. For some few who remained from the previous defeat, being but a handful in their extremity, resorted to craft out of necessity; having gathered horses, they tied dry hides to their tails and, at a single signal, sent them into many parts of the Roman camp. Then they themselves, from various sides, beating upon drums, leaped into the midst of the encampment with drawn swords. ^C When panic and confusion seized the Roman army, and horses and men alike were thrown into disarray and collided with one another, the barbarians succeeded in winning the victory and inflicting infinite slaughter, as most of them were trampled and suffocated ignobly by their own side. Thus, by a near-unheard-of turn of events and beyond all hope, the sons of Ishmael became victors, and having cut the sinews of the Roman Empire, they raised a paean with the sound of drums and barbarian shouts. Such was the end that envy granted to the foolish campaign against the Romans, and such was the trophy that the jealous Nemesis set up against the Romans who had hitherto been fortunate.

52. But this is how matters in the East stood during the times of the pious and most religious Emperor Basil. I proceed now to narrate those that relate to the West. In the same way as the rest, because affairs in the West also were neglected to a greater degree under the Emperor Michael, almost the whole of Italy—as much as had been allotted to our new Rome—and the greater part of Sicily, having been conquered by the arms of the Carthaginians and rendered tributary to the barbarians, were lost; ^D furthermore, those in Pannonia and Dalmatia, and the Scythians situated beyond them—specifically the Croats, and Serbs, and Zachlumians, and Terbuniotæ, and Canalitæ, and Diocletiani, and Rentani—having shaken off the yoke of the Roman Empire, to which they had formerly been subject, became of their own right and free, obeying only their own rulers and magistrates. Moreover, as a sign of greater defection, many had even abjured their baptism, so that they showed no sense of duty toward

^A Roman friendship or allegiance.

53. Thus, then, with affairs in the West in such a state, and gripped by such anarchy and disorder, the Hagarenes from Carthage seized the opportunity; uniting their forces and appointing Soldanus, Sambas, and Calphus as leaders—men believed to be far superior to their kin in wickedness and military experience—they dispatched a fleet of thirty-six warships against Dalmatia. By this, several Dalmatian cities were captured, such as Butoma, Rosa, and the lower Decatera. As matters were proceeding according to the enemies' wishes, they came even to the metropolis of the whole nation, which is called Ragusium, and besieged it for a considerable time. They were not, however, able to take it easily, as those within the walls struggled with great spirit, for it was, as the saying goes, a struggle for their very lives ^B. So, as the people in Ragusium were worn down by the length of time and were reduced to extreme straits, they sent envoys to the Emperor, pressed by the urgency of their necessity—although they were not unaware that the sovereign was preoccupied with other, more important matters—imploring him to have mercy on them, to become their defender, and to protect those who were on the verge of being delivered into the power of the infidels and deniers of Christ.

Before the envoys had reached the Queen of Cities, but while they were still lingering on their journey, the slothful and wicked emperor departed from among the living, and the supreme governance of affairs passed, upon his passing, to the vigilant and sober steward, Basil. He, who had previously been deeply distressed and troubled by these grievances, now listened diligently to the envoys; regarding their afflictions as his own wounds—for they were bound to him by the ties of the same faith—he set about the preparation of the assistance he intended to send to the suppliants. Having equipped a fleet of one hundred ships and made all things duly ready, he chose a man who excelled the common run in wisdom and experience, the Patrician Nicetas—I speak of the drungary of the fleet, who was surnamed Ooryphas—and sent him forth against the enemies like a blazing thunderbolt ^C.

The Saracens from Africa, who were encamped in the siege of the city, having learned through runaways that the Ragusians had sent envoys to the Emperor to request forces and an army against them, and despairing of a speedy capture of the city, and likewise fearing the relief forces expected from the Emperor, broke off the siege and removed themselves from those regions. Passing over to Italy, which is now called Longobardia, they sacked the fortress of Bari. Settling there, and daily attacking the neighboring peoples and constantly daring further into the interior, and always adding something to their domain, they subdued all of Longobardia, almost as far as Rome itself, once famous for its lofty glory ^D. And these things were thus. [P. 180]

^A54. Because it was brought about by these Dalmatian auxiliaries of Rome, the nations I mentioned a little above—the Chrobati, namely, and the Serbli, and the rest—seeing the equity of him who then held the reins of power, and hearing of his justice and virtue in all things, and judging that it is better to be well-governed than to govern perilously and with rash audacity, they applied themselves to the task of returning to their former dominion and again serving the Romans. Therefore they themselves sent envoys to the emperor, both those who had fallen away from that same integral religion, and those who, having shaken off their initial servitude, had of their own accord thoroughly abjured their baptism; they opportunely recalled how useful they had once been to the Romans, and requested to be subjected to the most humane yoke of Roman power and to its leader and ruler. To their vows and petition, as things that seemed to be based on reason, the emperor rendered himself compliant (inasmuch as he had even before this felt vexed and grieved on their account, as if by a not insignificant part of his dominion being cut off, snatched away, and torn apart); and placidly, just as a most humane father accepts and receives back a son who had foolishly rejected his authority but, led by repentance, had returned, so he too accepted and received these men. And immediately he sent with them priests and a man delegated in his name, so that before all else he might rescue them from the danger to their souls and restore them to their former faith, and free them from the transgressions which they had incurred either through ignorance, or through madness and rashness.

^B When a religious work of this kind had been accomplished, and all had partaken of the divine baptism and bowed to the Roman fasces, the principate of the emperor was reintegrated in this aspect, with all, by his most humane command, receiving magistrates and rulers from their own people and tribe to have dominion over them. For he did not have those magistrates who were set over them for sale, so that, from that and by that method, he might appoint those who would give more and reap more from their subjects; but those who had been chosen by the very people themselves and created as if by popular suffrage, he prudently established to have dominion over them as arbiters of the magistracy and as men who would pursue them with paternal benevolence. And these things, indeed, stood thus.

^C 55. But since the barbarians who, during that reign of neglect and sloth, had crossed over into the Roman domain and been repulsed from Ragusa, as has already been said, were still standing with a fixed foot in Italy and were continuously invading and cruelly ravaging it, so that they had reduced to their own power, partly by voluntary surrender and partly by siege and force, one hundred and fifty fortified towns, the emperor, hearing these things, was intensely tormented in his spirit. And keeping watch with the concern for these things, he sought a way by which it might be easy either to utterly rout the enemies or at least to drive them far from the Roman dominion and repel them. Now, therefore, the forces which had previously been sent on account of the Ragusans and the whole race of the Dalmatians, under the leadership of the patrician Nicetas Ooryphas, as I said above,

^A considering them not sufficient for such a great multitude of barbarians, especially since there was a need to frequently engage in hand-to-hand combat in the interior and to stay a long distance from the sea, which seemed disadvantageous and impossible for a naval army; and thinking it inexpedient to send other forces again from there, both on account of the expense of such an expedition and the needs of the regions here, he took counsel wisely ^B and sent envoys to Louis, the King of the Franks, and to the Pope of Rome, that they might assist the forces there and, joining with them, draw up in battle array against the Hagarenes who had settled in Bari. He ordered the tribes of the Sclaveni, mentioned a little before, to assist in the task, having crossed the Dalmatian sea with the help of the inhabitants of Ragusium and their own local vessels. Since all had gathered and a great force had been assembled, and because the Roman admiral far surpassed all in intelligence and courage, Bari was captured quickly. The fortress itself, the land, and all the captives were taken into the power of the Romans, and the land regained its own inhabitants, but the King of the Franks took that Soldan and the people of the Hagarenes under him, and led them off to Capua, for he still ruled over this and also over Beneventum. And thus the first expedition to the West for the Emperor reached such an end, and the Queen of cities was adorned with the spoils and glory thereof.

56. Since history often loves to diversify a narrative with digressions, and to amuse the ears of those who encounter them, it is necessary to explain also what happened to be accomplished between the King of the Franks, the Soldan, the Emir of Africa, and the inhabitants of Capua and Beneventum. ^C For the Soldan, while staying in Capua for two years with the King of the Franks, was never once seen by anyone to smile. The King promised a gift of gold to anyone who caught him laughing. Someone therefore announced to the King that he had seen the Soldan laughing—he who until then had lived with a sad and severe countenance—and he produced witnesses for the matter. The King called the Soldan to himself and inquired of him the cause of such a change and of his laughter. He said: "Observing a chariot, and considering its wheels—how parts of them are depressed from the high axle to the bottom, and are again lifted from a humble position to the height—and taking these as an image of the uncertain and unstable nature of human ^D happiness, I laughed, thinking at once how we are puffed up over such unstable things, and also judging it not impossible that, just as from a high position I have become a low one, so it is possible from a humble place to be raised once again to my former greatness." The King, having heard these things, and reflecting on his own state, and judging him to be a prudent man, permitted him henceforth to associate and converse with him freely.

^A 57. But he, being crafty and no stranger to Punic guile, decided to procure his own safety by slandering others to one another in turn. For often the leading men of the cities of Capua and Benevento would come to him, as to a man experienced and wise from his old age, and one who had once been fortunate but was now unfortunate. He, feigning a mask of friendship, would say that he wished to reveal to them a secret plan of the King, but that he feared the danger to himself that might arise from such a disclosure. When they had sworn to keep what was said undisclosed, he would say that the King had decided to send them all in iron chains to his own region of Francia, since he did not think he could otherwise securely hold their cities. When they did not place complete trust in his words and sought a clearer proof, the Soldan would again speak to the King: "You cannot hold these cities securely as long as the leading men of the citizens remain here. Therefore, if you are of the mind to hold them firmly under your own authority, send them off as prisoners to Francia with all speed." Persuaded by these words, the King ordered chains to be forged hastily, as if for some pressing necessity. The Soldan, visiting the patricians again, said, "Do you still not believe the things I told you, and do you disregard my words? Go and investigate; see what all the smiths are constructing by the King's order; and if you find chains and shackles, do not refuse to believe what is told to you for the sake of your own safety." ^B Understanding then that the barbarian spoke the truth, the patricians no longer doubted in other matters either, but began to seek the means by which to take revenge on the King. And so, shortly after he had gone out for a hunt, they closed the city gates against him and would no longer allow him entry. Since he could do nothing at that moment to avenge himself upon them, he returned again to his own country.

58. The Soldan then approached the leading men, demanding the reward for his disclosure; this was that he be permitted to return to his own fatherland. Having been granted leave to depart, and having arrived in Carthage and recovered his own principality, he did not depart from his malice, but set out against Capua and Benevento, intending to return to them the favor of their survival with evil. The townspeople sent an embassy to the King to seek aid: but the envoys were dismissed insultingly, the King adding that he rejoiced all the more in their destruction. The ^C prefects of the citadels therefore sent a messenger to the Emperor. He, being of a humane disposition and inclined to pity, immediately sent the envoy back to announce that they should expect the promised aid from him shortly. The messenger's attendant was captured by the enemies, before he had even delivered the reply to those by whom he had been sent. The Soldan said to him, "If you will serve my intention, you will obtain both your safety and gifts from me." When he had agreed and promised to do whatever he ordered, he said, "I wish for you, when you are positioned outside the walls, to address the citizens in these words: 'I am indeed a servant...

fulfilled my service ^A and done everything I was commanded; but do not expect help from the emperor, for he has not hearkened to your petition.'" Having promised to say these things in this way, he is sent with the servants of the Soldan to say these things to those in the city. And as he drew near the wall and requested that the first men of the city be present to hear him, he said, "Even if death is evident to me and slaughter is at hand, yet I will not hide the truth. But I ask and adjure you to return the favor to me regarding my children and my wife. For I, my masters, even if I am now held in the hands of the enemies, have still fulfilled my service and brought your embassy to the emperor of the Romans; and speedily expect help from there. Therefore stand bravely and do not play the coward; for he who will save you is coming, even if he does not save me." ^B When the servants of the Soldan heard these things, and were inflamed with great fury and anger at the deception, they immediately cut him to pieces with their swords. The Soldan, therefore, fearing the forces expected from the emperor [P. 184], raised the siege and returned to his own land. And from that time forward, those who governed such fortresses remained faithful to the emperor, and kept them in his service ^C and for his own rule.

59. It happened also during those times that another fleet of Hagarenes came against the Roman empire; but through the emperor's persistent prayers to God and his prudent decrees and the necessary management of affairs, the victory stood with the Romans, and those from Agar were afflicted with a shameful defeat. For the emir of Tarsus, who was named Esman, having equipped a fleet of thirty very large ships, which are called *combaria*, attacks the fortress of Euripus. The praetor of Hellas (this was Oeniates)—the inhabitants of the city having brought in, by imperial command, sufficient forces for the protection of the city from all of Hellas, and having arranged ^D suitable defenses on the walls—when the citizens of the fortress saw the ships approaching the walls, and the barbarians attempting to repel those on the walls with a rain of arrows, they sustained the assault strenuously, full of anger and zeal, and using stone-throwing engines and crossbows and hurling stones by hand, they killed many of the barbarians daily. And not only that, but they also burned the greater part of the fleet with liquid fire, as the wind was favorable. The barbarian, therefore, being at a loss and troubled, and knowing that many willingly expose themselves to death through the love of money, having placed a large shield before the palisade and filled it with gold, said, "I give this as a reward and a prize, and also one hundred chosen virgins, to whoever first scales the walls and becomes the author of victory for his comrades." The citizens saw this, and perceiving what things were tending toward, exhorted one another with words; and encouraged by these things, by agreement, they opened the doors and rushed bravely against the barbarians. With many slain, and the emir himself [slain...].

^A receiving a mortal wound and falling, the rest were routed, and as the pursuers pressed upon them, they were slaughtered as far as their remaining ships; and a great massacre of the barbarians took place. For those who remained filled a few ships and fled in disgrace to their own lands. In this way the barbarian fleet, without the naval forces of the Romans, was clearly defeated and forced to retreat ingloriously through the prayers of the emperor and the strength of those who stood against them.

60. Thus, then, the cloud from Tarsus having been dispersed, tempests again arose from Crete. For Saet, that son of Apochaps who was emir of that island, and who had as his partner and administrator a certain Photius, a warlike and active man, possessed a fleet equipped with twenty-seven *kombaria*; and in proportion to their number there was a multitude of *myoparo* and *pentekontoroi*, which very many are accustomed to call *saktourai* and *galeai*. With these they sallied forth against the Roman domains, plundering the whole Aegean, and not infrequently making incursions as far as Proconnesus in the Hellespont, they carried off many into slavery and slew others. Nicetas the patrician, whom we mentioned before, who at that time was commander of the Roman triremes, engaged this naval force of the Cretans, and having joined in fierce battle with them, he immediately ^B burned twenty of the Cretan vessels with Greek fire, their barbarian crews being destroyed, some by the sword, others by fire and water. The remaining ships, as many as had survived the dangers of the sea, sought safety in flight.

61. Although the Cretans were thus diminished in number, and had returned with such an unfortunate outcome of the battle, they could not be brought to remain quiet; but again turning their attention to naval matters, they ravaged and plundered places a little further from the City, namely the Peloponnese and the islands below it, having as leader of the fleet the aforementioned Photius. Consequently, Nicetas—I mean the Ooryphas—who rightly commanded them, is sent against him with a Roman fleet; and having enjoyed a favorable voyage, in the space of a few days he reaches the Peloponnese. ^C And having put in at the port of Cenchreae, and having learned that the western parts of the Peloponnese—Methone, Patras, and the regions near Corinth—were being ravaged and pillaged by the barbarian fleet, he formed a prudent and wise plan. For he did not judge it advantageous to sail around the Peloponnese and, by rounding Cape Malea, to measure out the length of a thousand miles and lose the appropriate and opportune time for action. But just as he was prepared from the voyage, he immediately, under cover of night, by means of the Isthmus of Corinth, and with the aid of many hands and skillful experience, transferred the ships over the dry land to the other shore ^D and set to work. And while they did not yet know anything

^A of this, he appeared suddenly to the enemy, and threw their minds into confusion by fear, both because of the terror from the previous battle and because of the unexpectedness of the assault [P. 186]. He did not allow them even to form up or to remember their courage, but having set fire to some of the enemy ships and sunk others, and having cut down some of the barbarians with the sword and cast others under the water to the depths, and having killed their leader, he forced the rest to scatter throughout the island; these he later caught in nets and, capturing them almost as if in a hunt and sweep, subjected them to various punishments. For from some he flayed the skin of the flesh, especially those who had renounced the baptism of Christ, saying that this was being taken away from them, and that nothing was strictly their own. From others he drew leather thongs from the nape of the neck down to the feet with sharp pain; and others he hoisted on certain cranes, then cast and pushed them from on high into cauldrons full of pitch, saying that he was sharing with them their own baptism, albeit bitter and dark. Thus having mocked them and exacted from them punishments proportional to their deeds, he cast no small fear toward them regarding making further expeditions against the Roman empire.

62. But while the southerly winds were thus dispersed and the vessel of the Roman empire was steered thereafter without distress, a terrible storm arose again from the West. For the Amermumn of Africa, equipped with sixty large ships, invaded the Roman domain, and plundering everything in between and taking many captives, arrived as far as the islands of Cephalenia and Zacynthus. Having heard this, the emperor girded himself as quickly as possible to bring aid; and he sent the leader of the naval forces (this was Nasar) with a strong force of soldiers, having equipped a multitude of triremes, biremes, and other swift vessels, and these in great number. Nasar made a quick voyage and, having used favorable winds, reached Methone in a short time. ^C However, such a thing as an obstacle prevented him from attacking the enemy sooner: not a few of the rowers, terrified by the fear of danger, had secretly and gradually slipped away. Because of their desertion, the ships lacked the proper speed, and as they lacked the strength of the rowing to make a vigorous charge against the enemy, he did not consider it worthwhile to engage with the enemy with a fleet so poorly prepared, and he determined to report the matter to the emperor by a swift runner. The emperor, having promptly sent men who were suitable for this task, captured all the deserters alive and cast them into prison. Looking, indeed, for a way to keep his hands undefiled by the slaughter of his own people and to strike the necessary fear into the rest of the rowers—so that their cowardice might not serve as an example for others and that the many might not thus become deserters, and languid, and sluggish—he took a most wise counsel. Namely, he commanded the drungary of the watch that he should take some of the prisoners from the praetorium [P. 187] and of the criminals upon whom a sentence of capital punishment had been passed by the severity of the laws,

thirty in number, while it was still night, and smear their faces with soot, and having shorn away the hair of their beards and heads with flame, obliterating every familiar feature of their countenances, to ensure that no one at all should dare to address or speak to them, and to fix death as the penalty for such daring, and then to parade them through the hippodrome as if they were the ringleaders of those naval deserters, scourge them, and march them publicly through the city's market-place, and finally to secure them in stocks and send them off to the Peloponnese, so that in the very place from which they were thought to have fled, they might pay the penalties they deserved. John, the strategos of the Peloponnese, surnamed the Cretan, was ordered to assist in this matter; he, obeying the imperial command, ordered as many gallows to be erected at Methone as there were prisoners sent, and impaled those who had been sent as the ringleaders of the flight. ^A When the Roman fleet heard and saw this, they both pitied them as cowardly and wretched men and were themselves strengthened for hardships, having cast off all softness and luxury, and they besought the commander to lead them quickly against the enemy.

63. In the meantime, having himself replenished and augmented the remainder of the force from the soldiers in the Peloponnese and the Mardaites, and having taken the strategos as his colleague, he prepared for an assault. The Saracens, already judging the Roman fleet to be of great cowardice and timidity because they seemed for the intervening time to be wasting their efforts in vain, and making their expeditions from their ships and plundering the subject lands and islands with much boldness and security, were suddenly and invisibly approached by the Roman naval host; the strategos gave the signal, and they attacked the enemy unexpectedly in the night. ^C And having no time to form ranks or turn to defense, they were wretchedly slaughtered, and their ships were burned with fire, together with their passengers and those with them. As for the ships that escaped the danger of the fire, Nasar donated them to the church of God which is at Methone, as a thank-offering, and allowed the soldiers to rejoice in and be enriched by the spoils and the remaining captives. He quickly informed the emperor of the whole outcome of the affair, and inquired what should be done thereafter and whither the heart of the fleet should be turned. The emperor praised him for what had been accomplished and ordered him to proceed further.

[P. 188] 64. Since, therefore, the army was eager due to the previous successes, he crossed over toward Sicily and Panormos, and he went about raiding the cities there that were tributary to the Hagarenes from Carthage; he captured very many cargo ships and skiffs, the freight of which was a plentiful supply of oil and many other precious things. Truly, they say that such a quantity of oil was brought from there that a libra of it sold for an obol. But having crossed over also to the parts of Italy...

to set the oil from such a requisition, so that the *modius* could be sold for a *litra*. Having crossed over to the regions of Italy, the same fleet, having united with the infantry and cavalry forces of the Romans, which were led by Procopius, the emperor’s *protovestiarius*, and Leo, then the general of the Thracians and Macedonians—whom they called Apostyppes—achieved many things beneficial to the Roman state. For the same Nasar defeated once again the fleet that had set out from Africa at the island called Strongyle, and he liberated from the barbarian hand all the fortresses held by the Agarenes in Calabria and Lombardy, with very few exceptions, and brought them under Roman authority. And thus indeed the naval force, having shown itself superior to deceit, envy, and retribution, returned to the Emperor with many spoils and festive crowns, filling all the citizens and the state with joy, and providing the Emperor with many grounds for thanksgiving and confession to God.

65–66. The land forces did not entirely escape envy. Indeed, they performed brave and brilliant deeds, but through strife and contention that arose at the very time of the battle, they lost the commander who was greater in rank. For though Leo had dissented from Procopius, when they nonetheless engaged with the enemies, it happened that Apostyppes, with the Thracians and Macedonians, fighting on the right wing, prevailed against the enemies and inflicted a great slaughter, while Procopius, with the Sclavinians and the Westerners, holding the other side, was pressed by a more powerful onslaught of the enemies. Since no aid was sent by his colleague to the one struggling—owing to the aforementioned rivalry—the section under Procopius was completely routed, and he himself was killed during the pursuit when his horse fell beneath him.

When that battle had reached such an end, Leo, wishing to perform another brilliant deed so as to overshadow the misfortune resulting from the strife, took his own army and gathered those who had been saved from flight of those commanded by Procopius, and marched against the fortress of Taranto, which was still held by the Agarenes. He captured it by force and enslaved all the people who were within it; from this, both the soldiery was sufficiently benefited, and he brought many spoils to the Emperor. But the Emperor did not look upon these things with pleasure, nor did he reward Leo as a brave man; but when he had investigated and discovered that through the rivalry that had occurred in the very conflict of the war, he had lost his fellow commander, he removed him from his command and sent him into exile to his own house, located near Kotyaeion.

67. Apostyppes later experienced such fortunes as these. For the *protostrator* Baianus and Chamaretus, the *cubicularius* and first among his closest associates, having conspired against him, drew up an accusation against their own master to the Emperor, through which it was made known that the death of the *protovestiarius* Procopius had come about by his will and certain consensus.

^A, and also certain other grave and difficult charges. Chamaretus ^B took these and, entering Byzantium, presented them to the Emperor. When the sons of Apostypes, Bardas and David, learned of this, they remained the immediate killers of Baianus, cutting him to pieces pitilessly with their swords. Because of such an audacious deed and their fear of the Emperor, they rushed, along with their father, to flee toward Syria. When the Emperor heard these things, he sent the *manglabites* Bartzapedon with great haste to capture them and bring them to him. He already reached them in Cappadocia, as they were driving quickly on the road to Syria. ^C When he attempted to hold them according to the imperial command, and they resisted and defended themselves with all their might, it happened that in such a skirmish and struggle, the two sons of Apostypes were killed, while he himself was captured and taken in chains to the Emperor, who at that time happened to be in the royal palace at Hieria. By the judgment of Manuel the *magister*, he was subjected to the imperial command and paid the penalty for his crimes—for the evidence by which he was pressed and because he had attempted to flee to the enemies—by the gouging out of one eye and the amputation of one hand; as for the rest, he was relegated to Mesembria and grew old there. And thus the affairs of Apostypes, a man not otherwise of good character, had such an end.

68. Meanwhile, while the affairs in the West were being managed for the Emperor by the generals, the Arabs inhabiting the southern regions, taking heart and thinking that he was inactive, sluggish, and wasting time in leisure, decided to put the hazard of the sea to the test again. ^D Therefore, having built ships throughout Egypt and the maritime cities of Syria, they planned to harass Roman territory by land and sea. Judging it worthwhile, however, to first examine and test the state of the Emperor’s affairs through scouts, they sent out a man who used Roman dress and language, in order to inspect each thing and report it back to them. But the Emperor, always vigilant over the concerns of the state and preparing in advance what was necessary for war, since the preparation of the enemy fleet in Syria had not escaped him, constructed a greater number of triremes and biremes and, having gathered the naval forces at the imperial city, awaited what the future would bring. In the meantime, so that the sailors would not grow insolent through idleness, he ordered them to apply their labor to the building of a basilica in the royal palace complex—a temple, that is, being built in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, the princes of the heavenly host, and the prophet Elijah; but when the enemy fleet should emerge from the borders of Syria, they were to be ready at once to receive their attack. The scout, therefore, coming from Syria and seeing the fleet prepared and awaiting the command, having learned everything and correctly surmising it, reported to those who had sent him. They, furthermore, contrary to what they had hoped

being terrified, chose to keep the peace and abandoned their design for the expedition and sorties. The naval forces and the crews of Byzantium, however, remained, and were engaged in the work I have mentioned.

^B 69. The barbarians in Carthage, fearing because of the defeats previously sustained, lest the Roman fleet might now cross over to their own lands, for this reason had themselves constructed a sufficient number of ships. When spring had passed and they learned that no force from the emperor had arrived, surmising that the emperor’s army was occupied with other wars, they took courage and set out with their naval forces against Sicily. Coming to its metropolis, I mean Syracuse, they besieged it and ravaged their surroundings, laying waste to the countryside and the suburbs. As soon as the emperor received word of this from the praetor of Sicily, he sent the force destined for Syria to Sicily, having as navarch a certain Adrian; for this man happened at that time to be in command of the naval forces. Setting out from the Queen of Cities, not meeting with favorable or fair winds, he arrived with difficulty at the Peloponnese. Having moored his ships in the port of Monemvasia, known as ^C Hierax, he waited for a favorable wind, being—as it seems—rather slothful and not possessing a fervent spirit, such as would have led him, even when the winds were contrary, to think he must struggle against them, or, while it remained calm and no winds blew across the sea, to exert himself and strive for his destination by rowing. [P. 191] While he delayed for a long time in the aforementioned harbor, and the Hagarenes pressed the siege more vigorously—moving every stone, as they say, and hastening to complete their task before help could arrive for the besieged—it happened that the city was taken by force of arms. A great slaughter of the garrison troops occurred, the entire population of the city was led away into slavery, and the wealth within it became spoil for the enemies. The city was razed to the ground, its holy temples were committed to the flames, and the city, which had until then been renowned and brilliant, and which had often defeated many Greek and barbarian forces that had attacked it, became a mere ruin.

^D 70. Notice of what had happened reached Adrian in the following manner. There is a place in the Peloponnese not far from Monemvasia, where the Roman fleet had taken up station, called Helos, having received its name from the density and shadiness of the wood surrounding it. A certain demonic power resided in this place, which was frequently propitiated by the shepherds who grazed their flocks there, in the hope that it would keep their animals unharmed and safe. These shepherds heard these demons as if talking among themselves and rejoicing, as if the city of Syracuse had been captured the day before, and everything inside it had been razed and given over to the fire. While the shepherds were reporting these things to some, the account reached Adrian himself. Having summoned the shepherds themselves, and from them having carefully and...

inquisitively sought out the truth, he found that what was being said by the shepherds corresponded with what he had heard. Wishing to hear it with his own ears, he went to the place and, being with the shepherds, through them he brought his query to the demons as to when Syracuse would be captured, and he heard that Syracuse had already fallen. A ^A seized by grief and helplessness, he nevertheless questioned it again, thinking that one ought not to trust what was said by the wicked demons, as they possessed no power of foreknowledge, being ignorant that this was not foreknowledge, but a manifestation of things that had already happened and been brought to completion, which they had anticipated through the speed and subtle swiftness of their movement, by which they precede the arrival of any human report. While he did not yet believe it, ten days later, some of those who had escaped the slaughter—being Mardaites and Taxatores (that is, garrison troops) of the Peloponnese, who had survived the destruction of the city—themselves became the sorrowful messengers of the calamity. Having received confirmation of this from them, Adrian, with all the speed he could muster—since the winds which had previously hindered his return were now blowing favorably for his voyage—came with his fleet to Byzantium, and took refuge as a suppliant in the great temple of God, renowned by the invocation and proclamation of His Wisdom. Yet, because the magnitude of the disaster severely tore at the emperor’s vitals and drove him almost to excessive fury and agony of soul, neither the sanctity of the holy house nor the supplication made on his behalf by the high priest could fully exempt Adrian from punishment; but while they delivered him from the extreme and—likely—not unmerited penalty, they could not render him entirely innocent of the moderate one that is applied to the end of chastising the recklessness of others. Thus, the emperor, while keeping his anger moderate and disciplined in his private affairs, could not entirely temper it in public matters.

71. Thus, then, as the enemies in the West were again gathering strength and, relying upon their current success, were expected to invade the neighboring regions as well, there was sent Stephen, surnamed Maxentius, a Cappadocian, who was commander of the forces in Longobardia, along with Thracians and Macedonians and selected Charsianites and Cappadocians. Upon arriving at the province assigned to him and attempting to rescue the city of Amantia from the Saracens, to whose rule it was subjected, because of a certain innate sluggishness and sloth, or, as it seems, rather because of cowardice and luxury, he could not accomplish anything worthy of mention or deserving of the force he commanded; he was therefore ordered to cease his command, and in his place was sent Nicephorus Phocas, a man sedulous and vigilant, brave of hand and skilled in counsel. ^D Having there gathered even more forces from the governors of the Eastern regions, and having taken up that Diaconitzes who had once been a minister of Chrysochiris, the tyrant of Tephrice, and who led with him a troop of those from Manetes [?]. Having joined, therefore, Nicephorus with the cohorts of his predecessor Stephen, he displayed much prudence and martial virtue and fortitude.

For he immediately conquered the city of Amantia, having routed the opposing enemies with great slaughter; and he restored the fortress called Tropas and [the city of] Saint Severina to the former dominion of the Roman Empire; and in other battles and engagements he emerged victorious over the Hagarenes, and with their spoils he abundantly refreshed and enriched the army he led. And these things, indeed, the man performed while the illustrious among emperors, Basil, was still alive; the remaining deeds he added later under the most mild and wise emperor, Leo, his son. But although the battles were not connected to one another in time ^B in such a way as the narrative suggests, yet because the exact time of each action was unknown, for this reason it received one arrangement according to the promise. And those things performed in war, both by himself and by those sub-generals under Emperor Basil, in as far as they reached my hearing, by land and sea, in the East and West, were of such a nature and so great.

72. It is necessary for the discourse to return again to those actions of which the emperor himself was the author, and to relate how, being always occupied with public affairs and having his mind continuously intent upon the concerns of the world, he would at one time direct matters according to necessity with prudent management, and at another time would lend his ear and listen carefully to historical narratives, political instructions, moral teachings, and the paternal and spiritual admonitions and counsels of the Fathers; ^C at another time he would train his hand to write and guide the pen, and now he would search into and scrutinize the characters and lives of generals and emperors, their handling of affairs, and their martial contests, and, examining them, would select those things that were most excellent and praiseworthy, striving to transfer the imitation of them into his own actions; and now he would diligently learn the lives of men who had shone with perfect religious piety in the life according to God, and would cut off the irrational desires of his soul, striving to show himself an emperor and king of himself rather than of his subjects, and from thence obtaining much profit of soul. Wherefore, he also deemed it of great importance, ^D and was held in great concern, to know and to meet and to converse with those blessed men who were still surviving in this life, who, though living in this fleeting existence, lead a life that possesses nothing earthly and have transferred the accounts of their life and their citizenship to the heavens. Yet, because of his singular piety towards them, he did not summon them to himself; but, laying aside and spurning the majesty of the empire, he would himself go to them, and he would share in their prayers, and would be crowned, as it were, with their benedictions, and would be confirmed in the fear of God and directed toward the justifications of God, and from thence always in

^A a state of calm, he was seen to possess a stable tetrarchy of virtues. It was wonderful to behold how prudence was joined with fortitude, and how justice was the companion of temperance; and all things were progressing toward the better. One might have said that human life had once again received the tranquility and order of its ancient constitution, since he himself was constantly occupied with it, so that the subjects might enjoy peaceful rest, and no one might violate another by any injury; and those whom the magistrates of the republic were daily setting over affairs exerted diligence so that they might emulate their lord and master in piety toward God, in reverence toward priests and monks, and finally in justice and equity toward all. For his ^B commandment and instruction was that neither should the greater oppress the lesser by his power, nor should the needy man assail the one who excelled him with slanders or bring a criminal charge against him; but rather that the latter should embrace and cherish the poor man as a brother, and the former should bless the one who excelled him as a common father and savior, and from his heart, without any guile, should pray for good things for him from the Lord. Thus, by regulating his own life and linking his own cares to divine providence, he was clearly instructed in his sleep about many things which were necessary; and when he went to his bed as a man of understanding ^C and was anxious in his mind about some matter regarding the common affairs, he would often see in his sleep the outcome, and being refreshed by good hope, he would calm the tumults of his mind. And it is no wonder that those who discharge, as if it were a sacred matter, the power which they hold upon the earth, and who truly perform a divine ministry in these earthly things around us, and who are—as far as is possible—formed in the likeness of the pattern of God, should be stirred by Providence, directed toward useful ends, and taught beforehand of future things.

73. But as for that which the impetus of the narrative carried along and did not allow to be told at its proper time, here, since the narrative of the war and the military exploits ^D has come to an end, it is worthwhile to commit it to writing. This is the remembrance and recompense of those who, while he was still in a lesser fortune, had rendered some service and obedience to the emperor with a more humane disposition, and whom he had not forgotten when he had ascended to a higher rank, having asked of him some favor. These were the abbot of the monastery of Saint Diomedes and the Peloponnesian matron, Danielis, upon whom he bestowed greater things than they had hoped for. For he adorned the great martyr Diomedes magnificently with the offering of precious gifts, a supply of books, other treasures, and splendid vestments; and he greatly enriched the monastery constructed in his name with large estates, abundant revenues, and a lavish bounty of supplies, and provided that it would never be in need of any necessities, and he illuminated it with magnificent structures of buildings, and in every way exalted and endowed it.

^A 74. Upon becoming master of the empire, the son of Danelis, having summoned her, honored her with the dignity of protospatharios and granted her free access and audience with him, on account of the bond and society of spiritual brotherhood that had been struck between them long before. And because his mother, although now almost an old woman and worn out by age, was burning with a great desire to see the emperor and to attain some further honor in her old age—partly on account of the prediction of the devout monk, and partly on account of the other services and hospitality—by order of the emperor she came to the imperial city with great honor and a very large retinue and service. For since she was not able to be carried in a carriage or on a horse, and perhaps also because of the luxury necessitated by her abundant wealth, she commanded that she be carried into the city lying in a litter, with three hundred strong-bodied youths selected for this purpose, who were to carry her ^B by turns. By ten of them bearing the bed, with others succeeding them in rotation, she completed the journey from the Peloponnese to this imperial capital. Having been received in Magnaura (the place where the Roman emperors are accustomed to receive those of the illustrious and great men of any nation, if they are about to welcome any satraps or princes), she was introduced to the emperor honorably and in splendid attire, bringing gifts of such great value that hardly any king of any other nation has, to this day, ever brought the like to a Roman emperor.

There were five hundred household slaves, among whom there were one hundred handsome eunuchs. For it seems that this super-wealthy old woman knew that access to the palace was always easier for eunuchs, of whom more swarm there than flies in an sheepfold in springtime. And for this reason she had readied them beforehand, so that she might have a suitable retinue that had already performed its service when she was about to enter the palace. There were also one hundred women as shade-bearers, and one hundred Sidonian cloths, ^C variegated with various patterns (which perhaps now, through a corruption of the term, the uneducated commoners call *sendes*). There were one hundred *linomalotaria* (for it is better to use common parlance for these), two hundred fine linen *amalia*, and others of such extreme thinness and fineness that they surpassed the threads of a spider, each one of which could be contained within the joint of a reed—and there were one hundred of those—as well as sufficient and varied precious vessels of silver and gold.

75. Being received graciously and entertained magnificently according to her intention and nobility of birth, and being deemed worthy to be called the mother of the emperor, and having shared in many royal receptions and honors, she rejoiced and exulted, and declared that she had received a reward that was full, or rather, one that far exceeded what she had given. For this reason, ^D in addition to the gifts already mentioned, as a token of accumulated magnificence, she added a not insignificant portion of the Peloponnese, which she held as her own property, and then and there bestowed it munificently upon her son and emperor. Having spent time in the great city...

^A as much as she pleased and as much as she deemed sufficient to recreate her spirit, she returned again to her own region, much like a lady and empress of those from there, having obtained far more and greater honors than the previous ones. And just as she had made her ascent into the city, so she instituted her departure.

76. At that time, that very beautiful and conspicuous temple was being built, which we are accustomed to call the New Basilica Church, and it was being raised in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ and of Michael, the first of the angels, and of Elijah the Tishbite. Having taken the measurements of the interior space of this building, the woman made and sent large *nacotapetae* (that is to say, shaggy carpets, called so as if from a vow), by which the pavement, which was stratified with various precious stones arranged among themselves as if in mosaic work, and which displayed the variety and beauty of peacocks, was to be covered, being of admirable ^B size and form. And every year, as long as the emperor lived, she sent tributes no less than those previously brought by her. But since it came to pass that she prolonged her life into longer years and outlived the emperor, and because she had heard from that pious monk, who was endowed with the faculty of foreknowledge, while he was still alive, that she was to depart from this life after another year, a desire took root in her to visit also his son, Leo, who was already holding the supreme power, while she could still see him. And again, just as she had done before, with chosen youths carrying her, she traversed that great stretch of road easily and without difficulty. ^C Having therefore seen the most wise and gentle Emperor Leo, and having brought him admirable gifts of rare workmanship and value, and having instituted him as the heir of her property (for her son John had already traded his life for death), and having requested that some imperial official be sent who would record her assets and receive them, she set out again for the land that had nourished her, so that she might lay the dust of her flesh there. And having departed, she died after a short while.

77. But the protospatharios Zenobius, who had been appointed and sent to fulfill all things that ^D the old woman had requested and ordained, upon having arrived at the castle of Naupaktos, learned from Daniel, her grandson, that she had departed from this life. Coming to her house and taking the copy of the testament into his hands, he managed everything according to her will and disposition. He found also an immense quantity of coined gold and uncountable money, and other supplies and wealth in silver and golden vessels, and in garments, bronze, slaves, and beasts of burden, all exceeding the wealth of any private individual, and indeed, approaching nearly that of kings and tyrants. As for the fact that her slaves were innumerable in multitude, from...

^A these, by imperial command, three thousand persons were sent like a colony to the theme of Longobardia for their freedom. The rest of her estates, wealth, and slaves were also distributed just as she had determined in her testament; and eighty suburban properties were left to her heir, the Emperor, as his own private possession, apart from the others. Although these matters are separated by a long interval of time, and some of them occurred earlier than the events here narrated and others quite a while after, and they might not seem altogether necessary to the history, yet for the sake of the aforementioned old woman, and as an indication of her wealth, nobility, good will, and character, they are inserted here in passing.

^B 78. Christ-loving Emperor Basil, in the midst of military engagements—which he often directed as an overseer toward a successful outcome through the commanders and envoys under his command—repaired many of the holy and divine churches. Having been shattered by past earthquakes, or having been completely knocked down, or showing signs that they were about to collapse from the cracks, he restored some of them from their ruined state by constant care and an abundant supply and contribution of necessities, adding safety and beauty. Others, which were ailing, he shored up by necessary reinforcements and repairs, preventing them from falling, and was the cause of their returning again to their prime and youth. But individual matters must be indicated.

^C 79. For the celebrated and divine temple which is named after the Great Wisdom of God, on the side facing the west, had an apse that was both large and high; it had been sufficiently shattered and threatened a collapse in the not-too-distant future. He himself, by the expertise of craftsmen, braced it and restored it, making it secure and permanent; in it he depicted an image of the Theotokos carrying the Seedless Son in her arms, and set the chiefs of the apostles, Peter and Paul, on either side. He also repaired the rest of the cracks in it with building materials and expenses most generously. For he did not only assist the crumbling walls, ^D but also increased the diminished revenues through contributions from his own purse. For when the holy lamps were in danger of being extinguished from a lack of oil, by the contribution of a grand estate which is called Mantea, he saw to it that the light would remain inextinguishable for them, and he bestowed from the sufficient revenue of the estate the stipends for those serving in this divine temple, so that the service might be performed without lack and without interruption.

80. But the celebrated and great temple of the divine Apostles also, having lost its former beauty and being for the most part in a ruinous state, he stabilized by the surrounding of supports and the rebuilding of the shattered parts, and by rubbing away the old age and wrinkles that time had brought, he rendered it elegant once again, as if a new work.

^A Likewise, he rebuilt from the foundations the other temple of the Theotokos, known as the Sigma, which had fallen in a terrible collapse, and made it firmer than it had been before. He also rebuilt from their very foundations the temple of Stephen, the first of the martyrs, in the Aurelianae, which had been shaken by an earthquake and razed to the ground. As for the sacred shrines of the Baptist and Forerunner in Strobylaea and the Macedonianae, he rebuilt one from the foundations and repaired the greater part of the other. Furthermore, he built anew the chapel of the apostle Philip, and also that of the evangelist Luke, situated to the west of it, having cleared away the ancient ruins.

^B Furthermore, he gave the required care to the great temple of the martyr Mocius, which had suffered not a few fissures, and whose adytum had been smashed to the ground in such a way that it had even shattered the holy table, and he completely raised it up from its ruin. He also restored to its original beauty, with the necessary care, the temple of Andrew, the first-called of the apostles, which was situated nearby to the west and had been falling into disrepair due to great neglect, and he restored it to its former splendor. He also rebuilt from the foundations the divine house of Saint Romanus, which had itself collapsed. He renovated the sacred houses of Saint Anne in the Deuteron and of the martyr of Christ, Demetrius, which were suffering from age, making them new, elegant, and becoming. Seeing the church of the holy martyr Aemilianus in the Rhabdos, which neighbors the house of the Theotokos, crumbling with age, he renewed it, crowning it with a turreted structure on both sides.

^C Moreover, he built anew the sacred house of the trophy-bearer Nazarius, which had not only collapsed many years before but had been utterly obliterated, making it far superior to the previous edifice in majesty, elegance, and beauty. In the so-called Domninus Emboli, he renovated the very beautiful temple of the holy resurrection of our God Christ and of the martyr Anastasia, adorning it splendidly by changing the wooden ceiling into a stone one and adding other wonderful ornaments. Likewise, seeing the roof of the temple of Plato, the great among martyrs, failing and cracking, he repaired it anew and strengthened the house by inserting walls where necessary. He also rebuilt the divine house of the glorious martyrs Hesperus and Zoe, which had been razed almost to the ground, with elegance and majesty equal to the first. In addition to this, he also repaired the divine temple of the martyr Acacius in the Heptascalon, which was already nearly collapsing and being driven to ruin, and, by staying it with all kinds of supports, he snatched it from destruction and made it stand on a firm base. He strengthened and magnificently rebuilt the temple of the prophet Elias in the Petrion, which was, as it were, at its last gasp and whose ruin was almost expected, ^D and clearly built it up, freeing it from the surrounding pressure and the weight that

restricted it from the common houses.

^B 83. But why do we dwell on his smaller works, even if they are very great, and why do we not add that great and admirable work which he himself, supervising and executing the labor, built within the very palace courtyards? This alone is sufficient to declare his piety toward God and his magnificence and wonder-worthiness in the tasks he undertook. For, as if rewarding for the favor shown toward him by the Master Christ and the first of the angelic powers, Gabriel, and the Thesbite Elijah the zealot—who also acted as the messenger to his mother concerning the elevation of her son to the throne—he built a divine and most beautiful temple in their name and for their eternal memory, and furthermore for that of the Theotokos and Nicholas, who holds the primacy among the hierarchs. Into this temple, art, wealth, fervent faith, and a most abundant generosity came together, and the most beautiful things from everywhere joined, which I know to be more credible to those who see them than to those who hear of them.

He offered it to the immortal Bridegroom, Christ, like a bride adorned and decorated with pearls, gold, and the brightness of silver, and further with the complexity of multi-colored marbles, the arrangement of mosaics, and the robes of silken fabrics. For the ceiling, composed of five semicircular domes, gleams with gold and flashes with images like the beauty of stars; on the outside, it is beautified with bronze metal that shines like gold. The walls on either side are decorated with the precious and multi-colored marbles, and the sanctuary of the temple is adorned and enriched with gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls. The lattices that separate the sanctuary from the outer nave, the columns within them, the so-called lintels placed upon them, and the seats set inside, as well as the steps before them and the sacred altars themselves, all have their construction and consistency made of silver, overlaid with gold and precious stones, and inlaid with pearls.

The floor itself would seem to be heavy with silken, or Sidonian, fabrics spread out; thus, the whole is adorned and decorated with the multi-colored floor tiles of marble, and with the manifold zones of mosaics that enclose these, and with the precision of the joints, and with the exquisite grace that surrounds everything. Here he also designated a multitude of singers to serve and assigned sufficient revenues, which he commanded to be distributed generously and magnificently to those serving in such a propitiatory place, desiring in this respect to surpass almost all who came before him through his great-handed generosity.

85. Now, the structure of the temple is such and so—

^A interior, as much as can be declared in a brief discourse, and such as to strike the minds of those who see it with utter amazement; but what of the exterior? Toward the west, right at the vestibule of the temple, two basins were set up, one toward the south and the other toward the north, possessing all the excellence of art, the splendor of material, and the magnificence of the author of the works. The one toward the south is constructed of Egyptian stone (which we are accustomed to call Roman). Around it one may see dragons most elegantly fashioned by the sculptor’s art. In the middle, a turban-shaped, perforated cone rises; around it stand small white marble columns, arranged in the appearance of a chorus, having a crown wrapping around them from above, from all of which water flowed down like a torrent toward the base and foundation of the basin, drenching everything beneath with an abundant downpour. The one toward the north is fashioned from the stone called Sagarius, which is similar to the stone that some call Ostrites; it is also built of white stone and extends a multi-perforated cone protruding from the middle of the base. Above, on the crown and covering surrounding the basin, there were cast and fashioned by the craftsman with artistic skill roosters, goats, and rams, which themselves likewise spewed forth gushes of water through certain pipes, ^B as if vomiting it upon the pavement beneath the basin. There, also, cups are to be seen, around which wine would then bubble up from below for passersby to drink and receive.

86. As you exit through the gate of the temple that faces the north, a long, cylindrical portico presents itself, decorated with painted images; it contains the contests and struggles of the martyrs, thus pleasantly engaging the eyes, but truly and magnificently uplifting the soul toward divine and blessed love, through the glorious deeds of the martyrs. It arouses those ardor-filled feelings and strives, as far as possible, to transcend the senses. At the gates that look toward the south and the sea, if one were to exit and wish to proceed toward the east, you will find another double-aisled walkway of the same length and width as the portico facing the north, extending as far as the royal palace; in it, it was customary for emperors and the rest of the court nobility to engage in ball games while on horseback. ^C The glorious emperor purchased the houses that were there before, leveled them to the ground, cleared away the rubble, and smoothed the place; and in that part of the same court, which looks toward the sea, he built very beautiful structures, which he established as a storehouse and pantry for the aforementioned temple. Now, the purchase of the houses and the construction of the court came about through a convenient and appropriate plan, because the place previously destined for that exercise for the emperors had yielded to the construction of the divine temple. The space enclosed between the two porticoes, at the part of the temple facing east, he willed to be a garden, planted in the east with a new Eden, luxuriant with plants and trees of every kind.

overflowing with water; which, from its position, we are accustomed to call the Mesocepium (which is to say, the middle garden). ^B 87. But let these things said thus far suffice, lest someone accuse us of foolishness in our writing. We must now turn the discourse to the remaining works of the industrious and excellent emperor, who was intent upon such distinguished cares. For in the palace itself, who among those who have ever been renowned has not he surpassed in such magnificence and cultivation of things, as much in the sumptuous and beautiful structures as in the novel shaping of figures, and in the exquisite grace and charm of all these admirable things—not only in the beauty, magnificence, and pleasantness of churches, but also in the construction of truly royal and most magnificent residential halls, which carry with them both the luxurious and the pleasant, and with the pleasant, much that is useful and worthy of wonder? But since such beauties are not set before the eyes of all, or rather, since a more accurate instructor of such things is naturally required, it is necessary to present them to the ears of the studious through writing, [P. 203] so that through this the creator of these things might receive his due admiration, and those who are kept from entering the palace may not be entirely ignorant of them.

For immediately, at the part of the palace facing east, there stands a temple built to Elijah the Tishbite, which is most magnificently adorned with every cultivation and charm, not only inside but also outside. For above, the entire roof gleamed with gold, constructed of tesserae well-fitted together, even if now, through the passage of time, the heavy downpour of rains and the winter snows and frosts have ravaged it, having destroyed the greater part of its original beauty. Connected to this temple, he also built an oratory in the name of the long-suffering and most steadfast of martyrs, Clement, in which he deposited both the divine head of this saint and the sacred relics of many other martyrs, from whom he himself and those after him receive strength of soul and body. ^C Nearby is also the house of prayer which he built in the name of our Savior and God, whose magnificence and cultivation will seem incredible to those who have not seen it, as it exceeds all estimation; so great is the quantity of silver, gold, precious stones, and pearls that has been spent on its construction. For the entire floor is made of hammered silver, finished with the subtle art of goldsmiths and with enameling. The walls on the right and left, too, are covered with abundant silver, blooming with the flashes of gold and variegated with precious gems and the brightness of pearls. And the chancel screen separating the sanctuary of this divine house—good God!—what riches it contains within itself! Its columns and the lowest parts consist entirely of solid silver, while the beam placed above their capitals is made of solid, pure gold, bearing all the wealth of the Indies wrapped around it; whose

^A chemical depiction of the image of the Lord, God-man, is fashioned on every side. ^B But as for the sanctuary itself, words shrink from declaring how many holy and beautiful things it contains and treasures within itself; rather, it prefers to leave it as a sanctuary (inaccessible, that is, and closed to speech). Indeed, for things that surpass the power of all speech, the religion of silence is more fitting. And these are, so to speak, the eastern beauties of the palace, which sprouted from the faith of the glorious Emperor Basil.

88. In other parts, the rest stand, among which is the venerable oratory of the herald Paul, recognizing the same creator, and having been raised by that same most bountiful hand. For its floor also has silver enclosing the circles of marble, and it is seen to be in no way inferior to the rest in expense and beauty. Similarly, also the divine temple built by him at the end of the covered walkways of Marcianus as a citadel, in the name of the blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, to which the oratory of the prince of the heavenly host is also joined. And above that is the oratory of the holy Mother of God; what excellence of elegance and beauty did it not possess? Whose eyes would it not abundantly feast, and restore his soul, and convert the one who sees it entirely to joy?

89. ^C But the beauties of the buildings which, as palaces of palaces within the palaces themselves, the Emperor Basil raised, were in need of heralds of speech more excellent for their description, and of a more perfect hand to smear upon the pages with a brush for the majesty of such oratory, which no one could follow well enough in imitation. For who among those who behold the house of new style, which is named the Kainourgion, which he raised from the foundations, is not struck with amazement? Sixteen columns, arranged in rows, support it: eight of these are of the Thessalian stone, which has been allotted a green color; but six sing the name of onyx, which the stonemason adorned with every variety, fashioning the form of a vine upon them, and creating in it ^D the figures of animals of every kind. Two others possess the nature of onyx, but did not receive a similar form from the stonemasons; rather, they were deprived of the smoothness of the surface by twisted striations, since it pleased the artisan to vary them in such a way, as he sought to capture the beautiful and the desirable from the manifold variety. Above the columns, up to the roof and the eastern hemisphere, the entire house is gilded with the most beautiful tesserae, having the creator of the work presiding, surrounded by fellow soldiers, legates, and subject commanders, who offer to him, like gifts, the cities captured by him. And again above, on the ceiling, are depicted the Herculean contests of the emperor, the labors exhausted for the sake of his subjects, the sweat from deeds done gloriously in war, and the victories won by God as author; under which, as a sky shining with stars, rises and stands a bedchamber, skillfully wrought by the same emperor, beautiful and variegated. [index: entries preserved]

^A For immediately in the very center of the floor, the Median bird, the peacock, has been fashioned by the stone-cutter’s art from brilliant tesserae, enclosed in a perfectly round circle of Carian stone, from which rays of the same stone extend to another, larger circle. Outside this, like certain streams or rivers, flows of green Thessalian stone, which has been granted its green color, expand in the square shape of the room, enclosing four eagles at the inner corners, made of various and fine tesserae, with such accuracy and such precise imitation of the thing that one would suppose them to be alive and even now attempting to take flight. ^B The walls on both sides are covered with glass plates of various colors, appearing as though they were flowering with the shapes of diverse blossoms. Above these is another ornament, blooming with a golden arrangement, by which the lower parts are distinguished from the upper. There follows another charm composed of golden tesserae, showing the creator of the work, the emperor, seated on a throne, and his wife Eudocia, clothed in royal garments and crowned with diadems. The children of both, like bright stars, are depicted around the room, they too adorned in imperial garments and crowns. The males are shown carrying volumes containing the divine precepts in which they were instructed to walk; and the female sex is also seen holding certain books, on which the summary of the divine laws is inscribed. The artist perhaps wished to indicate that not only the males, but also the females, are instructed in the Holy Scriptures and are not without a share in divine wisdom. ^C Although he himself, the author and head of the family, was not perhaps from the beginning inclined toward letters due to the varying circumstances of life and the difficulties of his lot, yet he took care that all his offspring should be imbued with wisdom. And this he wished to be manifest to those seeing it through the painting, even if the history were silent. And these ornaments are contained on the four sides of the walls up to the ceiling. But the ceiling of this bedchamber does not rise to a great height, but sits upon the walls in a square shape, entirely decorated with gold and shimmering with its radiance. In the middle is the life-giving sign of the cross, formed of green glass. Around the cross you will see, as stars shining in the sky, the most famous emperor himself, with all his children and his wife, raising their hands to God and to the life-giving sign of the cross, and all but shouting: ^D "By this victorious sign, whatever is good and acceptable to God has been accomplished and brought to perfection in the days of our reign." There is also contained a written thanksgiving, spoken by the parents to God on behalf of the children, and again by the children on behalf of their parents. And the one from the parents is shown in these very words: "We give thanks to Thee, O God, surpassing all goodness, and King of kings, because Thou hast surrounded us with children who render thanks for the magnificence of Thy wonders. But keep them in Thy will, that none of them may transgress anything of Thy commandments."

And may we also in this regard render thanks to Thy goodness. And the children, speaking these things in turn, are shown saying: "We give thanks to Thee, O Word of God, that from the poverty of David Thou hast raised up our father, and hast anointed him with the chrism of Thy Holy Spirit. But keep him by Thy hand, together with her who bore us, deeming them and us worthy also of Thy heavenly kingdom." And let the works and beauties of the aforementioned bedchamber be described in these terms.

^B 90. Of the same hand and mind is the work of that largest triclinium in the porticoes of Marcian, which is also called the Pentacubiculum, and which itself took the first place in beauty and adornment of every kind. There is also, of which we made mention a little before, the beautiful and elegant oratory of the heaven-traversing Paul; to which also that of the martyr Barbara is joined, which was constructed there by the most wise Leo, and holds its foundation. Moreover, the other royal apartments, which are situated a little more to the east than the golden triclinium, and are placed upon a higher base, but which incline more to the west than the new church—the air over which, expanded high and far, has received the name of The Eagle (within which also is the most beautiful and most delightful oratory and chapel of the Theotokos)—are works of the same emperor, of such a kind, namely, that by the cost and abundance of precious materials, and by the novelty of the figures, and the disposition of the magnificent work, they show the greatness of soul and the elegant culture of the man. And the habitations which lie still more to the west than these, of pyramidal figure, of which kind also is another oratory of the Mother of the Word of God, were constructed with him providing the cost and acting as author, which clearly, by the magnificence of the structure and the elegance of the new art, take first place among many others. Below these, at the very entrance which they call the Monothyron, is the most delightful oratory of John the Theologian, which also, together with the open and sunny area paved with marble extending as far as the Pharos, the same emperor built, along with the very sturdy structures positioned on its eastern side, of which one is the treasury ^C and the other the vestiary, both of which together promise security in abundance along with pleasure. The most beautiful, also, and largest and most bright royal bath, overlying the "phiale" (as they call it—which indeed retains the name from the stone phiale of the Venetian faction formerly standing there), he himself built elegantly; a work, indeed, excelling in beauty and pleasure, and contributing to the health of the body and its refreshment. But the phiale of the other faction—the Green, I mean—had its position toward the eastern courtyard of the palace; ^D while the divine temple was being built there, it was moved elsewhere, and of the factions...

the construction of the divine temple there was completed, and the use of the areas surrounding these was altered, and the activities performed there were brought to an end.

^A 91. Besides what has already been said, the work of the same noble emperor is the royal house called the Mangana, and the house called the New, which he constructed with this purpose: for he did not wish to consume the public funds, which the taxes from his subjects increase, for his own private needs or for those invited by him throughout the year, nor to sweeten the table of others with these labors or to provide for them; therefore, he devised such houses, and assigned to them sufficient revenues from the cultivation of fields, so that the royal catering for himself and those after him might always have an abundant and just provision. And in the places called Pegae, the same emperor built from the foundations royal lodges and dwellings for the purpose of change, ^B which he also adorned with the beauties of temples, among which is the venerable house of the holy prophet Elijah and of Elisha, that prophet’s successor and disciple; and also that of Constantine the Great, who first governed our empire piously; and that of the new martyrs, the forty-two; and besides these, two other oratories built piously in the name and for the glory of the Mother of God. And in the palaces of Hieria, he also built a sacred oratory of the same prophet Elijah, which is considered second to none in beauty and elegance.

^C 92. In these royal dwellings and residences, there was a reservoir for collecting water, large and spacious, the work and labor of the emperor who had initially adorned the suburb; but it had been filled in and covered with earth by the emperor Heraclius and planted with trees and vegetables, just as were those within the royal palaces, both the one before the Magnaura and the one between the Justinian triclinium and that of the Ectheseos; these same ones, since they held abundant water and nourished fish for the delight of the emperors and to amuse them with fishing, the same emperor had turned into gardens by filling them with earth, for the very reason that Stephen the mathematician, by scrutinizing the emperor's horoscope, had said that the end of his life would come from water. ^D For this same reason, observing the perimeter of the cistern at Hieria, which had been turned into an orchard, the illustrious Emperor Basil, seeing that there was no lack of places abundantly suitable and sufficient for planting orchards, but that it suffered from a shortage of fresh and clear water, again, with the labor and diligence of many men, brought back to its original state that which a little before was seen blooming with plants and trees, and in place of the orchard, he made a reservoir of abundant and lasting water.

93. And these are, so far as the royal precincts are concerned, what the illustrious emperor built with diligence and piety at the same time. Now indeed

^A let the discourse depart from the imperial palace and proceed to what follows, namely, the emperor's works of building and rebuilding divine houses in this imperial city and its surroundings. For, seeing that the city populace and the working crowd ^B who linger in the square—which is called the Forum—and are consumed by the needs of life, were forgetting their spiritual care because there was no house of prayer nearby, he built a very beautiful and venerable temple to the Mother of God in the Forum, so that it might be for the crowds a shelter from rains and winter storms, and a source of delight and aid for their soul's salvation. And seeing the other divine temple of the all-praised Theotokos, that of the all-venerable and holy reliquary in the Chalkoprateia, to be humble and lightless, he rose up that which receives the light—that is, the apses on either side—and, having raised the roof to a height of seemliness, he brightened it and adorned it with the shimmer of light. He himself took it upon his own care to look after the divine temple of the first of the angels in the place called Tzeri, ^C as well as the philanthropic ministry and provision for the poor around it; he restored the temple, bringing it to the beauty in which it is seen today, and by increasing the revenues, he ensured that there would be no lack of means for the ministry to the needy, generously bestowing mercy upon the poor. He also restored the great temple of the holy martyr and archdeacon Laurence in the Pulcherianai, which had collapsed, filling it with much charm and grace. He also built about one hundred other sacred houses around the city, and he renovated, built anew, or repaired many of those which had fallen into ruin, including poorhouses, hostels, hospitals, and monasteries.

94. He did not perform such works in a God-pleasing and munificent manner only ^D within the city, but he also showed equivalent diligence outside of it. Wherefore, he raised up the temple of the apostle and evangelist John the Theologian in what is called the Hebdomon, which had been damaged by time and had collapsed, adorning it with beauties and securing it with buttresses to prevent it from future ruin. Moreover, he also cleaned out the earth and rubble from the church of the Forerunner, which was adjacent to it and had been ruined for many years—appearing only as a shell of walls—and with the fastest possible work and ready diligence, he made it equal to those famous and great edifices. He himself tore down the sanctuary of the chief of the apostles in Rhegion, which was inaccessible because it threatened imminent collapse, and rebuilt it from the foundations as an everlasting and indelible monument to him. At the bridges of the river Bathyrsos placed by Justinian, he built a temple of the martyr Callinicus, more splendid than the former one which had been utterly destroyed. And in this place called the Stenos—I mean the neck of the Euxine—having built the all-venerable house of Saint Phocas in a way that was pleasing to God and pious, and having gathered a community of devout monks, he enriched the place with buildings and properties; he established a monastery under God's guidance

^A and a hospital for souls. In addition to all these things, he restored the holy house of the archangel Michael in Sosthenion, which had fallen into decay over long periods of time, was suffering from many fissures, was almost collapsing at the joints, and had lost much of its former beauty; having raised it up from its ruins and restored it to its original vigor, he filled it with all grace and beauty. Thus, among the emperors of glorious memory, Basil concerned himself with the holy houses and their care and restoration, ^B through which, above all, piety toward God and holiness are characterized.

95. Knowing that God rejoices in nothing as much as in the salvation of souls, and that he who brings forth what is worthy from what is unworthy is deemed the mouth of Christ, he did not appear careless or sluggish regarding this apostolic work. But first of all, he drew into the net of Christ's word the nation of the Jews, which is uncircumcised and hardened in heart and neck, as far as it lay in his power. For he ordered them to bring forward the proofs of their own religion and to join in disputations, ^C either to show their own arguments to be strong and irrefutable, or, if persuaded that Christ is the head of the Law and the prophets and that the Law bore the type of a shadow—which is dissipated by the rays of the sun—to approach the teaching of the Lord and be baptized. Having added furthermore distributions of honors to those who approached him, and having promised to relieve them of the burden of previous taxes and to make those base, honorable, he freed many from the veil of obduracy that lay upon them and drew them to the faith of Christ, although the majority returned again, like dogs to their vomit, after the emperor had departed from this life. ^D Yet, even if those people—or rather, a certain part of them—remained unchanged like Ethiopians, the God-loving emperor was nevertheless destined to receive from God the full reward for his work on account of his zeal.

96. He acted similarly also regarding the Bulgarian race. For that nation, even though it had seemed to have transferred to piety before this and to have received the rites of Christians, was nevertheless still unstable in goodness and unsteady, easily shaken and moved like leaves by the wind. But through the emperor's frequent exhortations and splendid receptions, and furthermore through magnificent rewards and gifts, it was persuaded to accept an archbishop and did not refuse to have many bishops created and stationed in the province.

The conversion of the Bulgarians

^A Moreover, having enticed the nation of the Rus—a people most insubordinate and godless—with generous offerings of gold, silver, and silken garments, he brought them into an alliance and, having established a peace with them, persuaded them to become participants in the saving baptism and ensured that they received an archbishop ordained by the patriarch Ignatius. When he arrived in the province of the said nation, he rendered their minds favorably disposed toward him through such an event and illustrious deed. For the prince of that nation, having ^B assembled the subject populace, presided with his senators and nobles; they, because of long-standing habit, were more inclined to cling to the false religion than the others. As they were deliberating concerning their own faith and that of the Christians, the bishop who had recently arrived among them was summoned, and they inquired of him what he professed and what he was going to teach them. When he extended the sacred book of the divine Gospel and reported to them some of the miracles of our Savior and God, and unfolded to them the wonders performed by God according to the ancient history, the Rus ^C immediately replied: "Unless we also see something of this sort, and especially such as you say happened in the furnace of the three children, we shall grant you no faith at all, nor shall we any longer accommodate our minds and ears to what is said by you." But the prelate, relying on the truth of that promise which says, *If you ask anything in my name, you will receive it*, and, *He who believes in me, the works that I do, he also will do, and greater than these will he do*, and [at that time, of course, realizing] that these things are to be done not for the sake of ostentation but for the salvation of souls, said to them: "Even though it is not permitted to tempt the Lord God, yet if you have truly determined to approach God, ask what pleases you, and God will certainly grant it on account of your faith, even if we are contemptible and the least of all." They requested that the very book of the Christian faith (that is, the divine and holy Gospel) be thrown ^D into the pyre they had lit; and if it were kept unharmed and unburnt, they would approach the God who was preached by him. When these things had been said, and the priest had lifted his eyes and hands to God and said, "Glorify your holy name, Jesus Christ our God, even now in the sight of all this nation," the book of the holy Gospel was cast into the furnace of fire. After several hours had passed and the furnace was subsequently extinguished, the holy volume was found having remained unharmed and uninjured, having received no damage or diminution from the fire, so that not even the edges closing the book had experienced any corruption or stain. Having seen this, the barbarians, struck with amazement at the magnitude of the miracle, began without hesitation to be baptized.

^A 58. Since such deeds were being accomplished in the times of the reign of the wise emperor Basil, and matters were proceeding adroitly according to his mind, and life blossomed daily, and gladness danced around the city and the palace, and tranquility was spread over almost every island and continent, suddenly a whirlwind and storm and tempest of calamities invaded the palace; wailing and lamentation and an Iliad of sorrows and a tragedy of griefs danced around the imperial residence. For the dearest and firstborn son of the emperor, Constantine, in the very flower of his age, in the prime of youth, while he was striving to emulate the paternal nobility, fell into an acute illness and, burned by the fever's heat for a few days, his vital moisture being quickly consumed by the unnatural, raging fire, he departed this life, leaving behind unutterable grief for his father. Nevertheless, since a cultivated man ought to rule his irrational passions by reason, and he knew that he himself was human and mortal, and that he had a son likewise mortal, he therefore judged that to weep for what had happened beyond measure was ignoble and effeminate, and, having abandoned the women's quarters, he quickly returned to himself and uttered the grati- ^B tude-filled voice of the noble Job, saying: "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away again. As it pleased the Lord, so also it has come to pass. Blessed be his name." And, "What miracle is it," he said, "if he who gave has taken away again what he gave, as it pleased him?" And instead, he became a comfort to his mother and brothers, and turned again to his usual duties, protecting orphans, aiding widows, distributing to soldiers and the poor, defending those who were wronged, and gladly and favorably listening to those fearing the Lord who taught and suggested to him things that were useful and saving and prompted the kingdom above.

^C 59. Since those who have been placed in authority and administration are often wont, while desiring to seem to show benevolence to the prince (and perhaps even striving for this, that from it their office and prefecture might become more lasting for them), to suggest things whereby the collections for the fisc are increased and greater tributes are brought into the public accounts, at one time the man who was then performing the duty of the "general" (the office of the census) suggested to this noble emperor that those called inspectors and equalizers should be sent to all the themes (for so they are named by later usage) subject to Roman power, in order that they might—as he says—take the fields and lands, whose owners time had overwhelmed with its own tides due to some vicissitude, and assign them to others, and from this procure no small ^D amount of money for the imperial treasury. The emperor, feigning that he approved the suggestion, ordered them to be chosen and prepared and brought to him.

^A While the general, having deliberated and taken careful counsel, had selected those he deemed most excellent, and having brought forward the names of those chosen, he was deemed worthy of great censure and subjected to harsher reproaches for proposing men of such quality and integrity for such a task. And when he said that he had no better men among the citizens and the whole state, the emperor replied: "In my eyes, the task of this service is of such importance that if it were permitted, I myself would go to undertake it. But since, as I well know, it seems neither fitting nor possible, I necessarily place my hopes in the two masters of the state, who, by their time and experience and their many years of exercising civil offices, in which they have been tested, have produced a pure and genuine trial of virtue, and I trust that the service will be duly completed by them. Do you, therefore, go yourself, and announce to them the benefit of this office and my will; and when they have made up their minds to set out, I myself will express my approval and set my seal upon the plan." ^B When the men heard this, they were struck with amazement, and, pleading their old age and the long labors and toils they had endured for the public good, they begged that the cup of such a service be removed from them. Thus, of necessity, the one who had been sent returned with his mission unaccomplished and reported to the emperor the response of the masters. Upon hearing this, the emperor said: "If it seems and is said to be impossible for me to go out, and the most illustrious masters also refuse the service, and no one else is found who seems equal to that function, I choose to let the proposal remain undiscussed and void. For it is better," he said, "that some should misappropriate a portion of the fiscal revenues and private wealth, than that anyone should be unjustly afflicted with loss or vexed ^C or oppressed by some more grievous injury." Because of this policy, as long as he held the reins of power, the entire population of all the provinces under Roman rule remained uninspected (to use that term) and unassessed (that is, not subject to census), or, if you prefer, free and immune from exactions; and the estates and fields were surrendered for the use of the poor neighbors. Such, clearly, was the good prince toward all his subjects, and especially toward the peasant folk, exhibiting fatherly concern and care.

100. The envy of the demons.

subjects the prosperity and progress toward all laudable things that he inferred from it. Therefore, he prepares himself for battle and attacks him in this way: There was among those whom the illustrious Basil ^B greatly favored and in whom he had excessive trust, a certain monk, as he appeared, and priest, and a friend and able minister to him, who was named Santabarenos. Although he was honored by the emperor, he did not enjoy a good reputation or an unblemished character among others. And this was the reason why he was often reproached by the most wise Leo as a sorcerer and a deceiver, and as one who led the emperor away from the straight path and drew him into absurdities. Having often heard these things, that impostor and scoundrel, using the mask of simulated benevolence and friendship, speaks thus to the gentle Leo: "Why," he says, "since you are now of strong constitution and have reached an age, and are so dear to your father, do you not secretly carry a dagger or a knife when you ride in the country with him, so that you might have it ready to hand when a beast needs to be struck, and so that, if anything happens to be plotted against him secretly from an ambush, you will not be found unarmed, but will have something at hand with which you might be able to avenge your father's enemies?" He, not suspecting the deception and not having perceived the craftiness of the man (for one who is not prone to malice is not easy to suspect evil), accepts the advice and is persuaded to carry a knife inside his boot. ^C When the conspirator knew that his advice had been put into action, he reports to the emperor, "Your son is plotting to kill you; and if you do not believe it, when you go out of the royal city for a hunt or for any other reason, order his boots to be removed, and if he is found carrying a sword, know that he has prepared it for your own slaughter." Therefore, a royal excursion having been announced, the whole retinue went out as was customary, and when they had reached a certain place, the emperor pretends that he has need of a knife and seeks the supply of one for himself promptly. The son, who was accompanying him and had no knowledge of the things being suspected by his father, very innocently and without any evil intent, drew out the knife he was carrying and handed it to his father. Upon this happening, the accusation against him immediately appeared credible, and his own defenses appeared vain and empty. Therefore, as soon as they returned to the palace, the emperor's anger against his son flared up, ^D and he had him imprisoned in one of the palace buildings, which is called the Margarita, and stripped him of his crimson boots. He was further incited by the enemy and avenger to put out his eyes as well. But this was prevented by the archbishop of the royal city and the entire senate. Nevertheless, he was held inside the prison. A long time had already passed, and nature itself failed to recognize itself, but was exacerbated by the wicked spirits, and the leaders of the senate, although they had often decided to offer a plea to the father on behalf of the son, were hindered for one reason or another.

From such a pretext they found a reasonable opportunity to fulfill their resolve.

101. There was a bird ^A in a woven basket hanging in the royal dining hall, an excellent mimic and very talkative, which they call a parrot. Whether taught by someone or having picked it up in some other way, it would frequently repeat, “Alas, alas, Lord Leo.” Once, when a banquet was being held for the emperor and the leading senators were feasting with him, the bird frequently called out as stated, and the guests grew sad and, ceasing from their merrymaking, sat in deep thought. The emperor, noticing this, asked what the reason was for their abstaining from the food. They, with their eyes filled with tears, said, “What pleasure can we have in food, while this brute animal is thus rebuking us—we who seem to be endowed with reason and to be loving subjects? For it calls upon its own master, while we, indulging our own appetites, have forgotten the lordly offspring who has done no wrong. ^B For if he is convicted of offending and of having armed his hand against his father’s head, we shall all be the executioners of his death and be sated with his blood; but if there is no conviction or certain proof of the things of which he is accused, how long shall a slanderous tongue prevail by means of oppression?” The emperor’s mind, softened by such words, bade them sit down for the moment and promised that he would deliberate on the matter. Not long after, returning to his natural disposition, he had him brought out of prison, granted him audience, changed his mournful garb and the excessive hair grown during the time of his sorrow, relieved him of that burden, and restored him to his former rank and honor in the empire.

102. Not long after, the emperor fell into a grievous illness, which was caused by an intestinal flux, something that had occurred due to an accident while hunting. ^C And so, little by little, he wasted away from this consumption. Having arranged the affairs of the empire in the best manner, and having designated a successor, and having also made prudent decisions regarding each individual matter, finally, a burning fever having flared up and draining and consuming all his vital moisture, he departed this life. He had reigned with Michael, his predecessor, for one year, and for another nineteen years he had administered the summit of affairs alone with distinction; he had arranged civil matters in the best way, had fared most excellently in military affairs, had extended the borders of his realm, and had driven injustice and violence so far from all his subjects that the Homeric testimony concerning the best king rightly fits him:

Both a good king ^D and a mighty warrior.

He who succeeded to the summit of affairs, both by nature and by the right of virtue, to the paternal inheritance...

patrimonial heritage ^A, called upon by the vows of his subjects, the most mild and most wise Leo, the eldest of those sons who yet remained. And these matters concerning the pious reign of the celebrated Basil, as many as have escaped the whirlpool of oblivion ^B and have not perished in the time that has intervened, as well as the manner of his life before he attained the throne and all that the argument and account of his entire life comprise, have been reported and recorded as far as was possible for us and as the order of truth demanded.

BOOK VI.

THE REIGN OF LEO THE EMPEROR

1. Once Basil had died, Leo, his son, obtained the throne ^C and reigned for twenty-five years and eight months. His brother, Stephanus, being a cleric and a syncellus, lived with the Patriarch Photius, being educated and instructed under his guidance. The emperor therefore sent Andreas, the master of the soldiers, to Chrysopolis, and others of the senatorial order with him, along with clergy, waxen candles, and carriages; and having brought Michael out of the tomb, they placed him in a cypress casket, laid him upon a litter, and after vesting him honorably and royally, they brought him into the city and escorted him with hymns as far as the Church of the Holy Apostles, his brothers also following him there, and laid him in a sarcophagus.

2. After this, the emperor sent the same master of the soldiers, Andreas, along with John Hagiopolita, a man who was very learned and had served as logothete of the dromos, to Saint Sophia. They ascended the ambo and, having read the chapters of the accusation against the Patriarch Photius to the hearing of all, they cast him down from the throne and sent him into exile to the monastery of the Armoniani, which is called the monastery of Bordon. The emperor then appointed his own brother Stephanus, the syncellus, as patriarch, who was ordained by Theophanes, the prelate of the first see. He lived as patriarch for six years and five months, and upon his death he was buried in the monastery of the Siceotai.

3. The emperor appointed Zautza Stylianus as magister and logothete of the dromos.

4. The city known as Hypsela was betrayed, and

all its inhabitants and citizens were led into captivity by the Agarenes. Moreover, a great conflagration arose near the Church of the Holy Wisdom, and the sacred edifice of the holy apostle Thomas was also burned, which the emperor Leo subsequently restored magnificently. ^A

5. Having sent for Theodore Santabarenus, the emperor brought him into the city. But Andreas, the Domestic of the Schools, and Stephanus, the Magister of Calomaria—both having once been much maligned to Basil by Santabarenus—suggested to Leo that it had been arranged by Photius and Theodore that they would create an emperor from the kindred and relatives of Photius. The emperor therefore ordered both to be brought to the royal palace at the Pegai, and instructed that each be kept in separate custody. Those sent to investigate the charges were the Magister Stephanus himself, the Domestic Andreas, the patricians Craterus and Gumer, and Joannes Hagiopolites. ^B Having brought Patriarch Photius and placed him reverently upon a throne, they themselves sat down and instituted an examination of the case. Then the Domestic Andreas said to the patriarch: "Do you know, lord, the abbot Theodore?" He replied: "I do not know an abbot Theodore." Andreas said: "Do you not know the abbot Theodore Santabarenus?" The patriarch replied: "I know the monk Theodore, who is the archbishop of Euchaita." When Santabarenus was brought into their midst, Andreas said to him: "The emperor asks you: Where are the monies, goods, and belongings of my empire?" He replied: "Wherever he who held the empire for the time deposited them. Now, however, since the emperor seeks these things, it is permitted for him to take them back." Then Andreas said: "Tell me, I pray, whom did you want to make emperor when you were the author of the emperor’s father blinding his own son? Were you acting for someone related by blood to yourself, or to the patriarch?" He answered: "I do not know these things of which you accuse me." To this, the Magister Stephanus said: "And how did you indicate to the emperor that you would prove the patriarch guilty of this crime?" Upon hearing this, he immediately fell at the feet of the patriarch and said: "I adjure you, lord, by God, that you first depose and unfrock me, and then, stripped of all priesthood, let them punish me as a criminal; for I never reported any such thing at all to the emperor." Then the patriarch said: "By the salvation of my soul, Lord Theodore, you are an archbishop both in this life and in the future." Incensed by this, Andreas said: "And did you not tell the emperor, abba, through me, that you would prove the patriarch guilty of this in this matter?" But he denied knowing anything at all. ^C Having returned, they reported to the emperor what had been said in the investigation. The emperor, seized by anger and uncontrollable rage—as one who had found no plausible cause against the patriarch—ordered Santabarenus to be severely beaten and sent into exile in Athens. ^D Afterward, he sent for him, blinded him, and relegated him to Asia. But many years having passed, he recalled him from exile, brought him into the city, and granted him sustenance from the New Church.

And he died under the emperors Constantine and Zoe, his mother.

6. In the days of Leo, the Longobard duke, who was son-in-law to the king of France, raised a rebellion against the emperor; after defecting from him, he established the whole region under his own authority. When the emperor learned of this, he sent Constantine, the head of the imperial table, with all the western legions to wage war against Egeon. A battle was joined, and the army of Constantine was defeated and slaughtered, with Constantine himself barely surviving the carnage. At that time, a solar eclipse also occurred at the sixth hour of the day, such that the stars appeared; there was also such a violent force of wind, a whirlwind, lightning, and thunder that seven men were struck from heaven on the steps of the Forum of St. Constantine and perished.

7. Samos was besieged by the Hagarenes, and Paspala, who was serving as praetor there, was captured. Leo the emperor honored Zautzas, the empress's father, with a new title of dignity he had devised for him. For he was already burning with a secret love for his daughter, Zoe, whose husband, Theodore, surnamed Gouniatzitzes, had been removed by poison.

8. When the patriarch Stephen departed this life, Antony, surnamed Cauleas, was appointed patriarch in his stead.

9. A report reached the emperor that the archon Simeon of Bulgaria intended to march against the Romans. The pretext for this war was as follows: Zautzas, the father of the empress, had an eunuch slave named Musicus. This man had formed friendships with Stauracius and Cosmas, merchants from Greece who were greedy for gain and gold. Relying on the authority of Musicus, and for the sake of greater profit, they moved the trade which had been conducted with the Bulgarians in the city to Thessalonica, and they exacted heavier duties from the Bulgarian merchants. The Bulgarians complained of this injury to Simeon, and he in turn reported their grievances to Emperor Leo through a messenger. But the emperor, overcome by his fondness for Zautzas, dismissed all these things as nonsense. Simeon, therefore, driven by rage, took up arms against the Romans. The emperor sent Crinites, who was master of the soldiers, against him, having armed him with a great host and many nobles. When they clashed in Macedonia, the Romans were defeated, and Crinites himself was killed, along with the Armenian Curtices and many others. Because Simeon had also captured Chazars—who were allies of Emperor Leo—among the spoils, he cut off their noses and sent them to the city to the shame of the Romans. The emperor, boiling over with rage at the indignity of the spectacle, sent Nicetas, surnamed Sclerus (you might call him "Hard"), with dromons to the Danube river, to provide gifts to the Turks so that they might wage war against Simeon. When Nicetas arrived for the meeting,

^A he returned to the emperor, having also received hostages from them. The emperor decided to urge the Bulgarian war by both land and sea; and by sea he sent Eustathius the droungarios, while by land he sent the patrician Nicephorus Phocas, who had become Domestic of the Schools after the death of Andrew. When they had reached as far as Bulgaria, the emperor sent the quaestor Constantinacius to Simeon, still desiring peace and wishing to strike a treaty with him; but Simeon seized the envoy and shut him in prison, suspecting that he had come with treachery.

Therefore, while Simeon was occupied with Nicephorus’ army, the Turks swooped down and plundered the entire Bulgarian land. Having learned of this, Simeon turned his attack against the Turks. They crossed the river, joined battle with the Bulgarians, and thoroughly defeated them, so that Simeon barely escaped to Distra. The Turks then asked the emperor to ransom the Bulgarian captives; this he indeed did, sending out citizens for their redemption. ^B Furthermore, Simeon, through the agency of Eustathius the droungarios, supplicated the emperor for peace. The emperor yielded to this and sent Leo Choerosphactes to conclude it. Nicephorus the Domestic and Eustathius the droungarios were ordered to return with their troops. But Simeon did not even deign to speak to Leo Choerosphactes, but instead strangled him in prison. Then, having campaigned against the Turks, he slaughtered them all as they could receive no help from the Romans. Returning from this victory, he boastfully said to Leo: “Unless I first receive all the Bulgarian captives, I will not make peace.” The emperor therefore consented to restore them. The Bulgarian Theodore, who was a familiar of Simeon, then came with Leo and received them.

10. Since Nicephorus the Domestic was highly beloved by the emperor, Zautzas the basileopator put him forward as a man of power, desiring to make a marriage alliance with him. But because he refused this, fearing he might give the emperor Leo cause for suspicion, Zautzas, driven by fury, brought charges against him and removed him from his office. ^C In his place, the magistros Catacalo was elevated to Domestic of the Schools. After a long vacancy, Nicephorus was again appointed strategos in the Thracesian theme; and having accomplished many brave deeds throughout his life in various wars, and having raised many trophies against the Hagarenes and other nations, he ended his life in a good old age, leaving behind as his sons Bardas and Leo, of whom the former was most intimate with the emperor Leo, and was cherished and loved by him, and served him in the duties pertaining to the emperor. ^D The emperor, as has been said, having appointed Catacalo as Domestic, sent him out against Simeon, having also sent with him Theodosius the patrician and protovestiarios. Having crossed over with all the Asian cohorts and ranks, they joined battle with the Bulgarians at the place (which they call) Bulgarophygon, and the Romans badly

^D took flight and all were destroyed; with them also perished the protovestiarios Theodosius. During this time, the inhabitants of Cherson also murdered their own strategos in Cappadocia, under the Agarenes, namely Simeon the son of Jonas. Coron was also taken.

11. The Emperor, having departed for the house of Damianus, had with him Zoe, the daughter of Zautzes, and Zautzes himself. Theophano, however, the wife of the Emperor, was not present there, but remained at the holy shrine in the Blachernae, occupied in prayer. Since it seemed to the Emperor that he should stay at the house of Damianus, the relatives of Zautzes—namely his son Tautzes and the rest—made a plan to dispose of the Emperor during the night. Now Zoe, who was sleeping in the bosom of the Emperor, having heard a murmur, looked out through the window and signaled for silence. But when she had perceived the gravity of the plot, she awakened the Emperor and signaled to him what was happening. He immediately entered a boat and crossed over to Pegai, leaving everyone there, including Zautzes himself. Early in the morning, having entered the palace, he removed John from the office of droungarios of the Vigla and appointed in his place Pardus, the son of the heteriarch Nicholas; for this Nicholas was a friend to the Emperor and faithful, and he revealed to him all the secrets of Zautzes, making them clear and known. From that time on, the Emperor would not enter the chamber of Zautzes, until Leo the magister, nicknamed Theodotakes, had reconciled them with each other.

12. The Augusta Theophano died, having reigned for twelve years, who was also shown to be a worker of miracles, having proven herself superior to the passion of jealousy, having borne the slighting of Zoe with mildness, and having spent her entire life in almsgivings and prayers.

13. Leo the Emperor crowns Zoe, the daughter of Zautzes, and she is blessed by the palace cleric nicknamed Sinapes. He who gave the blessing was then deposed from his office, and she died, having reigned for one year and eight months. They found a stone coffin in which to deposit her body, which had this inscription engraved upon it: "The miserable daughter of Babylon."

14. Furthermore, Musicus and Stauracius were denounced to the Emperor as those who accepted gifts from the strategoi and from the archons, acting as mediators for them with the basileopator. And once, when Stauracius had entered to the basileopator with a scroll from one of the strategoi, the Emperor, seeing him as he stood in the solar loggia, followed him from behind and, taking him by the neck, led him outside, as if to question him regarding the strategoi. Having brought him to the Monothyron and taken away the scrolls, he dismissed him and gave him over to those present to be led out of the palace and to be tonsured as a monk. When Musicus learned of this, he fell into despair. But the Emperor entered where Musicus was standing with Zautzes, seized him by the neck, and thrust him out, having ordered Christophoros the cubicularius to

^A have him tonsured at the Studion. Not long after, Zautzes died in the palace, and they brought his body down through the Boukoleon and buried it in the monastery of Kauleas.

15. Basil, the imperial tax collector or compulsor, joined in friendship with Samonas the cubicularius, who was of Hagarite stock and inflamed with an ambition for the imperial dignity. Having thus conceived confidence, he opened his mind to him and said: "Now that our aunt Zoe has died, it will certainly happen that the Emperor will take another wife and do away with us all. But pledge your faith to me that you will keep the secret; then I will trust you with our entire plan." When he had done this, he learned from him the whole conspiracy. Samonas then went in to the Emperor and said, "Lord, there is something I must tell you in private, a matter which, if spoken, brings death to me, but if kept silent, will bring certain destruction to you." And he recounted all of Basil's machination to the Emperor. Since the Emperor did not readily give credence to the report, and wondered whether he might have spoken these things through the persuasion of someone else, Samonas said to him: "If you wish to be fully informed, send whom you please to my chamber, and I shall hide them in a secret place; they shall write down whatever is said by Basil and by me, and then you will be assured that there is nothing false in what I have told you." The Emperor therefore sent Christophoros the protovestiarios along with the cubicularius Kalokyros; they entered Samonas' chamber and hid themselves. ^B Samonas, flattering Basil and binding him to himself with a sworn oath, persuaded him to reveal all the machination clearly once again, and to name those who were plotting with him. Hearing these things, Kalokyros and Christophoros noted them down in writing; and when they were having their meal, they slipped away from the chamber and read the writing, fortified by their own subscription, to the Emperor. The Emperor immediately summoned Basil, gave him twenty-four thousand miliaresia as a legacy for the relief of the soul of his aunt Zoe, and ordered him to carry it into Macedonia. He sent Pardos, the drungarios of the Watch, who was a partner in the conspiracy, to the Soupiotes, as if to bring him back; but the latter, having been forewarned by an imperial letter, threw him into chains. He also craftily drove out Nicholas the hetairiarch from the city. Having recalled Basil from Macedonia and brought him to trial, the Emperor subjected him to harsh punishments, scorching his hair, and after parading him in a pageant through the middle of the city, sent him into exile to Athens. ^C The Emperor then summoned all the magistri and dignitaries, and read out in the presence of all what had been revealed by Samonas. They praised the man highly as one who had looked out for the Emperor’s life, and proclaimed him worthy of the greatest honor. Immediately, therefore, Leo elevated him with the dignity of protospatharios and added him to his circle of intimates.

16. On the death of Patriarch Stephen, Nicholas the Mystikos was ordained patriarch in his place, a man far

^A surpassing others in wisdom, along with a comparable modesty of character. The city of Demetrias, which looks toward the theme of Hellas, was captured by the Hagarenes.

17. Emperor Leo crowned Anna, the daughter of Zoe, the granddaughter of Zautzas, because owing to the absence of an Augusta, he could not perform the public festivities according to custom. The emperor then took a maiden from the theme of Opsikion, fair and extremely beautiful, Eudokia by name. He married her and crowned her; from her he fathered a male child, upon which she and the infant who was born both died.

18. In the vicinity of the church of the Holy Apostles, the emperor built a church in the name of his former wife, Theophano. He also ^B built the church of Saint Lazarus at the place they call "the Topoi," and founded within it a monastery for eunuchs, where he also transferred and laid to rest the body of Saint Lazarus and that of his sister, Magdalene. But while the fleet was distracted with such works of the churches, Tauromenium in Sicily was captured by the Moors, and a great slaughter of the Romans occurred. Lemnos was also occupied by the Hagarenes, and a vast multitude of captives was carried off.

19. When the emperor had made a procession on the day of Mid-Pentecost to Saint Mokios, and as he was entering and had reached near the holy doors and the sanctuary, someone jumped out from the ambo and struck him on the head with a thick and strong staff. He would have killed him immediately ^C had not the tip of the staff, by some providence of God, struck the multi-branched chandelier and for a moment checked the force of the blow. As blood flowed profusely from the emperor's head, the nobles were thrown into confusion and fled in various directions. His brother Alexander, feigning illness, did not take part in the procession, because of which he was almost suspected of being the author of such a plot against his brother. The assailant was captured, having endured many tortures, and since he confessed to knowing no accomplice in the plot, he was in the end punished by having his hands and feet cut off and being burned at the meta of the Hippodrome. From that time on, such a procession was discontinued. After some time had passed, Marcus, a most wise monk, the oikonomos of that ^D same church—who had also completed the tetraodion of the great Kosmas for Great Saturday—was dining at the table with the emperor and begged him not to abolish such a procession. When the emperor refused, Marcus said: "Do not grow angry nor bear it ill, O Emperor, since it was written beforehand by the prophet David that this would happen to you. For he has predicted this, saying, 'How much the enemy did wickedly in thy holy place; and they that hate thee have gloried in the midst of thy solemnity' (Ps. LXXIII, 3). And therefore, it is fitting for you to reign for ten more years from then on." Which indeed came to pass. For after ten years—

on the very day on which he was struck—he died.

^B 20. Now Zoe, the fourth wife of the emperor, was in the palace with the emperor, though not yet crowned. When the Bulgarians were harassing the Roman state, those from Hagar, having learned of this, sent out a naval fleet, placing in command the general Leo Tripolita, who had originated from the city of Attaleia but had renounced the Christian faith. Tripolis is so named in Phoenicia because it was divided among three nations of colonists, namely, the Aradians, the Tyrians, and the Sidonians. When the emperor had gone out to the emporium of Butius for the dedication of the monastery built by his leading vestiary, Christopher, this report arrived: that the Tripolita was advancing with a hostile fleet of Saracens against Constantinople. The emperor therefore sent Eustathius, who was `droungarios` of the fleet at that time, with a contingent against the Tripolita; being unable to stand against him, he returned empty-handed. Following him, the Tripolita penetrated within Abydos and reached as far as Parion. The report of this affair brought the emperor great sorrow and perplexity. He therefore entrusted the naval forces to Himerius, the `protasekretis`, to lead them against the Tripolita. He sailed past Abydos (which is in the Hellespont, a city which Milesian colonists founded; the Hellespont is so called after Helle, the sister of Phrixus, who was drowned in that sea) and, having traversed the Aegean Sea (so named from the turbulence of its waters, which leap up like goats), and having already arrived at Strobelus, which is near Cibyrrha (Strobelus is so called from the situation of the place, but Cibyrrha from Cibyrrhus, the brother of Marsus and Cedramus), and having passed Lampsacus (so called from the light which shone down from heaven by night upon the Phocaeans as they were laying the foundations and offering vows; under this omen the foundations of the city stood firm), he subsequently passed Imbros (so called from Imbros, the son of Anthus, whose father Staphylus was the most beloved grandson of Dionysus) and also Samothrace; and when he now approached Thasos (which the ancients used to distinguish with the title and name "Golden"), and Samothrace in Thrace—formerly called "bestial" because it was full of wild beasts, and sacred to the Nymphs, being at first a peninsula, then said to have become an island by the collision of currents and, having passed under the jurisdiction of Samian colonists, to have been called Samothrace—he caught up to the enemy. Yet he did not dare to approach their fleet closely. The Tripolita himself, however, by the impulse and will of God, turned back of his own accord; and coming to Thessalonica, and having seized the one who governed it by the right of `praetor`, Leo by surname Cataziliacus, he carried out a great slaughter and committed many murders.

21. A certain one of the chamberlains, Rhodophylus by name, happened to have been sent to Sicily for certain necessary business...

he had been sent carrying one hundred pounds of gold. On the journey, struck by illness, he entered Thessalonica for the purpose of alleviating his sickness, washing himself, and refreshing his strength. The Tripolitan, learning that he was carrying such a quantity of gold, captured him and, having put him to many tortures, slew him, though he maintained that he had nothing; for it happened that he had left this behind on the road, which Symeon the *asekretes*, passing by, had taken up—he who afterwards became a patrician and the first of the *asekretis*. When the Tripolitan intended to destroy the city, Symeon declared to him that he should take the gold and refrain from destruction; and so it was done. The fleet of the Saracens retreated again from Thessalonica. Hemerius, having learned of the departure of the enemy, girded himself to pursue them. But they landed at Crete, assigned a portion of the spoils to the Cretans, and from there returned home safe, leaving Hemerius in the island of Lemnos, passing his time in idleness and without any warlike achievement.

22. The Emperor had for his lieutenant of the Anatolics Eustathius the patrician, who was famed as being from the most excellent and good family of the Argyri. He fought against the Ishmaelites and put them to flight, not once but often, being adorned with strength, power, intelligence, courage, prudence, chastity, and justice, and he also had with him Andronicus, the son of the *Doux*. The Hagarenes feared Eustathius Argyrus so greatly that the very hearing of his name struck terror and fear into them. ^C Samonas, however, feigning that he was going to his monastery, which is named *ta Speira* and is situated at Damatrys, made his flight, having carried off with him his money and horses, and having hamstrung the public horses at every post station. The Emperor therefore sent after him to pursue him Basilius the *hetaireiarch* the Camateros, and Georgius the Crenites. But as Samonas was preparing to cross the river Halys, the *droungarios* Nicephorus Callonas overtook him and held him fast. He prayed again and again to be released, and promised gifts for that matter. When he did not obtain this, he fled to the cross at Siricha, pretending that he had come for the sake of a vow. Constantine, the son of Andronicus the *Doux*, having therefore overtaken him and taken him, returned with him to the city. The Emperor ordered that he be guarded in the house of Bardas Caesar. He asked Constantine if it were true that he happened to be flying to Syria; and having learned that this was true, he instructed Constantine not to say this when asked before the senate, but that he had come to Siricha for the sake of a vow; for the Emperor wished for Samonas to be granted pardon. ^D And having called the senate and brought Constantine into the midst, he asked him in this manner: "By God and my head, was Samonas fleeing into Syria, or no?" But he, being cautious of the oath—for he had promised earlier, not being sworn but being asked simply, that he would not divulge it—confessed in the presence of all that he was fleeing into Syria. With anger, the Emperor then...

^A excluded Samonas from the palace and detained him for four months in the house of Bardas Caesar; after which time had passed, he became worthy of the Emperor’s sight and conversation.

23. Leo then sired a son, Constantine, from Zoe, his fourth wife. At his birth, a comet appeared, casting its rays toward the east, and it shone for forty days and nights. The infant was baptized in the Great Church by Patriarch Nicholas on the holy day of the Theophany, with Alexander, the Emperor’s own brother, the patrician Samonas, and all the leading men serving as his sponsors at the holy font. At that time, the Cupha was also established as a hospice for the infirm, the harlots having been expelled from there. Leo the Emperor received the blessing of the holy rite of marriage with his wife Zoe from Thomas the presbyter, who was deposed for this reason; he even proclaimed her Augusta. For this deed, the patriarch forbade the Emperor from entering the church, wherefore he would pass through the right side into the Metatorium.

24. Samonas was appointed chamberlain, because he was a collaborator with the Emperor in every base act and wickedness. They began to plot against the Church. Having summoned Patriarch Nicholas (this was the first of the month of February) and having pleaded much that he might be received—since they could not persuade him—they took him from a calling-place from the Bucoleon, placed him on a small boat, and transported him to Hieria; from there he scarcely arrived as far as the Galacrenoi, due to a great abundance of snow. Euthymius the syncellus was ordained patriarch, a venerable man, modest and religious, who they say accepted the high priesthood through divine revelation. For the Emperor had been intending to publish an evil law, by which it would be permitted for a man to have three or four wives, one after another, and there was no lack of very learned men who were his collaborators in this design. ^C But the clemency of God settled such a storm with a flood of rain.

25. In the month of June, the Emperor Leo was invited by Constantine the Libyan to his monastery, which he had founded near the church of the Holy Apostles, to perform its dedication and to dine there. Suddenly, a wind arose, called "Lips" (the south-wester), which blew fiercely until the third hour, shaking buildings and churches, so that all fled into the open, saying that the end of the world was at hand, had not the clemency of God settled that storm with a flood of rain.

26. A fleet of the Hagarenes having set out against the Romans, the Emperor appointed Himerius, the logothete of the dromos, as commander of the entire fleet. Andronicus the Duke was also ordered to board ship with Himerius and to fight valiantly against the Hagarenes. But Samonas, being an implacable enemy to Andronicus, dug a pit for him with cunning and set snares for his feet, bearing ill will toward him on account of the matter of his flight. He suborned someone to write secretly to Andronicus, bidding him not to board the ships, because, he said, Himerius had received orders from the Emperor, instigated by Samonas, to seize him and put out his eyes. Himerius therefore also

^A strongly urged Andronicus to board the ships, as the Agarenes were pressing, but he recoiled and refused to do so. Himerius alone, on the day when the feast of the holy apostle Thomas is celebrated, joined battle with the Agarenes and won a great victory. When Andronicus learned of this, driven by despair, he took the city called Cabala along with his relatives, servants, and his entire retinue, and started a rebellion. Now Samonas, who had long desired to seize such an opportunity, said to the Emperor: "Did I not always say, my lord, that the Duke was a rebel and a defector, and would become a traitor to your majesty?" Immediately, the Emperor sent Gregoras, surnamed Iberitzes, the Domestic of the Schools and a brother-in-law of Andronicus, to subdue him. When Andronicus learned of this, and also that Patriarch Nicholas had been expelled from the Church, he fled with his entire household to the Agarenes, who had at that time launched an expedition against the Romans. Amernumnes received the man with honor and magnificence. The Emperor, however, was distressed on account of Andronicus and wished to send him a signed safe-conduct for his return to the Romans. Some people advised the Emperor to win over one of the Saracens from the pretorium and send him to Syria with the signed document. He did so, writing with cinnabar, sealing it with the golden bull, and enclosing the letter inside a small waxen ball. After the Saracen had left the Emperor, Samonas called him over and said: "Do you know what you are carrying? Anyone you hold [in your power] is a plague to Syria." He therefore counted out money ^C and ordered him to deliver it into the hands of Ouser. He went away and did this. Andronicus was captured and put in chains with all his relatives; and when he learned that this had been brought about through the treachery of Samonas, he, along with those who were with him, was forced to renounce his original faith. However, his son Constantine, knowing that it was impossible to escape from there, followed his father's advice and made his escape, leaving Syria and returning to the Emperor with his companions. The Emperor received him munificently with many gifts, and standing before the icon of our Lord and Savior placed to the East, he spoke to him in these words: "Do not let yourself be deceived by the common rumor that Constantine shall be the Roman Emperor. I swear to you by the justice that oversees all things and by this icon of our Lord here, that the empire is not yours because you happen to be called Constantine, but it has been granted by God to my dearest son from his ancestors, as I have been assured by many holy men. For if you should plot his death, your body will be brought through this gate with your head severed." And that is what happened: ^D for after he had raised his hands in a tyrannical manner, his head, disfigured with blood, gore, and dust, was brought through those same gates.

27. The Emperor succeeded Eustathius, surnamed Argyrus, from the position of Droungarios of the V[igla]...

^A and sent him away to his home in Charsianum. However, on the way to Aran, having taken poison from one of his domestics, he died and was buried in Spunino, which is the summit of Aran. Afterward, his sons Potus and Leo, who were distinguished by the rank of Manglabitai, took his body and buried it in their ancestral monastery of Saint Elizabeth, which is in the Charsianum theme and had been built by their grandfather, the tribune Leo. This Leo was the first to bring the name of the Argyroi (which you might call the "Silvery ones") into his family, either because of his purity and chastity of body, or because of the beauty and nobility of his countenance, or because of some other quality of character and strength of that kind. For that man was such that during the reign of the Emperor Michael, no other warrior was found to equal his valor; indeed, he often joined battle with the Agarenes of Tephrice alongside his own followers, routing and defeating them, and the very mention of his name made them shudder and tremble.

28. Because of an exchange ^B, Abellaces and the father of Samonas came from Tarsus. The Emperor received them, having decorated the Magnaura with great splendor. He also adorned the Great Church with magnificent grandeur and displayed all the venerable vessels to the Agarenes; this was hardly in keeping with Christian discipline, to expose the vessels of divine ministry to be seen by impious and alien men. The father of Samonas wished to stay with his son, but he did not permit this; instead, he urged him to return home and hold to his own faith. "And I myself," he said, "if I am able, shall return to you as soon as possible."

29. On the day of Pentecost, the Emperor Leo crowned his son Constantine through the ministry of the Patriarch Euthymius. Now Samonas had handed over his own man, Constantine—who had previously served the Magister Basil and the Canicleios—to the Augusta for her service. He pleased both Leo and the Augusta herself to such a degree that Samonas, incited by jealousy, accused him to the Augusta of a more intimate matter. Leo, having suspected the situation, sent him to the monastery of Saint Tarasius and had him tonsured, and he ordered Samonas himself to perform this task. ^C Shortly thereafter, wishing to take him back, he ordered Samonas to bring him to the monastery of the Speirai. The Emperor then went out to Damatrys, and while dining in the monastery of Samonas, he saw Constantine and immediately ordered them to clothe him in secular garments; he placed the Emperor's own cup into his hands during the meal and returned with him to the palace. ^D Samonas, seeing the Emperor’s affection toward Constantine growing, conspired with the chief of the cubicularii and Michael Tzirethon, and they composed a pamphlet filled with countless insults and accusations against the Emperor, having it written out by Constantine the Rhodian, his own scribe, and threw it into the Metatorium. When the Emperor entered the Great Church and had retired to the Metatorium, where prayers

[...having done so,] which they threw into the waiting-chamber. The emperor having entered the Great Church and finding himself in the waiting-chamber, and having found this in the place where he was praying, he read it and was scattered by great distress, and he sought out who had done this.

^A 30. A lunar eclipse occurred. The emperor called for Pantaleon, the metropolitan of Synnada, to learn from him the effect of this eclipse. As he approached the emperor, Samonas asked him: "To whom does this harm pertain?" He replied: "To you. If, however, you pass the thirteenth day of the month of June, you will suffer no evil thereafter." But to the emperor he said that the force of the eclipse pointed to the person who held the second rank after him; and Leo took this to mean his brother Alexander. But Tzirethon later confessed to the emperor in private that Samonas was the author of the scroll. Immediately, therefore, Leo ordered Samonas to go to his house and be tonsured a monk, and he banished him to the monastery of Martinacius. He made Constantine *parakoimomenos*, and built him a monastery in Nosiai, and arriving there with the patriarch Euthymius, he dedicated it.

^B 31. In the month of October, a naval battle took place involving the logothete Himerius against the Agarenes Damian and Leo, with Romanus—who later became emperor—serving as general in Samos. Himerius was defeated and barely escaped, with almost all those who were with him having been endangered.

^C 32. Having fallen into an intestinal malady, Leo the emperor fell into the utmost weakness, so that he could barely, according to the imperial custom during the time of the fasts, deliver a speech, saying: "You see that I have withered away and am consumed by sickness; it is likely I will not live to see the resurrection of Christ with you." There also occurred a fire in the candle-store of the Great Church, by which all the archives and records of the patriarchal *sakelle* were burned. On the eleventh of May, on the third day of the week, in the fifteenth indiction, the emperor Leo died, having handed over the empire to his own brother Alexander. Seeing him approach, they say he remarked: "Behold an evil time, after thirteen months." But he further and repeatedly begged and implored him to protect his son, Constantine.

THE REIGN OF ALEXANDER, SON OF BASIL

^D 1. Alexander reigned for one year and twenty-two days, together with Constantine, the son of Leo. Having sent for Nicholas, he brought him back from Galacrenae, and having deposed

^A Euthymius from the patriarchal throne, he enthroned the same Nicholas for the second time. Alexander having held a council in the Magnaura, and having brought Euthymius from [the monastery of] Agathos, sat with Nicholas and deprived him of his priestly dignity. Forthwith, like wild ^B beasts leaping upon the holy, venerable man, they plucked at his revered beard, shoved him by the neck, and inflicted other unbearable punishments upon him, calling him a climber [to power] and an adulterer, and one who had invaded the wife of another. That holy and venerable man bore all these things meekly and in silence. Being sent into exile to the house of Agathos, he finished his life and was buried in the city in his own monastery. That cleric of the patriarch, who had plucked his white hairs in the Magnaura when he was being sent into exile, upon returning to his home found that his house had been consumed by an invisible fire at that very hour, and that his daughter had been seized and rendered helpless in, hands, mouth, and power of speech; and she, remaining bedridden, subsisted by begging for her daily bread until the times of the emperor Nicephorus (that magnificent victor).

2. Alexander, therefore, having long been accustomed to this way of life—being delicate, and devoting all his time to pleasures and hunting on account of the suspicions of his brother Leo, and doing nothing of a kingly nature, but being devoted to luxuries and profligacy—attained to the sole rule, yet displayed no sign of a noble character, nor did he perform any deed worthy of memory. For as soon as he held the empire alone, he made the cleric John, surnamed Lazanes, rector; who also, shortly after the death of Alexander, perished miserably in the Hebdomon while playing ball.

3. Likewise he greatly enriched Gabrielopoulos and Basilitzes, who was from Sklabisia, and showered them with the gold of the palace. They say that he often deliberated whether to appoint the same Basilitzes as emperor and to castrate Constantine, the son of Leo; which plan was thwarted by men who were more favorably disposed toward Leo, sometimes alleging that he was but a child, at other times that he was of infirm health. During his reign, a comet appeared from the west—which they call a sword [xiphias] on account of its resemblance to a blade—and they said that it portended an effusion of blood in the city.

4. This Alexander, having given himself over to impostors and sorcerers ^C and having been brought by them to the belief that the bronze boar standing in the Hippodrome was his own star—for they said that it was fighting against his brother Leo, thereby insinuating the habits of his brother’s pig-like nature—was deceived by this delusion and took care to have the private parts and tusks, which were missing from the boar, restored. By this same fallacy of error, having decreed an equestrian contest, he adorned the Hippodrome with the sacred veils and candelabra of the churches, the wretch bestowing the honor of God upon idols. Wherefore, he was very quickly deprived of his power by divine retribution.

5. When Hemerios the logothete ^D returned from the defeat of the Hagarenes, he [Alexander] sent him into exile in the monastery of the palace which is called the Campas, threatening him, as one who had been ≫

having been threatened by him as having appeared an enemy during the days of the reign of his brother Leo; and having been confined for six months, he perished wretchedly, consumed by his affliction.

6. Symeon, prince of Bulgaria, sent envoys to Alexander regarding peace, signaling that he desired it, and that he wished to be favored and honored by him, just as he had been in the time of the Emperor Leo. Alexander, gripped by madness and folly, dismissed the envoys dishonorably, using threats against Symeon ^A and thinking he would strike terror into him. Peace being thus dissolved, Symeon decided to take up arms against the Christians.

7. Alexander, having feasted and drunk wine during the heat of the Dog Star, went down to play at ball. Struck by a divine scourge and returning internally, with much blood flowing from his nose and his private parts, ^B he expired after two days, on the sixth day of June, a Sunday, in the first indiction, leaving as guardians Nicholas the patriarch, Stephen the magister, John the magister Eladas, John the rector, Euthymius, Basilitzes, and Gabrielopoulos, having handed over the empire to Leo’s son, Constantine. They laid Alexander in the sepulchers of the emperors, and he was buried with his father Basil.

THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE SON OF LEO

^C 1. Constantine, after the death of his father Leo, being still a child (indeed he was in his seventh year), was left in the empire by his uncle Alexander under guardians. He reigned, therefore, under his guardians and with his mother for seven years, and together with his father-in-law Romanus, and subject to him for another twenty-six years; and finally he ruled the empire alone for fifteen years. Thus the whole time of his reign is concluded in a span of fifty-five years. Nicholas the patriarch, therefore, having seized the power of the palace (as he himself was a guardian together with Stephen the magister and John the magister Eladas, who was also a magister), looked after the commonwealth and daily devoted himself diligently to matters pertaining to the empire.

2. While the empire was thus being managed, ^D certain of the nobles in the city, who loved Constantine – the Domestic of the Schools – as a man brave and wise and well able to govern the empire, signaled to him to come and take possession of it without labor. As...

some say, even Patriarch Nicholas, not knowing that he had been left as a guardian in Alexander’s testament, entrusted the business to Artabasdos, who had been forbidden to perform priestly functions, and wrote to Constantine, the son of the Doux, urging him to betake himself to Byzantium to seize the empire; and on account of these letters, he attained the office of being the leading priest of the renowned Sophia—he was, in fact, the father of Andrew, who in our own time has raised the art of painting to such a height that he has excelled Apelles, Agatharchus, Heraclides, and Philoen by the greater reverence and nobility he brought to the Byzantines.

^A 3. Furthermore, Constantine, as if he already dreamed of the empire, flew into the city immediately upon receiving the letters, escorted by picked soldiers not to be despised even for their number; and by night, having entered through a small gate of Michael the Protovestiarios, not far from the citadel, he remained awake with his companions in the house of his father-in-law, Gregoras. Nicetas the *assieretis*, who later became *protonotarios*, announced Constantine’s arrival to the Patrician Constantine and the monk Eladikos; and both of them came that same night to Constantine the Doux. After they had held counsel, before the day had yet dawned, they occupied the gate of the Hippodrome with torches, a large crowd of the people, and a force of soldiers not insignificant, and hailed Constantine as Emperor. There, his groom was pierced by a lance and died at the hands of the guards who were inside the gates. Constantine, therefore, not being received there but repulsed, as if driven by the furies of some demon and not being of sound mind because of his lust for power, withdrew into the Hippodrome, sad and downcast, judging the slaughter of his groom to be a bad omen.

^B He came thence, with favorable acclamations following him, as far as the Chalke, and having entered through the iron gate of that same Chalke, he arrived as far as the *Exkoubitores*. Meanwhile, Magister John Eladas, having made a selection from the *hetaireia* and the *classiarii*, sent them armed against the Doux. When they had come as far as the Chalke and a battle had been joined, many fell on both sides, being victims of the sword, and the carnage was so great that the place was flooded with blood flowing in the manner of a river. Gregoras, the son of the Doux, was killed, as was Michael, his cousin, and Curtices the Armenian.

^C Constantine the Doux, seeing these things, while in the greatest turmoil, spurred on his horse. It slipped on the stone paving with which the place was laid and threw its rider. When someone came upon him lying on the ground, alone and abandoned—for the others had scattered and were wandering about—he cut off his head with a sword and brought it before the eyes of all to the Emperor, to dispel the error of the mob. Such an undertaking of the Doux had been made known in another way as well. For a certain Nicholas, a tax collector in Chaldia and prefect of the public revenues, having renounced the Christian religion, had withdrawn to Syria. There he was applying himself to astronomy, or rather, to a certain astrology. In a black ^D [index: entries preserved]

linen cloth, he wrote and sent this to the logothete Thomas; when it was washed in water by Manuel, the interpreter for the Hagarenes, the letters written upon it ^A became visible, to this effect: "Do not fear the red bird of the duke; for he shall foolishly attempt new things, and shall straightway perish."

4. His actions having been thus concluded, Gregoras, the father-in-law of Constantine, together with Leo, whom they call Choerosphactes, fled into the holy church of the God of Wisdom, as it is called. Having been dragged from there by force, they were tonsured as monks in the monastery of Stoudios. But Constantine the Eladic, having been beaten with ox-hide thongs and clothed in vile and tattered garments, was placed upon an ass and led through the middle of the city in public shame, and having been taken to the monastery of the Dalmatus, by a formal sentence they decreed he should be kept in confinement. Leo Catacalites and Abessalom, the son of Arotras, they blinded ^B and sent into exile. Constantine, son of Eulampius, and others with him, Philotheus Lampudes, the prefect of the city, cut down with the sword at the Circus's turning-post. A not insignificant search was made for Nicetas the *asekretis* and Constantine Libys, but they were not found, for they had consulted their safety by flight. As for that Aegidas and many others with him, being men of valor, the prefect hung them all upon double-forked gallows from Damalis (that is to say, Chrysopolis) as far as Leucatos. And these self-styled "guardians" would have put many of the men of rank and of the senatorial order to death at that time with ruthless and unjust cruelty, had not certain of the judges ^C restrained them from their unjust attempt and intent, saying to them: "What is this, that you dare to perpetrate such things while the emperor is still a child and without his command?" Accordingly, having tonsured the wife of the duke, they sent her away to her own house in Paphlagonia, and they castrated his son, Stephen.

5. In the month of August, Symeon, the prince of Bulgaria, having set out on a campaign against the Romans with a formidable host, reached Constantinople; and, having laid siege to it and having drawn a rampart from the Blachernae as far as the so-called Golden Gate, he was uplifted with the hope of taking it with ease. But having observed the strength ^D of the walls and the security afforded by the size of the multitude and the heavy-armed troops, as well as the abundance of stone-throwers, engines for hurling arrows, and other artillery of every kind, he was disappointed in his hope and withdrew to the so-called Hebdomon, requesting terms of peace. This was most welcome to the guardians; and Theodorus, his *magister*, was sent by Symeon to negotiate the peace. Then the patriarch Nicolaus, and Stephen, and John the *magister*, taking the emperor with them, went as far as the Blachernae and brought in both of Symeon's sons, and they were entertained at a banquet with the emperor in the palace. Nicolaus the patriarch went out to Symeon, to whom Symeon humbly bowed his head. When the patriarch had offered a prayer, it is said that, in place of a crown, he placed his own head-covering upon Symeon's head. Having been received with most generous and immense gifts...

Symeon and his sons returned to their own land, having departed in disagreement over the aforementioned peace. ^B

6. Since Emperor Constantine was a child and kept asking for his mother—whom Emperor Alexander had long ago cast out from the palace—they brought her back again. Having thus gained control of the empire, she brought into the palace Constantine the *parakoimomenos*, and the brothers Constantine and Anastasius, who were called the Gongyulai. By the counsel of John Eladas, she removed those who were the partisans of Emperor Alexander, namely John the *rectore*, and the one called Gabrilopoulos, and Basilitzes, and the others. Furthermore, the Augusta appointed Dominicus as *hetairologos*. Magister Eladas, having been seized by illness and having been given up by the physicians, withdrew from the palace and went to the Blachernae, where, his illness worsening, he met his end. By the counsel of Dominicus the *hetairologos*, Zoe removed Patriarch Nicholas and those with him from the palace, ordering them, under the pretext of his anger, to tend to his own church instead. Not long after, Constantine the *parakoimomenos* accused Dominicus the *hetairologos* before the Augusta, claiming that he was planning to transfer the sum of power to his own brother. Therefore, having honored him with the rank of *patrikios* under a pretense, they ordered him, after he had gone down to the church as was the custom to receive a blessing, to remain at home. ^C In his place, Zoe appointed John Garidas to command the *foederati* squadrons, and she made the eunuch Damianus the *droungarios* of the Watch. Dominicus returned to his home, lamenting and crying out in vain.

7. But since the Bulgar Symeon was once again plundering Thrace, and the Augusta and the officials were anxious about how they might put an end to the man's arrogance, John Bogas requested to be made a *patrikios*, promising that he would lead the Pechenegs against him. Having succeeded in his wish and having received gifts, he set out on a journey toward them. And indeed, having struck a treaty and received hostages from there, he returned with them to the city, the Pechenegs promising to cross the Ister and wage war upon Symeon. At that time, there also came to the city Asotius, a man most famous for his strength, being the son of the Prince of Princes, whom they say could hold an iron rod by its ends and, through his extraordinary power, bend it and twist it into a circular shape, the hardness of the iron yielding to the force of his hands. The Empress received him upon his arrival with great honor and sent him back again to his own land. ^D

8. In the month of September, in the third indiction, Pancratoukas the Armenian betrayed Adrianople to Symeon. This was once called Orestias, from Orestes the son of Agamemnon, who, in just zeal on account of the treacherous murder of his father by Clytemnestra, having killed her together with Aegisthus, was seized by a great fury; at the place where the rivers Hebrus, Arzus, and Artacus flow together, he was cleansed and freed from his sickness, and having founded the city in that same place...

^A he gave it his own name. But Hadrian the Caesar, embellishing it with magnificent buildings, renamed it Adrianopolis after himself. This city is situated three days' journey from Philippopolis, cradled by Mount Haemus, where the snowy and rainy waters collect, which we mentioned just now as the three rivers. Not long after, Zoe sent the patrician and kanikleios Basil and the protospatharios Nicetas the Eladic with many gifts, and she received her back again.

^B 9. Then Damian the emir came to the island of Strobilus with warships and a great force; and he would have taken it, had he not been seized by illness and succumbed to fate. Through his death it came about that the Saracens returned with their attempt in vain. But the inhabitants of Greece and Athens, being continually harassed by Chase, the son of Jude, and unable to endure his debauchery and insatiable greed, struck him with stones and miserably slew him within the very interior of the temple at Athens.

^C 10. But the Empress Zoe, seeing the arrogance of Symeon and his attack against the Christians, deliberated with those in authority, and resolved to strike a bargain and make peace with the Agarenes, and to transport the entire army of the East to defeat and destroy Symeon. Therefore, John the patrician, the Rhodian, and Michael Toxaras were sent into Syria to make the peace. When this was done, and the soldiers had received their customary distribution of pay, they took the cohorts and legions and crossed into Thrace, under the command of Leo Phocas, the magistros and domestic of the Schools, a man, indeed, of greater spirit than imperial prudence. Therefore, when the venerable and life-giving woods had been brought out by the work of Constantine, the chief priest of the palace clergy, surnamed Cephalas, and of Constantine Balelias in Thrace, and all had venerated them and sworn an oath to die together, they marched with the full army against the Bulgarians. John Grapso was in command of the tagma of the Excubitors, and the son of Marules of the Ikanatoi; Romanus Argyrus held the rank of commander, and his brother Leo and Bardas Phocas were with him; with them were also Melias with the Armenians and all the other commanders of the themes. ^D Besides the others, Constantine the patrician, the Afer, was also with Leo the domestic, and he was his counselor in all matters that concerned him. On the twentieth day of the month of August, in the fifth indiction, the battle between the Romans and the Bulgarians was joined at the river Achelous (how inscrutable and unsearchable are the judgments of God!). The Romans were completely routed and put to flight, and there was a total flight and a horrifying wailing throughout the entire army, as some trampled one another and were slaughtered by the enemy, a shedding of blood such as has not been heard of since the beginning of time. Leo escaped with difficulty, fleeing to Mesembria. Among others who were lost in the very thick of the battle were Constantine the Afer and John Grapso, along with other nobles.

^A Romanus, the patrikios and droungarios of the fleet, was also sent with the whole fleet into the Danube river to assist Leo Phokas, and likewise John Bogas, as has been said, to bring over the Patzinaks. When the droungarios Romanus had received orders to transport these men, as I said, across to fight against the Bulgarians so that they might aid Leo Phokas, Romanus and John fell into disputes and verbal quarrels. Seeing them thus discordant and struggling against each other, the Patzinaks returned to their own lands. When the war had come to an end and Romanus and Bogas had returned to the city, an investigation was held regarding their dissension. Matters reached such a perilous state for the droungarios Romanus that a sentence was passed against him for the loss of his eyes, as one who, through negligence — or rather, through knavery and malice — had not been ready to transport the Patzinaks, but had withdrawn too quickly and had not even taken the fleeing Romans into his ships. He would surely have suffered this, had the sentence not been overturned by the interventions of the patrikios Constantine Gongyle and the magistros Stephen, who possessed the greatest authority with the Augusta. The Bulgarians, elated by their victory, made incursions up to the very city. Leo, the domestic of the schools, and John, the hetairiarches, and Nicholas, son of the doux, went out with a dense company against the Bulgarians into a place in Thrace called Catasyrtas. ^C During the night, the Bulgarians fell upon them unexpectedly; the domestic fled, and Nicholas, son of the doux, was slaughtered along with many others with him.

11. Theodore, therefore, the pedagogue of the Emperor Constantine, seeing that the parakoimomenos Constantine was attempting to transfer the empire to Leon, his own kinsman by his sister, urged the Emperor Constantine to take up the droungarios Romanus as his father’s former servant, who was well-disposed toward him, so that he might remain with him, serve as his guard, protector, and defender, and be at hand whenever he might need an ally and helper. Romanus, having been approached about this many times, refused. Because of this, the Emperor Constantine himself wrote a letter in his own hand, confirmed it with his signature, and sent it to him. Upon receiving this, he promised to attack the parakoimomenos Constantine and his kin with whatever means were appropriate. ^D When the rumor of this began to spread widely, and the parakoimomenos was pressing Romanus to depart with the military fleet, which had already been given its stipend, Romanus was engaged in preparing the fleet for sea. The parakoimomenos Constantine came to him, as if to hasten the business of settling the fleet’s affairs. Romanus met him with a servile manner and bearing, and promised that he would perform what was commanded more readily. And when Constantine the parakoimomenos inquired of him whether he had handsome and brave men, suitable for rowing the imperial trireme, Romanus immediately signaled to them with his hand...

^A and shouted, "Seize him!" They immediately snatched him, brought him into the trireme of the drungarios Romanus, and held him in custody. Not a single person was found to defend the man or to be moved to pity for him, as all who were with him had taken to flight. When Zoe Augusta learned of these things, she summoned the patriarch Nicholas and her high officials, and sent them to Romanus, desiring to learn what had happened. When they had crossed over, the people gathered and drove them away by throwing stones at them.

In the morning, Zoe went out to the solar clock in the Bucoleon and called out to her son and to all: "How, pray, has this rebellion ^B come about?" Theodore, the pedagogue of the emperor Constantine, said to her that these things had come about because Leo Phocas had destroyed the Romans and Constantine the parakoimomenos had lost the palace. The emperor then took the patriarch Nicholas and the magister Stephen to be with him in the palace, drawing the authority to himself away from his mother. The next day he sent John the Tubakes to eject Zoe Augusta from the palace. She, with wailing and tears, threw herself into the embraces of her son and moved the son to maternal sympathy and pity, so that the emperor cried out to those who were leading her away: "Let my mother ^C stay with me." They released her at his word.

The emperor and the patriarch then summoned John the Garidas and appointed him domestic of the schools, fearing that Leo Phocas might resort to rebellion. He would not agree to this, however, unless Theodore, his brother-in-law the Zuphinezer, and his son Simeon were appointed hetairiarchs. Confirmed by oaths from them, he went down to his house. ^D Those in the palace immediately ejected his relatives. When these came to him and he saw them, trembling and a stupor seized him. He therefore immediately went to Romanus and related to him what he had suffered. Reconciled with him, and having given and received oaths that both would henceforth have one soul, he became of one mind and one spirit with him, and they even agreed to make a marriage contract, thereby strengthening all the more the bond of love between them.

12. On the twenty-fourth day of the month of March, Romanus sent the presbyter John, a man close to him and very faithful, and Theodore the Matzoukes to the palace to defend him, saying that what he had done was not out of rebellion, but because he was suspicious of the attack of Phocas and feared that he might attempt some innovation against the emperor; for this reason he had resolved to come to the palace and provide a guard for the emperor. As Nicholas the patriarch did not approve of this, Romanus was instructed by the aforementioned pedagogue Theodore to come with the fleet to the Bucoleon.

^A Having consulted with his own men (for a guiding force led him), on the solemn day of the Annunciation of the immaculate Virgin and Theotokos (it was a Thursday), he arrived armed with the entire fleet at the Bucoleon. And immediately, Stephen the magister left the palace, and Nicetas, a patrician and father-in-law to Romanus, entered the palace and brought out from there the patriarch Nicholas. When the men of the palace had thus been secured by oaths, they sent to him the life-giving and precious cross, which, having venerated and having confirmed them with oaths, he carried up with them into the palace with a few others to venerate the emperor. And having entered with him into the church situated in the Pharos, and having given and received pledges of security, he was immediately appointed by him magister and great hetaireiarch.

Immediately, therefore, a holy command was sent to Leo Phocas, urging him by no means to conceive of any sedition. Likewise, Constantine the accubitor was ordered to write letters of similar import, commanding them also to plot nothing contrary, but to remain in submission to Emperor Constantine. Having received these, Andrew, the secret primicerius of the imperial vestiarium, carried them to him while he was staying in Cappadocia; and he, having received and read them, withdrew to his own house and kept quiet.

13. ^B In the fifth week of the holy Fast, in the month of April, a marriage pledge was given by Emperor Constantine to Helena, the daughter of Romanus, who was remarkable not only for physical beauty but also for prudence; and on the third day of Easter, called "of Galilee," she was blessed and crowned together with him by the patriarch Nicholas, while Romanus was proclaimed basileopator; and in his stead he appointed his son Christopher as hetaireiarch. But not much time had passed when Leo Phocas, persuaded by certain nobles and tribunes and at the urging of the legions subject to him, began to plot an uprising. He took with him the accubitor Constantine, and Constantine and Anastasius Gongylios (who were brothers), and Constantine Malelias, the first a secretis, attempting to persuade everyone that he was making this movement in favor of Emperor Constantine.

^C But Romanus, the emperor's father, having prepared golden bulls sealed with the signature of Emperor Constantine, containing the subversion of this plot—and indicating that those who abandoned Phocas and fled to the emperor were considered to be on the side of the emperor—gave them to an impudent and bold woman named Anna (whom they also called Basilica, as if one were saying "emperor-related") and to a certain cleric, Michael, and sent them into the camp of Leo. These, having received the documents, secretly scattered them throughout the entire army. And indeed, Michael was caught by Phocas, beaten severely, and his nose and ears were cut off; afterwards he met with his fitting reward from Romanus, as did the woman sent with him. Thus, the first to abandon Phocas for Romanus was Constantine, son of Barumichael, commander of the Icanatoi regiment. ^D

^A Along with him, Balantius and the one called Atzmorus also came over, both of whom were tourmarchs. Leo Phocas, therefore, relying on the force he had, came to Chrysopolis with a massive, heavily armed army; extending his battle line from the Stone Heifer all the way to Chalcedon, he struck terror into the citizens. Consequently, Romanus sent Symeon, keeper of the inkstand, on a swift boat with letters confirmed by the signature of the Emperor Constantine. The tenor of these letters, the sense of which was as follows, ran: "Since I have found no one among all those who are under my power and rule to be a more vigilant, benevolent, or faithful guardian of my sovereignty and majesty than Romanus, I have entrusted my safety to him next to God, and I have esteemed him as a father, for he has shown toward me the bowels of a parent and a fatherly disposition. As for Leo Phocas, I have always suspected him of plotting against my reign; now, however, I have caught him in the very act of conspiring, and ^B challenging my majesty with the power of a tyrant. Therefore, I no longer wish him to be Domestic; for I declare that he has not undertaken this rebellion by my counsel, but has initiated this attack by his own will, in order to usurp the empire for himself." When these things were read to the army, they all began to withdraw and flock to the Basileopator Romanus. Phocas, finding himself in a state of helplessness and, in his despair, realizing that all hope had failed him, resorted to flight. He arrived at the fort of Ateus, but was refused entry; he took up position in a village named Goeleon, where he was captured. Romanus then sent John Tubakes and his own kinsman Leo to bring him into the city. Having seized him, they blinded him—even though they had received no command to do this and had acted on their own initiative, at which the Basileopator Romanus was ^C indignant.

14-15. In the month of August, the plots of Constantine Ktematites, David Camulianus, and Michael, curator of the Manganon, were uncovered. These men were also blinded, paraded through the middle of the city, and sent into exile. Leo, who was Magister and Domestic of the Schools, was also brought into the city and led through the middle of the forum riding on a mule.

16. Zoe Augusta was also caught plotting against Romanus by means of poisoned food, prepared by Theocletus, a notary of the service. For this reason, they removed her from the palace and took her to the Petrion, where they tonsured her in the monastery of Saint Euphemia. Now, Theodore, the tutor of the Emperor Constantine, and his brother Symeon had been invited to a meal by the patrician Theophylactus, Count of the Stable. ^D While they were eating, John, the drungarios of the Watch known as Kourkouas, entered with a large retinue. He seized them and had them exiled to their own estates in the Opsikion, on the grounds that they were conspiring against Romanus.

^A On the twenty-fourth day of the month of September, Romanus was raised to the dignity of Caesar; and in the month of December, on the seventeenth day, which was the Sunday of the Forefathers, he was gifted with the imperial diadem by the Emperor Constantine and the Patriarch Nicholas.

THE REIGN OF ROMANUS

^B 1. In the year 6428, in the eighth indiction, on the sixth of January, on the feast day of the holy Theophany, Romanus crowned his wife, Theodora, with the Augustal crown. In the month of May, on the seventeenth day, he crowned his son, Christopher, through the Emperor on the day of the holy Pentecost, and the two of them alone went forth in that procession. In the month of July, in the eighth indiction, on a Sunday, the union of the Church was brought about by Romanus, with all the metropolitans and clergy being reconciled, who had hitherto been split on account of the Patriarch Nicholas and Euthymius.

2. On the eighth day of the month of February, in the ninth indiction, Romanus sent and exiled Stephen of Calomaria to the island of Antigone, having accused him of aspiring to the throne, and he tonsured him a monk, along with Theophanes Tichiotes and Paul the Orphanotrophos, his servants.

3. The Emperor Romanus held a procession ^C at the tribunal, having gathered all the cohorts there with their arms and reviewed the army. But having suddenly taken alarm, Romanus and Constantine returned with great haste to the palace. For it had been reported by Leo, a servant of Arsenius, that this same Arsenius and Paul the Manglabites were laying a trap. Hence, having been subjected to scourging and their goods confiscated, they were relegated to exile. At that time, the presbyter John, the rector, was assisting in the administration of the commonwealth. He made Leo, the servant of Arsenius, a hebdomadary, having insinuated him into the Emperor's favor. But Romanus, the son of Leo (of the Argyroi, as I said before), a man of broad shoulders and adorned with bodily beauty, appearance, and prudence, and especially with an eagerness for almsgiving, generosity, kindness, and simplicity, was taken as a son-in-law by the Emperor Romanus, who gave him his daughter Agatha as a wife.

4. There was a certain Rentacius ^D, an Helladic man, connected by blood ties to the patrician Nicetas, an insolent man and a parricide. When he was pursuing his own father in order to kill him, his father, fleeing his violence and fury, boarded a ship and sailed away, and by the Saracens...

^A of Crete was captured. This Pentacius, having found an opportunity, plundered and laid waste all that belonged to his father, and coming into the city took refuge in the Great Church of God. But the Emperor Romanus, having learned of his disorderly conduct, his plunderings, and his greedy acts, decided to take him out of the church and punish him. He, having forged letters to the Bulgarians and having resolved in his mind to desert to them, was caught and convicted, and he paid the penalty with the loss of his property and his eyes.

5. Now that the Bulgarians had again sallied forth as far as Catasyrtas after the death of the Domestic Adralestus, Pothus Argyrus, a most excellent man experienced in the art of war, was appointed Domestic of the Schools in his place. Being encamped at Thermopolis with the regiments, he sent out Michael, son of Muroleon, who was then a toparch, to scout the movement of the Bulgarians. He, unexpectedly falling upon a column of them, wrought indeed a great slaughter of the Bulgarians: but he himself also received a mortal wound, and having returned to the city, ceased to be among the living.

6. It was then reported through Theocletus, notary of the ministry, that there was a conspiracy against the Emperor Romanus by Anastasius the sacellarius and chief of the goldsmiths, and Theodoretus the cubicularius, and Demetrius the imperial fiscal notary, and Nicolaus the Cubatzes, and Theodotus the protocarabus; for they were ostensibly favoring the Emperor Constantine. Once convicted, they were beaten, led through the middle of the city, and cast into exile. Theodoretus was beaten aside in the Triconchus of the palace and was himself sent into exile. As for Anastasius the sacellarius, they tonsured him at the monastery of the Elegmi, where he also died.

7. Taking such a pretext, ^B Romanus degraded the Emperor Constantine and placed him in the second rank, while he himself advanced to the front; as he feared the plots and the death that might come from them, he fell—alas for human affairs!—into the sin of perjury. For he had promised by oath never to usurp the first rank of the empire while spurning him.

8. Symeon then again takes up arms against the Romans; and having sent off a multitude of Bulgarians together with Chaganus and Menicus and others, he commanded them to march against the city as quickly as possible. Having therefore crossed the mountains, they came as far as Manglaba. ^C When the Emperor Romanus learned of their incursion, fearing lest they should swarm down and set fire to the palace of the Pegae and the Stenum, he ordered John the rector to go, together with Leo and Pothus the Argyri, having with them a sufficient multitude from the imperial guards, the hetaireia, and the thematic troops; with whom also was Alexius Musele, patrician and drungarius of the fleet, with his own forces. It was the fifth week of the Fast. They drew up their men in the level ^D and low-lying places of the Pegae, but when the Bulgarians appeared from above, armed, making use of a disordered and fearful shout, and charging most violently against them, John the rector immediately took flight:

^A but Photinus, the son of Platypodes, was killed while fighting to defend him, as were many others. The rector, therefore, with difficulty having been saved, escaped into a small boat. Alexius, the drungarios Musele, also came fleeing, armed, and being unable to ascend the ladder of the small boat properly, he fell into the sea together with his protomandator and was drowned. The two Argyri, Pothus and Leo the patrician, fled into the fortress and were saved. As for the naval and all the rest of the forces, some, while trying to escape the hands of the enemies, were drowned in the sea; others perished by the sword; others were captured by the Bulgarians. Finally, the Bulgarians, with no one hindering them, burned the imperial palaces of the Pegae and scorched the entire Stennon with fire. Such, indeed, is a great evil, when lacking in counsel and inexperienced in affairs, having audacity and temerity as its allies.

9. In the month of February, in the tenth indiction, Theodora, the wife of Romanos, died, and her body was deposited in the house of the emperor Romanos himself, which he had converted into a monastery. In the same month, Sophia, the wife of the emperor Christopher, was crowned. At the same time, the curopalates Iber arrived in the city, and having passed through the center of the forum, which was magnificently decorated, he was received with great glory and honor. They also led him into the Saint Sophia, so that he himself might behold with his eyes the beauty and greatness of its holy sanctuary and its most precious adornment. ^B For they had adorned it brilliantly, and having covered the walls with gold-woven curtains and all kinds of decorations, they thus brought him inside. But he, wondering at the marvelous and immense structure of the temple, and admiring beyond measure its most precious adornment, having said that this holy place was truly the dwelling place of God, returned to his own quarters.

10. But when the Bulgarians, having campaigned again and come as far as the imperial palaces of Saint Theodora ^C and delivered them to the fire, the emperor Romanos invited the leaders of the divisions to a sumptuously prepared luncheon, with him who is called Sactices also being with them. He exhorted and urged them to go out against the enemies and to fight for the safety of the fatherland. They agreed readily to die in defense of his majesty ^D and for the sake of avenging the Christians. On the following day, therefore, the aforementioned Sactices, having been equipped with arms by the emperor, proved the loyalty and courage he had boasted of to be true; for, having come upon the rear of the Bulgarians and entered their camp, he slaughtered all whom he found there. The Bulgarians, therefore, having learned what had happened, returned to the camp, and when an engagement was joined, they compelled Sactices, who was accompanied by only a few men, to turn and flee. Since he had fought bravely and killed many, but was no longer able to withstand the multitude of the enemies, he let go of his horse's bridle and galloped away in flight. While crossing a certain river, his horse having become stuck in its mud, he received a wound in the anus and the thigh. But with the horse finally pulled with difficulty from the mud through the care and industry of his men, he escaped as far as the Blachernae; and in the holy

coffin, the wound being mortal, he departed from among the living.

^A 11. At the same time, Petronas, a man of most venerable character, by order of the Emperor Romanus, brought a small, exquisitely crafted sarcophagus, along with two others devoid of any sculptural art, from the monastery of the men of Saint Mamas, which is situated near the gate they call Xerocercus. In these, they say, Maurice was laid to rest with his children. These were deposited in the monastery of the Emperor Romanus (that is, in the Myrelaion).

12. A certain Adrian of Chaldea, and also one Tatzaces, an Armenian who was extremely wealthy, by the counsel and urging of Bardas Boelas, who was the commander of the troops in Chaldia, plotted tyranny and rebellion against the Emperor Romanus, having occupied the fortified town called Paiperte. John Curcuas, the Domestic of the Schools, gained power over them and captured them. He blinded the more prominent ones and confiscated their property; ^B others, who were poor and obscure, he ordered to go wherever they wished. Tatzaces, having fled to another very strong fortress and having received a promise that he would suffer no harm, entered the city; and having been honored with the rank of manglabites, he lived in the house of the mangana under guard. But when he was caught planning an escape, his eyes were put out. As for Bardas Boelas, because the Emperor was well-disposed toward him and took pity on him, they tonsured him a monk.

13. When the patrician known by the name Moroleon—or, more fittingly, Thymoleon (as if to say a man of leonine heart and spirit)—was strategos of Adrianople, being a man excellently instructed in the martial arts and skilled, and who had frequently conducted himself manfully against the Bulgarians, Symeon the Bulgarian surrounded the aforementioned city with his entire army and, casting up a rampart, besieged it strongly. ^C When the grain failed those in the city and a severe famine pressed upon them (for they had no place from which to obtain provisions), those pressed by need delivered themselves and their strategos to the Bulgarians. Symeon, having seized him and bound his whole body in chains and tortured him with countless torments, finally killed him with a bitter death, worthy of his own most wicked and cruel nature. Symeon then departed, leaving Bulgarian guards in the city. But the guards, having heard that the Roman forces were advancing against them, abandoned the city and fled; and in this way, the city was recovered by the Romans.

14. When Leo Tripolita went out against the Romans with a large force and warships and had occupied the island of Lemnos, John Radinus the patrician, the drungarius of the fleet, suddenly attacked him. A battle was joined, and by the help of God, the Agarenes serving under him were routed and put to flight, and the Tripolitan alone with difficulty secured his safety by flight.

15. In the month of September, in the second indiction,

^A the prince of the Bulgarians set out with all his forces against Constantinople, and he ravaged Thrace and Macedonia, and burned and destroyed everything, and cut down the trees. Having arrived as far as the Blachernae, he requested that Patriarch Nicholas and some of the nobles be sent to him, so that they might confer with him concerning peace. So both sides exchanged hostages, and first of all Patriarch Nicholas went out, and then Michael the patrician, surnamed Stypiotes, and John the Mystic, the helper and intimate servant for the administration of imperial affairs. For by then John the rector, having been accused before the emperor of a crime, had feigned an illness, departed from the palace, and had been tonsured as a monk in his own monastery near the Galacrenae. The legates, therefore, were conferring with Symeon about peace. But Symeon, rejecting them, sought to see the emperor himself and to have an encounter with him, for he had heard firm reports regarding his wisdom, fortitude, and intelligence. This matter was very agreeable to Romanos, inasmuch as he was held by a desire for peace and was striving to put an end to the daily massacres on both sides. ^B He therefore sent men to the shore of the Cosmidion to construct a very secure landing place in the sea, where his flagship might be brought to dock. Having fortified the place on all sides, he ordered a barrier to be built in the middle, where they were to hold their discussion. Meanwhile, Symeon, having sent a detachment of his own men, burned the temple of the holy Mother of God in the Pega, which Emperor Justinian had founded, and laid waste with fire and sword everything in the vicinity. By these actions, therefore, he openly revealed a spirit alien to peace, and it was not obscure that he was deluding the emperor with empty hopes. But the emperor, coming with Patriarch Nicholas, entered into the holy shrine and stretched out his hands in prayer, then, falling prostrate to the ground, he watered the holy floor abundantly with his tears, beseeching the holy Mother of God, who is to be celebrated with all praise and is pure from every stain, to soften the unyielding and hard heart of the arrogant Symeon and to lead him to conclude a peace accord. The sacred chest was therefore opened, in which the venerable omophorion of the holy Mother of God was stored, and the emperor, taking it up and donning it as if it were an unbreakable breastplate, and putting on his faith in the immaculate Mother of God as a kind of helmet, ^C thus armed with secure weapons, he departed the temple. Having therefore equipped the fleet and his retinue with shields and other arms, he came to the appointed place to converse with Symeon. It was Thursday ^D when these things took place, the ninth day of the month of November, at the fourth hour of the day. Symeon also arrived with an army distributed into many troops and ranks of soldiers; some were with gilded shields and spears, others resplendent with silver, and others equipped and adorned with arms of every color, all of them girded about with iron. Those who had taken Symeon into their midst acclaimed him as emperor and king in the Roman tongue. The entire Senate, sitting upon the walls,

^A observed whatever of this narrative there was to see. The royal spirit, indeed, was truly worthy of being beheld, being both great-minded and noble; for it was a marvelous thing, that fearless constancy and presence of mind, and the fortitude with which, seeing so great a throng of enemies flowing together, he could yet advance so calmly, all but offering his own soul as the price of redemption for his subjects. Therefore, having come first to the aforementioned landing-stage, he awaited Symeon. Once hostages had been given and received on both sides, and the Bulgarians had thoroughly searched the landing-stage to ensure no treachery or ambush lay hidden there, Symeon dismounted from his horse and went in to the emperor. ^B Having greeted one another, they began to discuss peace. It is said that the emperor spoke to Symeon in these words: "I have heard that you are a religious man and a true Christian, yet I see that your deeds do not sufficiently accord with your words. For it is the property of a man who is religious and a Christian to cultivate peace and charity, since God is and is called Charity; but it belongs to the impious, the irreligious, and the infidel to rejoice in slaughters and the pouring out of blood unjustly. If, therefore, you are a true Christian, as we firmly believe you to be, cease at long last these unjust slaughters and put an end to the shedding of innocent blood, and strike a peace with us Christians, since you yourself are a Christian and are so called; and do not desire that the right hands of Christians be polluted with the blood of fellow-Christians who hold to the same faith. You too are a man who awaits death, resurrection, judgment, and retribution; today you are among the living, but tomorrow you shall be dissolved into dust. A single fever will extinguish all such arrogance. ^C What account, then, will you render to God when you have departed hence for such unjust slaughters? With what countenance will you cast your eyes upon that fearful and just Judge? If it is the desire for wealth that drives you to such outrages, I shall glut you to satiety with those very things; only stay your hand. Embrace peace, love concord, so that you yourself may live a life that is peaceful, bloodless, and untroubled, and that the Christians may at last have an end of their calamities and cease from slaughtering other Christians; for it is an abomination for the faithful to take up arms against one another." Having spoken thus, the emperor fell silent. Symeon, therefore, struck with wonder and reverence at his humility and his words, agreed to make peace. ^D Having thus kissed one another, they departed, the emperor having honored Symeon with magnificent gifts.

16. I shall narrate what happened at that time, a portentous event and one strange even to those who know how to interpret such things. They say that while the two kings were conversing, two eagles flew over them, shrieked, and circled one another, then immediately flew apart, one making for the city, and the other flying off toward Thrace. Those who are skilled in scrutinizing such matters judged this to be an ominous sign, for they said it meant that they would soon be separated without the peace being realized. Symeon, having returned to his own camp, recounted the emperor's cleverness and modesty to his own nobles.

he extolled both his appearance and vigor, and the dauntless quality of his spirit. ^A 17. On the twenty-fifth day of the month of December, Romanus crowned his sons Stephen and Constantine in the Great Church; but the patriarch Nicolaus also tonsured his son Theophylact as a cleric, ordaining him subdeacon and appointing him syncellus, after he had first gone through the degree of subdeacons in the holy services.

18. On the nineteenth day of the month of April, Romanus honored John the Mystic, the administrator of state affairs and secondary ruler, with the rank of patrician and proconsul, in such a way that for this very reason envy was stirred up against him and he was accused by some people.

19. On the fifteenth day of the month of May, in the thirteenth indiction, the patriarch Nicolaus died, having held the throne during his second tenure for thirteen years. His body was interred in the monastery which he had founded and which they call Galacrenae. In the month of August, Stephen, the metropolitan of Amasea, a eunuch, was instituted as patriarch. In the month of October, John the Mystic, the emperor’s assistant in the administration of affairs, was accused of aspiring to the throne through the machinations of the patrician and logothete Cosmas, who had given his daughter to him as a wife. For this reason, he was indeed cast out of the palace, yet he was permitted to approach the emperor and serve him, and to discuss with him in confidence whatever seemed worthwhile. ^B For the emperor Romanus’s affection towards him was so great—because the Mystic flattered him in all things—that he could not bring himself to banish him entirely from his presence. However, as the accusers pressed the emperor and demonstrated that the crimes charged against him were true, the emperor investigated the matter; and when he discovered that it was exactly as they had reported, he decided that the Mystic must be seized and subjected to interrogation.

When he became aware of this, he resorted to flight, and reaching the Monocastanon monastery, he had his hair cut as a monk. Constantine, the son of Boïlas, who was in charge of the table and was a close associate and friend of his, also fled, fearing, naturally, as he was a fellow-initiate of the Mystic and privy to his most secret affairs; he made for Olympus and took on the monastic habit. The emperor had the patrician Cosmas whipped at the palace’s clock-tower and removed from office. ^C In place of John the Mystic, Theophanes the protovestiarius was promoted as assistant to the emperor for the administration of affairs. At the same time, a terrifying earthquake occurred in the Theme of the Thracesians, with a great and stupendous chasm in the earth, such that many farms and churches were swallowed up by the abyss along with the people in them.

20. On the twenty-seventh day of the month of May, in the fifteenth indiction, Symeon, Prince of the Bulgarians, undertook an expedition against the Chrobati; having joined battle with them, he was defeated and lost his entire force completely. ^D

21. Joannes, seeing the Emperor Romanus sad, spoke to him thus: "Master, the statue standing in the arch above the Xerolophus, looking towards the west, is Symeon’s. If you strike off its head, at that very hour Symeon will die." The Emperor Romanus sent [men] by night and struck off the head of the statue; and at that same hour Symeon died in Bulgaria, overcome by foolishness and disease, and struck at the heart, he perished, having transgressed laws and rights in vain, leaving behind by testament the principality to Peter, his son ^A by his second wife, the sister of George Sursubulius, whom he also appointed to be the guardian of his children. He had tonsured Michael, who was born of his former wife, a monk; but John and Benjamin, the brothers of Peter, were still adorned in Bulgarian attire and habit.

22. Therefore, the nations around, having learned of the death of Symeon—the Croats, the Turks, and the rest—resolved to campaign against the Bulgarians. But since the Bulgarian nation was being strongly pressed by a great famine, along with locusts, they feared the incursion of other nations, but feared even more the arrival of the Romans. Having therefore held a council, they lead out their forces against the Romans and occupy parts of Macedonia, aiming, as was likely, to inspire fear in the Romans. Then, having learned that the Emperor Romanus ^B intended to campaign against them, Peter and George secretly sent a certain monk named Calocyrus, an Armenian by race, carrying a golden bull. The tenor of the bull was that they desired peace with the Romans and were of ready mind to negotiate it; and not only this, but that they would also enter into marriage alliances with the Romans, if it should please them. The Emperor, having received such a monk most gladly, immediately sent off with a dromon the monk Theodosius Abuces and Constantine the Rhodian, a palatine cleric, to discuss terms of peace with the Bulgarians in Mesembria—which in olden times was called Menebria, from Meno the Thracian who founded it, and "Bria," a word for a small town among some Thracians; but for softer pronunciation it is named Mesembria. ^C When they had arrived and had discussed the reasonable terms, they set out by land together with Stephen the Bulgarian; and behind them followed George Sursubulus and Symeon Caluterranus and Usampsus and Symeon, brother of the chieftain of Bulgaria by marriage, and in addition to these his relative Stephen, and indeed also Magotinus, Cronus, and Menicus, who strengthened the embassy to the sovereign Romanus. Having seen Maria, the daughter of the Emperor Christopher, and having been greatly delighted by her appearance, they wrote to Peter to arrive with haste, having first made agreements concerning the peace that had been established. Nicetas the Magister, the affine of the Emperor Romanus, was sent to meet him and bring Peter to the city. ^D When therefore the Bulgarian Peter had arrived, [ready to] break his fast, and by holy...

there he saw and kissed the man as he came to him. And when they had conversed together as was fitting, they signed the terms of peace and the marriage covenants, with Theophanes the protovestiarios acting as mediator in all these matters and skillfully directing the negotiation between the Romans and the Bulgarians.

23. On the eighth day of the month of October, the Patriarch Stephen, together with the protovestiarios Theophanes and Maria, the daughter of the Emperor Christopher, and the entire senate went to the church of the most holy Theotokos of the Pege, and he blessed Peter and Maria, and placed the bridal crowns upon their heads, while Theophanes the protovestiarios and George Sursubulos served as sponsors. A sumptuous and most magnificent banquet having been prepared, and all things accustomed for weddings having been performed joyfully and splendidly, Theophanes the protovestiarios returned to the city with Maria, the daughter of the emperor. On the third day after the wedding had been celebrated, the Emperor Romanus held a magnificent feast at the landing place of the Pege, having decorated it with silk curtains, the imperial barge being anchored right at the quay. In that place Romanus feasted with Peter the Bulgarian and with his son-in-law Constantine and his son Christopher. ^B And when the Bulgarians made no small protest [insisting] that Christopher be acclaimed first, and then after him Constantine, Romanus the emperor yielded to their insistence, and that which they requested came to pass. When all things pertaining to the wedding had been completed, and Maria was now about to set out for Bulgaria with her husband Peter, her parents accompanied her as far as the Hebdomon along with Theophanes the protovestiarios. And when she was about to depart, they embraced their daughter, shedding copious tears, as is fitting for those who are soon to be deprived of a most beloved pledge, and having kissed their son-in-law and placed the girl in his hands, they returned to the palace. Maria, being handed over to the hands of her Bulgarian husband, proceeded on her journey to Bulgaria, rejoicing and at the same time grieving: grieving for the fact that she was being deprived of her most beloved parents, of the royal halls, and of the companionship of those related to her by birth; but rejoicing in that she had been joined to a royal husband and was hailed as the lady of the Bulgarians. She went therefore, carrying with her various riches and countless equipment. ^{C D}

24. At that time also, John, the magister and domestic of the schools, Kourkouas, who had led the Roman armies splendidly almost from the time Romanus was hailed as emperor, and who fought against the Assyrians every day, sacking their cities and fortified towns and villages and places, and taking captives—among whom was also that distinct and famous and very fortified and powerful fortress of Syria, named Melitene, which he had attacked in various ways and plundered and completely devastated, as well as the towns situated around it.

^A And having besieged that invincible and unconquerable fortress, and having set up machines of war, and having thrown them into complete confusion and helplessness as to what they should do, when they had once and often sent envoys to the Domestic and asked for terms, the prudent and sensible John Curcuas, the Domestic of the Schools, viewing the tears and mournful cries of the wretches and, in accordance with human affairs, the uncertainty of fortune, softened his mind towards them. To him, after receiving a pledge, came Apochaps, nephew of the Amer and himself Amer of Melitene, and Aposalath, a most noble and wealthy commander in Melitene. ^B Being received by the Domestic of the Schools, John, he sent them to the Emperor; and having made terms of peace, they returned to their own lands. From that time they campaigned together with the Romans against their own kin, the Hagarenes, and would join the Romans in their triumphal entries into the city, leading Hagarene captives—a thing truly wonderful and strange, and a manifest sign of the misfortune of the godless Saracens. But after the death of Apochaps, a man prudent and wise, those who inhabited Melitene broke the peace. John Curcuas, the Domestic of the Schools, therefore, again set out against them with the themes and tagmata, and Melias with the Armenians. ^C And making many raids and plunders daily, and by continuous incursions making them captives and plundering them, they brought Melitene into such straits that in a very short time they conquered it and razed it to the ground, and not only this one, but also the cities and regions lying near it, which were fertile and very rich and capable of providing many revenues. The Emperor, therefore, having established this Melitene as a curatorship, ordained that many thousands of gold and silver pieces should be brought from there annually to the public treasury.

25. ^D Nicetas the Magister, father-in-law of the Emperor Christopher, was accused of having instigated him to rebel against his own father and to drive him from the throne. For this reason, they cast him out of the city, tonsured him a monk, and compelled him to live in exile on his own estate.

26. In the month of July, on the 15th, in the 6th indiction, Patriarch Stephen died, having presided over the patriarchate for two years and eleven months. In the month of December, on the 14th1, they brought forward Tryphon, a monk professing the monastic life in the Opsikion, a man proved by his religious habits and holiness, and ordained him patriarch for a fixed time, until such time as Theophylact, the son of Romanus, whom they intended to ordain Patriarch of Constantinople, should reach the age of maturity.

27. On the 25th of the same month, there occurred an unbearable cold, so that the earth remained frozen for 120 days. Whence there also came a great famine, surpassing any that had ever occurred, and from this, many deaths, in such a way that the living could not

^A bury the dead. Emperor Romanos, perceiving that unendurable violence and acting in accordance with his own compassionate and merciful nature, made provision, [P. 259] comforting the scarcity caused by the famine with abundant alms; he also blocked the spaces of the colonnades with windows and wooden planks, so that snow and cold might not invade the poor from there. Then he also constructed what are called "chests" in all the colonnades, and ordered that silver coins be distributed every month to the poor lying in them, and he ordered that monthly *trimisia* be distributed to the poor through the churches, so that the coined silver money given to the beggars in the chests and in the churches amounted to twelve thousand. ^B And his compassionate soul, providing for the poor, did not only outline these things, but he also ordered three poor men to eat with him every day, to each of whom he gave a coin. On Wednesday and Friday, he would admit three poor monks as dining companions, to each of whom he distributed a set coin. And this which is accustomed to be done in monasteries, that a reading be held during the time of dining, he did himself, setting out a double table for himself and for his guests, so that the body might be nourished with the usual food, while the soul might be delighted with the pleasure of appropriate teachings; and paying diligent attention to these, he was pricked in his soul and released great fountains of tears. ^C But who could recount how great the faith was that he possessed toward all monks, especially those renowned for holiness and piety? For he never saw a monk adhering to virtue to whom he did not recount his own deeds with many tears. Being most faithful and most orthodox, he brilliantly adorned and beautified all the churches of the city with translucent veils and a wealth of candles and lamps. But he also never ceased sending annual stipends to the monks in the mountains—namely on Olympus, and on Cymina, and on the one they call the Golden Rock, and on Mount Barachaios—and caring for them and providing for them, and summoning those renowned for action and contemplation to himself, and harvesting the blessings of their prayers. Nor only this, but he did not cease to provide the annual stipends, which he had established, to those confined for the sake of God in the narrowest little huts as if in a prison, and to all the monasteries. These few things we have recounted as taken from many of the man’s virtues and alms.

28. John, the brother of Peter the Bulgarian, together with others of Simeon’s nobles, plotted an ambush. ^D Being discovered, John was corrected with scourges and shut up in prison, and the others were subjected to no ordinary punishments. When Emperor Romanos was informed of these things by Peter, he sent the monk John (who had been a *raiktor*), ostensibly for the purpose of carrying out an exchange of the captives being held, but in truth to seize John and bring him to Constantinople. And that is what happened; for having entered a ship together with John, he arrived in the city from Mesembria. And not long after, having cast off the monk’s

^A habit, and seeking the embraces of his wife, the emperor assigned him a house and bestowed upon him many properties, and provided him with a wife from his own homeland of the Armeniacs; and he held a magnificent wedding in the house of the Caesar, with Emperor Christopher and the monk John, who had been his rector, acting as groomsmen.

29. Furthermore, Michael the monk, the brother of Peter himself, being desirous of the Bulgarian empire, rebelled apart in a certain fortress of Bulgaria, and drew to himself many Scythians who had defected from Peter’s rule. After Michael’s departure from this life, these men invaded the regions of the Roman domains, in such a way that, progressing from ^B Macetis through the Strymon as far as Attica and Nicopolis, they laid waste to everything there. Nicopolis is so named from the victory which Augustus Caesar gained over Antony and Cleopatra, at the time when he subjected the rule of the Egyptians to the Romans.

30. In the month of March, on the second day, a *cosmetes* fell down in the Forum from the columns erected there in a row, and killed six men. A great and terrible fire also occurred in the portico of the Forum, not far from the church of the most holy Theotokos, so that the part of the Forum which the candlemakers and the furriers ^C occupy was consumed by fire as far as the Psichas.

31. Emperor Christopher died in the month of August, in the fourth indiction, while his father lamented and mourned for him with a great grief and wailing, more than is customary even by the manners of the Egyptians, because he was now at an advanced age and his sons were still young children. His body was laid to rest in his father’s monastery, which was mentioned above.

32. They also removed the patriarch Tryphon in the month of August, in the third indiction, when he had completed the prescribed time; and he went away and died in his own monastery. The Church remained widowed of a pastor for one year and five months, because Theophylact, the son of Emperor ^D Romanus, was not yet of a mature enough age; for Romanus intended to appoint him patriarch, as has already been said.

33. A certain Macedonian impostor, Basil, claiming to be Constantine Ducas, enticed many to join him. This man was seized by Elephantinus, the *tourmarch* of the Opsikion, brought to Constantinople, and by the judgment of Peter, the eparch of the city, he had one of his hands cut off. Afterward, finding an opportunity, he returned to the Opsikion, and having fitted a bronze hand in place of the one that had been cut off, and having fashioned an enormous sword, he went about again, deceiving many of the vagabonds and pretending that he was Constantine, the son of Ducas. Having gathered a large crowd of these...

^A against Romanus, he incited a rebellion. Having seized a fortress called Lata Petra, he stored every kind of provision there; from this lair he would sally forth, devastating the surrounding region and seizing booty. The emperor therefore sent troops and captured both him and those serving under him. Upon being brought into the city, they were put on trial, and when interrogated to reveal their accomplices, if there were any, they were subjected to many blows. He falsely slandered many of the nobility, as if they had been adherent to him. But having been proven to have nothing true to charge them with, he was consumed by fire at the house of Amastrianus.

34. Theophylact, son of the emperor, was ordained patriarch on the second day of the month of February, in the sixth indiction, being one who anticipated the spirit and mind of his father in all things, but who also extended himself toward those virtues and right deeds that proceeded from the erudition and doctrine he possessed. There were present vicars of the Roman pontiff, who brought a synodal tome dealing with his ordination; and they seated him upon the patriarchal throne. ^B

35. The aforementioned granddaughter of the emperor Romanus, Maria, wife of Peter of Bulgaria, often came to the city from Bulgaria for the sake of visiting her father and grandfather. Finally, however, she came leading three children with her, when her father Christophorus had already passed from among the living. Having therefore been gifted with much wealth by the munificence of her grandfather, she returned home with honor.

36. The emperor Romanus took for his son Stephen a wife, the daughter of Gabalas, and granddaughter of Catacyla, Anna by name. And together with the nuptial wreath, the imperial crown was also placed upon her. ^C

37. The first expedition of the Turks against the Romans occurred in the month of April, in the seventh indiction. They overran everything as far as the city, and plundered every living soul throughout Thrace. The patrician Theophanes, the protovestiarius and administrator of the empire and prince of the senate, was sent to make peace with them and to recover the captives. Theophanes, employing admirable prudence and sagacity with them, accomplished everything according to his desire, and for this reason brought back much praise and admiration from them. Then also did the emperor Romanus demonstrate ^D with what great magnificence and humanity he was endowed, sparing no expense, only so that the captives might be liberated.

38. The emperor Romanus also took as a wife for his youngest son, Constantine, Helen—of the Armenian lineage—the daughter of the patrician Adrian. Upon her death on the second day of the month of February, he gave him another woman to marry, named Theophano, who was descended from the lineage of that Mamas.

39. In the fourteenth indiction, on the eleventh day of the month of June, the Rus sailed against Constantinople with an equipped fleet of ten ships.

Those who are called the Dromitae—who originate from the lineage of the Franks—were sent out against them with the triremes and dromons that happened to be in the city. The patrician, having prepared and readied the fleet, and having fortified it as much as possible with fasting and tears, awaited the Rus, intending to engage them in a naval battle. ^A When they had arrived and were near the Pharos (the Pharos is a certain structure upon which a torch is placed to guide those traveling at night), this man, lying in wait at the mouth of the Euxine Sea (which is called by antiphrasis "Euxine"—for it was called "Cacoxine" because of the frequent raids of the pirates there against those who were guests, whom, they say, Heraclea killed, and the travelers, enjoying safety, named it "Euxine" as if it were hospitable), suddenly made an attack upon them at the place called Hieron, which received its name because the sailors of the Argo, passing through there, built a temple there.

And, in fact, he was the first, sailing in his own dromon, to break through and disperse the formation of the Rus ships, and with the prepared naval fire he burned a great many, and put the rest of them to flight and slaughter; following this, the remaining dromons and triremes rushed out and completed the rout. They sank many ships with their crews, slaughtered many, and captured most of them alive. The survivors therefore sailed toward the eastern part, to the place called Sgora. ^B At that time, Bardas Phocas, the patrician and general, was also sent by land with cavalry and select men to intercept them. And indeed, having sent a sufficient detachment of these to the parts of Bithynia in order to obtain provisions and other necessities, the aforementioned Bardas Phocas came upon this detachment and treated them badly, routing and slaughtering them.

Then also the most sagacious and prudent John Curcuas, Domestic of the Schools, came down with the entire army of the East, and destroyed many of them that he caught separated from the main body here and there, so that, huddled together in fear of his attack, they remained in one place by their own ships and dared not make any excursion. ^C These men had indeed committed many and very great evils before the Roman army arrived. For they burned the entire place called Stenum, and those of the captives they took, some they crucified, some they pinned to the ground, and others they stood up as targets and shot with arrows. As many of the priestly and clerical order as they captured, they bound their hands behind them and drove iron nails into the middle of their heads. Many holy churches they delivered to the fire. But as winter was approaching and they were running out of provisions, and fearing the army that had arrived of the Domestic of the Schools, Curcuas, and fearing the man himself for his prudence and wisdom in counsel, ^D

they made plans to return home. ^A Indeed, while they were hastening to take to the fleet, in the month of September of the fifteenth indiction, having set out to cross over to the regions of Thrace during the night, they were met by the aforementioned Patrician Theophanes; for they did not escape the notice of his most vigilant and noble soul. Immediately, then, a second naval battle was joined, and the aforementioned man sank very many of the enemy's ships and killed many of them. A few, having been saved with their ships and having reached the shore of Cules [Kyles] as night came on, fled. The Patrician Theophanes, having returned with a brilliant victory and having erected the greatest trophies, was received honorably and magnificently, and was adorned with the dignity of *parakoimomenos*.

40. Since the aforementioned John, ^B *magistros* and Domestic of the Schools, had distinguished himself by most excellent virtue in that war, and had erected many great trophies, and had extended the Roman borders, and had sacked very many cities of the Agarenes, and because of the manifest virtue of the man, the Emperor Romanus desired to take his daughter as a wife for his own grandson, Romanus, who was born of his son Constantine. Now the daughter of Curcuas was Euphrosyne, and the son of Constantine was Romanus, who was castrated by Constantine Porphyrogenitus and was honored with the dignity of Patrician and *praepositos*. But since envy of him was stirred up in the other Augusti because of such a matter, he was removed from office, having served for twenty-two years and seven months as Domestic without a successor.

41. Yet it is worth mentioning both his lineage and his upbringing, and his character and his natural ^C disposition of soul and body, and his deeds, and what a faithful and upright man he appeared in our generation. He was of Armenian stock from the village of Dacia Darbidou, of a father who was not obscure, a very wealthy palace official, the son of John, Domestic of the *Hikanatoi*. It is said that he was also educated in the Holy Scriptures by Christopher, the metropolitan of Gangra, who was related to him by blood. And as the report spreads by word of mouth, it is said that the high priest declared, "This John will be for the redemption and relief of the Romans." For he subdued many and most numerous cities and fortresses and lands and castles and strongholds of the Agarenes, and made the Roman dominion ^D double what it was, since before [that time] the enemies of the faith of Christ had driven them into such straits and held them in such subjection that [the Romans] did not venture beyond the fortress of Charsianon and the [fortress] of Hypsele and the river Halys. But John, the faithful and diligent Domestic of the Schools to the Emperor Romanus, extended the borders of the Romans as far as the Euphrates and the Tigris; he brought spoils and gifts to Romania, and from there the Emperor acquired a new population and army; and he imposed many tributes to be paid annually, and brought back from there many spoils and chariots and captives of the Agarenes, since he himself offered himself in the greatest contests to [the task of taking] the cities of the infidels.

^A And who could recount by name these cities which, having conquered them, John Curcuas, domestic of the scholai, made tributary to the Romans? In twenty-two years he established and brought to Romania nearly a thousand cities and more; and one could see the ever-watchful John Curcuas in the midst of military battle lines, using persuasive speeches and exhortations to the Romans, and he might deservedly be likened to and called another Trajan or Belisarius. Indeed, if anyone compares this man to them, he will find the brave deeds and triumphs of Curcuas greater. But those who are keenly desirous and wish to learn of the triumphs of John Curcuas will find them explained clearly in eight books written by Manuel, protospatharios and judge. ^B

42. Nor would it be out of place to recount the brave deeds and triumphs of Theophilus, brother of the magistros and domestic of the scholai John, the patrician and stratelatos of Chaldia. Having become the sole commander in Chaldia, he did not surrender himself to luxury and debauchery and softness, as is the custom of many, but rather, yielding himself to labors and hardships, he set out to plunder and ravage the villages and lands of the Agarenes, so that he even brought under the yoke and made tributary to the brother magistros John the inhabitants of the Agarenes, including those in the most brave and truly wondrous fortress, Theodosiopolis, and the fortresses around it. ^C But he also appeared as an excellent commander in Mesopotamia, and he did not only appear, but he was also shown to be another Solomon who was known and appeared in the time of Justinian. He left for those who came after him his descendant, John, known as Tzimiskes; and, thanks to the natural talent, courage, and zeal of the man, he was honored as patrician and commander of various themata, and afterward, under the Emperor Nicephorus, the victor known as Phocas, he appeared as magistros and domestic of the scholai. But there must be an orderly and proper narration concerning them as well; likewise, regarding the patrician and commander of various themata, Romanus, son of the magistros John, known as Curcuas, who himself also appeared as an excellent and brave man. ^D

43. While these were thus flourishing and persevering and fighting for the Christian faith, and bringing cities and lands and villages to the Roman empire, and making the deniers of Christ tributary to the Emperor Romanus, Beliar—who is always fighting against the race of faithful and upright servants—unable to bear the great and boundless thanksgiving of the Christians, incited certain men. He persuaded them to accuse the magistros and domestic John before the Emperor Romanus, claiming that he was aspiring to the imperial rule, that he had an army ready at hand for this purpose, and, in short, that he had performed many injustices and robberies of [various] places and lands.

^A Romanus, having sent [envoys] and having found nothing, restored him once he had shared in the power. But because of the envy of the others, who were agitated by such matters, he fell from power, and Pantherius, a kinsman of the Emperor Romanus, was appointed Domestic in his stead.

44. Now the Emperor Romanus discharged all the city's debts, both of the rich, the great, the poor, and the destitute, as much as could be proven by the ledgers; and there are those who say he paid nineteen centenaria. He burned the record of the names in the purple omphalos of the Chalke, while all acclaimed the emperor favorably and followed him with their vows. In the twenty-second year of his reign, he remitted the rents of the entire city, for everyone from the greatest to the least. On Wednesday and Friday, going forth to the place of the transfer ^B, he distributed to all citizens two silver pieces, and he provided three coins to those in prison, both men and women. He built many churches and monasteries; furthermore, he bestowed gold-woven vestments and chalices with patens. He established a hospice at the dwellings of Mabrianus, and having built stables and hostels of the greatest beauty, he also prepared beds and chambers for all the strangers coming in who were pursuing their suits. Moreover, he ordained and commanded that food and fodder be provided for them, as well as for their beasts of burden and their servants. He secured houses for this purpose by firm donation, so that the expenses might be covered without lack. He did this for the sake of those strangers who had legal cases in the city, so that they might be fed and provided for at his expense. For his own tomb, he ordered that every day thirty thousand loaves be given; and on Wednesday and Friday [he ordered] that there be given at the Praetorium, ^C and at the Chalke, and at the Numeri, to each man fifteen folles, and on Great Friday one coin to every prisoner for the sake of alms. He also willed that the monks of Olympus, of Cyminas, of Athos, of Baracheas, and of Latros, and all the others, should receive one coin each, and that they should receive these from his own monastery.

45. In the first indiction, in the month of April, the Turks again invaded the borders of the Roman domain with a great force. But the Patrician Theophanes, the Parakoimomenos, went out and made a treaty of peace with them, having taken prominent hostages; from which it came about that peace and a truce were maintained for five years. The Emperor Romanus built from their foundations most of the cities throughout Macedonia and Thrace, and repaired others. ^D Not only this, but he also renovated magnificent royal palaces in the imperial city, and also lush and fruitful meadows, which afford no ordinary pleasure; and indeed he also constructed homes for the feeding of the aged, hostels for strangers, and dormitories for the sick, hoping to receive a reward from God and the salvation of his soul.

^A 46. During the second indiction, the Emperor Romanus sent Paschalius, protospatharios and strategos of Longobardia, to Hugh, King of the Franks, seeking as a bride for Romanus, the son of his son-in-law Constantine, the king’s daughter. Paschalius took her and brought her into the city with great furnishings and wealth. The marriage took place in the month of September of the third indiction. She lived with her husband for five years and then ended her life during the days of the reign of Constantine, her father-in-law.

47. In the month of December, a violent and strong wind having blown, the so-called Demos erected in the Hippodrome opposite the royal throne collapsed, and they shattered both the foundations under them and the so-called *stethea*. When the year had rolled around, in the same month, the sons of the Emperor Romanus cast him out of the palace.

48. The city of Edessa, in which the venerable image of Christ was kept, was being besieged by the Roman army and was reduced to the direst straits; its inhabitants sent envoys to the Emperor Romanus asking for the siege to be lifted and promising to provide the holy image of Christ. In return for such a favor, they asked to receive, from among their own people held captive, those of noble birth, and to receive a golden bull ensuring that the Roman army would no longer ravage their region. This is exactly what happened. When the holy image, that is, the *mandylion*, was sent and was already approaching Constantinople, Theophanes the patrician and *parakoimomenos* went out to the river Sangarios and met it with splendid lighting, the honor due to it, and hymns. On the fifteenth of the month of August, he entered the city with it, while the Emperor was at Blachernae, where he also venerated it. The next day, the Emperor’s two sons, Stephen and Constantine, and his son-in-law Constantine, went out to the Golden Gate with the Patriarch Theophylact. Having received this sacred pledge with the honor that was due, while the entire senate preceded it and a great multitude of candles and torches shone before it, they transported it on foot to the church of Saint Sophia. Once it had been venerated there, they brought it up into the palace.

49. In these days, a certain Armenian prodigy came to the city: male children joined together who had come forth from one womb, whole in all the members of their bodies, but joined from the mouth of the stomach down to the pubic region, and they were facing one another. They spent a long time in the city, and because all gazed upon them as some monstrous prodigy, the Emperor Romanus drove them out as a kind of evil omen. But when Constantine alone held power in the empire, they entered the city again. Since one of them had died, some skilled physicians...

^A thought they would separate the inseparable part, surely hoping that by that remedy the other might be preserved unharmed: yet he himself survived only three days and died. 50. The Roman emperor, as has been said, held the monk in very great esteem and regard, but above all others he notably honored Sergius, a man distinguished in the monastic order, who was the brother of the magister Cosmas, the president of the supreme court. He restored the monastery of Manuel, and in a similar manner he built from the foundations the monastery and basilica of Saint Panteleimon, which bears the name Ophri Portus. ^B There he gathered eight hundred monks under a holy rule, and he established fixed stipends for them, from which they might be sustained, which he provided to the monk Sergius, his spiritual father, for their rations. He was moved by a feeling of compassion toward all exiles, upon whom he spent a great quantity of money; for which reason, at the time when he departed from the palace, not a single exile was to be found. This Sergius happened to be the nephew of the patriarch Photius; he was more illustrious for his nobility of soul than for the ties of the flesh. For he had reached the summit of virtue and knowledge, nor could it easily be discerned in which he excelled more: thus indeed had he cultivated both with accuracy and supreme perfection. Furthermore, there flourished in him a modesty in discernment, a grace of character, a sensitivity of mind, and humility. He did not lift his eyebrows, ^C as is the way of the wise in this day, nor did he present himself as arrogant or proud; but from his mouth flowed speech sweeter than honey. His character was firm and constant, his frame of mind modest and humble. This illustrious man, therefore, the emperor kept with him continually, that he might organize the affairs of his own life according to his standard and rule. He warned him, and exhorted him again and again, that the emperor should take care of his children and not allow them to be undisciplined and decline into wickedness, lest the same thing that happened to Eli should befall him, and he himself should pay the penalty for the transgressions of his children; which, in fact, came to pass.

51. Now, when his children had led him from the palace and banished him to the island of Prote, he again had him to console his calamity and to bring relief to his troubles and straits. Present also ^D was the most reverent monk Polyeuctus, who likewise, just as the aforementioned Sergius did, appropriately and fittingly alleviated the annoyance of his adversity. For the purity of his life, this man was later, when the patriarch Theophylact had passed away, promoted to the patriarchate by the emperor Constantine.

52. Furthermore, the emperor Romanus, being worn out by old age and long illness, set his imperial affairs in order duly and accurately according to the provisions of his will; and he declared the first of the Augusti to be Constantine, born in the purple, in the year 6453; and he appointed his children as second and third in rank as emperors, clearly ordaining and decreeing that they should immediately be deposed from their order if they should in any way offend against the first emperor.

53. But since God in many ways desires...

^A to bring about the salvation of man, He permitted the Emperor Romanos to fall into an unexpected calamity, so that, having been chastened by it and brought to a realization of his own transgressions, he might be found worthy of salvation. For He permitted his son Stephen to rise up against him, just as once Absalom rose up against his own father David. Thus, having used as counselors for this purpose Marianos the Argyros—formerly a monk—and Basil Petinos the protospatharios, and Manuel Kourtikes, and with the other emperors also complicit, he wickedly cast him down from the palace, and having exiled him to the island of Prote, he had his head shaved in the manner of a monk.

THE IMPERIAL REIGN OF CONSTANTINE

^B 1. Constantine, the son-in-law of this man, was left as sole emperor of the Romans on the twentieth day of the month of December, in the third indiction, in the year 6454. He immediately honored Bardas Phokas with the dignity of *magister*, since he had often shown his prowess in wars over a long period of time and had been proven, and appointed him *domestikos* of the *scholai*; he also appointed Constantine Gongyles and certain other capable and eager men to lead the Roman fleet. Then he created Basil, surnamed Petinos (which is to say "bird-like"), a *patrikios* and *megas hetaireiarches*, and after stripping Marianos, who was of the lineage of the Argyroi, of his monastic habit, he made him a *patrikios* and count of the stable. Likewise, he made Manuel, who was called Kourtikes, a *patrikios* and *droungarios* of the watch. ^C Not long after, the just judgment of God overtook these three men, because they had acted lawlessly against the Lord’s anointed and had laid violent hands upon him out of a desire for imperial power; for, having been caught in an act of high treason, both met a miserable end to their lives. I shall relate the matters concerning them more broadly and in greater detail in the preceding narrative.

2. After forty days, on the twenty-seventh day of the month of January, Constantine, suspecting the Emperor Stephen and his brother Constantine, fearing lest they should ever attempt the same things against him, and reasoning—as was natural—that those who had not spared their own father would surely not spare him, invited them to a banquet. ^D Being already at the table and sitting down, and while the food was still in their mouths, these men—what are called the Tornikioi, along with the *patrikios* Marianos and the others prepared for this—seized them and brought them down from the palace, and having deported them to the nearby islands, had them tonsured as clerics.

^A Shortly after this, those men, having requested to see their own father, arrived at the island of Prote; and seeing him in the monastic habit, they were seized with an unbearable grief. The father, weeping with them, said: "I have begotten and raised children, but they have rejected me." And so they were exiled: Stephen to Proconnesus (which the settlers from Samos—having arrived at the island and offered propitiation to God, and being about to take a meal—renamed *Prochoos* [Aqualem], after a water-jug [prochous], which, according to an oracle, had been given to them when they were at a loss as to where to fetch water. For a certain woman said to them: "If you have a water-jug, I will give you water." Having accepted this, as the oracle had signaled, they sought the land. And as she had given this to them, they named the island Prochoos, and marked their silver coins with the image of a water-jug). From Proconnesus they were moved to Rhodes, and from Rhodes to Mytilene; but Constantine was taken to Tenedos, and thence to Samothrace. There, having meditated a rebellion and having slain Niketas the protospatharios, who had been entrusted by the emperor’s command with his safekeeping, he himself was also slaughtered by the guards who were watching him. His body was transported and interred with great magnificence in the same ancestral monastery where his first wife, Helena, had been buried beforehand. Constantine Porphyrogenitus stripped Michael, the son of the Emperor Christopher, of his imperial shoes and made him a cleric, a magistros, and a rector.

As for all those who had laid hands on the restoration of the Emperor Romanos, they suffered the following punishments: Basil the magistros was brought into the city, led about in an ignominious procession, and relegated to exile, where he spent the remainder of his life groaning and trembling, an exile from his fatherland. A woman killed Marianos by dropping a slab from a height onto his neck, a fate like that of Judas. Diogenes, a leader of the army, was pierced by the spear of two *atzupades*—let us call them bodyguards—of Maleleinos, and perished by an evil death. Curtices, departing for Crete, was drowned in the sea with his skiff. Cladon, having been caught in the sedition, was nose-slit and his ears cut off; likewise also Philip and the others.

^{C D} 4. Now the Emperor Romanos saw in a dream two eunuchs in white garments, who, having laid hold of him, dragged him, naked as he was in his entire body, into the *Tricymbalon* (as that place in the palace was called). The ball-court was filled with fire, and many infernal guards were pelting it with brands and fire. But he saw the Theotokos coming toward him and speaking to the eunuchs for the sake of his almsgiving; and the Theotokos, clothing him, led him into the *Tropikon* (as that place in the palace was called). In the meantime, the Lord Constantine, who had been slain, and also Anastasios, the metropolitan of Heraclea, passed by, being led by the *atzupades*; and they handed them over and cast them into that fire. On the night in which the emperor saw the dream,

^A both of them had ceased to be among the living. And so, the emperor sent messengers to all the monasteries and *lauras*, and likewise to the holy city and to Rome, and summoned three hundred holy monks. On Great Thursday, he stripped off the tunic and the garment that he was wearing, and standing in the sight of all in the church, when the priest was about to raise the divine and holy bread, he revealed and made public all his own sins, which were written in a scroll, to the hearing of everyone. And as the monks were crying out, "Lord, have mercy," and shedding tears, he bowed his head with devotion to each one and asked for forgiveness. And when all the monks had granted him forgiveness, and he had received communion, as they were going up to the table, he gave a whip of leather straps to a boy and to the *rekan*, and he struck his own feet, saying this: "Enter the table, you wretched old man." And when everyone had sat down, the emperor sat down, weeping and lamenting. The scroll, which had his sins written upon it, he sealed and sent to the monks who had been left behind, and likewise also to Dermocaites, a man in holiness, having sent also two *kentinaria* to the monks who labor on Olympus, so that they might pray for the salvation of his soul. Dermocaites, receiving both the scroll and the money, ordered all the monks to fast for two weeks ^B and to pray for his sins. And while Dermocaites was standing one night and praying, a voice came to him invisibly: "The philanthropy of God has conquered." ^C When he heard this voice for the third time, he took the scroll, and upon opening it, he found it clean, not having even one single letter on it. And having called all the monks together and shown it to them, they all glorified God. And having performed a service of absolution, all the monks sent it to the emperor Romanus, and it was buried with him.

5. While the emperor Romanus was on the island, the patriarch Theophylactus, and Theophanes the patrician and *parakoimomenos*, took counsel to bring him back again to the palace; they had also communicated this to him and persuaded him, and they were watching for an opportune time to put an end to such a plan. But when their plan was discovered and reported to the emperor Constantine, he punished its accomplices. For he sent the patrician Theophanes into exile, and he had the *protospatharios* George and the *pinkernes*, as well as the *primikerios* Thomas, beaten and shorn, and in this state he sent them into exile.

6. In the month of December, of the sixth indiction, some people plotted against the emperor Constantine, wishing to bring the emperor Stephen, who was on the island, back to the palace. When this was reported to Constantine by Michael, called the Diabolinos, the emperor seized the conspirators; from some he cut off their noses and ears, and others with an intolerable...

^A torture of scourges, examined them, set them upon asses, led them ignominiously through the middle of the city, and banished them into exile.

7. On the fifteenth of the month of June, in the sixth indiction, the emperor Romanus died on the island which they call Prote. His corpse was brought back to the city and deposited in his monastery.

8. A great and admirable story escaped me, which I should have told: namely, at the time when the emperors Stephen and Constantine were cast out of the palace by the order of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, it happened that the earth opened with a great chasm in the house of the magister and ex-Domestic of the Schools, John Curcuas, and in the house of the magister Romanus Saronites, and likewise in other various houses; from which it came to pass that, their goods having been plundered, they were reduced to poverty. The emperor Constantine, therefore, feeling pity and grieving that their resources had slipped away and their substance had suddenly been exhausted, ordered Theophilus, the prefect of the city, to collect these things and restore them to them. He, however, having entrusted the sum of the matter to his protocancellarius, along with the one called Zonaras, since he was a wicked thief, occupying their houses and exerting great diligence, usurped everything for himself and gorged his insatiable mind, and scarcely restored ^B to them the tenth part. For who could suffice to narrate the great and immense fraudulence and wickedness of this man, who was a plague and ruin to the Roman empire? What kind of vice and evil has existed in which he would not easily have held the first place? For surely, with words composed for persuasion and confirmed by oath, he held before all an image of a faithful and upright mind. But, as the story is bruited about by the common people, having invoked the aid of demons, everything turned out for him according to his wish, so that not even Constantine, although he often intended to remove him from his rank, could accomplish the deed, but rather pursued him with favors and gifts. Furthermore, I shall set forth more broadly and more laboriously, in its own proper and institutional narrative, the man's flatteries, his morals, his great impudence, and likewise his unfaithful and depraved mind, and his greed and rapacity, which no one can sufficiently grasp by any conjecture.

9. After Constantine alone was left as emperor, ^C he promoted his protovestiarius, Basil—the natural son of Romanus, the emperor before him, by a concubine—to the rank of patrician, and made him Prefect of the Sacred Bedchamber and first among the parts of the senate by the emperor. He was a man prudent in mind and learned, and in all things he served with clever counsel and, as was fitting, sedulously attended to the emperor. Furthermore, the most humane Constantine brought his mind to the idea that, by pacts and truces with the Tarsian Agarenes, he might liberate the Roman captives who were held by that faithless race, for this reason—namely, that he knew they had been afflicted for many years in chains and miseries. He therefore sent the aforementioned ^D magister and former Domestic of the Schools, John known as Curcuas, a man prudent and well-advised and most experienced in the administration of civil affairs, and also Cosmas the magister, a man wise and learned in the law and the foremost of the civil judges; and to the river Lamos

tò ἀλλάγιον ἐποιήσαντο, μὴ συμβάν τι ἐναντίον ἢ ^A δολερόν. Καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες ὑπέστρεψαν, φιλαγα- θῶς παρὰ τοῦ Πορφυρογεννήτου Κωνσταντίνου ἀπο- δεχθέντες.

10. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἔναυλον ἔχων τῶν ἀδικιῶν καὶ ζημιῶν ὧν ὑπέστησαν οἱ ἐλεεινοὶ καὶ ἄθλιοι πένητες παρὰ τῶν στρατηγῶν καὶ πρωτονοταρίων καὶ στρα- τιωτῶν καὶ ἱπποτῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ πενθεροῦ αὐτοῦ Ῥω- μανοῦ, ἄνδρας εὐσεβεῖς καὶ ἐναρέτους ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸ κουφίσαι τὸ πολὺ βάρος τῶν κατὰ καιρὸν ἀκαίρων ἀπαιτήσεων τῶν ταλαιπώρων πτωχῶν. Καὶ εἰς μὲν τὸν Ἀνατολικὸν Ῥωμανὸν μάγιστρον τὸν Σαρωνίτην, εἰς δὲ τὸ Ὀψίκιον τὸν Μουσελὲ Ῥωμανὸν μάγιστρον, εἰς δὲ τὸν Θρᾳκήσιον Φώτιον πατρί- κιον, εἰς δὲ τὸν Ἀρμενιακὸν Λέοντα τὸν Ἀγέλαστον, καὶ εἰς τὰ λοιπὰ ἐφεξῆς θέματα· οἵτινες τῇ προσ- τροπῇ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος μικρὰν ἀνακωχὴν τοῖς πέ- νησιν ἐδωρήσαντο. Καὶ τοῦτο ἄθλον καὶ προτερή- ματα τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργοῦντος τῷ ἄνακτι. Οὕτως γὰρ περιεῖπεν τὸ ὑπήκοον ὡς ἀετὸς σκέπων τὴν αὐ- τοῦ· οὐδενὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἢ τῶν μέσων ἢ τῶν χυδαίων ὠργίσθη πώποτε, καίτοι μεγάλας ἀτοπίας εὗρε πολλοὺς εἰς τὸ κοινὸν καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἁμαρτήσαν- τας, ἀλλὰ χριστομίμητος ὢν μᾶλλον εὐποιίαις καὶ δωρεαῖς ἀπένειμεν καὶ τῷ κρίνοντι δικαίως ἀπεδίδου. Τὸν δὲ ἔπαρχον τῆς πόλεως Θεόφιλον, ἄνδρα λόγιον καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πολιτικοὺς νόμους ἱκανόν, πατρίκιον προέκρινεν καὶ ἐτίμησεν καὶ κοιαίστωρα προεβάλετο, καὶ ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ προεχειρίσατο ἔπαρχον Κωνσταντί- νον πρωτοσπαθάριον, τὸν τηνικαῦτα μυστικὸν καὶ καθηγητὴν τῶν φιλοσόφων, λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ ἀξιέπαι- νον, ὡς μὴ ἕτερον τῆς γνώσεως καὶ σοφίας τοῦ ^C ἀνδρὸς εἶναί τινα τῆς συγκλήτου· καὶ οὕτως τὴν ἐπαρχίαν εὐνομίᾳ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ διέπρεψεν.

11. Ὁ δὲ πατριάρχης Θεοφύλακτος ἀρρωστήσας καὶ πρὸς τὸ θανεῖν ἐγγίσας καὶ μικρὸν ῥωσθείς, οὐκ ἐνέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν τῆς πονηρᾶς μοχθηρίας καὶ τοῦ μετὰ δώρων χειροτονεῖν τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τῶν ἵππων καὶ βλακειῶν. Καὶ αὖθις ὑπὸ τῆς νόσου κυριευθεὶς τέλει τοῦ βίου χρᾶται, πατριαρχεύσας χρόνους εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρσι. Χει- ροτονεῖται δὲ ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ Πολύευκτος μοναχὸς ἀσκη- τικὸν βίον διαλάμπων, καὶ μονάσας ἐξ ἀπαλῶν ὀνύ- χων καὶ διαπρέψας ἐν πάσῃ ἀρετῇ καὶ ὀρθῷ δόγματι· καὶ ὡς ἄλλος Ἰωάννης Χρυσόστομος παρὰ πολλῶν ἐγνωρίζετο καὶ ἐλέγετο, καὶ οὐκ ἐλέγετο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐφαίνετο. Τοῦτον ἐρῶν ὁ φιλόκαλος Κωνσταντί- νος ἔχαιρε καὶ ἠγαλλιᾶτο ὡς τοιοῦτον ἄνδρα ἐπιτυχὼν ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμερῶν αὐτοῦ.

12. Ὁ δὲ φιλόθεος καὶ φιλόκαλος βασιλεὺς Κων- σταντῖνος ὁμοιότροπον εὑρὼν Ἰωσὴφ πατρίκιον καὶ [lacuna due to page cut]

And the God-loving and beauty-loving Emperor Constantine, having found Joseph the patrician and praepositus, a man adorned with manners as honest as his own, skilled in the administration of civil affairs and swifter than a bird, designated him sacellarius, and then droungarios of the fleet, and entrusted all of his power to him.

13. Wishing to narrate the zeal for what is upright and the noble deeds of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and how he restored and settled all things into a better state, and how he piously and justly looked after the salvation of his subjects—and finding myself unequal to a task befitting such a man, being afraid to praise him, I would more willingly embrace silence; nevertheless, it is fitting to pluck a few things here and there from the many.

14. Since, then, he found all things nearly ruined and in a state of neglect, and men shining with virtue held in low esteem and despised, he, as one who was God-loving and a lover of beauty, religious toward God, and energetic in honest practice, preferred the bold and stout-hearted to the cowardly and effeminate, and placing them under Bardas Phocas, the patrician and domestic of the schools, he became the author of victory for the Roman Empire. But since, in the Roman state, many noble and praiseworthy disciplines were flourishing, and liberal arts and sciences were present therein, and yet (for what reason I do not know) they had been neglected and had fallen into contempt, what did that mind, so highly cultivated in philosophical reasonings, devise? For since it did not escape him that we enter into a relationship with God through the practice of virtue and contemplation, and that action is congruent with the management of civil affairs, while contemplation is appropriate for those who are governed by reason, he determined that the one should support the other. He saw to it that those who labor for the commonwealth should be refined by the art of rhetoric, while those who apply themselves to contemplation should be refined by philosophical precepts and the natural consideration of existing things. Furthermore, he chose most excellent teachers; from among them, he placed Constantine the protospatharios, who at that time was performing the duties of the mysticus, in charge of the school of philosophers; Alexander, the metropolitan of Nicaea, in charge of the rhetoricians; Nicephorus the patrician, son-in-law of Theophilus the Erotic, the eparch, in charge of geometry; and Gregory a secretis in charge of the astronomers. The Emperor bestowed much diligence and care upon the students, making them his daily associates and companions at table, providing them with silver, and engaging them in pleasing conversation. Not much time passed before, thanks to these blandishments and the wisdom of the fostering Emperor, they had fully learned the great sciences and arts; and from their number, the Emperor selected some whom he exalted with the honor of judges, senators, and secretaries, and metropolitans, and thus he adorned and enriched the Roman state with wisdom.

15. Likewise, he repaired and renewed the imperial robes and the ancient crowns and diadems that had been worn out by long use. He magnificently adorned the Bucoleon with statues brought from various places and built a reservoir in it. The prisoners detained in the jails, whether urban or provincial, he diligently investigated and visited, and he released them from their bonds, thus ^D

^A redeeming them, so that all might offer up salutary acclamations to the good and Christ-imitating Emperor Constantine. He honored virtue and knowledge in a way no other emperor had done; and whomever he found to possess knowledge, and to have a nature and aptitude for the laws, he promoted and elevated to a higher throne. One could see justice and good order flourishing everywhere, as the Porphyrogenitus studied and cherished philosophy. The Emperor also issued a law; for, seeing the great greed of those insatiable men, how they had poured out into the midst of the provinces and villages and crept into the domains of the wretched poor, ^B oppressing them, and through various methods and fraudulent pretexts had acquired their suburban properties as plunder, he resolved to take these away from them. What, then, does this man, wise in all things, do? Having gathered the senate, he decreed by its authority that those who, from the time he had taken supreme power, had crept in as wealthy men and had—whether by counted money or by gifts—come to possess suburban properties or fields or lands as their own, should be ejected without receiving any payment back; and by this, he repressed the injustice of those insatiable men for a time.

16. The gentle and serene sovereign did not even refuse to settle in person the disputes, lawsuits, and contentions of those who approached him, but he also willingly sat among the judges. When the parties to a case and their advocates stood before his tribunal, he would refute their arguments and deceptions; for nothing could escape his keenness of mind—neither a lie cloaked in truth, nor a plausible fiction mingled into a narrative, nor superfluous documents and libels secretly composed, which could easily deceive even the most astute and insightful ^C under a counterfeit mask of truth. Hence it resulted that, chastened by fear before the trial, those who had committed injustice would, of their own accord, become judges of themselves and pass sentence upon themselves.

17. It is necessary, then, to speak of the Emperor's common cares and the countless corrections and administrative actions of his reign. For when letters were sent to him from the generals, imperial protonotaries, and magistrates in the villages, provinces, and cities everywhere, and even from the chiefs of foreign nations—and when these were read by him—he immediately determined the purpose of each, what needed to be done regarding [the affairs of] the East and what regarding the West. And to these he would often fly like a bird, receiving embassies, writing to magistrates, and correcting matters that had been recklessly changed. The same Constantine was revealed to be a counselor, a curator, a general, a soldier, a commander, and a leader. And who could relate or express the excellent gifts of such a great man?

18. It is time, then, to speak also of the hospital ^D for the sick, indeed, of the city. Seeing [the hospital], Emperor Constantine...

increased it with ^A huge structures, so that all who were suffering from such a disease might be gathered together in it, and he provided indefatigable funding for the anointing of their flesh, leaving it for the perpetual memory of those after us.

19. One must also speak of the stable that was converted into an old-age home. For behind and near the most wondrous Great Church, there was a stable for the horses and mares of the patriarch Theophylact. Seeing this, the good emperor, judging it unfitting, transformed it into a religious house and built it as an old-age home (that is, a hospice for caring for the aged); and he decreed that those established there receive an annual stipend with which they might be fed and clothed.

20. One must also tell of the roof of the Nineteen ^B Accubita. For, seeing that it had rotted and threatened to collapse, and was in a state of great disarray, he renovated it. For the gilded ceiling having been worn away by the passage of time, he himself removed it and exhibited it as newly fashioned and brilliant. For he constructed octagonal coffers, and having adorned them with openings and various carved figures, into vine tendrils and leaves and representations of trees—and having sprinkled these with gold—he provided such splendor that those who applied their eyes and minds to the sight were transported in their thoughts.

21. For his son, Emperor Romanos, he constructed ^C palaces more magnificent than those of the emperors of the previous age, raising the buildings from their very foundations, the complex and varied configuration of which strikes the mind and thought, dividing them into many parts and instilling wonder in those who behold them. And in the tetraconch of the Apostle Paul, he caused various images to be depicted, and so that the ancient beauty might be discarded and a new one inaugurated, he set forth many figures and images of gold within it.

22. The man understood the art of painting so accurately as, I think, no one before him or after him has equaled in his skill. ^D For he corrected many of those who labored at it, and he appeared as a most excellent master; and he not only appeared so, but was admired by all, and he was a great marvel to those who saw him, for the things he had learned from no master. Who could recount in words how many craftsmen Constantine corrected? He taught stonecutters, and those who apply gold, and those who decorate with points, and silversmiths, and iron-smiths better methods, and the emperor shone forth as the best in all things.

23. Constantine, a lover of beauty and honorable things, built the silver doors of the Chrysotriklinos; and by his diligence and labor he fashioned a silver table for receiving guests and for the ornamentation of the dining hall, adorning it with multi-colored woods and slabs and with their natural colors, providing greater delight to the invited guests by the look of it than by the sweetness of the food and the lavishness of the preparation.

24. He also built a purple enclosure in front of the vestibule of his bedchamber, having constructed a reservoir for water, which he surrounded with marble columns, their smoothness shining forth. What, then, is the noble-minded

^A spirit? He set upon the water-conduit an eagle forged of silver, not looking straight ahead, but with its gaze averted and its neck held obliquely, as if raging over captured prey, and with its feet entwining and strangling a serpent. And he also built, in the vestibule of the imperial bedchamber, an eye-catching display of mosaic work, with the diversity of materials and forms fashioned with great artistry.

25. Nor was the Emperor unskilled in shipbuilding; for he gave instructions on the construction of warships, and with what woods their bulkheads and joints should be fitted, and how they should be proportioned and structured in relation to one another.

26. Regarding the palaces of Eria, I ponder in my mind what pleasing and delightful things the Porphyrogenitus constructed, a site previously serving as a cemetery for the citizens of Chalcedon. Now, however, resting upon four apses and constituting new royal dwellings at their angles, it is impossible to say with what delight and pleasure it fills those resting there, through the gentler breezes of the summer winds blowing all around, providing rest and refreshment to the soul. ^B

27. What might one say about the building of the royal palaces in another location? For these too, in their form and elegance, and by their surpassing luster and the fragrance of delight rising from the foundations, and because of the beauty which enhances them, far exceed and excel even the Eria; such is the temple of the Apostles built nearby—beautiful to behold, and marvelous to admire. For even if it is lacking in the magnitude of its mass compared to the ancient one, it is nonetheless far removed from falling short in its inner brightness. And what of the faithful Emperor? He honored Theodore Belonas, the patrician, with the dignity of a patriciate, as he had been a helper in the structure of that brilliant and magnificent temple. ^C

28. As for the sacred vestments and hangings which he provided for the great and most wondrous common propitiatory [shrine], who could recount them? Whenever he arrived, he did not think it right to appear before God empty-handed, but he showed his favor and made recompense with great votive offerings, and with fabrics woven of gold, pearls, and precious stones; these even now adorn the Holy of Holies magnificently and bring excellent beauty to the place, proclaiming the magnificence with which Constantine offered them.

29. The expedition of the patrician Basil Hexamilites and commander of the Cibyrrhaeots must be recounted. This patrician Basil, being a commander of the Cibyrrhaeots, young in years but grey in wisdom and displaying an experience greater than his age, seeing an armed fleet that had set out from Tarsus, and in it notable Saracens, when the commander saw them approaching the Roman territories, ^D considering that they imagined they would seize them like a nest, the commander set the ships subject to him against such a great enemy fleet.

^A Although they were few and not equal to that great wedge, yet, due to the magnitude of the leader’s spirit and resolve, they were stronger than their enemy fleet, and by their boldness combined with prudence, they were more formidable than many allies in war. Both battle lines clashed, and the fight was engaged. Through this, a great cry went up on both sides, and the ships collided from here and there, until the leader himself, Basil, charging into the midst of the infidels, attacked the flagship. When this happened, and as Greek fire beset the entire enemy fleet around, they were soon partly conquered and slaughtered, and partly sent under the yoke, while they themselves were taken alive together with their foremost leaders and nobles. Basil sent these to the happy and fortunate Emperor Constantine in the city, who led them in the style of a triumph in the hippodrome.

30. Furthermore, the Emperor Constantine, having readied a military force against the Lombards and Neapolitans, appointed the patrician Marianus as their leader, because the western parts had turned into tumult and had broken the bonds of the Roman yoke. ^B For all those who had obtained the land of Lombardy and Calabria as a settlement had grown insolent, finding thereafter the confidence to rebel because they were far removed from the royal city. For this reason, since they were constantly eager for new upheavals and revolting one after another, they had reached such a height of defiance that they even struck a pact with the Hagarenes and laid waste to cities, fortresses, and towns with fire and sword. Moreover, the Neapolitans, having fallen away from the service of Christ, promised to perform works that are those of slaves, turning to open defection. ^C Lest therefore the populace, driven to sedition and rebellious, should grow insolent in their arrogance, as if they had seized nations that were of Roman rule, Porphyrogenitus, not bearing this, approached as their avenger with forces brought from Thrace and Macedonia, and with an armed fleet using Greek fire, he suppressed their recklessness and madness. For on land and by sea, the patrician Marianus Argyrus, having attacked Naples with the Roman army, burned everything that was situated toward the land with fire; as for all the exits that were toward the sea, he blocked them. Thus, from all sides hemmed in, the townspeople, pressed by famine and captivity and brought to a humble disposition, sent out for the sake of supplication to Emperor Constantine, making a subjection such as they had previously rendered to the Roman fasces. ^D The Lombards and Calabrians did the same thing. For this reason, the barbarians of Sicily also entered into peace treaties.

31. But one must also marvel at the war against the Africans. Soon, when the battle was joined and they were being smashed, and as the ships were clashing with one another, a violent wind arose. It blew as if it were an ally and helper in war for us, but for the barbarians it opposed and fought against them; they met the defeat that followed, being consigned to the deep along with their weapons, ships, and all their equipment. And indeed their amir [sought] peace treaties with the em...

emperor. ^A And not only did these men profess their subjection to the emperor, but even the barbarians inhabiting the Gauls, with their entire households, showed their good will toward the Porphyrogennetus sovereign, and sent legates to the emperor with magnificent gifts and hostages; and the fortune of the Porphyrogennetus brought them all into subjection, to render service and submit to his yoke.

[P. 284] 32. The amir of Egypt, having heard of the great victory of the Romans and the naval battle and the slaughter of the deniers of Christ, immediately checked his martial ardor with friendly letters and promised unity. The amir of Persia, since he had encountered the Roman armies in various ways and had been defeated in different engagements and battles, was reconciled to the emperor through a bond of love. And the emperor sent hostages to him; upon arriving in that land of Cyrus, they venerated and kissed the tomb of the apostle Thomas, lit the royal lamps that had been sent ^B by the emperor, and traded in precious stones and pearls. For the emperor was endowed with such grace, along with his other great achievements, that he always gathered and amassed one thing after another, and transferred those things worthy of love and admiration into a more august display.

33. It is therefore necessary to speak also concerning the Chrysotriclinium.

The Chrysotriclinium.

34. The emperor loved the citizens as his own grandchildren, and indeed he valued them all the more. And he made a selection from those of noble birth. Some he honored with titles of dignity, others he honored with magnificent gifts, and he made them companions at his table and in his household, and he increased the spark of affection even more through the lure of his benevolence; and he preferred them above a vast host of bodyguards, sentries, and protectors, as faithful lovers of their master, and as men who preferred the emperor’s safety to their own.

35. It is necessary to describe the reception of the Brumalia by the Porphyrogennetus. ^D

The Brumalia.

^A welcoming every guest with more beneficial gifts, he increased the joy and splendor of the festival many times over, bestowing silken garments and vestments in abundance, with a vast and countless sum of money, and purple-dyed clothes and robes, and Indian aromatics of an odor such as no one had ever heard of or seen before.

36. Everyone knows that music is a divine discovery and is beneficial to human nature. What then did the pious and most magnificent sovereign do? He busied himself with this, and through it he did not cease to hymn the Divine. Thence cheerful assemblies were made more bright, the feasts of the martyrs were made more radiant, and the memories of holy shepherds and teachers were made to shine forth with a new brilliance. For the man was so filled with graces that he gathered choirs of chanters and devised leaders for them, while he himself, before all others, would be with them and listen to the chanting, gladdening his soul and rejoicing. ^B

37. Thus he loved as no other of the faithful before him, and he honored with a most brilliant memory the noble character of Chrysostom, praising the composition of his discourses and his periods, and the long-winding circular figures and the syllogisms, in which he had brilliantly and magnificently magnified the herald of repentance.

58. And he so loved and cherished Romanus, his own son, as no other had, and he exhorted him before all things to hold to a piety toward God, and then he instructed him in speech and character and gait and laughter and clothing, and in how he ought to sit and stand on the throne in a manner befitting royal majesty. For which reason, too, the Porphyrogenitus was deemed worthy of divine apparitions, and he prophesied [concerning] his son, saying as if from an oracle: "If you keep these things, you will rule the scepter of the Romans for long years." ^C

59. He took for his son Romanus a wife born of noble lineage, beautiful in body, lovely in face, and chaste in soul, endowed with every propriety of character, by name Anastasia, the daughter of Craterus; to whom was assigned by the Porphyrogenitus the name Theophano [[P. 286]] as it was truly deserved, as if she were a manifestation of God and [by Him] chosen. And the nuptial chamber was prepared and the celebration was held in the most wonderful triclinium of Justinian Rhinotmetus, and joy and gladness shone around the Porphyrogenitus together with Helena Augusta, because he had been able to give to his son such a noble maiden [descended] from [noble] ancestors as a bride.

60. Now when the Augusta Helena was worn out by disease, suffering from a serious illness, the most kind-hearted sovereign did not abate in his affection and love for her, but gladly fulfilled her every desire in all things. For the Augusta requested that the sovereign appoint suburban estates and golden bulls and revenues for the guest-house and gerontocomium which had been recently constructed by her at the place in the old Petrion called "Helen's"; these things the Porphyrogenitus fulfilled with joy. And it was possible to see her ^D

^A rejoicing in soul and body, as he provided this out of boundless affection and wealth. She especially rejoiced seeing her son, the emperor Romanus, and her daughters Zoe and Theodora and Agatha, abiding with her and rejoicing with her and with the emperor Constantine. For he too honored and loved them, and in particular Agatha, because she served her father tirelessly in his sickness, and through her the emperor’s secret affairs and the administration of the magistrates were made known; she appeared as a mediator, and did not appear only, but was also acknowledged and indeed acted as such.

^B 41. Now the Porphyrogenitus, because the magister and domestic of the schools, Bardas, called Phocas, was failing in strength and had arrived at the exhaustion of old age, removed him from the domesticate, and in his place appointed as domestic the patrician and strategist of the Anatolians, Nicephorus, his own beloved son, a man who had distinguished himself in many and various wars and shown himself excellent. By his sweet speech and encouragement he adorned the armies, and marched against the enemy Agarenes in such a way that all the armies were confident, as if they were making their camp in their own land. And they did not hide nor revel nor retreat, as was their custom; but all marched resolutely against the enemies, fenced in by their shields and fighting with their spears, and utterly destroying the Agarenes. And it was a matter ^C for wonder and amazement for those who observed the victor Nicephorus, as he cut to pieces and routed the battle-lines and forces and the *foulka* of the impious Chambadas, and struck them down. The fortune of the victorious champion was admired and magnified by those who watched, as he reduced cities and villages and regions to ashes with fire, and brought back captives, and offered them as federates to the Empire of the Romans. And arriving indeed to the faithful Constantine, he was deemed worthy of praises and honors from him, such as in past times the Roman generals would have obtained.

42. The sovereign Constantine (would not allow) ^D any of his paternal structures to fall, nor this great bath, which Leo his father had prepared in the houses of Marina, vast and a wonder of the state in our time, which before had been neglected, and by that neglect and the carelessness in maintaining the roof, had lost all its adornment and whatever beauty it possessed, and was completely deformed, so that nothing remained in it except debris and foundations. This Constantine, who took glory and delight in his paternal works as if they were his own, decided to restore it, thus repairing it so as not only to restore it to the previous order,

^A thereby bestowing a more beautiful appearance and returning to the bathers their former pleasure. This situation both fills strangers with wonder and strikes the residents with astonishment.

43. Furthermore, the Emperor appointed the patrician Theodore, called Belonas, prefect of the city and "father," a man who was indeed capable and learned, and who, by his knowledge of the law and his noble disposition and talent, was excellently endowed; and by his care for public affairs, his proper arrangement of order, and his equity in judicial decisions, he provided spontaneous sustenance to those engaged in litigation.

44. The Porphyrogenitus sent the patrician and paramoekomon Basil, with an army of soldiers and a mighty force and large quantity of equipment, against the impious Chambadas ^B. And indeed, fortified by his divinely inspired counsels, he departed from the royal palace and from Byzantium, and arrived at the borders of the infidels who deny Christ. First of all, he captured Samosata, a city formerly built by the Syrians and situated on the bank of the Euphrates, a city strong and secure in its garrison, crowded with a multitude of people, and enriched with great wealth. The weight of the war fell upon this place, and upon the barbarian leader himself. Now the barbarians, puffed up by their innate arrogance, promised themselves certain victory over the Romans and snorted against them. But when the standards were joined and the battle was engaged at close quarters, being unable to withstand the assault even for a moment, they turned and fled, each striving to escape in whatever way he could to save his own life. Then the victorious Roman soldiers stripped the dead, bound those who were taken alive, and, with the city plundered, gathered vast spoils. All these things were led into the city and paraded in the manner of a triumph through the Hippodrome.

45. The Emperor appointed the patrician Leo, son of Bardas Phocas, a magistros, as general of the Eastern legions in place of his brother Nicephorus; he was a man truly excellent, vigorous, and most warlike against the Agarenes and the enemies of the empire. It was something to see these brothers fighting for the Christians, ^C advancing against the enemy, slaughtering them, and raining blows upon them, while they could not withstand their assault.

46. At this time, a great and terrible fire broke out near the church of St. Thomas, so that the portico leading to the Iron Gate was consumed by fire. But the Emperor, because of his immense benevolence, and because he loved and cared for the citizens as he would his own children, comforted everyone by rebuilding their houses which the devouring flame had consumed; and the citizens ^D praised and thanked the Emperor as a second god and benefactor.

47. Furthermore, the Turks, having launched an expedition

^A against the Romans, and having ravaged as far as the city at the feast of the holy Pascha, and having led away captive whoever of the Thracians they encountered and driven off much booty, the Emperor immediately sent the Patrician and Domestic of the Excubitors, Pothos Argyros, with his own regiment and the general of the Bucellarians, the Opsicians, and the Thracesians, who crossed over and pursued them on their heels. Wherefore, protected by the acceptable prayers of the Porphyrogennetos to God, they made an attack upon the enemy by night and dealt them great slaughter. Their camp having been stormed, the booty was recovered and the captives [freed]. The Turks, indeed, confounded by that great defeat and rout, returned to their own land.

48. For it is worth mentioning the terrible sign shown by God and the proclamation of the passing of Constantine Porphyrogennetos. They say that at the birth of the sovereign, a brilliant comet-star appeared for forty days; and now again, at the time of his sickness and end of life, a star was shown in the sky, having a murky and dim light, and this appeared for many days, signifying that Constantine Porphyrogennetos had been created by a superior power. And many of the well-disposed know this, and have passed on the miracle to those who did not know of it, so that even the elements might mourn the end of the Porphyrogennetos.

49. But although most of the imperial deeds escape the mind, I shall add this one last thing to what has been said, and I will bring this discourse to a close. A desire and longing had come upon the sovereign to reach Mount Olympus ^C and to behold the holy Fathers living thereon, and to enjoy the abundance of their venerable prayers, and to seek for himself a remedy for his sickness through the change of places and the mildness of the air; for a secret ailment was smoldering within him, on account of which he was shown to be given over to medical care, and he had the greatest need to go out to Olympus. Seized by this longing and love, he immediately boarded a small praetorian dromon ^D and traveled to the regions of the Bithynians and to Prietos, which has been named Praenetos by the locals, having received that title from a certain tutelary god of the Bithynians. From there he arrives at Nicaea, a city once rich and populous. From there he arrived at a monastery of monks situated toward the foothills of the mountain, dedicated to the martyr Athenogenes who is glorified there; and through the father of the monastery, the one presiding there showed the Emperor some letters. For they say that Leo, the pious Emperor, while passing through there and making his journey toward the peaks of Olympus for the sake of asking that a son be given to him as successor to his empire, heard from Peter, who was the hegoumenos of the monastery at that time, that he would beget a son as successor to his empire; and that he himself would go out to Olympus at the end of his life. The Porphyrogennetos, having recognized the writing to be that of his own father, declared the monk’s prophecy to be true.

^A From there he proceeds to the foothills of Olympus—Olympus, I say, which early writers have long since assigned to the Mysians, as it was the Mysians who dwelt there in ancient times. Having with difficulty crossed the strange, difficult, winding, and precipitous hills, the emperor reached the cells of the holy Fathers. Having seen and greeted them, and protected by their saving prayers, he traveled on to Prusa, a city which a man who once ruled over the Bithynians had founded as a monument to his own courage and his noble achievements in war. When he encountered thermal springs almost in the outskirts and suburbs of this city, he bathed there; local legend says that it was in this place that Hercules, searching all about for Hylas, washed away the blood from the slaughter of Hylas.

50. Meanwhile, the holy Fathers informed him that there was an ascetic elder on the highest peak of Olympus who was resplendent with signs; moved by this news, the emperor was stirred with a desire to visit him. ^B But the elder, enlightened by a divine vision, as if the emperor had already come to him, left his cell, and having performed an act of reverence (having greeted him prostrate, that is), he said, "Bless me." The emperor asked who he was, and whence, and how, and why he had come. He replied, "Since I knew that your Majesty was coming to me, I have come to you instead." Then the emperor, suspecting that the elder had been sent to him by the will of God, and strengthened by his prayers, when he learned that the end of his life was near, returned to the cells of the holy Fathers; and having been refreshed with food along with them, he quickly descended to the sea. ^C Most people did not even know that he was ill, but he was wasting away within from an intestinal disease and was being consumed by the flames of fever.

51. But, O laws of mortal nature and changes of fortune, to what laments am I compelled and driven! From the time he departed and set his course straight by sea toward the imperial city, he was besieged and struck down by his persistent illness. For because that once-fearsome emperor was yielding to the force of a greater disease, and all hope of health had vanished, there was no one who did not follow the Porphyrogennetos with wailing and mourning; no one who would not weep and lament for the good, sweet, gentle, ^D easy-to-address, tranquil, and serene king—and by whatever other such names one might address a man to whom one is bound by affection. And since Constantine Porphyrogennetos was seen to be drawing his final breath, he designated his son Romanos as emperor, commending him again and again to Joseph the patrician and praepositus, and making him swear, by the prudence and skill in which he excelled, to keep his affairs safe through diligent care. Such a man indeed he was: shrewd, prudent, upright, and faithful; swifter than an eagle in the administration of public affairs; in the integrity of his judgment, and in showing no partiality to persons, pious and just; and by such honesty he truly shone forth.

^A Empress Helena, together with her children, and the patrician and [parakoimomenos] Basil, and the chamberlains, when they saw the emperor Constantine gasping his last and falling into syncope, gathered closely around the bed, weeping and wailing with measureless lamentations, and they bewailed and mourned such a master; yet they achieved nothing more by this than washing that imperial body with futile tears. And indeed, as both groups encircled his couch and beat their breasts with many groanings, and as the end drew near for him who was the sweet and wealth-bestowing emperor, the choirs of saints and righteous monks, and martyrs and hierarchs, stood by, and they committed his most holy soul into angelic hands. And in haste, having wiped him clean, they laid him out in the nineteen [akoudita]. And having performed the solemnity for him with psalms, they immediately brought him out, and having placed him in the Chalke, the high priest and the priests and the [magistri] and the patricians and the entire senate gave him a last kiss and bade him farewell. And the master of ceremonies, as was the custom, cried out, "Depart, O emperor; the King of kings and Lord of lords calls thee." And as the crowd of people raised a shout and wailing and lamentation, and after this had been pronounced for the third time, they immediately took up the emperor and brought him out from the imperial apartments onto the public thoroughfare, and bore him to the church of the Holy Apostles, the entire senate accompanying him and magnifying the procession with funeral chants.

^C 55. And what need is there to speak of the people and the crowd of the city that had gathered, with some gazing from a height upon that imperial tabernacle, others watching from nearby as it passed, and others looking out from balconies and high rooms and gazing down upon the sight ^D of the funeral bed, while others wept in secret and were shaken by deep-seated sighs, and others were torn apart by their lamentations, and others still were crying out more sharply, being distressed and lamenting the common misfortune, and some were pouring forth their tears like a torrent and watering the gold-plated bed? But when they approached the church of the Holy Apostles and the imperial body, escorted by the guard, was seen within, the patrician and [parakoimomenos] Basil, having washed his most holy body with his own hands, as is the custom for the deceased, and with the tomb or sarcophagus prepared and opened, he laid him to rest with Leo the emperor, his father. And not even after death and burial did the beloved son renounce the unity and love he held for his father.

54. Regarding his appearance, the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus was tall of stature, white of complexion like milk, broad-eyed, possessing pleasant eyes, aquiline or hooked of nose, long-faced, rosy-cheeked, long-necked, and in his posture as straight as a cypress tree, with broad shoulders, upright [alt-version omitted]

gentle towards all and almost timid, fond of banquets and wine, sweet in speech, and generous with gifts and rewards. He lived from his birth to his death fifty-five years, two months, and... days. He died on the 15th day of the month of November, in the 3rd indiction, in the year from the creation of the world 6469, leaving behind Romanus as emperor, and Helena Augusta, the mother of Romanus.

THE REIGN OF ROMANUS, SON OF CONSTANTINE PORPHYROGENITUS.

^B Romanus the Emperor was left as sole ruler by his father, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, at about the age of twenty-one, while Basil Porphyrogenitus was a year old, along with his mother Helena and his wife Theophano, on the 6th day of November, in the 6th indiction, in the year from the creation of the world 6469. Straightway, he deprived the cubicularii and domestic aulic officials of his father of their positions, though he honored them with the rank of patrician or protospatharios and other higher dignities and enriched them with gifts, and he dismissed them from the palace. He chose and ^C selected as his associates and ministers in the management of affairs the leaders of the Senate, Joseph the patrician, praepositus and drungarios of the fleet—whom he soon after advanced to the position of praepositus of the sacred cubiculum (that is, cubicularius)—and he entrusted to him all authority and the care of conducting the affairs of the state. He appointed John, surnamed Choerinas, protospatharios and patrician and grand hetaireiarches, so that through him and his vigilance, caution might be exercised for the emperor against any persons suspected of plotting against him. He made Sisinnius, the protospatharios, who had been sakellarios, the eparch of the city—a learned man and fit for public service. Shortly after, he appointed him patrician and general logothete, and in his place he created Theodore the patrician, from the military ranks, surnamed Daphnopates, as eparch of the city. ^D This Sisinnius, for as long as he discharged the office of eparch, distinguished himself with equity and justice and greatly adorned the sacred praetorium. It was a sight to behold when litigants stood before his tribunal, as he beat back and struck at the repetitive lawsuits and maneuverings arising from cases already condemned and settled, putting to flight and driving away deceits and tricks; and thus, each man became, of his own accord, the judge of the injury inflicted upon the other party. Moreover, the emperor granted assistants or assessors to the eparch, to aid in the choice and mar-

^Ashaling of the officials, specifically Theophylactus the *asekretis*, known as Matzitzikes, and Joseph the *spatharokandidatos* and judge, whom he appointed logothete of the praetorium. These two, while they properly assisted the city prefect with their counsel, applied their efforts well to the affairs of the state.

2. It will be worth our while, therefore, to discuss the public concerns of the emperor. As soon as he had assumed the supreme power, he sent letters to all the Roman commanders and governors acting in the emperor’s name, for the sake of fostering friendship with those of Bulgaria, and of the West, and of the East. Upon receiving these, all congratulated the emperor on his fortune and his friendship toward them, celebrating him as the best of rulers and confirming treaties of peace with him. But the account concerning the citizens must not be omitted. The emperor Romanus loved his fatherland as if it were his own mother, and he esteemed noble families within it very highly. For this reason, he made a ^B choice based on the standard of ancient and pure nobility, honoring some with dignities and offices, and favoring others with magnificent gifts, at times even inviting them to his own table, and by bestowing money, he sought to increase and kindle the power of love all the more; and he preferred the benevolence which they showed him to having many bodyguards and sentries.

[P. 295] 3. He drove his sisters Zoe, Theodora, Agathe, Theophano, and Anna from the imperial palace to the house of Canicleius, where Sophia Augusta, the wife of the Emperor Christopher, was living with shorn hair as a nun, and he had them shorn of their hair according to the rite of nuns; and although their mother Helena and their sisters were lamenting the deed with many tears and crying out loudly, and while they were clinging to one another and embracing each other’s necks, they achieved nothing more by that tragic spectacle than to spend themselves in silent and empty ^C tears. After an interval of some days, the emperor moved them from there to another place; he assigned Zoe, Theodora, and Theophano to the monastery of Antioch, but he sent Anna to the monastery previously founded and built by Romanus, who was then emperor and was the grandfather of this emperor, and he decreed that they should be provided with the same rations and provisions for life as they had received in the palace.

4. He honored Nicephorus Phocas with the rank of *magistros* and sent him into Asia against the infidel Agarenes. He also appointed his brother, the patrician Leo, as commander of the army and governor, whom he shortly after also created *magistros* and Domestic of the West. One could have seen the emperor indulging his own inclinations, spending all his time in the countryside with his hounds and hunting wild beasts, as one who entirely turned away from the royal palace, and having unburdened all the care ^D of the army onto the two brothers we mentioned. Thus he spent his days in joy, and outside of Byzantium, together with his contemporaries, flatterers, ill-advised men, and revelers, he occupied himself entirely with hunting.

^A 5. But what could one say regarding the diligence, upright pursuits, fortitude, and good character of the sovereign? In a single day, having sat in the Hippodrome, dined with the Senate, and distributed gifts of money, he would, toward evening, engage in the tzykanistirion, playing ball with the skilled and experienced, and having frequently overcome them, he would depart for the Anoritas for a change of scene. There, having hunted down four enormous boars, he would finish his sport and return across the strait to the palace by evening. For he was young in age, vigorous in body, of wheat-colored complexion, with beautiful eyes, an aquiline nose, a rosy face, graceful and pleasant in speech; as upright in stature as a cypress, broad-shouldered, quiet, and gentle, such that everyone marveled and was struck by the man. The state rejoiced because of him, as one who was fortunate and a conqueror of nations; and because he provided the city of Byzantium with abundant grain and supplied food to alleviate the needs of the citizens.

6. ^B Emperor Romanos also had another son, born after the death of his father, named Constantine. Not long after, he was crowned by the Patriarch Polyeuctos on the ambo of Hagia Sophia. But the Augusta Helena, lying on her bed in the palace and rejoicing with the sovereign, having been ill for some considerable time, piously passed away on the nineteenth day of the month of September. Having honored her in royal fashion, and with her placed upon a bier gilded and studded with pearls and precious stones, as the Senate escorted her, she was buried in the monastery established by her father, Emperor Romanos, which is at Myrelaion, in a tomb positioned near and adjacent to that of her father.

7. ^C But the kind, pleasant, and gentle sovereign—and by whatever other noble names it is proper to call the man—ordered the magistros and domestic of the Schools, Nikephoros Phokas, to set out for Crete with an expeditionary force, a great army, and an equipment of warships and Greek fire. For the Cretans were daily inflicting many grievous and evil things, and carrying off captives into the land of the Romans, from the time they had sacked that great island. For they had seized it during the reign of Michael the Amorian, father of Theophilos, and finding an opportunity, the Saracens who had come up from Spain, with a multitude of warships—at a time when the Roman soldiery was occupied in suppressing the sedition and tyranny of Morothomas, the companion of Michael (for the tyrant had held sway over Thrace and Macedonia for three years and more)—made it subject to themselves. ^D And they held it until the day it was recovered by the magistros and domestic Nikephoros Phokas, for one hundred and fifty-eight years.

8. Wherefore Emperor Romanos, moved by divine zeal, and with the counsel and good advice of the parakoimomenos Joseph, having gathered from every quarter warships and vessels, together with Greek fire and an elite

^A force of Thracian, Macedonian, and Sclavisian troops, he resolved to send them to Crete. Now, certain members of the senate, and some who were his own household servants and followers, were troubled about the expedition to Crete, reminding the sovereign of the departures and innovations of past emperors, and how infinite treasure had been poured out and nothing achieved, especially in the time of the emperor Leo of pious memory and Constantine Porphyrogenitus; how much money and how many men had been consumed and perished, fearing the danger of the sea and the great coalition of the neighboring Saracens, and the fleet of the Spaniards and Africans, and the rumor circulating among men, that whoever should take Crete would be Roman Emperor and would take the supreme authority into his own hands.

9. But the parakoimomenos Joseph, a man of good, upright, and vigilant mind, standing in the midst, said: "We all know, master, what great evils have befallen the Romans from the deniers of Christ; and it is just and right to call to mind the slaughters, the violation of virgins, the destruction of churches, and the captivity of the coastal themes, and it is fitting to struggle on behalf of the Christians and those of our own race, and not to fear the length of the journey, the expanses of the sea, the uncertainty of victory, or the impossibility of the rumor. And above all, we must obey your God-assisted counsel and command, as this purpose has been breathed into you by God. For 'the heart of the king is in the hand of God' (Prov. XXI, 1); and this is all the more reason, since your majesty, being under the guidance of God, is sending a man of right mind and a faithful servant, the Domestic of the Schools."

10. Having heard these things, the emperor could ^B no longer restrain his intention; and having equipped and paid the army, and given money to the magister for the expenses of the war, he had him set out with the cubicularius Michael, the overseer, in the month of July, of the fifth indiction. For there were two thousand ships equipped with Greek fire, one thousand dromones, and three hundred and seven supply ships carrying provisions and engines of war. The Domestic Nicephorus, setting out from the queen of cities, reached Phygela, and took care that the entire fleet should be gathered at one place and anchor there. ^C The prudent and clever man sent ahead fast-sailing galleys to scout and ordered them to capture someone who could speak. When they had arrived and made such a capture, they brought them to the magister. And having questioned them rather searchingly, and learning that the Emir of Crete and the leading men of the fortress were outside in their own suburbs, he immediately came with speed and zeal and anchored. And having disembarked from the ships, he constructed a rampart and a deep trench, and proceeded to make raids, advising everyone to stay in one place and not to go out until they recognized his strength. Coming toward the fortress ^D all the Cretans who were outside the fortress

^A in fear shut themselves within. From then on, many deserted daily to the magister. Nicephorus, learning that those who had been excluded from the fortress had fled to the narrow mountain passes, defiles, streams, marshes, and mountains, organized his army, and sent out light infantry, Rus, and Anatolian, Thracian, and Macedonian commanders and centurions. He himself, the prudent and brave Domestic, remained behind the rear-guard; and all, through the man’s good counsel, considered themselves to be as safe as if they were in their own territory. Those who had been sent out seized and ravaged the places where their livestock, herds, and property were hidden and where they themselves were camping, and having plundered everything, they returned with joy and in triumph. From then on the Romans, free from all fear, encamped securely in a place where there were clear springs and an abundance of every kind of fruit and grain. Each man had his tent and hut placed among the trees, and they rejoiced as the fruits fell and all enjoyed [the bounty], and prayed for the magister who governed them so well.

11. ^B The emir of Crete, called Kouroupas, notified the neighboring Hagarenes of Spain and Africa of the events, and asked for aid and alliance. They sent light galleys to learn of the leader, the army, the situation, and the obedience of the army to its leader. They arrived at Crete with great speed, and by night entered the fortress by a rope, and meeting the emir Kouroupas and the elders of the fortress, they found them in helplessness, sloth, and despair, not knowing what to do against the Roman army and the magister. Throwing their arms around the necks of those who had been sent and clinging to them, bereft of all other speech, they wept bitterly and grasped them, ^C beseeching them to have the emirs set out to their aid and assistance, and they sent them back with haste. Upon returning, each reached his own emir and reported the great armaments, the expedition of the ships, the alliance and organized forces from various nations, and also the alertness and prudence of the general, his faith in God and his justice, and finally his avoidance of all manner of vices and lusts. The emirs, filled with dread, ^D refused entirely to give them aid or alliance.

12. As the army lingered for a long time on the island [p. 299], and an immense winter, with rain and cold, was expected, and as the grain and food supplies were consumed and their cloaks and coverings were worn out and they were destitute, the men of the army, being numbed, thought of returning home. But the brave and prudent leader Nicephorus held them in the camp by his discourse and the pleasantness of his words. For he said to them: "Men, my brothers and fellow soldiers, let us take the fear of God into our hearts; let us endeavor to avenge the insult to God; let us stand bravely in Crete against the enemies armed in impiety. Let us grasp faith, which

is the slayer of fears; let us consider that we are within the Syrian island. Flight from this place brings great danger. Let us avenge the defilement of the virgins; seeing noble limbs wounded, let us grieve in our hearts. The labor and the danger are not without reward. Let us stand and endure in opposition against those who deny Christ, and Christ God will work with us and destroy our enemies, and the fortress of the arrogant will be razed for Christ. And after he had advised them many other things, one answered on behalf of all: "You have opened our hearts, master. You have strengthened our powers and our purposes with your words. You have uplifted our minds, and we follow your will and command, and we will die with you ^B."

13. In the month of October, in the second year of the reign of Romanus, there occurred a shortage of wheat and barley in the city; for wheat was sold at four modii for one coin, and barley at six. And it was possible to see the watchful mind of Joseph providing for the common good. Therefore, he immediately sent out into the East and the West [officers] to drive away purchasing agents and merchant ships, and to forbid the grain dealers from hoarding the wheat and grain; for the man was just, impartial, and faithful. Not much time passed in the interim, [and] seven or eight modii were sold for one coin. Such, indeed, was the man, so keen and fervent in spirit, that no one ^C of those before him or after him could be compared to him.

14. In the month of March, the master called Peteinos, named Basil, was accused of having plotted rebellion at the suggestion of certain evil counselors; and the emperor sent him into exile, and there he died. But the patrician and domestic of the East, having been sent into Asia on behalf of his brother, lest through lack of protection those Roman regions should lie open to the ravages of the impious Chabdās, and he more freely launch raids, take captives, and plunder the Roman land—having joined forces with the strategos of Cappadocia, the patrician Constantine Maleinos, and with the rest of the generals and the regiments—having caught up with the expedition of the arrogant [enemy] at the place called Andrassos, ^D he won a decisive victory against them, and having fought and routed them, put them to flight. It was then possible to see the arrogant Agarenes being stripped of their spoils, being slaughtered, being put to flight, becoming slaves in the place of servants, and caring not for carriages, or horses, or wealth, or kin; but each saved only himself from his own misfortune. Then, indeed, then the arrogant and haughty Chabdās was nearly captured—but that the horse he was riding stood still and knelt—had not the late John, his servant, stepped off his own horse and granted it to him; the horse having been seized and the arrogant [master saved], he was freed from such great danger. All the spoils were...

captured, were brought by Leo to Byzantium and led about in the triumphal procession.

15. When the Turks launched an expedition against Thrace, the patrician Marianus, son of Argyrus, who held the supreme command of the army and was commander of the forces of the West in the theme of Macedonia, encountered and fought them, and having captured a great many, compelled the rest to return to their own country in disgrace.

16. When the Emperor Romanus learned of the straits, destitution, and lack of provisions of the army, he immediately sent them supplies for their sustenance on the prudent advice of the ^B *parakoimomenos* Joseph. Encouraged a little by this, having besieged the city for nearly eighteen months and more, and with the provisions and supplies of the Cretan Agarenes exhausted, they were reduced to necessity and daily defected voluntarily to the *magistros*. Under the providence of God, who steers all things, in the month of March, in the sixth indiction, the Domestic of the Schools drew up the army for battle, forming various phalanxes, shields, and trumpets. When he had arranged these things, he ordered the units, the theme commanders, and the Armenians, Russians, Slavs, and Thracians to approach the fortress. It was possible to see the pushing and counter-pushing, the hand-to-hand combat, the throwing of stones and missiles, and the artillery machines ^C directed against the walls and battlements of the fortress, and a stupor and fear fell upon the arrogant. Having prevailed slightly in the battle, they captured the fortress. And it was possible to see the Saracen women and children...

PROLUSIO TO THE FOLLOWING INVECTIVE

Since so much has been said and written here regarding the cause of the images, whether under Leo the Armenian, Michael Balbus, Theophilus son of Balbus, Michael and his mother Theodora, or earlier in Theophanes regarding Leo the Isaurian and his son Constantine; let me not seem to exceed the bounds of Byzantine history, for I present this unique monument in it, as if in the place of an appendix, for the sake of illustrating the matter, being more ancient than the seventh synod and its author, who provided the same seventh synod with all the authorities and examples which it used with such copious abundance and happy effort to confirm the dogma and to seriously vindicate ancient tradition. Although he denied us his own name, he could not more clearly register his own time and writing. He says that the controversy begins seven hundred years after Christ’s passion: in the earliest years of Leo the Isaurian; from which time he says he is writing for more or less forty-five years, to the very final days of Constantine Cabalinus and his pseudo-seventh synod, which he seeks to refute as truly accusing Christians of idolatry. The Iconoclasts recognized that all past ecclesiastical tradition was opposed to them; whence they did not fear to impute the guilt of prevarication to the Church, as if this worship—the religion of images—had grown up in it from the rite of the nations, and they went about to subvert this error with the words of God (especially those of the Old Testament), as they had learned from the Jews, as John the monk of Jerusalem explains in the subjoined short commentary: perhaps he himself became later the bishop of that city, and whose great names follow against the Iconoclasts, whose synodicon follows this Invectiva in the Royal codex, which I also represented in the volume of my former *Auctarium*, adding them later, even if in an altered order, with all the other proofs which exist in the Acts of the seventh synod, as I have already said. This Leo Cinnamus signifies that he copied the Royal codex from an older codex found in the ancient library of Senior Rome, in the years of the emperors Michael Ducas, Angelus Comnenus Palaeologus, and Theodora Augusta, written in the year 6538.

[501] ...and that from the first writing to its transcription there elapsed 517 years, as he himself notes. That famous codex may be viewed as a kind of universal armory, ^B containing the principal defenses of the Catholics against the heretics (especially those attacking the mystery of Christ). From it the illustrious and reverend Archbishop of Paris, Pierre de Marca, of blessed memory, long ago produced the confirmation of Vigilius for the Fifth Synod, although he did not win everyone’s belief in it. He himself certainly, who composed the book and arranged in it such a quantity of the Fathers and of councils, wrote concerning this confirmation as if it were not entirely of examined truth and of wavering faith, deeming it to have been found among the Acts of the Fifth Synod, though inserted into them for whatever reason it may have been. Nothing of such a kind is found in others, out of the many things that he draws from the councils.

That the author styles it a "dialogue" might be seen as an abuse of the term, for no distinct speaking persons are introduced, which is what is thought to be required for the form of a dialogue. Unless the author permitted himself this term because it is a treatise as if from several [persons], a disputation edited in the name of the orthodox Fathers: but this contributes nothing to a dialogue in the proper form, where distinct persons are accustomed to contribute, each one their own statement—and indeed with each point appropriately made, which is the perfection of the Platonic Dialogues. It would be simpler and purer [to call it] a *steliteutikos logos* (denunciatory discourse). ^C Another work of greater effort, published in his own name and that of the Fathers by Patriarch Nicephorus, who perhaps followed this very author and contended in the same arena, might, if it should at some time be made public property for the great benefit of the Church, be drawn from the royal parchments, and from the extremely full Seguier and Colbert codices.

That the author inveighs so heavily against the Copronymian bishops—deserters of the faith for the sake of the prince’s favor, and flatterers of the court—does not touch the true bishops, who, for the defense and pillar of the faith, court the favor of most religious princes, and who themselves always urge better and sounder policies upon the court, and stand as the salt of the earth, seasoning—so to speak—with the wisdom of the age those with whom they associate. This codex contains Leontius’s *De Sectis*, much corrected from the published editions, and richer in authorities which are lacking in them. It is permitted to make new excerpts from it of the first chapters of the *Hodegetes* (which it collects entirely and much else besides): so laboring are the published texts that even Anastasius himself would not recognize his own [work], although the publisher and interpreter has boiled everything down.

DENUNCIATORY DISCOURSE (LOGOS)

DISSERTATION AND INVECTIVE

1. Nabuthe the Jezreelite was stoned, that he might not betray the paternal vineyard, saying: "Far be it from me that I should surrender the inheritance of my fathers" [III Kings XXI, 3]. But these men, he says, to whom it has fallen to be bishops and pastors of rational sheep, solely for the cause of vain glory, having rejected the voices of the Fathers and armed themselves against the faith, pervert the things rightly spoken by them (teaching from their own reprobate and turbulent sense) which, as it is written, "are all plain to those that understand, and right to those that find knowledge" [Prov. VIII, 9]. For the Fathers, with a subtle, sharp, and pure eye of the mind...

encountering the words of the divinely inspired Scripture, store up divine benefit like some heavenly treasure within their own souls. But those who have their mind inclined toward falsehood, and who are defeated by the unbridled speech of certain men and are lovers of profane knowledge, will be companions of those concerning whom the blessed Paul writes: "In whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine for them" [II Cor. IV, 4]. For they are blind, and they are guides of the blind. And, indeed, these also fall into the pits of destruction; for, as the Savior Himself has said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit" [Matt. XV, 14]. Some, therefore, of the Fathers and teachers of the truth they deride, and having filled their own minds with diabolical malice, they hasten to adulterate the mystery of the truth, not a little disparaging the dispensation of the Only-Begotten with the flesh, neither understanding what they say nor of what they affirm [I Tim. I, 7], as has been set forth by the divine words of the Apostle.

2. But there have been many such discoverers ^B of this impiety in times past; yet now the authors of their wickedness are those who have put on the ways of the new Pharisees. For just as those truly denied that the Son of God had come in the flesh, so too now these new heralds, who do not wish to venerate and worship the holy and august icons of the incarnate coming of Christ, and of His undefiled mother according to the flesh, who is in truth the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, and of all His saints, but have fabricated a new faith by vain effort, contrary to that which was handed down from the beginning by our holy Fathers, who were disciples and successors of the holy apostles. For as it seemed good to them now, they claim to be more religious guardians of the faith than the holy Fathers, ^C whose words and virtues are the foundation and pillar of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, and claim to preserve the faith. For the very sayings of the Fathers, which they themselves clearly proclaimed concerning the august and worshipful icons, these "new-wise" men, taking the words which were rightly spoken by the prophets, twist according to their own lusts to their own meaning. For just as they spoke of pagan idols and the statues of demons, these men have turned those same words against the holy icons; and having pushed aside the holy Fathers and teachers of the holy, blameless, and orthodox faith of the Christians, and having rejected their voices and testimonies concerning the ^D holy icons which have been historically depicted of His incarnate and human likeness, which they clearly taught us to venerate and worship—for this reason, having entered into a brief discussion with these new heralds, God also granting us the breath [of life], we shall set forth a few things out of many, even if they, as though they were "manufactured," turn them away.

^A Let those turbid, discontented, and froward men tell us—the approvers of that base, profane, and God-opposing synod which was held by divine permission in Constantinople, in the place called Oneria—by what method and with what aim, having pushed aside the voices of the Fathers, you deceive yourselves according to your own desires, and being drawn and enticed, you are dashed to pieces. Tell us, I pray, you who now vainly hammer out a formulary of a new faith, what is there on earth that is held in veneration and worshipped and adored that is not "manufactured"? Is it the cross? The altar? The oblation? The Gospel? All are manufactured, yet to us they are venerable and saving signs, just as are the images of the saints; and likewise the image of the true and human flesh of Christ—from the economy of his incarnation—which for our salvation he assumed from the most chaste Mother of God, Mary; taking everything of ours, sin alone excepted. ^B Whence we also adore and venerate his image and that of his immaculate Mother. And you, indeed, make the mystery an empty ghost, and something that exists in outward appearance only; but we, being of the truth, of the holy apostles and their holy disciples and successors, and of our own Fathers and teachers, proclaiming the faith in the holy and consubstantial and adorable Trinity delivered to us by them, with unveiled face and in a clear voice speak with the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Get you up to a high mountain, you that bringest good tidings," and we also ascend to the tri-hypostatic, consubstantial, and lofty glory, preaching the good things of the orthodox faith, saying:

^C 4. We believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is the holy Trinity, uncreated, eternal, unconfused, indivisible, consubstantial, in one deity and kingdom and dominion, adored and glorified in three persons, or hypostases and properties. For when I speak of a "property," understand the Father as Father, and the Son as Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit. For these properties do not change places. For the Father cannot be the Son, nor the Son the Father, nor the Holy Spirit be the Father or the Son. But as I said, the Father is the Father, and the Son is the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. ^D There never was a time when the Father was not, and there was not a time when the Son was not, and there was not a time when the Holy Spirit was not. Therefore, both the generation of the Only-begotten and the procession of the Holy Spirit are incomprehensible. Do you adore the Father? In him the Son and Holy Spirit are adored. Do you adore the Son? In him you adore the Father and the Holy Spirit. Do you adore the Holy Spirit? In him you adore both the Father and the Son; not that the persons are confounded, but because you understand that the substance is one and incommutable and in all things the same. For since the nature and the substance and the deity are one, the adoration of the [[P. 306]] holy Trinity is also one.

But since the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are named and ^A exist, being in substance in all respects equal—though the divinely inspired Scripture grants the precedence to the Father—the Son also created all things by the good pleasure of the Father, and the Holy Spirit brought all things to perfection. God is therefore the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit. Yet, because God is God, and God, you cannot say "three gods." But by contemplating the three persons, and confessing each person, you say "One God," because of the oneness and identity of the nature and of the divinity and of the substance and of the co-eternity. Wherefore we glorify and worship the holy Trinity in the singular.

5. We have learned and we believe that the Son of God was begotten of the Father, ineffably, timelessly, incorporeally, before all ages. The Son of God therefore, Light of Light, true God of true God and Father, by the good pleasure of the Father was incarnate of the most pure and by the Holy Spirit sanctified Virgin holy Mary, who is ^B properly and in truth the Theotokos. And just as the generation of the Son himself from the Father is incomprehensible and inexplicable—and for this reason we worship and glorify it with faith and silence—so also the fleshly birth of the same Son of God from the Mother and Virgin is unspeakable and indescribable. And learn how.

6. The only-begotten Son of God, therefore, who was begotten of the Father before all ages, is uncircumscribed; and He is in the heights and in the depths, and holds all things in His hand, and in Him all things consist, and He fills all things, and He extends above all things, and is above all the heavens, and He ^C looks upon the abysses; and there is no creature that is hidden from His eyes. He is in the angels; He is wholly in the heights; He is wholly everywhere.

He, then, the Son of God, being such and so great, being unconditioned and without magnitude, since He can do all things, was able also to become man; and having truly been incarnate and become man of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, He did not cease to be in the heavens, and He exists on earth wholly incarnate. Who then can declare or possibly tell of the mystery? Except that the divine ^D Scripture has granted a few words suited to the frailty of human nature, by which the mind may be able to attain a taste and enjoy it, and in silence be astonished and worship the divine Mystery.

7. The Son of God, therefore, who is uncontainable, entered into the holy Virgin, and took from the nature of her flesh, and united to the person of His own divinity the flesh that is consubstantial with us, endowed with a soul and the perception of a mind, in a way that He alone knows. For I have said before that neither can the mind attain to it, nor human speech express it, nor should man investigate the physical reasons for a thing that is unsearchable and inscrutable. Having therefore united to Himself the [nature] taken from her—

the Son of God grew in His own flesh, using a soul endowed with reason and mind, in which no growth could fall; and the Son of God, unchanged from what He was, became an infant in the Mother’s womb; and a union of Godhead and manhood, indivisible and unconfused, was brought to completion ^A. And behold, He who is incorporeal and intangible has become embodied and is touched; and He who was born of the Father before all ages, behold, the same is born incarnate of the holy Virgin. And He who did not depart from the bosom of the Father, and who holds all things together by the power of the Godhead, and is held by the all-powerful force of all things, the same became man from the holy Virgin and was born, and lies in a manger as a swaddled infant, the holy Virgin remaining a virgin. For divine things are of this nature: just as the union of flesh and Godhead is unsearchable, so too is the birth and the delivery. For the divine and all-powerful Word was able to be truly incarnate and to become man in the Lady and to be born of her, and to keep the seals of virginity unshaken; just as, indeed, even when the doors were shut, He stood in the midst of the disciples.

8. For this reason, the holy and apostolic Church ^B receives all divine things with obedience, accepts all with faith, and reveres, worships, and honors all without over-curious questioning. The Son of God Himself, therefore, the true God, born as a child for our salvation, is said to grow in His own flesh, making our blameless passions His own; and He is said to progress in wisdom and stature through the gradual manifestation, that He might show that the incarnation exists truly and in reality. And He is said to grow weary, to hunger, and to thirst, and to have associated with men, having taught and illuminated every man coming into the world. For He Himself is the true light.

9. Finally, because of His measureless love for mankind ^C, He also suffered in His own flesh. For the Lord of glory Himself was truly crucified and suffered for our sake. For He suffers not in His Godhead, but in His own flesh, which was indivisibly joined to Him and animated by a soul, and He dies—the soul, clearly, being separated from the body. For the Godhead, indivisible and unconfused, was united both to the soul and to the body. The Son of God therefore descended with His own soul to the souls of the saints, and again He rose, the soul being united to the body. The same only-begotten Son of God rose, therefore, by His own power. "For I have power," He says, "to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again."

10. Having therefore risen from the dead, the Son of God was taken up into the heavens in accordance with His own incarnation; He who was previously incorporeal, now the same is clothed in flesh. He who was previously simple, now the same is composite; God at once and man. For there remains in Him also the nature of the

viously incorporeal, now the same is composite; God at once and man. For there remains in Him also the nature of the ^A Godhead. And He who was previously simple and one of the holy Trinity, is now the same, one of the holy Trinity, having been incarnate and having become man. And Him whom all the heavenly powers could not behold (for no one can see the Godhead of the adorable Trinity), they now behold as one of the holy Trinity, the only-begotten Son of God, in the visible form of a man, while understanding the uncircumscribed nature of His Godhead. For this is what the blessed Paul said: “He was seen by angels.” He assumed, therefore, what He did not have, and He possesses it—I mean our nature—unto ages of ages. And He is to come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, that is, the just and the sinners; the former to judge by way of justifying them, on account of their good works; the latter, however, to condemn them, on account of their unbelief and the deeds of their malice.

11. The Symbol teaches us to believe also in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God. The catholic (that is, universal) Church cannot be merely apostolic. For the omnipotent power of the Head, which is Christ, was able to bring salvation to the whole world through the apostles. The holy Church of God is, therefore, the assembly of the saints who have been from the beginning, of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, evangelists, and martyrs, to whom all the nations have been joined, believing with one accord. For they saw that there are, from every nation under heaven, those who are bound by the reasons of the same Christian faith. ^B For it cannot happen otherwise, that a multitude of men of every kind and a collection of innumerable languages should come together into one understanding of the most true faith, except by the authority and breath of the divine Spirit. I say again, therefore, that it is and is called catholic for this reason: because the monstrous, divided in zeal and character, and savage nations of the entire earth, of innumerable languages, all consent in one peaceful and salutary faith and knowledge of God and piety.

12. We believe, therefore, in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God, in which we have been instructed in the rudiments of the faith: and we acknowledge the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit, and we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Spirit; and we partake of the salutary body and blood ^C of the Son of God, who for our sake, by the good pleasure of the Father, became man and died for us; and we are taught to keep His divine and evangelical commandments; and to receive with certain truth the divine Scriptures of the Old and New Testament; to which, by applying our mind diligently for our own utility and that of others, we deserve to make a proof of faith and good conscience.

13. Finally, those who have faithfully and rightly searched these things, our holy Fathers and teachers of piety, have taught us in what manner we ought to revere and worship the salutary signs of the faith and the pledges; of Christ [P. 309]

^A, because of the Savior who was nailed upon it, as he who through it granted us redemption and delivered us from the curse of the wood. The altar, as the Lord’s own immaculate monument. The oblation, as the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God and Savior of our souls. The Gospels, as having been spoken and acted by the Word of God Himself. As for the icons, when I see that of our Lord Jesus Christ and of His immaculate and most pure Mother and Theotokos Mary, I immediately and at once raise my mind to His extreme poverty and condescension toward us, in that, being God, He assumed the form of a servant and made His own handmaiden His Mother; and was carried by her as an infant, and sucked milk from virginal breasts. Leaving the sensible eye fixed upon the icon, I cast the spiritual eye of my heart, together with my mind, into the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh, and for my many and inexcusable sins, I beseech His goodness and compassion, saying, "Glory to You, O God, my Savior; have mercy on me the sinner, and forgive my many sins, You who for my sake bore the nature that is mine, except for sin alone."

^B 14. When I behold the icon of the Theotokos, the Virgin Mary, I immediately say: "Immaculate Theotokos, Mother of Christ my God, intercede with your Son and my God, so that He may have mercy on me through His goodness and compassion." For the prayer of a Mother is very powerful for the clemency of the Master. Do not despise, O most venerable one, the supplication of sinners, for God is merciful and able to save, He who even deigned to suffer and die for us.

15. When I see the icon of an apostle, or a martyr, or any of the saints, containing the history of their sufferings which they endured bravely for Christ, I say: "Glory to You, O God of this apostle or of this saint." And saying these things in this way, I send up the glory to God. We have received these things in this way from the holy Fathers, whose names, books, and discourses we shall register in this work by the will and providence of God.

^C 16. But you, O new heralds and empty theologians, you who have laid hold of the preaching of the holy apostles, and of their successors and disciples, and of our own Fathers and teachers, as they themselves have handed it down to us from the Passion of the Lord and the saving Resurrection to the present eighth indiction—which is said to be seven hundred [and] forty-five years—and from that time until now the venerable icons have been, and are, worshiped by the faithful as we have said before: you have shown that for these seven hundred years the catholic and apostolic Church and her teachers and pastors were in error, and that to you, the new heralds, the truth of the faith was revealed. For it is forty-five years, more or less, since you began to perform this investigation. For from the ninth indiction you began to ^D resist the truth...

^A and to investigate how you might distort what is not distorted. Since our holy Fathers built upon the rock of truth, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [Matth. xvi, 18]—which are the unjust and evil mouths of the heretics—you have been incredulous toward the Fathers and the baptism which you received from them; nor have you accepted their faith and their words. You have clearly shown whose disciples and successors you are: for your nature has appeared clearly, that you are disciples of those who cried out with Annas and Caiaphas to Pilate, saying, "We have no king but Caesar" [Joan. xix, 15], even though you wear the fleece of a sheep and are clothed in the tunic of a shepherd [Matth. vii, 15].

For just as they denied the Savior before the face of Pontius Pilate and, fastening Him to the cross, put Him to death, while He rose by His own divine power and ascended into the heavens and sits at the right hand of the majesty of God ^B and the Father—for what He suffered for us in the flesh, He suffered once; death no longer has dominion over Him [Rom. vi, 10], even though you, being factious and quarrelsome men, contend against us—so you, too, in that you are unable to crucify the Savior a second time, have revealed all your venom and malice against the figures and monuments of His dispensation in the flesh, and against His Mother according to the flesh, and against His holy disciples and apostles. For you have abused the holy images with fire and countless machines, thinking that you would utterly erase their memory, while you rage with madness against their forms and the monuments placed there for their remembrance. ^C But even while doing these things, you sharpen against yourselves the sword of the just judgment of God, and of His long-suffering and goodness. Wherefore I beseech you to cast far from you your vain doctrine, and to rebuke yourselves properly for the things you have done amiss.

Straighten the drooping knees of your soul and make straight paths [Hebr. xii, 12]. And accept with us the holy words of the Fathers, and with them and with us render worship to the holy images, so that with a common voice we may send up glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, together with His Father who is without beginning, and His life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

NARRATION OF JOHN, THE MOST REVEREND MONK OF JERUSALEM

^A I, a humble man and the least of all, desire to demonstrate before this holy and sacred synod of yours, with all truth, how and when and whence this most evil and God-hated heresy of the Christians—or rather, to speak more truly, of the accusers of Christians and the iconoclasts—took its beginning. Intending to use brevity of speech, I have judged it proper to commit the account to paper and writing, so that nothing of the truth should escape me.

^B When the tyrant, or advisor, of the godless Arabs had died (this man was named Seleiman), Umar succeeded him. Upon assuming authority, he immediately summoned the destroyer Masalman, a most hostile foe, and turned him back from this region. By the grace of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and of His Mother, the holy Theotokos, he returned to Syria having accomplished nothing of what he had hoped, with great shame and the destruction and death of his own Saracen army. After Umar died, he was succeeded by Yazid, a man who was light-headed, ^C unstable in mind, and not of sound intellect.

Now, there was in Tiberias a leader of the lawless Jews, a sorcerer and instrument of soul-destroying demons, named Sarantapechus, a bitter enemy of the Church of God. Having learned of the instability of the ruler Yazid, this most wicked Jew approached him and attempted to prophesy and predict certain things to him. Having thus crept up to the tyrant and gained his favor, and having made the tyrant’s ears receptive, he said: "I wish, O chief advisor, moved by the benevolence I feel for you, to teach you a way, easy and simple, that will please you, by which length of life will be added to you, and you will remain in possession of your authority for thirty years, provided that you fulfill my words."

And that foolish tyrant, his mind captivated by a longing for longevity (for he was a licentious and dissolute man), replied that whatever he ordered, he would readily do; and if he attained the result, he would reward him with the highest honors. The sorcerous Jew said to him: "Order immediately, with no delay or postponement, that throughout all the regions and places of your dominion..."