Compendium of Histories (Continuation)

CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORIES OF CEDRENUS.

^A In the manner we have described, upon the death of Alexander, the imperial power devolved upon Constantine, son of Leo, who was in his seventh year, he being under the tutelage of those enumerated above. Nicholas the patriarch, therefore, having taken hold of power—as he himself was also one of the guardians—along with the others, steered the course of the commonwealth. With matters being in this state, and the empire being governed by the guardians as we have said, Constantine, the son of Andronikos Doukas, who was domestic of the schools and endowed with the greatest power, was stirred up by letters from his friends and kinsmen residing in the imperial city. They wrote that the empire was headless, poorly managed, and on the brink of ruinous peril, and they summoned him as a man prudent and brave, and the only one capable of governing the renowned Roman realm with worthiness. They added that the senate and the civil populace welcomed him, and they urged him to seize the city with all speed. It is said that Patriarch Nicholas was privy to these letters and approved of them, as Alexander’s testament had not yet been read, and he was still ignorant that he had been inscribed among the guardians—a task in this matter facilitated by Artabasdos, who was the father of Andrew, the noble painter, and on account of this, he afterwards became the first of the priests ^B of the Great Church. Constantine, who had long dreamed of the empire and sought it with his whole heart, never turning his mind to any other concern, accepted the letters, immediately agreed, and hastened to the imperial city, having the choicest of the troops in his following. At an unseasonable hour of the night, he entered through the gate of Michael the protovestiarius, which was near the acropolis, and repaired to the house of the magister Goras Iberitzes (this Goras was the father-in-law of Constantine), where he passed the night with those who were with him. Nicetas the asekretis, having learned of the arrival of Constantine, quickly informed the patrician Constantine Eladikos, who was a monk, and having taken him in, ^C they came to the Doukas that very night. Before the day had dawned, with torches and a great crowd, they occupied the gate of the Circus and greeted Constantine as emperor with auspicious acclamations. But since those who were inside would not open the gate but resisted stoutly, the protostrator of Constantine, a bold man, while he was attempting rather rashly to open the gate, was struck by a lance through the crack of the doors by someone and fell dead. Constantine was driven back from there, yet, drunk with the desire for empire and not in possession of his senses, he moved on to the Circus, in no way discouraged from his purpose by the ill omen of the slain protostrator. From there, while auspicious acclamations followed him, he occupied the Chalke; and through ^D that second place, he obtained the favor of the patriarch.

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^B Now, the magistros John Eladas, being one of the regents, having made a selection as the circumstances permitted of the rowers and the companies, and having armed them as best he could with whatever weapons each could get hold of, ordered them to encounter Ducas. They joined battle with Ducas’s soldiers, and a great slaughter occurred on both sides. There fell also Gregoras, son of Ducas, and Michael, his kinsman, and Curticius the Armenian. Ducas was not lightly perturbed by this turn of events, and in order to steady his men, he spurred his horse and pressed toward the front. But the horse slipped on the stone paving with which that spot was covered, and cast off its rider; and someone, seeing him cast upon the ground and deserted by his own men—for they had all dispersed in flight—cut off his head with a sword and carried it at a run to the Emperor Constantine. That Ducas would meet this future end, the regents had also understood by other means. A certain Nicholas, a tax collector in Chaldea, having squandered the collected taxes and having nothing with which to satisfy the public treasury, had fled to Syria, forsworn our pious religion, and given himself over to astrology. He had sent a letter written in a black cloth to Thomas the logothete, and upon the cloth being washed with water, the letters became visible, containing this meaning: "Do not fear the red bird of Ducas; for he will foolishly attempt new things, and will immediately perish."

^C When the revolt had reached this end, the magistros Gregoras, the father-in-law of Ducas, and with him the patrician Leo Choerosphacta, immediately fled to the divine temple of the Holy Sophia. The regents dragged them from there, tonsured them, and shut them up as monks in the Studion monastery. As for the patrician Constantine Eladicus, they beat him severely with ox-hide scourges and led him in triumph through the middle of the city, before shutting him up in the Dalmatou monastery. They blinded the patrician Leo Catacalylon and the patrician Abessalom, son of Arotras, and sent them into exile. Constantine, son of Eulampius, and others with him, Philotheus the city eparch beheaded in the fund of the Circus.

Nicetas the asekretis and Constantine the Lips, although they were sought for much, were not found. They impaled the patrician Ægidas, a man renowned for bravery, and certain other not insignificant commanders with him, from the Damalis (a heifer, the word signifies) at Chrysopolis as far as the place called Leucactium (which you might call the White Shore). Many other men of senatorial rank were also being cruelly and unjustly perished by the so-called tutors, had not some of the judges, taking the liberty to speak, held them back from their unjust attempt, asking how they dared to perpetrate such things without the command of the emperor, who, being yet a child, did not understand what was being done. The tutors also shaved the wife of the Doux and sent her off to her own house in Paphlagonia, and they castrated her son, Stephen.

^B While these things were being done in the city, in the meantime Simeon, prince of the Bulgarians, with a heavy force, made an incursion against the Romans and, reaching the imperial city, he set up a camp from Blachernae as far as the so-called Golden Gate, and he was lofty in his hopes of easily taking it. But having learned of the strength of the walls and the multitude of those guarding the walls and the abundance of stone-throwing and archery engines, having abandoned his hopes, he withdrew to the Hebdomon, seeking a peaceful truce. The tutors, having most willingly accepted the proposal, Simeon sent his own magister, Theodore, to discuss peace; when he had arrived and many arguments had been moved, the patriarch along with the remaining tutors took the emperor ^C and went to the palace of Blachernae, and having given significant hostages, they brought Simeon into the palace. He sat at the table with the emperor, with Simeon bowing his head to the patriarch and receiving a blessing from him, he placing, as they say, upon the barbarian’s head instead of a crown his own epirrhiptarion. After the banquet, as the terms of peace were found incompatible, Simeon and his children, having been treated with friendship by means of gifts, departed to their own land. And these things were done in this way.

The emperor Constantine, lamenting at all times and calling back his own mother (for Alexander had driven her from the palace), they brought her back even against their will. Having returned and having become mistress of the empire, she takes to herself the parakoimomenos Constantine, and Anastasius, and Constantine, the brothers known by the name Gongylios. By their counsel, the ^D court is cast out of...

Xylander and Goar's Notes

(48) In discharging his criminal duties in the final days, whence he had the prison of the defendants in the praetorium deputed to him by office. As the author states in most places. GOAR.

(49) The place is so called, the heifer standing on the opposite shore, beyond the Thracian Bosporus, at Chrysopolis. As the author states a little below, p. 617. GOAR.

(50) I have retained the Greek word, which seems to signify a hood or some other covering placed on the head. MANDYAS, the Latin pallium, different from the hood of all other garments, as is clear from Codinus c. 6, n. 2. GOAR.

(51) According to Zonaras, the contrary to this passage is read, namely that this pacification dissolved; which I consider more probable and true. For soon after, without any mention of violated peace, he reports that Simeon invaded Thrace. XYL.

^A John the rector, Gabrielopulus, Basililzes, and the others were dismissed by John Eladas. Zoe Augusta also advanced Dominicus, the commander of the Sodalitas, a man regarded as energetic and obedient to her commands; by his counsel, the patriarch was driven from the palace. Magister John Eladas also departed of his own volition on account of a disease, from which he died. But Constantine the cubicularius, wishing to steer the entire helm of the empire himself and to have no one to hinder him, ^B slandered the commander of the Sodalitas to the Augusta, claiming he was trying to claim the empire for his own brother. Persuaded by these words, she honored him with the rank of patrician, and, when he came down as was the custom to receive a prayer, she ordered him to remain at home. In his place, she appointed John Garidas as commander of the Sodalitas and made the eunuch Damianus the drungarius of the Watch.

When Simeon was plundering Thrace, the Augusta consulted with the nobles on how she might restrain his incursions. There, John Bogas promised that, if he were honored with the rank of patrician, he would bring the Patzinaks against him; having obtained what he asked for and received gifts, he set off to Patzinakia. Having made a pact and received hostages, he returned to the city, the Patzinaks having agreed to cross the Ister and wage war against the Bulgars. At that time, Asotes also deserted, a famous man, being the son of the Prince of Princes. ^C It was said of him that he could take an iron rod by the ends with both hands and bend it, the hardness of the iron yielding to the strength of his hands; the empress having received him kindly, she sent him back home. While Simeon was besieging Adrianople for several days and accomplishing nothing, a certain Pancratucas, an Armenian by birth and one of those assigned to guard the city, was corrupted by gold and surrendered it. Shortly thereafter, the patrician Basil, prefect of the canicleus, and Nicetas Eladicus were sent by the Augusta and recovered it with gold and much money.

In this same year, Damianus, the emir of Tyre, made an assault against the Romans with a hostile fleet and a large force, and having reached Strobelus, he besieged it fiercely; he would surely have taken it, had he not fallen ill and died. Because of his death, the Saracens returned home with their goal unaccomplished. ^D Zoe, the empress, unable to bear the continuous incursions of Simeon, and wishing to stop them, determined, after deliberating with the senate, that it was necessary to make peace with the Saracens, to transport all the army in the East to the West, and, having united the Eastern and Western troops, to wage war against the Bulgars and completely destroy them. This was approved,

^A and John the patrician, surnamed Radenos, and Michael Toxaras, having been sent to Syria, concluded a truce with the Saracens. And now, the Empress being relieved of that concern, she ordered the usual distribution of the donative to the troops, and, having entrusted these matters to Leo Phocas, the Magister who was Domestic of the Schools, allowed him to set out against the Bulgars. When all the themes and regiments had gathered at the Diabasis (the Diabasis is a large plain, suitable for the reception of an army), the Protopapas of the palace was sent with the holy relics; he caused ^B everyone, after they had venerated them, to swear an oath to stand by one another until death. When the oath was finalized, they set out with the whole army against the Bulgars. John Grapson led the regiment of the Excubitors, a warlike man who had distinguished himself many times in battle; Olbianos Marula, a man of proven worth, led the Hicanatoi. Also, Romanos and Leo, the sons of Argyros, and Bardas Phocas commanded other regiments. Accompanying them also was Melias the Magister with the Armenians, and many other generals of the themes. Constantine Lips the patrician also followed, supposedly as an advisor to Leo, the Domestic of the Schools.

On the sixth day of the month of August, in the fifth indiction, battle was joined between the Romans and the Bulgars near the fortress of Achelous; the Bulgars were routed and fell in great slaughter. ^C But as the Domestic, drenched in much sweat and fainting, had dismounted from his horse at a certain spring to wash away the sweat and refresh himself, the horse happened to break its tether and ran through the camp without its rider. When the soldiers recognized it, they assumed the Domestic had fallen; stricken with fear, they ceased pursuing the enemy, and some even turned back. Simeon, seeing this from high ground (for he had not engaged in a disorganized flight), threw his men against the Romans. The Romans, already dejected and terrified in spirit, seeing the enemy suddenly rushing upon them, immediately turned their backs. The flight was most perilous, with some trampling one another and others being cut down by the enemy. Leo the Domestic escaped by flight to Mesembria. ^D There perished not only a multitude of common soldiers, but also countless generals and commanders of units. Constantine Lips was killed, and John Grapson, the commander of the Excubitors.

Now the patrician Romanos Lacapenus had been sent, being at that time Drungary of the Fleet, with the entire fleet; he was ordered to sail along the coast and be of assistance to Leo, and to transport the Patzinaks brought by Bogas to the aid of the Romans. A dispute occurred between Romanos and Bogas; seeing them at odds with one another, the Patzinaks returned home, and the aid from them proved fruitless and unavailing.

^A There are some who say that the rout of the Romans did not occur in this way, but in a different manner. They say that when Phocas had put Simeon to flight and was pursuing him, news was suddenly brought to him that the drungary of the fleet was departing with the entire navy to seize the imperial power. Stunned by this report, as one who claimed the supreme command for himself, he abandoned the pursuit of the enemy and returned to the camp, so that he might learn the truth. When the rumor spread among the army that the Domestic had fled, the rest, forgetting their courage, did likewise. Seeing them fleeing (for indeed, as has been said, he was standing in a favorable spot, observing the outcome of the struggle), Simeon poured out with his entire army and turned the flight back upon them. This is the second explanation; whether the truth is this way or that, the Romans were nonetheless routed and the things mentioned from above came to pass.

When the survivors of the battle had returned to the city, a dispute was stirred up between Romanos and Bogas; the drungary was brought into such great danger that the judges rendered a verdict against him to have his eyes gouged out, on the grounds that through negligence, or rather through malice, he had not transported the Patzinaks, and also because he did not gather to himself those who had returned from the rout. His eyes would have been gouged out had not the magistros Stephen, one of the emperor’s tutors, and Constantine Gongyles the patrician—who held great power with the Empress—snatched him away. ^B Simeon, elated and emboldened by his victory, hastened to the imperial city with all his army. Therefore, the Domestic Leo Phocas, and the hetaireiarches John, and Nicolaus the son of Constantine Dukas, went out again with some soldiers who were available, to meet him. Meeting a detachment of Bulgarians that had been sent out for foraging at the place called Katasyrtas, they fell upon them and put them to flight without trouble. Soon, however, they stood firmly against another fresh force that was attacking and engaged in a fierce battle that lasted for a long time. They put the Bulgarians to flight, but Nicolaus the son of Dukas fell in that battle, fighting heroically, having provided the cause for the Romans' victory. Such was the state of military affairs at that time.

^C But civil affairs were in a very bad way, with many men, including those of the highest rank, burning with an insane love for imperial power. The leader of these was clearly Leo Phocas, who—because his wife was the sister of the inner chamberlain Constantine, and since the power of the eunuchs in the court was great at that time—reposed the greatest confidence in him and thought that he would gain the empire without much difficulty. Therefore, he occupied himself much with this matter, and not secretly but openly sought the empire, as if it were a matter belonging to his ancestors and one that had devolved upon him as the legitimate heir, which he dreamed would come to him as soon as possible. Because he feared his [Phocas’s] assault—which was so fierce that it could not be hindered—Theodore, the tutor of the emperor Constantine, fearing that this might prove the ruin of his master, advised the emperor to secretly take to himself the patrician Romanos and the drungary of the fleet, a patrician

being a servant and one who was of his own mind in all things, so that he might be ^A a guardian and preserver of him, and if need be, an ally and helper.

When a meeting was first held concerning this, Romanos refused; and again, when those around Theodore tempted him many times, he refused. But when the emperor had written a note with his own hand and signed it with purple ink and sent it to him, he yielded, taking it in his hands, and promised to thwart the attack of the parakoimomenos Constantine and his kinsmen as far as he was able.

Now, the things that were said and arranged proceeded in this way, and they were whispered about in the marketplace and along the streets and lanes. ^B The parakoimomenos, however, although the things being plotted against him were not unknown to him, still disregarded them, never once thinking that anyone would dare to attempt such an undertaking against him. When he went out to perform the usual distribution of the donative to the fleet and was urging Romanos to set sail as quickly as possible, he fell into the trap. For Romanos met him in the guise of a servant and, promising to execute his commands zealously, gradually and little by little drew him into the ambush. The parakoimomenos, unable to perceive anything of the things being plotted, but instead talking guilelessly and without suspicion, drew even closer and asked if he had handsome and strong men suitable for rowing the imperial trireme. When he replied that these men were ready and near at hand, and nodded his head for some of the handsomer ones to come near, Constantine, seeing them and perhaps approving, hurried to depart.

^C Romanos, walking very close to him, as they reached the command trireme, seized Constantine and, saying nothing more than just, "Seize this man," stood back, while those who were prepared for the deed brought him onto the flagship and kept him in safety; none of his companions dared to defend him, but all immediately dispersed. When the report of this deed was spread abroad, confusion seized the entire city, which supposed that a tyranny was being attempted, as is natural. When the report reached even the Empress Zoe, those in authority fell into helplessness. The empress summoned the Patriarch Nicholas and the chosen members of the senate; having deliberated with them, she sent to Romanos, wishing to learn the cause of what had happened.

When those sent arrived where the triremes were anchored and intended to make inquiry concerning the seizure of the parakoimomenos, ^D the insolent mob of naval personnel drove them away with stones. The next day, the empress went out at dawn to the Bucoleon, and having summoned her son and those around him, she asked how this rebellion had come about. When no one answered, Theodore, the emperor's tutor, said that this trouble had arisen because Leo Phocas had lost the legions and Constantine the parakoimomenos had lost the palace.

For the rest, the emperor, transferring the power from his mother to himself, recalled the Patriarch Nicholas and the Magister Stephen to the court; and on the following day, having sent John Tubakes, he ordered the Augusta to be led from the palace. Weeping and wailing, she embraced her son, and [inspired] pity

Wherefore she said to those who were leading her away: "Leave my mother with me." And at these words they ^B left her behind. The emperor then appointed the magistros John Garidas as Domestic of the Schools, replacing Phocas, fearful of a resurgence [of power] from Leo. At his request, his son Simeon and his brother-in-law Theodore, surnamed Zuphinezer, were appointed as hetaireiarches. Being constrained by oaths to the emperor, he went down to his house, and his relatives were immediately dismissed from the palace; when he learned of this, he was seized with anxiety and fear. He immediately mounted his horse and went to Romanos the droungarios, relating the outrage and humiliation he had suffered. Having joined forces and secured one another with oaths, and having also contracted a marriage between their children, they kept their plan secret. Romanos, for his part, sent to the palace to excuse himself for what had happened, swearing that his act was not for the sake of rebellion or insurrection, but that he was concerned—fearing lest the attempts of Phocas might do any harm to the emperor—and that he had wished to return to the palace to ensure his own protection and that of the emperor. When the patriarch did not believe him nor accept his defense, Theodore the pedagogue urged Romanos to take the entire fleet and arrive at the naval station of the palace, located at the Bucoleon. Although he demurred for some time and hesitated, he was finally compelled by those who had instigated these secret councils to do what was commanded, even against his will. Indeed, on the very day of the feast of the Annunciation, having equipped the fleet for war, he arrived at the Bucoleon. Stephanus the magistros immediately left the palace, while the patrician Niketas, a relative of Romanos, went up and brought down the patriarch. Those around the emperor sent the venerable and life-giving woods [of the Cross] to Romanos, and having secured him with most fearsome oaths and most binding imprecations never to conceive any treachery against the emperor, they allowed him to enter the palace with a few men. ^C Having received him as he ascended and prostrated himself, the emperor led him into the church in the Pharos, and having given and received pledges of faith, he appointed him grand hetaireiarches. Letters were then immediately sent to Leo Phocas, urging him not to be dejected, nor to despair, nor to plot any evil, but to wait quietly for a short time in his own house, assuring him that his situation would soon be resolved by his [the emperor's] providence. Constantinus the cubicularius was also forced to write to him to the same effect. Having received these letters, Phocas remained quietly in his own house ^D which he had in Cappadocia.

^A During the fifth week of the Holy Fast, the Emperor joined to himself in marriage Helen, the daughter of Romanus, having given a pledge, and on the third day, which is called Galilee, he was crowned together with her by the Patriarch Nicholas. He proclaimed Romanus ^B *basileopator*, transferring his former dignity to his son Christopher. A little later, Leo Phocas, persuaded by his kinsfolk and the regiments, turned his mind toward revolt. Having sent out, he took with him the *parakoimomenos* Constantine, the brothers Constantine and Anastasius Gongylius, and Constantine of Malelia, assuring everyone that they were taking up arms in the name of the Emperor Constantine.

Romanus, however, having drafted a golden bull ^C which rebutted the pretext of Phocas, and having confirmed it with the Emperor’s own hand and seal, sent it into Leo’s camp through the agency of a certain courtesan, whom they later called *Basilikē* on account of this service. He also sent other letters by way of a certain cleric named Michael, by which he excited the minds of the commanders and soldiers to desertion with promises of gifts and honors. But this Michael was caught by Phocas, and after being cruelly beaten, his ears were cut off; the woman, however, distributed throughout the camp what she had been ^D instructed to bring.

First, therefore, Constantine, son of Michael Gravis and commander of the *Hikanatoi* regiment, deserted Leo and went over to Romanus; Balantius and the man called Atzmorus, who were both *tourmarchai*, followed him. Leo Phocas, however, having reached Chrysopolis and drawn up his men in battle array opposite the stone heifer standing on a column across from the city, terrified those within it. Romanus then sent Simeon, the official in charge of the *kanikleion*, by a fast boat (*dromon*) to the rebel’s troops, and entrusted to him the golden bull, sealed by the Emperor, instructing him to use every means to read it aloud to the people. The sense of the golden bull was as follows: "My imperial authority, finding no one among its subjects more watchful and faithful than Romanus to be its guardian, has entrusted its safety to him after God, and regards him in the place of a father, since he demonstrates a fatherly affection toward me. But Leo Phocas, who has never ceased to plot and act against our empire, now reveals his malice which he has long concealed. I do not wish him to be a member of my household, nor do I regard him as a subject, but I declare him a deserter and a tyrant, who has plotted this rebellion without my command in order to transfer the empire to himself. Understanding this, my subjects, decide what is just; and repudiating this odious tyranny, return to the lord who has received the empire by hereditary right from his ancestors."

^A When Simeon had arrived at the camp and the diploma sent to the army had been read and its meaning grasped, everyone began to desert from Leo to Romanos, the father of the emperor. Leo, having initially tried in vain to prevent the reading of the diploma, soon seeing himself gradually deserted by his own men, and despairing of his situation, sought safety in flight. Accompanied by a few of his most faithful followers, he reached a fortress named Ateus. Driven from there, he took a fortress called Goeleontos—a name that sounds like "the howling of Leo," a truly bad omen. There, he was captured by Michael Gravis and many others who had gathered against him. John Tubaces and Leo Pastelas were then sent to conduct him to Constantinople. These men, having seized him, put out his eyes—some say by a secret order of Romanos, though Romanos himself insisted, and indeed seemed to resent it, as if it had been done against his will, that it was an autonomous decision and choice of their own. Such was the end of the rebellion of Leo Phocas.

^B Another conspiracy was also formed against Romanos by a certain Constantine Ctematenus, David Cumilianus, and Michael, the curator of the Manganon. They had armed some young men and entrusted them with the task of killing Romanos when he went out to hunt. When this was discovered and they were caught, the authors of the plot had their eyes put out and were paraded for mockery through the middle of the forum, and Leo Phocas was among them, riding a mule.

^C Empress Zoe was also accused of plotting the death of Romanos; she was removed from the palace, tonsured, and cast into the monastery of Saint Euphemia. The patrician Theophylactus was also expelled from the city, as were Theodore, the emperor’s tutor, and his brother Simeon, because they were suspected of having plotted something against Romanos, and they were ordered to live in the Opsikion. John Curcuas, the Drungarius of the Watch, assisted in their deportation, seizing them suddenly and transporting them by ship to the opposite continent.

^D On the 24th day of the month of September, the dignity of Caesar was conferred upon Romanos, and in the month of December he was crowned with the imperial diadem, with the permission of the Emperor, by the patriarch Nicholas, who placed it upon him. Romanos, having been encircled with the imperial diadem, crowned his wife Theodora on the very day of the Holy Lights, and in the month of May, on the day of the holy Pentecost, he also crowned his son Christophoros—while Constantine [remained] nominally...

consented and approved, as he could do nothing against the force, though secretly he was grieving bitterly and lamenting his own calamity to himself. And these two ^A alone went out in such a procession. In the month of July, in the eighth indiction, the union of the Church occurred, after those metropolitans and clerics who had been separated since the times of the patriarchs Nikolaos and Euthymios were reconciled. The emperor Romanos banished the magister Stephanos to the island of Antigone, suspecting him of aspiring to the throne, and made him a monk; and with him also Theophanes the Taichiotês and Paul the Orphanotrophos, who were his closest associates. When a procession was being held in the tribunal, the emperors suddenly returned to the palace because a plot had been reported to them; the leaders of it, the patrician Arsenios and the manglabitês Paul, were caught, blinded, confiscated, and exiled. In this same year, the emperor Romanos also gave his daughter Agatha in marriage to Leo, the son of Argyros, a man of noble birth and preeminent in physical beauty and appearance, as well as being adorned with wisdom and prudence.

^B It was also at this same time that the events concerning Rentacios took place. He was a Greek by birth who attempted to kill his own father. The father, fearing the lack of restraint of his son, boarded a ship and sailed toward Byzantium, intending to ask the emperor to curb his son’s profligacy, but he was captured by the Saracens of Crete. The son, having come into possession of his father’s wealth, traveled with it to the Great City and took refuge in the divine sanctuary of Hagia Sophia. While staying there, he squandered his paternal estate. Romanos, having learned of this, intended to remove him from the church and discipline him. Rentacios, having gotten wind of this, forged imperial letters as if they had been sent to Symeon, and decided to defect to the Bulgarians. Being convicted of this crime, he was deprived of both his property and his eyes.

^C After Adralestos, the domestic of the scholai, died, Pothos Argyros was appointed in his place. When the Bulgarians had raided as far as the Katasyrtai, he also went out with the regiments and encamped at the place called Thermopolis. From there, he sent Michael, a cohort commander and son of the patrician Moroleon, to scout the Bulgarians. He, having unexpectedly fallen into a barbarian ambush—since there was no place to flee—prepared to use force; and after killing many of the Bulgarians and routing them, he himself received a mortal wound, returned to the Queen of Cities, and died shortly thereafter. At that time, a plot against the emperor Romanos was also uncovered, which had been instigated by the sakellarios ^D (66) Anastasios, who was defending the cause of Constantine. Romanos punished the authors and accomplices of these plots according to his own judgment, Anastasios being made a monk. From then on, Constantine...

^A was demoted, and he was proclaimed emperor only in the second place, while Romanos was first; he claimed that this was the only way possible to appease the conspiracies, since through temporal matters and a perishable and precarious reign, he had fallen into perjury and had become alienated from God. And such were the events within the city.

Simeon once again sends a heavy force against the Romans, having as commander ^B Chagan, one of his great dignitaries, and Minikos, the chief of the grooms, whom he commanded to march against the city as quickly as possible. Having learned of their approach, Emperor Romanos, fearing lest they should arrive and burn down the most beautiful palaces and buildings in areas near the city, ordered the rector Joannes, along with Leo and Pothos Argyros, to go out to meet them, leading a strong army gathered from the imperial associations and other military units, joined also by the patrician Alexius and the drungarios of the fleet, Moseles, with his men. In the fifth week of the Fast, they drew up the army in the plain of the Pegae and waited there.

Then the Bulgarians appeared, and with obscure shouts and a mighty onset they rushed upon them. The rector Joannes fled, ^C but the patrician Photinos, son of Platypous, fighting on his behalf, was slaughtered, as were not a few others. The rector, with difficulty saved, escaped into a fast cutter. Alexius the drungarios, wishing to do the same but unable to climb aboard, fell from the steps of the cutter into the sea with his protomandator and was drowned. Leo and Pothos Argyros escaped by fleeing into the fortress. Of the remaining multitude, some perished in the sea while trying to escape the hands of the enemy, others were put to the sword, and some were taken by barbaric hands. Passing through with no one to hinder them, the Bulgarians burned the palaces of the Pegae and scorched the entire Stenos by fire.

On the twentieth day of February, in the tenth indiction, ^D Theodora, wife of Romanos, died and was buried in the Myrelaion. Sophia, the wife of Emperor Christophoros, then bore the name of Augusta. There also arrived from Iberia the curopalates the Iberian, and passing through the center of the forum, adorned in splendor, he was received with great glory and honor. The emperor sent him to the church of Sophia to see its mass and beauty. Having contemplated it, he expressed great admiration, and saying that this sacred site was truly a receptacle of God, he returned to his home. Again, the Bulgarians launched an incursion against Roman territory, and having approached the palaces of the Augusta Theodora, and with none to defend them, they surrendered these to the fire. Emperor Romanos, having prepared a sumptuous banquet, called to it the leaders of the military ranks, and among them Sacticios, the prefect of the excubitors cohort. As the feast proceeded, talk turned to the Bulgarians; and the emperor [spoke] much regarding the ca-

to incite their enthusiasm and to exhort them to go forth courageously against the enemy and fight for their own fatherland, all agreed readily to go forth and fight for the Christians. ^B Accordingly, at dawn, Sacticios armed himself, and getting behind the Bulgarians and entering their camp—since most of them were scattered about the countryside on a plundering raid—he slaughtered all whom he found in the encampment. When the main body of the Bulgarians learned of what had happened from those who had escaped, they returned to the camp. A battle ensued, and the fresh Bulgarians, fighting against the exhausted men who had already been worn out by the previous engagement, put to flight Sacticios and the few who had withstood the enemy's attack. Having fought bravely and slain many of the foe, as he began to be overpowered, he loosened the reins of his horse and took to flight. In the crossing of a certain river, his horse became stuck in the mud, and he was overtaken by the Bulgarians and received a mortal wound in the buttock and thigh. Nevertheless, after the horse was pulled out of the mud by the industry and assistance of his servants, he—now fleeing, now turning back with his men to beat off the attacking Bulgarians—escaped as far as the Blachernae, and being placed in the temple of the Holy Reliquary (68), he passed from life to death the following night, leaving great mourning not only to the emperor, but also to the army and the entire Roman populace.

[P. 622] There occurred also another revolt against the emperor in Chaldia (69), at the instigation of the patrician Bardas, surnamed Boïlas, who was governor there. The leaders of this insurrection were a certain Adrian the Chaldean and Tatzates the Armenian, men of great wealth. Having seized the fortress called Paipert, they took up arms against the emperor. But John Kourkouas, the domestic of the schools, who happened to be staying in Caesarea, arrived swiftly and dispersed that assembly. He blinded the more notable of those he apprehended and confiscated their property, while he ordered the poor and obscure to be released and go wherever they wished. Only Tatzates, having occupied a fortress built upon a high hill, received a pledge of safety from the domestic of the schools; and, having accepted it, he entered the Queen of Cities, and being honored with the rank of manglabites (70), he was kept in the house of the manglabai; but when he attempted to escape, he was apprehended and his eyes were gouged out. ^C

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

imposing no other punishment than that he be shorn and become a monk.

Meanwhile, Simeon, prince of the Bulgarians, surrounded Adrianople with a rampart and ditch, besieging it with great zeal. The patrician Leo was in command of this city, whom they called Moroleon, as if a "foolish lion," on account of his overly hasty attack against the enemy. He bravely withstood the siege, and at one time he would drive back the invading Bulgarians from the wall, and at another, opening the gates, he would charge them with an irresistible force and easily rout them. But when food failed those in the city and hunger pressed the inhabitants heavily, with no hope of obtaining provisions from elsewhere, moved by the scarcity, they surrendered the city, themselves, and their leader to the Bulgarians. Simeon, having captured Leo and remembering what great evils he had inflicted upon the Bulgarians, tortured him with countless forms of punishment and finally killed him with a bitter death. Leaving a Bulgarian garrison in the city, he departed. This garrison, hearing that a Roman army was coming against them, abandoned the city and fled; and thus Adrianople was retaken by the Romans. ^B

At that time, Leo of Tripoli also invaded the Romans with a great fleet. Him, as he lay at anchor in the island of Lemnos, John Radenos, a patrician and drungary of the fleet, suddenly attacked and easily defeated, with almost all the Hagarenes destroyed and only the Tripolitan escaping by flight. In the month of September, in the second indiction, Simon, prince of the Bulgarians, undertook an expedition against Constantinople with all his forces; and having ravaged Macedonia and spread fire throughout Thrace, laying waste everything in his path, he pitched his camp very near the Blachernae. Thence he requested that Patriarch Nicholas and others of the nobles be sent to him to discuss the terms of peace. ^C Hostages having been given on both sides so that all might be safe from treachery, and the patriarch trusting in the oaths, it was asked which senators should go out with him. The patrician Michael Stypeiota and John the Mystic, who was then a partner in the government of affairs, were chosen; for John the Rector, having been accused of a crime before the emperor, had already departed from the palace and had become a monk in his own monastery. When the envoys had come to Simeon and were discussing peace, ^D [commentary content]

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

^A Having been slandered to the emperor, he left the palace and in his own monastery put away his secular hair. When they arrived to him, to Simeon, and were about to initiate discussions regarding peace, he dismissed them, but he sought to see the emperor Romanos himself; for he had been assured that he was a sensible and truthful man. And Romanos gladly accepted this. Having sent [a mission], he constructed on the shore of Kosmidion, in the sea, a very secure wharf, so that the imperial trireme, sailing upon it, could dock there, enclosing it all around with partitions; and he ordered a railing to be placed in the middle, where they were to converse with one another. But Simeon, having sent his men, burned the temple of the all-holy Theotokos, which was at the Spring, which the emperor Justinian had built, and he set fire to everything around it, and it was clear from this that he was not seeking peace. The emperor, having been at the temple of the Blachernae together with the patriarch, and having entered into the Holy Sepulchre and offered suppliant hymns to God, took the ^B humeral of the Theotokos and left the temple, having fortified himself with safe weapons. Having then splendidly adorned the fleet that was with him, he reached the designated place; it was the ninth day of the month of November when these things happened. Simeon also arrived, bringing with him a multitude divided into many ranks and forms; for some were golden-shielded and had golden spears, others were silver-shielded, others bronze-shielded, and others were adorned in another color as it seemed best to each. These, having taken Simeon into their midst, acclaimed him as emperor in the Roman tongue. All the dignitaries and the civic populace watched what was being done from the walls. The emperor Romanos, having first occupied the aforementioned wharf, was waiting for Simeon. Having given hostages to one another, and the Bulgars having searched the wharf thoroughly, that no guile or ambush might be hidden, they then urged Simeon to descend from his horse and to enter to the emperor. ^C When they had greeted one another, they began to discourse about peace. It is said that Romanos said to Simeon: "I have heard that you are a Christian man and God-fearing, but I see your deeds not at all matching your words. For if you truly are a Christian, put an end at last to the slaughter and the shedding of unholy blood, and make peace with us Christians, being and being named a Christian yourself, and do not wish to be defiled, you who are a Christian, with the blood of Christians who hold the same faith. You are a man yourself, awaiting death and resurrection, and judgment, and the recompense for your life's actions. Today you exist, and tomorrow you will be dissolved into dust. If you do these things desiring riches, I will fill you with them even to satiety. Only embrace peace and love concord, so that you yourself may also lead a peaceful and bloodless life, ^D and Christians might finally cease to bear arms against one another." Led to shame by these words and by such submission from the emperor, Simeon promised that he would make peace; and after the greeting was finished, they departed, Romanos having indeed given most magnificent gifts to Simeon. The miracle which occurred then is worthy of relation. For they say that while the princes were conferring, two eagles flew over them, and joined together with a cry, and were soon parted, in such a way that one flew toward the city and the other toward

^A Thrace to fly away. Those who were dismayed by ornithoscopy interpreted this as an inauspicious omen; they said that both would be irreconcilable and would break the peace. Simeon, having returned to his own lords, explained the emperor's moderation and his generosity with money.

At the feast of the Nativity, in the second indiction, the Emperor Romanos crowned his two sons, Stephen and Constantine, in the Great Church. The patriarch shaved his remaining son, Theophylact, and made him a cleric, ordaining him a subdeacon and appointing him syncellus, after he had first entered the sanctuary performing the office ^B of a subdeacon. The emperor also honored the mystikos John—who was also a patrician and consul—with the dignity of a proconsul. On the fifteenth of May, in the third indiction, Patriarch Nicholas died, having held his office for thirteen years since his second appointment. In the month of August, Stephen, the metropolitan of Amasea, was established as his successor. The mystikos was accused of coveting the empire; through the advice of the patrician Cosmas—the logothete of the drome, who was seeking to betroth him to his own daughter—he was cast out of the palace. He was permitted, ^C however, to enter for the purpose of worshiping the emperor, for the emperor loved him and was unwilling to exclude him entirely. But as his accusers pressed him and demonstrated that the crimes charged against him were true, the emperor investigated the matter; upon discovering that it was not otherwise than as they had reported, he decided to seize the mystikos and conduct an interrogation. Sensing this, he fled to the Monokastanon monastery, where he became a monk. The emperor punished the patrician and logothete Cosmas in the Horologion and stripped him of his office. In place of the ^D mystikos John, he promoted the protovestiarios Theophanes and invested him with the same authority. At the same time, there was an earthquake in the theme of the Thrakesians and terrifying chasms in the earth, such that many villages and churches were swallowed up together with their inhabitants.

In the month of May, in the fifteenth indiction, Simeon, the prince of the Bulgarians, made an incursion against the Croats; having engaged with them and been defeated in the narrow passes of the mountains, he lost his entire army. A certain astronomer named John approached the emperor and told him that if he sent someone to cut off the head of the statue standing above the arch at the Xerolophos—which looked toward the west—Simeon would die immediately, for it was fated to him [end of page]

such a statue. But the man who did not believe his words cut off the head of the statue ^A and at that very hour, as the emperor learned by careful inquiry, Simeon died in Bulgaria, having been struck by a heart ailment.

Upon his death, the rule of the Bulgarians passed to Peter, his son by his second wife, the sister of George Sursubul, whom Simeon had also appointed as guardian to his children. For as to Michael, his son born to him of his former wife, Simeon had made him a monk while he was still living. The neighboring nations, therefore—Turks, Serbs, Croats, and others—upon hearing of Simeon’s death, resolved to campaign against the Bulgarians. A great famine, accompanied by locusts, also gripped the Bulgarian nation, severely oppressing and consuming the multitudes and their crops. The Bulgarians were indeed afraid of the incursion of other nations, but they feared even more the approach of the Romans. Peter, having deliberated with those around him, decided that he must make a military expedition against the Romans to strike them with terror. Consequently, they occupied Macedonia. Then, learning that the emperor was setting out against them with an army, Peter, the ruler of Bulgaria, and George, the guardian of Simeon’s children, secretly sent a certain monk carrying letters, which indicated that the Bulgarians desired to conclude peace and a treaty with the Romans, and, if it seemed good to the Romans, to confirm this by contracting a marriage between the nations.

The emperor, having received these letters and approving of the matter as highly as possible, immediately dispatched on a fast ship a certain monk named Theodosius and Constantine the Rhodian, a court cleric, to negotiate peace with the Bulgarians in Mesembria. When in this conference the business had been transacted favorably, the envoys returned to the city by land, accompanied by a certain Stephen, who held a great name among the Bulgarians; and following them came George Sursubul and some other illustrious men. When they came into the emperor’s presence and saw Mary, the daughter of the emperor Christopher (for she was of most excellent beauty), they were greatly pleased, and having ^B agreed upon peace, they wrote to Peter to come without delay.

Nicetas the magistros, father-in-law of the son of Romanus, was also sent to go meet Peter and escort him to our Queen of Cities. When Peter reached the Blachernae, the emperor came by trireme and received him, greeted him, and treated him with honor. And after they had conferred with one another as was appropriate, the terms of the peace and of the marriage were concluded, with the protovestiarios Theophanes acting as mediator in all matters.

On the eighth day of the month of October, the patriarch Stephen went out, together with the protovestiarios Theophanes and the entire senate, and blessed Peter and Mary in the church of the most holy Theotokos of the Spring, with the protovestiarios and Sursubul acting as groomsmen. ^C When these weddings had been performed with magnificence and sumptuous splendor, the protovestiarios entered the city with the daughter of the Caesar. The emperor instituted a third feast after the wedding at the Spring, in the place where it was the custom to disembark from the ships, with the imperial fast ship standing in that place: and he invited ^D

^A Peter to feast with him. Emperor Constantine and Christophoros were also present at the banquet. There arose no small disturbance from the Bulgarians, who insisted that Christophoros should be acclaimed before Constantine; acceding to their insistence, Emperor Romanos gave orders for this to be done. When everything customary in such affairs had been completed, Maria departed with her own husband and set out for Bulgaria, escorted by her parents and the protovestiarios as far as the Hebdomon. And thus these matters were concluded in the city.

The domestikos of the schools, John Kourkouas, a magister, ^B by acting and enduring and beating back everything that opposed him, and by destroying very many fortresses and fortifications and barbarian cities, arrived as far as the renowned Melitene. Having constrained those inside by siege, he compelled them to look toward terms of peace. Therefore, Apochapsos, descendant of Amer and emir of Melitene, came to him, along with Aposalathos, who commanded the garrisons in the city. The domestikos received them kindly and sent them off with graciousness to the emperor. Having met him and made peaceful agreements, they returned to their own lands, having been enrolled as friends and allies of the Romans, and together with them they took up arms against their own kinsmen. ^C But upon the deaths of Apochapsos and Aposalathos, the peace was broken. The aforementioned domestikos therefore launched an expedition against them, accompanied by the Magister Melias leading the Armenians. At first, they drove the Melitenians, who had dared to dispute the open countryside, back inside the city walls by force of arms; then, besieging the city and pressing the attack with intensity, they captured it by the law of war. They also overran and subdued everything in the surrounding area and forced it to serve the Romans. The emperor established Melitene and the whole surrounding region into a prefecture—which they called a ^D *curatoreia*—and brought great revenues from it to the treasury. Furthermore, Nicetas the magister, father-in-law of Christophoros, was accused of having incited his son-in-law to overthrow his father from the throne, and was driven from the city, shorn, and made a monk. On the 15th day of the month of July, in the sixth indiction, Stephen the patriarch died, having held the office for two years and eleven months. In the month of December, the monk Tryphon was brought forward, and the patriarchate was entrusted to him for a certain time, until Theophylact, the emperor's son, should reach the proper age. In the same month, there was a most severe frost, such that the earth remained frozen for days. Following this ice there was a plague, the likes of which had never been before, which so much

^A raged that the living could not suffice to bury the dead. The Emperor, as much as circumstances allowed, took the greatest care regarding both the plague and the cold, succoring his subjects with all manner of relief and benefits.

At the same time, John, the brother of Peter, prince of the Bulgarians, together with other powerful men among the Bulgarians, laid a plot against him. When this was revealed, John was beaten and cast into prison, and all the others were subjected to the ultimate punishment. Peter informed the Emperor Romanos of these events. Upon learning this, the latter sent the monk John, who had once been a rector, under the pretext of ratifying agreements, but in reality to find John by various means and bring him to Constantinople. ^B And indeed this was done; the rector managed to steal John away and, having put him on a boat from Mesembria, brought him along with himself into the city. Soon after, having cast off his monastic habit, he courted and married a wife, and also received a house and vast riches.

Moreover, Michael, another brother of Peter, driven by the desire to hold the Bulgarian power, occupied a fortified castle, provoked the Bulgarians, and drew many to himself. Shortly after his death, those who had joined him, fearing the wrath of Peter, invaded the Roman ^C lands and, passing through Macedonia, the Strymon, and Greece, occupied Nicopolis, and while in it, ravaged all that stood before them; eventually, however, they were variously defeated and became subject to the Romans.

During these times, a stone fell from the arch in the Forum, which men are accustomed to call the *cosmites*, and killed sixty men. There was also a terrible fire very near to the church of the all-holy Theotokos of the so-called *Psicha*. Christophoros the Emperor also died, on the fourteenth of August, and was buried in the monastery of his father.

When the time which the Patriarch Tryphon had set [for his resignation] had elapsed, ^D he did not wish to step down from the throne as he had promised, but sought excuses and pretexts for how he might be called to judgment and expelled from the Church. As the Emperor was at a loss because of this and did not know how to handle it, Theophanes, Bishop of Caesarea—whom they also called Choerinos, a man of glib tongue—seeing the Emperor in doubt and unable to endure the mockery and the deception, promised him he would bring the matter to an end. The Emperor accepted his offer of assistance.

^A He circumvented the patriarch with deceit, and approaching him, said: "Great, my lord, is the Emperor's aggression against you, and he searches for charges by which he might be able to tear you from the throne; but for all his toil, he finds none. For how could a charge touch one who is blameless? Yet those who are eager for your removal bring forward one charge: they claim that you are entirely ignorant of letters. If we could refute this, then surely all those who are plotting against you would appear as ravening wolves. If, therefore, you will heed me, write your name and the dignity of your priesthood on a clean sheet of paper in the presence of the entire synod, and send it to the Emperor, so that, becoming certain and falling short of such hope, he may desist from plotting against you." The counsel seemed advantageous. Immediately, therefore, a synod was gathered, and once it had assembled, the patriarch said to it: "Those who wish to cast me ^B from the throne unjustly, O divine fellow-ministers, having moved many machinations in order to find a plausible cause and through it to oust me, have found none. Finally, therefore, they attach this accusation to me: they say that I am illiterate. Now, therefore, in the sight of you all, I trace these letters, so that having seen them and become convinced, my fellow-accusers may desist from harassing me unjustly." He spoke, and having taken a clean sheet of paper, he subscribed it in the sight of all as follows: "Trypho, by the mercy of God, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch." And having written this, he sent it through the chief of the throne to the Emperor. When he received this into his hands, he attached another clean sheet of paper on top, and on it he wrote out a resignation, in which Trypho professed that he was unworthy of so great an office and was yielding the throne to whomsoever he wished. That resignation having been ^C brought forth in the synod, Trypho was led out of the Church, weeping much over the deception and blaming the chief of the throne. After one year and five months (for such was the time that Theophylactus yet lacked for legal ordination and the laying on of hands for the episcopate), in the month of February, in the second indiction, Theophylactus, the son of the Emperor, was ordained patriarch.

At the same time, a certain Basil the Macedonian, bragging that he was Constantine the son of Ducas, enticed many who had been deceived to himself, and wandering hither and thither through the cities, caused tumults and incited them to defection. Having been seized by a certain turmarch named Elephantinus, he was led to the Emperor, who released him after cutting off one of his hands. Released, he substituted a bronze hand for the one cut off, ^D and having girded on an enormous sword, he traveled through the Opsikion, deceiving the simpler folk that he himself was Constantine the son of Ducas. Having thus gathered a great band, he incited a rebellion. And having captured the fortress which is called Plateia Petra ("Flat Rock"), he deposited every kind of thing in it, and sallying forth from it, he plundered and robbed the surrounding areas. The Emperor, having sent an army against him, captured both him and those with him. And having interrogated him much to learn if any of the nobles were privy to the crime, and having found nothing of consequence, he burned him in the so-called Amastrianum. Furthermore, Romanus married his son Stephen to Anna, the daughter of Gabalas, and at the same time placed upon him the imperial crown.

^A In the month of April, in the seventh indiction, the Turks made an inroad into the West and ravaged everything as far as the City. The patrician and protovestiary Theophanes was sent and concluded a peace with them, the Emperor sparing no expense for the ransom of the captives. Furthermore, a girl named Helena, tracing her lineage from the Armeniacs and daughter of the patrician Adrian, was given in marriage to Constantine, the remaining son of the Emperor. When she died shortly thereafter, he provided him with another, named Theophano, who was descended from the lineage of Mamas. In the fourteenth indiction, in the month of June, a hostile Russian fleet consisting of ten thousand ships made an approach against the City. The patrician and protovestiary Theophanes set out against them with the fleet and [p. 630] anchored at Hierum, while they were anchored at the Pharos and the shore beyond it. Having watched for a favorable moment, he suddenly attacked them, broke up their formation, burned many of the ships with artificial fire, and completely routed the rest. The survivors of the Rus crossed over into the East and anchored at the so-called Sygora. But the patrician Bardas, son of Phocas, scouting the shores with cavalry and picked men, encountered a sufficiently large detachment of them that had been sent out to gather provisions, and he routed and slaughtered them. Furthermore, the Domestic of the Schools, Curcuas, arrived swiftly with his regiments and dealt harshly with them, finding them scattered here and there. The atrocities which the Rus perpetrated before they were defeated were more terrible than any tragedy; for they crucified some of their captives, pinned others to the ground, and set others up as targets to be shot with arrows. Those among the captives who were endowed with the priesthood had their heads pierced with sharp nails, and they also burned many holy churches. But these things were earlier. When, however, as was said above, they had been defeated in naval battle and suffered no small losses on land, they withdrew and remained within their ships; and when their provisions ran out, and they wished to return home but feared the Roman fleet which was watching them in the vicinity, they took an opportunity, gave the signal, and set sail. But they did not escape the notice of the patrician and protovestiary Theophanes; rather, when he became aware of their departure, he immediately set out against them, and a second naval battle took place, and the Rus were routed again. Some of their vessels were delivered to the depths, others were destroyed by iron and fire, and some fell into the hands of the Romans with their crews; but few, having escaped the necessity of war, departed for their own lands. Because of these victories, the Emperor, commending the protovestiary, appointed him as his first chamberlain.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

^A Since envy had been stirred up against the Domestic of the Schools, John Curcuas, on the part of the other emperors (for the Emperor Romanus wished to have Euphrosyne, the daughter of the Domestic, as a bride for his own grandson, Romanus, the son of his youngest child, Constantine), he was compelled to remove him from his command, although he had directed the office of Domestic for twenty-two years and seven months without interruption, and had, so to speak, overrun and humbled the whole of Syria. Whoever desires to learn of his achievements should search for the book composed by a certain Manuel, Protospatharios and judge (for in eight books he wrote down the brave deeds of this man), and from it he will know what kind of man he was in military affairs.

[P. 631] ^B Similarly to this man, Theophilus, his brother and the grandfather of the John who later reigned as emperor, handled the cities of the Saracens in Mesopotamia, having become commander in that region, humbling and completely destroying those from Hagar. And Romanus, the Patrician, the son of the Domestic John, having been made commander, took many fortresses and was the cause of very much spoil for the Romans. John having been relieved of his command, Pantherius, a kinsman of the Emperor Romanus, was appointed Domestic of the Schools.

^C The Emperor Romanus, being seized by repentance for his violation of oaths and his treachery, in order to appease God, did many other good works as well—which it would be laborious to recount; he also paid off the debts of the citizens, both rich and poor: for this purpose, they say, he spent nineteen centenaria, and burned the promissory notes in the purple omphalion at the Chalke. He also paid the house rents of the city from the highest to the lowest. And as for what he established to be done annually for the salvation of his soul at the monastery of Myrelaion, which was founded by his agency, everyone knows that these things are observed even until now.

^D In the first indiction, when the Turks again made an incursion against the Romans, the Parakoimomenos Theophanes went out, concluded a peace with them, and returned having taken hostages. In the second indiction, the Emperor sent Paschalius, Protospatharios and commander of Longobardia, to Hugh, king of Francia (82), seeking his daughter in marriage for Constantine Porphyrogenitus.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR. Italy. But in these matters neither our author nor the others of this ilk were diligent. Understand Constantine Porphyrogenitus not as the son of Romanus, but the son of Leo, he to whom Lacapenus was given as a son-in-law, and he himself having been reduced to order and circumscribed, [Lacapenus] held the empire almost alone with his sons. The first of the Porphyrogeniti mentioned is Copronymus, from the chamber of the palace named Porphyra (perhaps because it was adorned with purple carpets or hangings), in which he was born; and perhaps also the others, as being genuine emperors born in their proper place, in that place destined for childbirth. Our author also expresses this below, in the first year of Nicephorus Phocas. Do not confound Romanus, son of Constantine, son of Leo, with another Romanus. The name of the son of Romanus, son of Christophorus, is given as Bertha Eudoxia. XYL.—Him whom Constantine names in *De Administrando Imperio*, c. 26, had as his father Adelbert, as his mother Berta, as his grandfather Lothair, son of Louis the Pious. He was nowhere king of Great Francia, as I might use the words of Constantine, but Count of Provence or Arles. Called by the Italians, having ejected Rudolph, he obtained the kingdom of Italy: whence he deserved to be called [King of Italy] by the Greeks. He sent his daughter Berta, born of a concubine, to be joined to Romanus, son of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, at Constantinople, betrothed by the hand of Sigefridus, Bishop of Parma, and thereafter she heard herself distinguished by the name Eudoxia. GOAR.

^A And she, having been brought with great wealth, was joined to Romanus. She lived with him for five years and died. A violent wind also occurred in the month of December; and the so-called popular assembly places 83 collapsed, crushing the foundations beneath them and what are called the breast-high railings.

When the city of Edessa was being besieged by the Roman forces, the Edessenes, oppressed by the miseries of the siege, sent envoys to the Emperor, begging him to withdraw the people from the investment; and they promised to give, as a ransom for this matter, the holy Image of Christ, imprinted upon linen. When the siege was therefore raised, the divine effigy was given and brought to the capital, the Emperor receiving it with a splendid and becoming armed escort, just as we have said before. ^B

In those days a monster arrived at the Queen of Cities from Armenia, male children conjoined from one womb. They were driven out of the city as an evil omen. Under Constantine, however, they returned again. When it happened that one of them died, the more experienced doctors attempted to sever the dead part; but when it was cut away, the living one, having survived for a short time, also died.

The Emperor Romanus honored all monks, but especially the monk Sergius, a relative of Photius the patriarch, who was adorned with virtues and embellished with all good things. He was constantly urging the Emperor to keep his sons under discipline, lest the same thing happen to him as happened to Eli 84. In the same indiction, they led the Emperor Romanus out of the palace, and having brought him to the island of Prote 85, they shaved his head and imposed upon him the monastic state. By whom he was thrust from the throne, and in what manner, shall be told in what follows.

Constantine the Emperor, being a child of very tender age when he lost his father, had affairs administered by his mother Zoe and the guardians whom we have numbered above. The chamberlain Constantine, possessing great power with the Empress, and having the Magister Leo Phocas—who was Domestic of the Schools of the East—as his brother-in-law, was turning all the reins of the empire wherever he wished, ^C and ^D [continuing...]

^A by night and by day he plotted to transfer the empire to his own son-in-law, having removed Constantine from his path. When Theodore, the tutor of the Porphyrogenitus, became aware of this—as has been related above—he set himself with zeal to win over the elder Romanus, who was at that time the Drungary of the Watch, and to introduce him into the palace, thinking he would be a guard and champion of the Emperor. But the latter, once he had been brought into the palace and, by small, gradual rises, had become master of the whole power, did not abide by what he had promised. Instead, he broke the oaths he had taken (for he had bound himself with most fearful oaths that he would never aspire to the empire) and proclaimed himself Emperor, with the Porphyrogenitus willingly—or rather, "with unwilling mind" (to use the Homeric phrase)—placing the diadem upon him. And he did not merely do this for himself, but shortly thereafter he raised his son Christophorus, and then Stephanus and Constantine, his sons, to the same rank. Once declared Emperor, he was by no means content with the second place; he removed the tutor and others whom he thought would be obstacles to him. He had himself hailed as Emperor in the first place, and had transferred the administration of all affairs to himself. His sons were next to him, and in the very last place Constantine, son of Leo, was proclaimed Emperor, for whom nothing was left but the garb and the name of Emperor, all the fruits of power being taken away. Thus Constantine, always eager to recover his paternal empire and desiring to overthrow those who had stolen it, at length perceived that he could not achieve this in any other way than by inciting the sons against the father. ^B Christophorus had already passed away, and Stephanus and Constantine still survived. He did not dare to solicit the former, as he was harder of mind, in order to carry out his plan; so he directed all his counsels and efforts toward corrupting Stephanus, who was vainer and more easily swayed to whichever side one might wish. For this purpose, he took as an associate and helper a certain man naturally gifted at weaving plots and devising schemes, a man named Basil, surnamed Petinos (the "Bird"), who was enrolled in the company of the *Hetaireia* and who had been a comrade and friend of Constantine since youth. He brought him in as an accomplice in his scheme, and it was through him that he eagerly sought to make Stephanus his friend, having led him astray by flattering words and ensnared him with deceits and machinations. Basil, having exerted every effort to become familiar with Stephanus—and once he had gained his intimacy—frequently approached him, and began to stir up conversation and offer counsel that stung him and slowly drew him away from his right mind. ^D "For why," he would say, "O Emperor, being young, ^C and vigorous in strength, and excelling in nobility of soul and matured in wisdom, do you overlook the affairs of state, which hang from a withered, ancient, and broken thread" (alluding to his own father), "and do you not rise up? Why do you allow this man to—"

^A hinder your noble impulses by taking the affairs of state into his own hands, when you are capable of governing not only the Roman Empire, but many nations as well? Come then, be persuaded by me, who advises what is to your advantage, and rise up and resolve to take hold of affairs; prepare to see the Roman cause flourish and the enemy brought low; show them in deed that the ripe age which now crowns you, and the other gifts of your soul, were not bestowed upon you by God in vain or for nothing. You will have as an ally and helper in this endeavor your brother-in-law, the Porphyrogenitus, who is very much called by God and longs to be released from the oppressiveness of your father and to see the empire governed by you." ^B Seduced by these words, Stephanus was seized by a desire for autocracy and accepted an unrestrained longing to bring his own father down from the throne. Being about to set his hand to what had been resolved, he sowed words that hinted at his purpose to his brother. But since the other remained unmoved at the first hearing and instead advised him not to be confident in his brother-in-law, but urged him to hold fast to the faith and friendship due to his father, he left him aside as being more of a hindrance than a future collaborator, and thought that he himself could undertake the planned action. Therefore, having taken into his fellowship, in addition to the aforementioned Basilius, the monk Marianos—son of Leo Argyros, who was held in great affection and trust by the Emperor Romanos—and others with them, he seized the opportunity to drag his father from power on the 16th of December, in the 3rd indiction, in the year 6453, when he had already been reigning for 26 years, and confined him on the island of Prote, having forcibly tonsured him as a monk. Once Romanos had been brought down, Stephanus began to handle affairs with greater boldness, while having his brother-in-law and his brother. ^C But since they did not approve of the same things in all respects, but rather differed at times, the beginning of hostilities grew from this cause; they became suspicious and distrustful of one another—Stephanus toward the Porphyrogenitus, and again the Porphyrogenitus toward him—and each plotted against the other. Stephanus put forth no small effort and struggle to bring his brother and his brother-in-law down and to remain sole monarch of affairs; but since, according to the poet (86), there are other things hotter than fire, he was more forced by his own surrender than by his actions. For Constantine, when he perceived that schemes were being laid against him, offered no delay to the undertaking, especially as his wife, Helena, was inciting him to bring down the brothers from the throne. Having therefore communicated the secret to the aforementioned Basilius Peteinos, and through him having recruited Marianos, as well as Nicephorus and Leo, the sons of Bardas Phocas, and Nicholas and Leo the Tornikioi and not a few others who suspected nothing from Stephanus and Constantine, he took them by surprise while they were at breakfast with him—the very moment of the meal—and had them seized and removed from the palace on the 27th of January of the same 3rd indiction, and, placing them on small boats, he sent them into exile, ^D while sharing the same goal with his brother-in-law and his brother.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR.

^A While the one was placed on the island of Panormos, the other was sent to Terebinthos. By means of Basil of Caesarea and Anastasius of Heraclea—both of whom were clerics—he had them tonsured, transferring Stephanus shortly thereafter to Proconnesus, then to Rhodes, and finally to Mitylene, while Constantine was sent to Samothrace. Now, Stephanus bore the lot that had befallen him with nobility and great spirit, and continued living for nineteen years on Lesbos. Constantine, however, having a fickle mind and rising up more audaciously than he ought, and having attempted flight several times, in the second year after the loss of his empire, murdered his guard by guile and was himself slain by the remaining guards.

In the month of July of the sixth indiction, Romanus, the father of these men, paid the debt of nature and was buried in the Myrelaion. Thereupon, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, having removed from his midst those who were objects of suspicion and now reigning alone, placed the diadem upon his son Romanus on the feast of Easter of the same indiction, the prayers being performed by the patriarch Theophylact. ^B Indeed, at the beginning, Constantine had shown an excellent disposition, and it had been thought that if he were to hold power alone, he would manage the affairs of the empire brilliantly. But he disappointed expectation and did not bear himself worthily of such a high position. Given over to wine, he abandoned laborious tasks and applied himself to sloth, yet he was a harsh and pitiless punisher of the faults of others. In the creation of magistrates, he did not choose the best men—which would have been worthy of a magnificent power—but promiscuously and without any examination, he committed the duty of leading armies or governing the city to whoever was nearest to him. The result was that many plebeians or men of culpable life held the highest honors in the republic. Helena Augusta and Basil, the intimate of the cubicularii, contributed much to this, working to ensure that magistracies were for sale.

^C Yet Constantine was not entirely devoid of noble deeds. For I shall recount one thing worthy, indeed, of admiration, and which could obscure many of his sins. The sciences—arithmetic, music, astronomy, geometry, and philosophy, the queen of them all—which had already perished for a long time due to the negligence and ignorance of the emperors, he restored by his own industry, having sought out those who excelled in any field and having appointed teachers, and having welcomed and hired students. Thus it came to pass that in the course of a short time, barbarism was put to flight, and the city flourished with letters. He also took care of sedentary and manual arts, bringing them to great increase. He was pious and liberal toward God, as he never appeared in the sight of God during processions to the temples, made according to ecclesiastical laws, without fruit and an offering, but always presented magnificent gifts befitting a Christ-loving emperor. He also returned favor to those by whom he had been helped in the removal of his wife’s brothers from the empire. ^D

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

Schools of the East; Nikephoros and Leon, his sons, he appointed—Nikephoros as general of the Anatolics, and Leon of Cappadocia—and Constantine, his third son, he placed in charge of Seleucia, and Basilios Volucris he placed over the great company. Moreover, he appointed Marianos Argyros Count of the Stable and Manuel Curtices Drungarios of the Watch. He also castrated Romanos, son of Stephen (who later became Augustifer), and furthermore Basilios, who was born to Romanos the Elder from a servant girl; and he tonsured Michael, the son of the Caesar Christophoros, as a cleric.

^B When he seemed to have fortified the empire with adamantine bonds and to have shaken off all cause for suspicion, and thought that he was standing on safe ground, he came within a little of falling into the greatest danger, being attacked by a double conspiracy. For Theophanes the cubicularius desired to bring the elder Romanos from the island of Prote to the palace, having many others as accomplices. And certain others—namely, Leon Clado, Gregorius Macedo, Theodosius the first of Stephen’s grooms, and Joannes the rector—plotted to bring Stephen from Mitylene and establish him on the throne. But when these designs were betrayed by some of the conspirators, Theophanes and his associates were banished, while those who had engaged in Stephen’s affair were scourged, their goods confiscated, and with their noses cut off, they were sent into exile.

^C Nor did the Turks cease from making incursions into Roman territory and ravaging it, until their chieftain, Bulosudes, pretending to embrace the Christian faith, came to Constantinople. Being baptized by the Emperor Constantine, he was received, honored with the rank of patrician, and enriched with many gifts, after which he returned home. Not long after, Gylas, who was also a Turkish prince, came to the Queen of Cities for the same purpose; he was baptized and treated in the same manner as the former, and took back with him a monk named Hierotheos, who was renowned for his piety and had been ordained bishop of "Turcia" by the Patriarch Theophylact. Upon arriving there, he brought many away from the barbarian error to the Christian religion. And while Gylas remained in the faith, neither making any raids himself against the Romans nor leaving his captive Christians neglected—but rather buying them, caring for them, and setting them free—Bulosudes, having broken the covenants he had made with God, frequently led his entire nation against the Romans. ^D Attempting the same thing against the Franks, he was captured and impaled by their king, John.

Furthermore, Elga, the wife of the prince of the Rus who had led a fleet against the Romans, arrived in Constantinople after the death of her husband; and having been baptized, with a great [show of] true piety...

she returned home, having been honored in a manner worthy of her resolve.

Since the daughter of Hugh, who had been betrothed to Romanus, had died a virgin, as we have said, the emperor gave his son another wife, not of an illustrious family but of common, indeed tavern-keeping, parentage, named Anastasia; though he himself gave her the name Theophano.

When, however, the emir of Tarsus, seeking war against the Romans, had sent a portion of his army to raid the village of Heracles, a certain presbyter named Themelus, who was then performing the bloodless sacrifice, having learned of the arrival of the Saracens, abandoned the sacrifice and, just as he was, clad in his sacred vestments, seized the ^B [signum] of the church and defended against the charging enemies with it. He wounded many of them, killed several, and put the rest to flight. Afterward, being excluded from the sacred offices by the bishop and unable to obtain readmission, he fled to the Hagarenes and abjured the Christian religion; and going out with them, he devastated not only Cappadocia and the neighboring provinces, but even reached what is called Lesser Asia. As to the terrible deeds he performed, it is not right for us even to write of them.

Now, as we have said, Bardas Phocas, having been appointed Domestic of the Schools, did nothing worthy of report. For when he was acting under others, he appeared a commander worthy of praise and admiration; but as soon as the authority over all the armies depended on his own discretion, he benefited the Roman state little or nothing, because, laboring under the vice of avarice, he cast aside sound counsel. Hence, once upon a time, falling unexpectedly into the army of Chabdani, he was deserted by all his men and, as it is told, had nearly come alive into the power of the enemy, had not his ministers formed a wedge and snatched him away. A great and deep wound, however, he received on his forehead, a thick scar from which he carried to his death.

Nicephorus and Leo, his sons, were superior to all dishonest gain [and] treated their subjects like free^C

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

(90) He says he mentioned this above also. But in our manuscript, in that very place where it is said that she lived with Romanus for five years, some librarian, I think, had inserted certain things which were afterwards added by another, as in other places. Certainly these things do not harmonize with the earlier parts, which I have considered sufficient to note. And that here, a little before, John is called king or emperor of the Franks, history agrees with neither of these, since at that time the emperors of the Romans were Henry the Fowler and Otto, of whom mention is made a little later, Saxons, while in Gaul reigned Louis and his son Lothair. XYL.

(91) What sort of instrument or weapon he seized, I cannot guess. I have accepted it for a custodian, whom Homer sets down for a shepherd, Iliad o, 325: [Greek terminology for "sign-bearer" omitted]. How it can also be accepted is mentioned at the beginning of the Odyssey.

(92) But what it might signify here, I leave obscure. XYL.—Xylander recognized no significance, though it sounds most clearly by its signs. For it is a clapper, an oblong piece of wood, square, moderately thin, to be struck with a small mallet, so that, a sound being raised, a sign might be given to the faithful to come into the church. There is also an iron plate to be struck with an iron rod at the doors of the church for the purpose of giving a signal, about which, as well as about the wooden signs, Allatius [has written] learnedly, as is his wont, in his book on the more recent Greek temples. This, therefore, whether wooden or, more likely, an iron or brazen sign, having been snatched up by the priest into his hands ^D and entering the church, that energetic priest would rush upon, drive back, and battle the Saracens. GOAR.

Verius, when he did not persuade them that his crime should be pardoned, that is, when he did not obtain it. GOAR.

^Atreating them as if they were his own natural sons, they greatly benefited the Roman Empire. The exceptional deeds of Nicephorus, so that we might not interrupt the continuous sequence of our history, shall be related in the places where the order of events demands it.

Leo, however, having routed Apolasares, an illustrious man and kinsman of Chabdan, who had marched against the Romans with an immense multitude, captured him and sent him to Constantinople, after having killed a portion of his army in battle and taken the rest as prisoners. The Emperor Constantine, having led this man in a triumph before the Empress and having trodden upon his neck, showed him favor with honors and gifts.

Chabdan, having taken Constantine, the third son of Phocas, prisoner and led him off to Aleppo, and having labored much to convert him to his own wicked religion, when he could not persuade him, slew him with poisons. Upon hearing this, Bardas was so greatly grieved that he slaughtered with the sword all the kinsmen of Chabdan whom he was holding as captives. Because of this, Paul the Magister, surnamed Monomachus, who had been sent by the Emperor to conclude a peace, returned without having accomplished his mission.

^BChabdan, overtaken by an uncontrollable pang of grief on account of his kinsmen, went on an expedition against the Romans, leading with him Nicetas the Patrician, surnamed Chalcutzes—whom he had sent to him as an ambassador from the Emperor regarding peace—along with many other excellent men, the bravest and most noble of the Romans, whom he had captured.

Nicetas, secretly informing Phocas of all the plans of the barbarian and the routes by which he intended to make his return, Phocas set ambushes near a certain place that had a narrow and precipitous entrance. When Chabdan arrived there and reached the middle of the narrow pass, he was surrounded by the ambushers. For those who had been positioned for this purpose sprang up from the ambush and rolled down enormous stones upon them and cast all manner of missiles against them.

Chalcutzes, having previously prepared for this and having bribed with gifts certain of the Saracens to assist in his escape, slipped away with all his own followers, while an unspeakable multitude of ^CAgarenes perished there. Chabdan, having slaughtered those he held in bonds, succeeded in escaping from the danger, albeit disgracefully and in disorderly flight, with but a few men.

In the twelfth year of the reign of Constantine, and the 6464th year of the world, on the 27th day of February, in the 14th indiction, Theophylact the Patriarch departed this life, having presided over the priesthood for 23 years and 25 days. When he entered upon it—which was done contrary to ecclesiastical laws—he was 16 years old, and for some time the Patriarch remained under tutors (alas!); and for as long as this lasted, it was good, for he seemed to be modest and temperate. But when he reached a more mature age and was allowed at last to live by his own judgment, he did not cease from performing ^Dnone of the most disgraceful and strictly forbidden acts.

^A He left undone the duties he was supposed to perform, selling ecclesiastical ranks and the election of bishops, and doing other things foreign to the true office of a patriarch, ruined by an insane passion for horses and hunting, and committing many other acts that were indecorous. It is both inconvenient and unlawful to recount these one by one. But it is fitting to commemorate one thing, as a proof of his uncultivated mind. He was held by an unrestrained love for the acquisition of horses, and it is said that he possessed more than two thousand, for whose care he was constantly solicitous. He did not provide hay and barley for them to eat, but the fruits of pine-cones, thasia, and pistachios, and furthermore the finest dates, raisins, and dried figs, and all these most choice, tempered with most fragrant wine, and with saffron, cinnamon, balsam, and other aromatics mixed into the food for each of the horses, which he set before them. ^B It is said that once, when he was officiating on the fifth day of the Great Supper of the Lord, and was already reciting the prayers of the mysteries, the deacon who had been entrusted with the care of the horses came to him and brought the joyful news that a most noble mare had given birth, adding also the name of the foal. The Patriarch, from excessive joy, having finished the sacred rite as best he could, ran to the Cosmidion; and having seen the newly-born foal, and having sated himself with the spectacle of the beast, he returned to the Great Church, in order to finish the recitation of the hymns concerning the suffering endured by our Savior for our sake. Moreover, he introduced this custom which prevails even today, that on splendid and solemn festivals, God and the memory of the saints are insulted through shameful songs, laughter, and frenzied shouting, with which the holy hymns are sung—hymns which we ought to offer to God for our own salvation with contrition and a crushed heart. For he gathered a multitude of ^C infamous men, and appointed as their leader a certain Euthymius, whom they called by the surname Casnen, and whom he himself had appointed as domestic of the church, and he instructed them to perform those diabolical dances, obscene vociferations, and songs borrowed from crossroads and brothels. Living in this manner, he ended his life, having been struck while riding in an undisciplined way against a certain seawall. From which accident, after vomiting blood and being afflicted with disease for two years, he perished from dropsy. ^D In the same indiction, on the third day of the month of April, in his place was substituted the monk Polyeuctus, born and raised in Constantinople, castrated by his parents, and having spent a long time living the monastic life with praise, the Emperor raising him to this position on account of the gravity of his morals, his eminent wisdom, and his poverty. To him, not [having been taken] from Heraclea, as custom dictated, but Basil...

Xylander and Goar's Notes

^A A bishop of Caesarea laid on his hands, because Nicephorus (for this was the name of the prelate of Heraclea), having offended the mind of the emperor in a certain matter, was not permitted to perform the laying on of hands. This conduct earned the king no common reproach, not only for the emperor and Basil, but for Polyeuctus himself, because he had permitted himself to be ordained contrary to the sacred canons. Yet, having been ordained in this manner and having spoken the truth with boldness, he inveighed much against the greed of the relatives of the old man Romanus; and on Great Saturday, he urged the emperor, who had come to the Great Church, to execute judgment upon the things that had been done. This was not pleasing to the emperor. But Basil, who later became the intimate cubicularius—the son of the old man Romanus by a slave—by means of his sister, the Augusta Helena, so affected the mind of Constantine that he not only repented having promoted Polyeuctus to the patriarchate, but also pondered how he might, by some opportunity, cast him down from the throne; and to this end, Theodore, bishop of Cyzicus, as they say, poured cold water upon him ^B or further incited him against him.

Just as if the time were laboring to ensure that supreme pontiffs of the same opinion should be created, Joannes, the son of Albericus, was head of the Roman Church at that same time, a man prone to every wantonness and malice; whom Otto, king of the Franks, expelled, and established another pastor for the Church.

Polyeuctus, in the first year of his patriarchate, inscribed in the sacred diptychs the name of the patriarch Euthymius, he who had admitted the emperor Leo to the communion of the holy mysteries when he had taken a fourth wife. On account of this, certain of the high priests for a time refused to have common communion with Polyeuctus; but, little by little, following the will of the one who held power, they provided a spectacle of laughingstock to those who were scrutinizing the controversy.

At the same time, the venerable hand of the Forerunner was brought to the royal city from Antioch, having been stolen by a certain deacon named Job. When it had arrived at Chalcedon, the emperor sent out his royal trireme; and those of the senate who were most distinguished went out to meet it, and with the patriarch Polyeuctus, ^C together with the entire clergy, with wax tapers, torches, and incense, they brought it into the palace.

Meanwhile, Bardas, the Domestic of the Schools, having campaigned against the eastern Hagarenes, laid waste everything in his path, capturing many fortresses, and he took by siege the famous city of Adapa. Furthermore, the emperor, desiring to restrain the Saracens in Crete, who were repeatedly campaigning and ^D ravaging and overrunning the coastal regions of Roman territory...

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

Wishing to terrify those who were raiding and ravaging the land, and to restrain their immoderate impetuosity, he gathered a very large army and fitted out a fleet by no means despicable, and sent it against the island. Over the whole undertaking he placed Constantine, the patrician Gongylas, ^A an effeminate man, reared in the shade, ignorant of war, and one of the chamberlains of the palace. Having crossed over to the island with his fleet, he did nothing worthy of a general; for he neither fortified a camp, nor stationed scouts or lookouts, by whom he might have been warned of the arrival of the barbarians—a piece of negligence that brought him into the greatest peril. For the islanders, having perceived the inexperience and carelessness of the general, chose a favorable moment and suddenly attacked the army. They routed it easily, so that many of the Romans were taken captive and dispersed, and [the barbarians] even seized the camp itself, the Romans having fled most shamefully. Gongylas himself would have fallen into the power of the enemy, had he not been snatched away by a squadron of his servants and placed on board the flagship, and thus saved.

Meanwhile, Romanus, the imperial son of the Emperor Constantine, having now reached a more mature age, and unable to endure that affairs should be governed by his father, ^B resolved to remove him by poison, with the knowledge also of his wife, the tavern-keeper’s daughter. Accordingly, when Constantine intended to take a purging draught, they prepared a lethal poison for him; and they persuaded Nicetas, the administrator of the table, to pour it in. But as the emperor was about to drink it, having placed it before the sacred images, whether by some chance or intentionally, he stumbled and spilled the greater part of the cup. The remainder that was drunk, because of its small quantity, appeared to lack efficacy, and yet, nevertheless, Constantine escaped with difficulty, having been stricken by a severe illness in his sides from the poison.

In the 15th year of his reign, in the month of September, in the 3rd indiction, in the year of the world 6468, the emperor set out for Mount Olympus, in appearance, that, armed with the prayers of the fathers who lived there, he might set out against the Saracens in Syria; in reality, however, to join with Theodore, the bishop of Cyzicus, who was then passing his days there, and to deliberate with him about the deposition of Polyeuctus. ^C Arriving there, whether by physical infirmity or again by being poisoned by his son, he departed, seized with pains, and towards the end of October he was carried back to Constantinople in a litter. With his plans having achieved no result, he died on the ninth day of November. He lived in total for fifty-four years and two months. He reigned, with his father, his uncle Alexander, and his mother as colleagues, for thirteen years; again, with Romanus, who had unjustly usurped the empire, for twenty-six years; and after the latter’s removal from the empire, as sole ruler for fifteen years. He is buried beside his father. Up until his final breath, he was angry with Polyeuctus, and pondered his deposition. A few days before he died, after evening, stones were thrown from on high in a mass into his house with great violence, making a huge crash. Constantine, thinking that they [were being thrown] from the upper chambers of the Magnaura,

a certain power. ^A A few days before his death, for some considerable time, as evening fell, stones thrown from above and falling with a great clamor and making unusual noise inside his chambers were heard. [P. 642] Thinking that these were being cast down by the guards from the upper stories of the Magnaura, he stationed guards for many nights in case he might catch any of those who dared this. But he labored in vain; for he was ignorant that what was happening did not proceed from men, but from some higher power.

After Constantine had departed from this life to the state beyond, his son Romanos took possession of the empire. Having established magistrates well-disposed and acceptable to him, and having confirmed his rule as circumstances permitted, in the same third indiction, on the feast day of Pascha, he placed the imperial crown upon his son by the hands of the Patriarch Polyeuctus in the Great Church. In the following year, another son was born to him again in the palace of the Pegae, whom he named Constantine after his father. But the Emperor, being young and given over to pleasures, entrusted the cares of the commonwealth to Joseph, his chief chamberlain, surnamed Bringas: he himself applied himself to no other business than to pass an infamous life with catamites and impure minion-men, and harlots, and mimes, and buffoons. ^B And on this account, a certain cleric, John, a eunuch, whom the Emperor Constantine had expelled for certain shameful deeds and had made a monk, and who had remained in hiding until his death, the Emperor having attained the throne, stripped of his monastic habit and, having restored his clerical attire, received among his own chamberlains. But Polyeuctus, stirred by just indignation, vehemently urged the Emperor to cast out of his household a man who had renounced his monastic vow. However, the Emperor excusing him, in that he denied that he had truly embraced the conditions of a monk or had been consecrated to that kind of life by any priest with vows, but having only feigned that monastic life out of fear of the Emperor, Polyeuctus, being deceived, let him go, Joseph also bestowing diligent effort in this matter. Thus that John passed his life in a profane manner up to the death of Romanos; upon his death, he was again clad in the monastic habit, yet he did not change his mind.

^C In this year, Nicephorus Phocas, the Magister and Domestic of the Schools of the East already appointed by the Emperor Constantine, who had raised many trophies against the Eastern Saracens, and had utterly humbled Caramon, the Emir of Tarsus, and Chabdan of Aleppo, and Izeth of Tripoli, the Emperor sends against the Saracens in Crete, having given to him a multitude of chosen soldiers and a well-fitted fleet. [P. 643] Having crossed over to the island, ^D and having engaged the Hagarenes who were present at the first landing and were attempting to prevent it, and having put them to flight, he himself landed safely on the island, and then brought his men ashore without danger. Having established camp there, and those...

XYLANDRI AND GOAR'S NOTES

(3) By a long series of prayers of the priest, monks are consecrated among the Greeks, concerning which the Euchologion. Those prayers render the profession of monks solemn. Balsamon. Goar.

^A and they were trampled upon, or partly slain in flight by the Romans who were pursuing them. And had not night coming on snatched him away, Sphendosthlabus would have fallen alive into the power of the Romans. The survivors of the slaughter, when they reached the walls, lamented the death of Icmorus with great mourning and wailing. And the Romans, while stripping the fallen barbarians, found among the corpses even women dressed in male attire, who had fought against the Romans along with their husbands. Now for the barbarians, affairs of war were entirely adverse. For there was no hope of reinforcements, since their fellow tribesmen were far away, and the neighboring barbarian nations, fearing the Romans, refused them aid; and supplies themselves were failing them, because the Roman fleet was guarding the banks of the river with the greatest care, so that nothing could be brought in to them; and the same circumstance prevented them from fleeing in their own small boats, since the passages, as we have said, were kept under strict watch, while for the Romans, on the other hand, all good things were flowing in daily as if from an everlasting fountain, and cavalry and infantry forces were being added all the time. ^B Accordingly, they gathered for a council. There, some were of the opinion that they should steal away by night, others that they should seek pledges and safe conduct from the Romans, since otherwise retreat was impossible, and thus return home; different suggestions were made by others as the occasion allowed to each. Since, however, all were in absolute agreement that the war must be ended, Sphendosthlabus urged them to engage with the Romans one more time, and either, by fighting valiantly, to overcome their opponents, or, if they could not gain the victory, to prefer a glorious and blissful death to a most shameful and infamous life. For how would it be tolerable for them to endure life, having saved themselves by flight, if they were to become objects of contempt to neighboring peoples who had previously been in terror of them? This opinion of Sphendosthlabus pleased them, and they all agreed, and promised to undergo the final struggle for their lives with all their might. ^C The next day, therefore, they all went out of the city in a body and locked the gates, so that it would not be possible for anyone to return to the city in flight. They engaged with the Romans, and a hard struggle ensued. As the barbarians were fighting bravely, the Romans, weighed down by the heavy armor (for it was high noon) and suffering from thirst, began to give way. The Emperor, perceiving this, rendered aid with his attendants with all speed; he himself took the brunt of the battle, and ordered skins full of wine and water to be brought to the army that had been exhausted by the sun and thirst. Having used these and driven off both the thirst and the heat of the sun, and having refreshed themselves, they fell upon the Scythians with vehemence and force. ^D And while those resisted nobly, the battle was equal, until the Emperor, perceiving that the narrowness of the place was impeding the valor of his men and that the Scythians' morale was being raised by this, commanded the commanders to withdraw back into the plain, far from the city, and to present the appearance of those fleeing, not by scattering, but by retreating little by little, and as soon as they had lured the enemy far from the city, to wheel their horses around suddenly and attack. The commanders executed the orders. And the Rossi, thinking that the Romans who were retreating were truly fleeing, encouraged one another and with a great clamor

^A they pursued them. The Emperor, seeing the Scythians scattered and disorganized by the pursuit, signaled the commanders to fall upon them. Thus, attacking the Scythians, they fought fiercely. Though they met with equal eagerness and many turns and shifts of battle took place, the struggle remained evenly balanced for a considerable time. Here again, the son of the Emir of Crete, Anemas, spurring his horse this way and that, and goading it more violently, charged with youthful courage at Sphendosthlabus himself; having broken through the enemy phalanx, he struck him upon the middle of his head with his sword, and cast him from his horse, though he did not slay him, for the armor with which he was covered protected him. He himself, however, being surrounded and struck by many, was slain, having ended his life heroically—a great wonder even to his adversaries. It is said that the Romans received divine assistance at that time. For a certain whirlwind rising from the South stood in the faces of the Scythians, not allowing them to act according to their intent in the battle. And a man was seen by the entire Roman army riding on a white horse, fighting in the vanguard and breaking and disturbing the enemy phalanxes, who was known to no one either before or after; they claimed he was one of the victorious ^B martyrs, Theodore. The Emperor always used these as his champions and defenders against the enemies; in fact, it happened that this fight took place on the very day on which we are accustomed to celebrate the memory of the General. Moreover, a certain venerable woman in Byzantium attested to the truth of the vision, having seen it in a dream on the day before the engagement. She thought she stood before the Theotokos and heard her saying to a certain soldier, "Lord Theodore, my John and yours is beset by danger; hasten to his aid"—and at sunrise she related what had been seen to her neighbors. And these things having been seen, the Scythians were routed again. Finding the gates of the city blocked by [Scleros], they were scattered over the field ^C and were slaughtered, being trampled by one another and cut down by the Romans, in numbers beyond count; nearly all became wounded. The Emperor, honoring the martyr and paying in return the rewards for his assistance, demolished from the foundations the temple in which his divine body is laid and built a great and most beautiful one, assigning to it magnificent endowments; he also renamed the city, instead of Euchaneia, Theodoropolis. Sphendosthlabus, having tried every device and being worsted in all, recognized that no hope was left for him and looked toward terms. He sent ambassadors therefore to the Emperor, asking for pledges that, being enrolled as an ally and friend of the Romans, he might be allowed to depart to his home ^D unharmed with those around him, and that any Scythian who wished might travel for the sake of trade. Having received the embassy, the victorious (Emperor)...

^A was ordered to return from Crete, but he was not permitted to enter the imperial city; rather, he was commanded to appear in the East with his entire army. For Chabdanus, recovering from his previous defeat, had begun to rise again, and having gathered an army fit for battle, he was expected to attack the Roman authorities and their affairs. But when Phocas arrived in Syria, he routed him in a set battle, defeated him decisively, and drove him into the interior of Syria; he sacked the city of Berrhoea, with the exception of the acropolis, and seized much wealth, booty, and captives, having also liberated the Christians who were held prisoner there and sent them home.

On the 15th of the month of March, ^B of the 6th indiction, in the year 6471, the Emperor Romanus died, being 24 years of age. He reigned for 13 years, 4 months, and 5 days. Some say the cause of his death was that he had worn out his small body with a luxurious and pleasure-loving life; others think he was extinguished by poison. His empire, upon his death, reverted to Basil and Constantine, his sons, and their mother Theophano, who had also given birth to a daughter for him two days before his death, whom they named Anna. Romanus was tall in stature, although shorter than his father, ^C with a gentle and mild character, and of moderate intelligence; and although he was young, he had enough intelligence and perspicacity to govern the state, had it been permitted to him by his servants. But his closest associates, having surrendered him to the impulses and pursuits of youth in order that they might amass vast wealth while managing public affairs themselves, rendered him idle and ineffective.

In the month of April of the same 6th indiction, by the order of the Augusta, Nicephorus Phocas came to Constantinople, with Joseph attempting to prevent this, as he had before. He led a triumph in the Hippodrome, ^D bringing in it the spoils of Crete and Berrhoea. He also brought a portion of the garment of John the Baptist, which he had found deposited in Berrhoea. Bringas feared him and held him in suspicion; but Nicephorus cunningly eluded him with this artifice. Phocas, having taken one of his guards, went to the house of Joseph at the hour of lunch; having knocked at the doors, he commanded the doorkeeper to announce his presence to his master. Once admitted, he drew Joseph aside and showed him a garment woven of hair, which he wore beneath his clothes, and confirmed with oaths that he had long desired the monastic life, and would have entered upon it after renouncing the cares of this age, had he not been hindered by his zeal and loyalty to Constantine and Romanus. But he would fulfill his desire a little later. He humbly implored him that he should not suspect anything hostile toward himself in vain. Having seen this, Bringas immediately fell at the feet of Phocas and begged for pardon, promising that he would not believe anyone reporting anything against him. He also feared Stephen, the son of Romanus.

^A who was numbered among the living until that time and was residing in exile in Methymna; he always took care to keep him under tighter guard. But he, having partaken of the divine mysteries during the feast of Great Saturday, suddenly died instantly, with no preceding cause; but it was Theophano who, even though he was dwelling far away, made an end of him.

At that same time, Peter, the king of the Bulgarians, seeking to renew the peace after the death of his wife, made a treaty with the emperors and gave his own two sons, Boris and Romanus, as hostages; and shortly after, he died. His sons were sent back to Bulgaria afterward so that they might take up their paternal kingdom and repel the attack of the Cometopuli. For David, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, being the sons of one of the counts who had become very powerful in Bulgaria, were looking toward rebellion and were inciting the Bulgarians. And these things happened in this way.

^B Bringas, having been deceived by Nicephorus in the manner we have described, and having allowed him to depart for home, repented, and considered it a serious matter that he had foolishly let the prey he held within his nets escape, and he was mentally disturbed. He was anxious, in fact, as to how and by what device he might be freed from the apprehension he felt regarding them. And it seemed to him most expedient to write to the magister John Tzimiskes—a man who was spirited and energetic, and after Phocas the most distinguished among the Roman generals, being at that time the commander of the Eastern forces—and also to write to the magister Romanus Curcuas, who was also a most illustrious and notable commander in the East, to incite them with promises of gifts and honors to depose Phocas. ^C The letters were written, and the purpose of the written contents was this: if they should rise up and depose Phocas, either making him a monk or in some other way removing him from the scene, then John would receive the great office of Domestic of the Schools of the East, and Romanus that of the West. When the letters had been brought to the men mentioned, since they were well-disposed toward Phocas, they immediately read the letters to him, and urged Phocas to rise up to action and to conceive of something noble and daring; and they threatened that if he hesitated or made excuses, they would kill him with their own hands. Thus at last Phocas, terrified by the danger of death, assented; ^D and on the second day of the month of July, in the same sixth indiction, being incited by Tzimiskes, he was acclaimed emperor of the Romans by all the armies in the East.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

^A Another account is also told regarding this matter, and one that seems more truthful, that for a long time he had been struggling with the desire for the empire; and he was not so much inflamed by the love of this as by that of the Empress Theophano, having met with her when he was staying in the imperial city, and having often sent to her his most trusted servant, Michael. Bringas, having discovered this, was suspicious of him.

When, therefore, his proclamation became known in Constantinople, and affairs were in confusion, Joseph, who had taken upon himself the care of everything, was greatly vexed and at a loss as to what he should do, since he was not even well-disposed toward the citizens because he was difficult of access. When Nicephorus had arrived at Chrysopolis with the whole army following him with favorable acclamations, Joseph deliberated about proposing some emperor, thinking that by this means he would blunt the momentum of the army. In the meantime, before the proclamation of Phocas, as we have said, had taken place, Bardas, his father (for ^B he happened to be residing in the imperial city), fled as a suppliant to the Great Church; and Leo, his brother, although he was being strictly guarded, slipped away in secret and reached his brother.

When this happened, Bringas’s spirits collapsed, and he was caught in the greatest difficulties. For he was not suited to soothe a multitude in dangerous times, but where it was necessary to mitigate them with gentle words and flattery, he further exasperated and irritated them. Thus, on this occasion too, when everyone was flocking to the Great Church, he let loose proud and harsh words to terrify the populace: "I," he said, "will put an end to your insolence and shamelessness; for I will ensure that the grain which is bought for a nomisma can be carried in one's bosom."

This happened on Sunday, the ninth of August. On the evening of this very same day, Basil, the intimate chamberlain of the Emperor Constantine, being most hostile to Joseph, gathered his own servants together with those of his friends and relatives, and sent them into the houses of his opponents through many parts of the city. ^C From the first hour of Monday until the sixth, they razed to the ground a great many houses of the citizens, among which was that of Joseph—the most prominent of all. For they destroyed the houses not only of the prominent and political men who seemed to oppose him, but also of many others of lower status, the number of whom was countless; for whoever had at some time had a dispute with another, dragging a disorderly mob with him, destroyed that person’s property, with no one to stop him. Many people were even killed in this tumult.

Meanwhile, through the streets, squares, and alleys of the city, they were acclaiming Nicephorus as "the Victorious." While these things were going on, Bardas came out from the temple, to which he had a little earlier fled as a wretched suppliant, thinking that his end was near; and Joseph, then uncertain of his safety, who had just now been so puffed up with pride, ^D humbly and suppliantly entered it. Furthermore, Basil the chamberlain, with his own men, [crews of] triremes...

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

^A He removes Bardas, the father of Phocas, from the Great Church—a pitiable fugitive awaiting his imminent peril—and introduces into it Joseph the parakoimomenos, who before this had been greatly puffed up and haughty, now a pathetic suppliant uncertain of his own safety. Those around the parakoimomenos Basil, having prepared triremes and taken the imperial dromon, crossed over with the whole fleet to Chrysopolis. Taking up Nicephorus from there, they led him to the Hebdomon. From there, they themselves, along with all the populace of the city, with acclamations, applause, trumpets, and cymbals, led him in a public procession through the Golden Gate into the Queen of Cities. Having arrived at the Great Church, they made ready the patriarch Polyeuctus to adorn him with the imperial diadem. Polyeuctus therefore crowned him upon the ambo of the Great Church of God; the day was Sunday, the sixteenth of the month of August, in the sixth indiction.

^B After sending the monk and syncellus Anthony the Studite, he brought Theophano down from the imperial palaces and shut her up in the palace of Petri. A short time later, he also put the parakoimomenos Joseph into exile in Paphlagonia, and after not much time had passed, transferred him again to a certain monastery called of the Asēkrētis, in the Pythia, where he lived for two full years and died. He also appointed his own father, Bardas, Caesar. On the twentieth day of the month of September, having cast off his mask and stage-play, he took Theophano as his lawful wife. At that time he also tasted meat, from which he had abstained since the time when Bardas, the son born to him by his former wife, while riding in the field and playing with his cousin Pleusa, was struck by a spear unintentionally and died. Whether he was doing this from self-restraint or feigning it to deceive the rulers, only God would know after him. ^C When the marriage had been celebrated in the new church at the palace, as a procession was about to take place into the sanctuary, Polyeuctus, grasping him by the hand, reached the sacred railings; he himself entered into the adyta, but thrust the emperor back, saying that he would not be allowed to enter the sanctuary until he had undergone the penances for a second marriage (10). This grieved Nicephorus, and he did not cease to be resentful toward him until his death. A report was also spread everywhere, which caused no small disturbance in the Church, that Nicephorus had been the godfather of one of Theophano’s children at holy baptism. Seizing upon this rumor as a reasonable excuse, Polyeuctus contended that the emperor must either separate from his wife according to the canon or depart from the church. ^D This latter he did, withdrawing from Theophano. He then summoned the bishops present in the city and the elite of the senate and set the matter before them for deliberation. All of them proclaimed that this constitution belonged to Copronymus and did not bind the emperor; they gave him a written document of absolution signed by themselves. Nevertheless, since the patriarch was evasive and refused to share in the holy rites with the emperor, the Caesar gave assurance that Nicephorus had not been a godfather. But Stylianus [too]—

GOAR'S NOTES.

^A and they decreed that the law of Copronymus was to be disregarded. Thus, they also subscribed to a scroll of absolution and delivered it to him. Furthermore, since Polyeuctus was delaying his communion with the Emperor, the Caesar assured him that he had not become a godfather. Likewise, Stylianus, the protopapas (11) of the Great Palace—from whom such a rumor was said to have first spread—appeared before the synod and the senate and swore that he had neither seen nor told anyone that Bardas or Nicephorus had acted as a sponsor. Polyeuctus, although he clearly knew that Stylianus was perjuring himself, waived the charge of spiritual kinship; he who had previously insisted that a penalty be imposed for the second marriage, now pardoned this great transgression as well.

Nicephorus, in the first year of his reign, sent against the Saracens holding Sicily the patrician Manuel, the illegitimate son of his uncle Leo, who had been titled Domestic of the Schools and had been blinded under Romanus the Elder; for he judged it a disgrace to himself if, while he held power, the Roman Empire should pay tribute to the Saracens. The subject itself demands that we explain what tribute the Roman Empire paid to the Saracens, and whence that matter had its beginning. For when the African Saracens captured the city of Syracuse during the reign of Basil the Macedonian, they overthrew the remaining cities as well, gaining possession of the whole island, and leaving only Panormus as a citadel and refuge. Setting out from there, they occupied the opposite continent and, pushing further, ravaged all the islands as far as the Peloponnese; they were expected to be overcome by them at any moment. As Emperor Basil was greatly troubled by this affair and sought a man suitable for such a task, Nicephorus the patrician and Domestic of the Schools pleased him, ^B who bore the surname Phocas, which one of his ancestors had earned through his own illustrious deeds. This Nicephorus, the grandfather of the Emperor Nicephorus, was a noble, prudent, and pious man before God, and just toward men. Having set out for Italy with an army, he expelled the Saracens from Italy in a short space of time and forced them to contain themselves within Sicily. They say that the Italians built a shrine to this man in eternal memory of his virtue, not only because he had liberated them, but also for another memorable deed. For the Romans, when about to return home with their commander, had seized many Italians whom they intended to carry away with them into slavery. When Nicephorus learned of this, saying nothing and providing no cause for suspicion, he reached Brundusium (for from there they were to cross into Illyricum). He then ordered each of the sailors to board the ships one by one and cross; and thus he left the Italians in Italy. Italy was thereafter at peace until the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and his mother. Then the Saracens, rising again, infested Italy with no one to hinder them. And the emperors, observing that they were not equal to waging a war simultaneously against the eastern and western Saracens—especially since they had even broken the ^C truce... ^D

decided to make peace with the Saracens in Sicily. ^A Agreements were therefore made through Eustathios, the strategos of Calabria, one of the imperial chamberlains, by which a yearly tribute of twenty-two thousand gold coins was to be given to the Saracens. When the truce was made, they appointed John the patrician, surnamed Mouzalon, as strategos of Calabria. Because he reigned over the locals in an oppressive manner, he was slaughtered by them, as they had submitted to the Prince of Lombardy, Pandulf, while Romanus the elder had just attained the scepter of the Romans. Romanus deemed it expedient that soldiers, along with ships, be sent to recover the portion of the empire that had been severed from the whole. Cosmits, a patrician from Thessalonica, who was an acquaintance of Pandulf (12), was sent ahead. Having crossed over into Italy and met with Pandulf, he urged him to desist from the Roman territory, to be reconciled with the emperor, and to make him a friend and ally rather than an enemy. ^B When Pandulf at first refused, Cosmas, being a man of prudence and wisdom, said, "To me, it was a duty to offer wholesome counsel to a friend. If, however, you do not wish to obey me while I am advising you for your own benefit, then you will realize that you were greatly mistaken in your judgment, when you subject yourself and your entire nation to the greatest perils and fall into despair, being unable to withstand so great and powerful a dominion." Pandulf, therefore, perceiving that the patrician was counseling what was necessary, accepted the advice and made a truce, having also exhorted the leaders of the rebellious themes to return to their former authority and to acknowledge their own emperor; once they were persuaded, a profound peace again held sway over affairs in Italy and Lombardy.

The leader of the Bulgarians, Simeon, having erected many trophies against the Romans and being puffed up with pride over these successes, ^C dreamed also of the Roman empire. Therefore, he sent envoys to Phatlum, the ruler of the Africans, and urged him to bring a fleet against the imperial city, promising that he himself would come through Thrace, leading a great and heavy army; and that, once the forces were united, they would lay siege to the Queen of Cities by both land and sea, divide its wealth in equal portions among themselves, and then he would return home while the other would remain in Constantinople. The Bulgarians therefore sailed secretly to Africa, and since they judged that Simeon was giving useful advice, the Saracens sent some of their own primary men with the Bulgarians to confirm the agreement. ^D This embassy, while returning, was intercepted by the Calabrians, and the Bulgarians and Saracens were sent by them to Constantinople to the elder Emperor Romanus. And for they...

XYLANDRY AND GOAR'S NOTES. (12) Doubts move me to believe that this is the one whom our historians call Rudolph, king of Burgundy, and of Italy against Berengar. These and many other things you will not find rashly among other writers. Xy—I would rather believe it should be read as Xyl—under a name more familiar to Latins. A contemporary, however, of Constantine the Eighth, of this Nicephorus Phocas, and of John Zimisces, the successor to Pandulf. Baronius records him as Prince of Capua and Benevento, called such by the author for this reason, still waging wars with the Greeks in the years 957 and 968 from the Chronicle of the Longobard princes of Benevento. Goar.

^A seeing these things with the Saracens. When the emperor (and this was Romanos the Elder) saw them, and having learned exactly of their conspiracy—and having realized that if this were to befall him, he would not fall into small concerns—he thought it necessary to check the Saracens from their present rush by means of generosity and beneficence. He therefore placed the Bulgarians in custody, but he honored the Saracens with magnificent gifts; and, having sent precious tokens of hospitality to their leader, he sent them away unharmed, bidding them tell their lord that this is how the Emperors of the Romans know how to repay their enemies. He also made reasonable excuse concerning the annual tribute, saying that it had not failed because of delay or postponement, but because of the disturbance then prevailing in the region. When they had returned to their own Saracen prince and had recounted all that they had suffered at the hands of the emperor, and had lauded the kindnesses shown toward them, and had returned the gifts they had brought to him, Phatlum was pleased by all that he heard, and he remitted half of the tribute owed to him by the Romans, that is, he cut off eleven thousand from the twenty-two thousand. These amounts were therefore paid to the Saracens from that time until the proclamation of Nicephorus. For whenever governors in the provinces were moderate and just, the subjects also lived a tranquil life, and satisfaction was given peacefully to the Saracens. But when the governors were at times unjust and greedy, they both vexed their subjects and unsettled the peace established with the Saracens. For even under the Porphyrogenitus, the ^B Crenites, who had become the strategos of Chaldea in Calabria, when the Saracens in Africa and Sicily were on the point of perishing entirely from famine and from the war waged by the Saracens of Cyrene, bought them up—led by his own greed—and oppressed his subjects not lightly; for he bought up all the means of support for life from the locals at a cheap price and sold them at a high price to the Saracens, who, because they abounded in gold and were pressed by famine and war, willingly paid any price. But the emperor Constantine revoked the command from this Crenites, stripped him of his money, and he grew old in disgrace and died. During that same war, the Romans received Carthaginian fugitives, whom the Carthaginians did not demand back; and, moreover, they did not exact their customary tribute, fearing that if the Romans were offended and took away their ability to procure food, they would be endangered by famine. But later, when the war had ended, they demanded both the fugitives and the tribute. As no one provided them, they broke the peace, and, crossing over, they ravaged Calabria one by one. Therefore, the emperor Constantine, not wishing to soothe the Saracens and renew the peace as his father-in-law had done, but rather ^C having intended to decide matters by war, gathered a battle-worthy force and appointed the patrician Malacenus as commander for them, ^D and ordered him to join with the prefect of that region, Paschalius—of whom mention was made a little earlier—and by their joint effort to defend against the war waged by the Carthaginians and the Sicilians. He also placed Macrojoannes in command of the fleet he was sending. When these had come into Calabria, they inflicted countless evils upon the provincials, plundering them and doing things that even enemies would scarcely have done. When Abulchares, the emir of the Saracens (for Phatlum had already departed from the living), learned of these things, he exhorted his men not to fear such an enemy, whose injustice toward his own men was so great, and he advanced against the Romans; and, having engaged in a serious battle, he won a most beautiful victory, with the leaders themselves nearly captured.

^B After this, the emperor Constantine sent John the secretary, surnamed Pilatus, to negotiate peace with the Saracens. As they were not accustomed to being puffed up by their victories, but rather to desiring peace even while successful, they readily complied and agreed to a truce for a certain time. When that time had passed, they crossed the sea again and ravaged Calabria. Therefore, Constantine sent both naval and land forces against them. The fleet was led by the man surnamed Crambeas and by Moroleon, while the patrician Romanus Argyrus commanded the land troops. When they arrived at Hydruntum and hauled their ships ashore, they were preparing to sail for Sicily. But the Saracens, disturbed by rumors (for rumor is wont to magnify small things and report matters as more terrible than they are), and fearing lest they suffer some harm because the enemy had suddenly descended upon them while they were unprepared, were seized by a panic terror, abandoned their camp, left Rhegium, and fled to Sicily. And as they were sailing toward Panormus, a most violent storm arose, and by its force (or rather, by the power of Christ the God, whom they were impiously insulting), their ships were shattered and all of them perished. Peace was therefore made with the Romans, which lasted until the reign of Nicephorus. As soon as he received the empire, considering it most unworthy to pay tribute to the Saracens, he sent Manuel against them with an army, as we have already said. Manuel, young and much better suited for the duty of a soldier than for that of a general, being also subject to many other vices and not heeding sounder advice, destroyed both himself and the entire army, having been trapped in certain rough and impassable places of Sicily and submerged in destruction. Nicetas the eunuch, a patrician and the drungarius of the fleet, was captured ^C and led away in chains to Africa. And Manuel met with such a catastrophe, having been the cause of destruction for his entire army.

At the same time, the emperor sent John Tzimiskes, the magister and domestic of the scholars of the East, who had already been appointed, into Cilicia. When he arrived at the city of Adana and found a multitude of elite Agarenes gathered from all over Cilicia, he joined battle with them and routed them with great force. The rest of the Agarenes were slaughtered by the law of war, but a portion of the army, totaling about five thousand, fled to a certain steep and inaccessible hill, trusting in the nature of the place to bravely defend against the rush of the enemy. But Tzimiskes, having surrounded the hill, because he was a cavalryman with

^A no ability to engage them while mounted, ordered his soldiers to dismount, and he himself went up on foot with them. And having overcome them all, he slaughtered them, with no one having turned their back, so that blood flowed down the slope into the plain like a river, and from this event the hill was named the Hill of Blood. This exploit further raised the name of John, and became the cause of complete destruction for the Saracens.

In the second year of his reign, in the month of July, in the seventh indiction, Nicephorus led a large army of Romans and of his allies, the Iberians and Armenians, into Cilicia, accompanied by his wife Theophano and his children. Leaving her outside Cilicia in a certain castle called Drizion, he himself entered Cilicia and subdued the cities of Anazarbus, Rhossos, and Adana, and not a few other fortresses. But he did not dare to march upon Tarsus and Mopsuestia, ^B as winter was already setting in. And having left a strong garrison in the province, he went away to Cappadocia to winter. At the beginning of spring, however, he entered Cilicia again, and having divided the armies into two, he left his brother Leo to besiege Tarsus, while he himself took the rest of the army and turned his attention to Mopsuestia.

Using an energetic siege, and also aided by the hunger of the townspeople, he took one part of the city; for this city is divided in the middle by the Sarus river, so that it appears as though it were two cities. Therefore, one part having been taken as we said, the Saracens fled to the other, setting fire to what had been captured on all sides. But the emperor having applied the siege more vigorously, the other part was also captured, ^C with no one escaping from there. But Leo, the emperor's brother, who was blockading Tarsus, having sent a part of the army under the leadership of a man named Monasteriotes to collect fodder and provisions, met with misfortune; for the Tarsians went out at night, while the foragers were scattered and off their guard, with no one having any perception of the sally, and attacked them while they were dispersed, killing not a few, among whom was Monasteriotes himself.

The Tarsians, having learned of the capture of Mopsuestia, and being hard-pressed by the siege and famine, sent envoys to Leo, appealing to the emperor and imploring him to let them go unharmed if they surrendered the city. He allowed them to carry off a certain fixed amount of property, but seized all the other riches of the city. Three days after the capture ^D a very large fleet from Egypt arrived to bring aid to Tarsus, full of grain and other necessities of life. But they were not permitted to approach the land or to disembark by the soldiers who had been stationed by the emperor to guard the coast; and when they were unable to accomplish anything, they returned, and fell into great shipwrecks due to the force of the winds and the onslaught of the emperor's warlike ships. Having thus burned and destroyed the remaining cities of Cilicia, he returned to Constantinople in the month of October, in the ninth indiction, bringing with him the gates of Tarsus and Mopsuestia, which, because they were externally adorned with gold...

he ^A offered as a dedication to the Queen of Cities, setting some of them by the acropolis and others by the wall of the Golden Gate. He also brought as a gift to God, and as a tithe of his campaign, the venerable crosses that had been captured when the Domestic of the Schools, Stypelotes, while besieging Tarsus, was through his own imprudence utterly destroyed with his entire army; these he also dedicated to the most holy temple of the Word of God, Hagia Sophia.

In the same second year of his reign, Nicephorus also brought the entire island of Cyprus into the power of the Romans, having driven out the Hagarenes through the agency of the patrician and praetor Nicetas Chalcutzes.

In the third year of his reign, when spring approached, the Emperor again made an incursion against Syria. And upon reaching Antioch, he did not attack it, hoping that the Antiochenes, terrified by what had befallen the cities of Cilicia, would not even hold their ground at the mere rumor of his approach. But passing it by, he advanced into the inner parts of Syria, and having desolated many cities and lands lying toward the Lebanon and the coast, he returned in the month of December. ^B But since the Antiochenes were stoutly sustaining the war because many people from the surrounding region had entered the city to assist them, and since supplies were failing the Roman army, and such huge mud had formed on account of much rain that had fallen from the sky that it was impassable, he withdrew without achieving his goal and reached the Queen of Cities, bringing with him the tile bearing the image of the form of Christ our God, not made by human hands, which he had found in the Holy City [Hierapolis] upon sacking it, and a lock of the hair of John the Baptist, matted with blood.

Such was Nicephorus, and having employed such strategies, and having increased the affairs of the Romans to such a degree (for he captured more than a hundred cities and fortresses of Cilicia, Syria, and Phoenicia Libanesia, of which the greatest and most distinguished were Anazarbus ^C, Adana, Mopsuestia, Tarsus, Pagras, Synnephium, Laodicea, and Chalepum; he also made the Phoenician city of Tripoli and Damascus tributary to himself), he nevertheless became detested by every person, and everyone longed to see his downfall. The reasons for this hatred the narrative will recount at the appropriate time.

Returning from Antioch to the Queen of Cities, as Nicephorus was crossing the Taurus mountain (which the locals call the Black Mountain), he built a fortress in the middle of the mountain on a very steep hill, and in it he left Michael ^D Burtzes, having honored him with the rank of patrician, and having named him commander of this...

^A Mountain of the Moors, ^A enjoining him to watch vigilantly and to prevent the Antiochenes by every possible means from going out and from bringing in the necessities for their livelihood. He also left Peter, one of his eunuchs, a man who was a servant, a vigorous man, whom he had also made commander of the camp 16 in Cilicia, ordering him to disperse the army into winter quarters and to await his own arrival the following year.

It is said that although the emperor could have seized Antioch at the first approach, he did not wish to, but deliberately procrastinated and delayed its capture, fearing the rumor that was abroad; for indeed it was on everyone’s lips that along with the fall of the city of Antioch, the emperor would die. Fearful of such a saying, he neither approached Antioch himself, nor did he permit Peter and Burtzes to launch any offensive against it. However, after having settled these matters, as we have said, he entered the imperial city; but Burtzes, being a neighbor to Antioch, and desiring to acquire for himself immortal glory, held the emperor’s instructions in low regard, and night and day he thought about how he might seize the city.

He went there therefore, frequently, and initiated peace talks with the Antiochenes. Although they were arrogant and rejected the proposals, he managed, unnoticed, to befriend a certain Saracen (whose name was Aulax), whom he corrupted with gifts and promises, and by this means obtained the measurements of one of the towers to the west of Antioch, which was named Cala. With his help, he constructed ladders that would reach to the top of the tower, and having awaited a dark and rainy night, he secretly applied the ladders to the tower during that night, and with three hundred of his men, he ascended into it. He killed the guards of this tower and also of the one adjacent to it; and having occupied these two towers with his three hundred men, he immediately sent a messenger ^B to the camp commander, urging him to hasten and arrive with the whole army, as the city was already taken.

Peter, upon receiving the message, hesitated and drew back, fearing the emperor's indignation, lest he suffer some harm for violating his commands. But as Burtzes insisted, and sent one messenger after another, and urged him to hasten, and assured him that he could no longer hold out against the siege—for indeed, having learned of the seizure of the towers, the Antiochenes had gathered from all sides and were hurrying to storm the towers, hurling all kinds of missiles and using various machines, lighting fires, and doing everything else that those in danger are bound to do when they are about to perish with their wives and children, and to lose the city that stood above all cities of the East—the camp commander, fearful lest so many men perish and such a great city be lost ^C to the Roman state, ^D led the entire army up with the greatest haste, even if it was against his will.

Burtzes and his men had already given up almost every hope of safety, having been besieged for three continuous nights and days; but with the arrival of Peter, the spirits of the townspeople faltered and their violence subsided; and Burtzes, having found the opportunity, descended to the gate, cut the bolt with his sword, and with the gates thrown open, admitted Peter. When the news of this event was brought to Nicephorus, while he rejoiced at such a great city and at his own affairs being blessed by God...

he contrariwise grieved in his heart and held the camp commander in suspicion. He not only failed to welcome Burtzes for his zeal and bravery, or to bestow upon him rewards worthy of his prowess, but, having washed him with insults, he relieved him of his command and ordered him to remain at home.

^A This was the reason, along with others which we shall relate, that made Nicephorus hateful and detestable to all. First, when at the beginning his affairs were set in motion, he did not seek to correct the soldiers with him who were committing countless transgressions, saying, “It is no wonder if, in such a great multitude of people, some behave in a disorderly fashion.” Then also, when he entered the city, and the goods of many illustrious men and commoners were being plundered, he did not show himself, in any way, as their vindicator, but appeared as if he were actually delighted by the wantonness of those who were harassing the citizens—even those who had rendered no small assistance to him in his seizing of the empire. ^B Furthermore, by constantly setting out on a *taxeidion*, he grievously afflicted his subjects, not only through all manner of ways of exacting taxes and contributions, but also through unbearable looting; and in addition to the things mentioned, he cut off a portion of the gratuities which the emperors were accustomed to bestow upon the Senate, on the pretext, as he said, that money was lacking for the waging of wars. Moreover, he entirely cut off the established grants provided to holy houses and churches by certain pious emperors, and set forth a law that the churches should not be enriched with immovable property, ^C claiming—a poor excuse—that the bishops were squandering the funds for the poor while the soldiers were in need. And what is more grievous than all else, he set forth a law, to which even some light-minded and sycophantic bishops subscribed, decreeing that no bishop should be elected or appointed without his own judgment and authorization. And when a bishop died, he would send a royal official to oversee the disposal of the estate, and he himself would take whatever remained of the revenues. There are also other constitutions of his, which exceed every form of necessity, which it would be of great ingenuity ^D to relate one by one.

^A He also strove to enact a law that soldiers who fell in war should be deemed worthy of the honors of martyrs, positing that one’s salvation of soul is found in war alone and in nothing else. He pressured the patriarch and the bishops to consent to this dogma; but some of them courageously resisted and deterred him from his aim, bringing forward the canon of the great Basil, which decrees that those who have killed an enemy in any war be barred from the sacraments for three years. He also debased the coinage, having devised what is called the *tetarteron*. ^B Since the coinage became twofold from that time, the collection of public taxes demanded the heavier one, while the lighter one was spent for personal expenses. And although it was received by law and custom that all coins marked with the image of any emperor should have an equal value, provided no weight was lacking, he legislated that his own—those marked with his image—be preferred, having lowered the value of the others. By this he caused no small trouble to his subjects in their business transactions. The worst of all this was that, while the state was worn down by these things, there was no relief in the meantime for the prices of goods. ^C And while all these matters were most distressing, the citizens bore most heavily the fortification of the palace. For after many fine and great works that were in the circle around the palace had been torn down, he built a citadel and a seat of tyranny against the wretched citizens within the palace, constructing storehouses, granaries, baking rooms, and ovens inside and filling them with provisions. It had been predicted to him that he would himself die inside the palace; but he was ignorant, as it seems, that if the Lord does not guard the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. For at the time when the wall of the palace was being built, one night someone brought by sea in a boat cried out: "O emperor, you raise the walls; and even if you reach as high as heaven, since the evil is within, the city is easy to capture." He who said these words was searched for for a long time, yet he was not found. For when the wall was finished, he then perished on that very day when the man entrusted with that duty was handing the keys over to him. ^D There was added to these things another event which further inflamed the hatred against the emperor. On the very day of the feast of Holy Easter, a conflict having arisen between the naval personnel and the Armenians, many people died on both sides, and Sisinius the patrician, the prefect of the city, barely escaped death. Then the rumor prevailed that the emperor was hostile to the citizens, because he judged them to be the instigators of this riot, and had decided to take upon himself to punish them by entrapment at the equestrian games. A short while later the equestrian games were held. There, Nicephorus, in order to show the citizens what sort of thing a clash in battle might be, or perhaps even to strike terror into them, ordered certain men to stage a simulation of fighting with naked swords.

what it was, perhaps even intending to strike fear, he ordered certain men to take up bare swords and engage in mock combat as if they were enemies, perhaps for the entertainment of the spectators. When this happened, the spectators, ignorant of the intention of those being watched and supposing that the rumor which had circulated was finally being fulfilled, rushed toward the exits, which were steep and treacherous, and were trampled to death by one another. And all would have perished, trampled by one another, ^A had not the emperor been seen sitting on his throne, fearless and unmoved; seeing him unperturbed, and realizing that what had occurred had happened against his will, the populace ceased their flight.

When Nicephorus later made a public procession to the Source (Pege) on the festival of the Ascension of Christ our God, and was returning, the relatives of those who had perished in the Hippodrome intercepted him in the market of the Artopratai (Bread-sellers) and assailed him with unseemly insults, calling him an avenger and a murderer, ^B stained with the blood of the people, and throwing dust and stones at him as far as the forum of Constantine the Great. Indeed, he would have been struck dead with fear, had not certain more honorable citizens restrained the rioters, surrounded him, and escorted him to the palace with acclamations of good favor. Seeing himself hated by the citizens because of all this, and fearing an ambush, he built the citadel. Yet he did not escape fate; but at the very time he thought all was secure for him, he lost his life. And how this happened will be told in its proper place.

In the fourth year of his reign, in the month of June, of the tenth indiction, he went out to inspect the cities in Thrace. And when he reached what is called the Great Ditch, he wrote to Peter, the ruler of Bulgaria, that he should not allow the Turks to cross the Danube and ravage the Roman territories. As he did not heed this, but used all sorts of excuses to refuse, Nicephorus honored Calocyrus, the son of the chief of Cherson, with the rank of patrician, and sent him to Sphendosthlabus, the prince of the Russians, and by promises of gifts and not a few honors, urged him to make war upon the Bulgarians. ^C The Russians, having been persuaded, marched against Bulgaria in the month of August of the eleventh indiction, in the fifth year of the reign of Nicephorus, and leveled many cities and fortresses of the Bulgarians to the ground, and having acquired a vast amount of booty, they returned to their own lands. And in the sixth year of his reign, they campaigned against Bulgaria again, and performed deeds similar to the former, or even worse. On the second of the month of September, at the twelfth hour of the night, of the eleventh indiction, there occurred a great roar and a massive earthquake, and Honoriad and Paphlagonia suffered grievously. There also occurred in the month of May of the same indiction harsh and scorching winds, which destroyed the crops along with the vines and trees, so that subsequently, during the twelfth indiction, a most severe famine was brought upon them. And whereas the emperor ought to have cared for the safety of his subjects, he, selling his own grain at a high price and making a profit from the calamity of his subjects, boasted as if he had performed a noble deed that he had sold for two coins a modius that was accustomed to be sold for one gold coin. Far different was the emperor Basil the Macedonian;

^A for he, when on a New Sunday he was going to the church of the Great Apostles and saw certain citizens who were indeed reverent and solemn, but otherwise gloomy and downcast, called them near him and asked why they were not present in festive attire for the holiday, but were instead mourning as if the city were in some great calamity. To whom one of the citizens replied: "To you, my lord, and to those who stand near you, it is fitting to wear fine clothes and to rejoice; but for those over whom the expectation of death hangs, such things are alien. Or are you ignorant that two medimnoi of grain are being sold for a gold coin because of the severity of the winds?" At these words, the emperor groaned from the depths of his heart and shed a tear of sympathy, and having comforted them lavishly, he returned to the palace. He summoned those to whom he had entrusted civil and imperial business and assailed them with countless insults and curses because they had not informed him about the scarcity of grain. Immediately, he set his own public grain for sale and commanded that twelve modii be sold for a gold coin; God, approving of his resolve, granted great abundance to the people. ^B And these things have been said for the sake of praising Basil. But in truth, Nicephorus rejoiced rather in seeing his subjects afflicted than in relieving them. His brother Leo did the same, occupying himself with the trading of goods and inflicting many and varied evils upon the world. The citizens wittily mocked their shameful pursuit of profit. For when the emperor had once gone out into the field to train the soldiers, and a man grey of hair came up and tried to be enrolled among the soldiers, he said to him, "And how, old man, do you strive to be enrolled among my soldiers?" And he, answering aptly, said, "I am much stronger now than when I was in my prime." And when the emperor asked, "And how so?" he said, "Because formerly I used to load two donkeys with the grain I bought for one gold coin; but under your reign, I carry on my shoulders without effort as much grain as I buy for two gold coins." The emperor, grasping the sarcasm, left, not at all disturbed.

The Saracens, after having lost the cities in Syria and Cilicia, burned the archbishop of Jerusalem, John, alive, because they suspected that it was by his instigation that Nicephorus was going to bring war upon them; and they burned the beautiful temple of the Lord's Sepulchre. The people of Antioch acted in the same way, killing their own supreme pontiff, Christophorus. ^C Furthermore, the brothers Gregory and Pancratius came to the emperor and ceded to him their own territory, by the name of Taron. He honored them with the rank of patrician and endowed them with estates having ample revenues. There also occurred an eclipse of the sun on the 22nd day of the month of December, around the third hour, so that even the stars appeared. ^D Now the Augusta Theophano, turning away from the company of Nicephorus, and having summoned one of the familiars of Tzimiskes by the agency of a certain man, called him into her own house (in which at that time

^A he lived as a private citizen, having been removed by the emperor from the office of Domestic due to a certain suspicion, and ordered to keep to his own home and not to go out anywhere); and she even obtained from the emperor a letter, by which he was ordered to return to the city. He who was sent from there took him up and arrived at Chalcedon. And when the emperor was reminded as to whether he should enter the imperial city, and he permitted him to wait a little while, she, on the night of the eleventh of the month of December, in the thirteenth indiction, in the year 6478, sent and brought him by night to the man-made harbor below the palace, and hoisted him up via a basket along with all those who were with him. There were with him the patrician Michael Bourtzes, Leo the taxiarch Abalantios, and the most trusted of Tzimiskes' friends, Atzypotheodoros, and two others. Who, upon ascending and entering the emperor’s bedchamber with drawn swords, since they did not find him in his accustomed bed, suspecting that the conspiracy had been detected, were on the verge of throwing themselves down, had they not found a small man from the women’s quarters who guided them. And they find him lying on the floor, having as a bed-covering a scarlet cap and a bear-skin, which he had received from Michael the monk, the Maleinos, his uncle. Having just turned to sleep, and not at all perceiving the arrival of those who were about to kill him, Tzimiskes ^B kicked him with his foot and awakened him. Upon being awakened and resting his right elbow on the ground and lifting his head, Leo Abalantios strikes a mighty blow with a naked sword upon his bare crown (for the covering of his head had fallen off while he was raising himself), and cleaves his skull in the middle. Then they lift him from the bedding and lead him to Tzimiskes, who was sitting upon the imperial throne, and they harangued him with many contumelies and reproaches; he said nothing else but, "Lord, have mercy, help, Theotokos." Finally, when it became known to the palace guards and a multitude ran together to defend the emperor, they slaughtered Nicephorus, and cutting off his head, they showed it through a window to those who were running to his assistance. And thus they were put to rest, and to those around Tzimiskes, opportunity was given to do everything fearlessly and with security.

It is said that ten days before his death ^C the emperor found a scroll thrown in his bedchamber, warning him to secure himself, as plots were being made against him by Tzimiskes. And they say that a certain cleric on the evening of the day of the murder gave him a letter containing these words: "O Emperor, secure yourself; for no small danger is prepared for you this night." Some say that the emperor, supposing the note to be a petition, did not read it; others that he did read it, but neglected his own protection, hindered by fate; and that after he was killed, it was found containing the written words. Others say that having read it, he entrusted the search and the guard to the protovestiarios, and wrote also to his brother Leo, who was dwelling at home, to take an armed force and come with all speed to the palace. And having received this, he—

^A did not open [the note], because he happened to be gambling with some people and was engrossed in the game with a sort of demonic intensity, but laid it on the bolster of his bed. When the game was finished, he immediately read it, and having understood the underlying meaning of what was written and having gathered as much of a force as the moment required, he set off for the palace. But when he reached the turning point of the Circus, he heard some talking among themselves to the effect that the Emperor Nicephorus had been killed, and he heard those in the palace and the narrow streets acclaiming John. Dismayed by this unexpected event and having thought of nothing noble, he hurried with his son Nicephorus to the Great Church. These are the things that are reported; whether they are true or false, I cannot say. But Nicephorus does, in any case, die inside the palace, having been put to death.

John Tzimisces, once Nicephorus had been removed, undertook the administration of the Roman Empire, having as co-emperors Basil and Constantine, the sons of Romanos; of whom Basil was in his seventh year of age, and the other, Constantine, in his fifth. Immediately, therefore, he summoned at night Basil the parakoimomenos—whom the Emperor Nicephorus, having been not insignificantly aided by him in seizing the empire, had honored as *proedros* ^B (a title that did not exist previously, but he was the first to invent it)—and took him as a partner in the government, inasmuch as he had for a long time handled public affairs under his own father, Romanos the Elder, and Constantine Porphyrogenitus, his brother-in-law, and had very often campaigned against the Hagarenes and knew how to adapt himself cleverly to difficult situations. As soon as he received the stewardship of affairs, he removed from the field all those who maintained loyalty to Nicephorus: he confined Leo the Curopalates to Lesbos and Nicephorus Besta, his son, to Imbros; and he stripped Bardas Ducas the Younger, who at that time was governing Chaldia and Colonia, of his command and sent him to Amaseia. And those others who were holding civil or military offices—he deposed them from their commands and installed his own men, those whom he knew to be faithful to the new emperor. He also decreed the return of those whom Nicephorus had ordered into exile, especially the chief hierarchs, to whom, as we have shown, that happened because they had refused to subscribe to the decree which he had devised for the dismemberment and contumely of the Church, as the narrative has already recorded. ^C When affairs had been organized in this manner, that very night—

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

(22) His office was not unlike that of the city prefect; for he is called in an anonymous lexicon from the Library of Regius, *the leader, the governor, and the first in the state.* Unless you would prefer to affirm [him to be] the chief of the council, since Constantine, the son of Romanos, immediately under the first auspices of his reign created three at once: the domestic of the schools, the protovestiarios, and the drungarios, whom he could not have elevated in terms of duties, but could summon to a more secret administration of affairs, and having made [it] a common dignity, [could] constitute as the chief of them what he has as Curopalates and Jus Gr. GOAR.

^A On the same night, having been cleared of all suspicion, the emperor went with a few men to the Great Church, wishing to receive the diadem at the hands of the patriarch. But Polyeuctus did not allow him to enter upon his arrival, saying that it was not fitting for him to set foot in a divine temple while he still had his hands dripping and steaming with the recent blood of a kinsman, but that he should strive to manifest the works of repentance, and only thus be permitted to tread upon the floor of the house of the Lord. John received this rebuke meekly and promised to perform everything with obedience, excusing himself besides, that he was not the actual murderer of Nicephorus, but that it was Balantios and Atzypotheodoros by the order of the Augusta. The patriarch therefore ordered her to be removed from the palace and confined on a certain island, and that the murderers of Nicephorus should also be banished, and that the edict (23) which Nicephorus had published to the confusion of ecclesiastical affairs should be torn up. Immediately, therefore, John drove those men out of the city and banished Theophano to Prokonnesos. ^B Having later secretly fled from there and taken refuge in the Great Church, she was cast out by the palace official Basil and banished to the Theme of the Armenians, to the monastery of Damis recently built by the emperor, after she had first committed many insults against the emperor and against Basil, calling him a Scythian and a barbarian and even striking him with her fists about the head. Her mother was also sent into exile along with her to Mantineion. The document was brought and torn up, and the former freedom was restored to the Church.

[P. 565] ^C These things therefore having been done, and John having promised also, as an expiation for his sin, to distribute to the poor the wealth he had possessed when he was a private citizen, Polyeuctus permitted him to enter, and on the feast day of the Nativity of Christ our God, he admitted him and crowned him with the imperial diadem. Great turmoil and confusion afflicted the empire both in the East and in the West (for the cities captured in Cilicia, Phoenicia, and Coelesyria from the Hagarenes were looking toward rebellion, since Nicephorus had not had time to arrange these things well and make them secure; and the movement of the Ross, poorly planned beforehand against the Bulgarians, cast the Roman state into great danger; and a famine, ravaging the Roman lands for five whole years, pressed hard upon the cities), so he pondered and worried about how such things might be remedied and the fear which they caused might be removed from them. ^D Meanwhile, as the see of Antioch on the Orontes was vacant of its high priest, the emperor appointed a certain monk, Theodore, who was flourishing in every virtue, and who had even predicted to him that he would obtain the empire, for God would raise him to this height, and who had urged him not to act with haste; otherwise, if he spurned his warnings, he would understand that he had plotted against his own life. He had also contended to...

^A settle the Manichaeans—who were spreading like serpents throughout the entire East and corrupting all things with the contagion of their impure religion—by deporting them to some deserted wasteland in the West. This the emperor later did in time, transferring them out of the East to Philippopolis. ^B After his designation, Polyeuctus lived for only thirty-five days, and his life ended. In his place was appointed the monk Basil the Scamandrenus, a man renowned for the perfection of his virtue. Such, then, was the state of civil affairs.

At the fall of Antioch and the other cities which we enumerated above, the Agarenes living everywhere on earth and the other nations that worship the same religion as they—the Egyptians, Persians, Arabs, Elamites, and those inhabiting the so-called Happy [Arabia] and Saba—were deeply grieved. They came to an agreement, formed an alliance, and gathered a great force from every place, setting the Carthaginians to lead it. They had Zochare for their commander, a man of action and skilled in warfare, so that [they numbered] 100,000 men experienced and knowledgeable in both land and sea operations. They departed against the Romans, having assembled all their forces together, numbering ^C one hundred thousand fighting men. Arriving at Antioch by Daphne, they besieged it diligently. Because those within were resisting the siege bravely and courageously, the siege was prolonged. When the gathering of these nations was reported to the emperor, letters were quickly sent to the commander of Mesopotamia, ordering him to assemble the forces there and quickly assist those under siege. The emperor also sent the patrician Nicholas, one of his intimate eunuchs, as commander of the entire army, along with other forces. Upon joining his own men with the others, he routed the barbarians—even though their army was many times larger than his own forces—and dispersed them in a single battle, placing the cities subject to the Romans in safety.

As for the nation of the Rus, ^D who had subdued Bulgaria in the manner we have related and had also taken prisoner the two sons of Peter, Boris and Roman, they no longer wished to return home. Instead, admiring the natural advantages of the region, they bade a long farewell to the treaties made with the emperor Nicephorus and decided to remain there and occupy that land. This intention of theirs was further encouraged by Calocyrus, who said that if he were designated Emperor of the Romans by them, he would relinquish Bulgaria to them, strike a perpetual treaty, increase the promised tributes to them many times over, and hold them as allies and friends for life. Inflated by these words, the Rus laid claim to Bulgaria as a prize of war they had conquered, and rejected the emperor's envoys, who were promising that all things agreed upon by Nicephorus would be fulfilled, giving responses full of barbaric arrogance. Consequently, the emperor, compelled to settle the matter by arms, sent letters transferring the armies from the East to the West with all speed, and set over them as commander the man he had named, Bardas the Magister, surnamed Sclerus, that is to say "the Hard," whose sister Maria...

^A he had taken as his lawful wife while he was still a private citizen. The Emperor himself was intending to set out once spring had arrived. But the Rus and their leader, Sphendosthlabos, having heard of the crossing of the Roman army, ^B joined forces with the Bulgarians, who were already enslaved, and having also taken on as allies both the Patzinaks and the Turks who dwelt toward the west in Pannonia, they gathered an army of eighty thousand fighting men and, having crossed the Haemus, they burned and plundered all of Thrace, pitching camp somewhere near the walls of Arcadiopolis, and there they waited, expecting the engagement of battle. ^C But the Magister Bardas Sclerus, when he perceived that he was far inferior in number (for his entire army amounted to twelve thousand), decided to outmaneuver the enemy using strategic deceits, and to overcome such great multitudes through skill and artifice. And this is exactly what happened. For having enclosed himself with his army within the walls, he did not respond to the many provocations of the enemy to come out and decide the outcome of the struggle, but held firm, appearing as if he were afraid, while he watched the adversaries taking and carrying off what came to hand. This plan bred great contempt among the barbarians; for they thought that Sclerus was truly overcome by fear, having shut the Roman phalanxes within the walls, not daring to sally forth. Thus, they camped recklessly and neglected the proper guard duty, spending their nights in drinking and drunkenness, amid flutes, cymbals, and barbaric dances, caring for none of the things that were necessary. ^D Having then seized a convenient opportunity, and having carefully planned how he would attack the enemies, and having fixed the day and the hour, Bardas set ambushes by night in certain very suitable places, and sent out John the Patrician, surnamed Alacasen, with a small force, commanding him to rush forward, to scout the enemies, to report often to him where they were, and to instruct him upon their approach. He also ordered him at the moment of engagement to turn his back and simulate flight, yet not to flee recklessly with loose reins, but to move slowly and by degrees, turning to meet the enemies whenever it was safe, and to do this until he should lure them into the ambushes; and only then to flee in disorder and headlong. Now, as the barbarians were divided into three parts (for the Bulgarians and the Rus filled the first rank, while the Turks were alone by themselves, and the Patzinaks likewise), John, as he advanced, came upon the Patzinaks by chance and, just as he had been commanded, he feigned flight, moving slowly

toward them, making a retreat. The Patzinaks pressed upon him, having broken their own ranks, as if they were about to annihilate the fugitives completely. Those men, now fleeing in order, now turning back and defending themselves, ran toward the battalions. But when they had come into the midst of them, then indeed, loosening their reins, they fled unrestrained, and the Patzinaks, having poured forth, pursued in disorder. The magister suddenly appearing with the entire army, the Patzinaks were struck by the unexpected event and ceased their pursuit ^A, though they did not turn to flight, but remained, awaiting any who might attack. But the men around the magister rushed upon them with great force, with the rest of the phalanx following behind in good order and discipline, and the bravest of the Scythians fell immediately. And as the phalanx split deep into the center, the Patzinaks fell into the battalions, because their wings had come together and formed a circle. Having held their ground for only a short while, they gave way and were almost all cut to pieces.

^B Victorious in this manner, Bardas, having learned from the captives that the rest of the army was still intact and awaiting battle in battle array, turned toward them with all speed. Yet they, having just learned of the calamity of the Patzinaks, had their spirits crushed by the unexpected disaster. Nevertheless, encouraging one another and recalling those who were scattered from the flight, they attacked the Romans, the cavalry advancing first, and the infantry following behind. But when, in the first charge, the cavalry was checked in its assault by the Romans, who appeared invincible, they turned aside and were driven into the infantry. Having established themselves there, they gathered their strength again and awaited the approaching Romans. The battle was for some time evenly fought, until a certain Scythian, puffed up by the size of his body and the boldness of his spirit, leaping ahead of the others, was carried toward the magister himself, who was riding along the lines and encouraging the ranks, and struck at his helmet with his sword. The sword glanced off, and the blow was futile. But the magister struck him on the helmet with his sword; and because of the strength of his hand and the superior tempering of the iron, the blow was so effective that it cut the Scythian in half. Constantine the patrician, the brother of the magister, in order to assist his brother, attempted to strike the head of another Scythian ^C who was attacking together with the former one and acting more ferociously. But as the barbarian inclined himself to one side, Constantine missed his mark and brought his sword down onto the neck of the horse, severing its head from the neck. As the Scythian fell, he dismounted from his horse and, seizing him by the chin with his hand, cut his throat. This deed emboldened the Romans and filled the Scythians with fear; and quickly forgetting their bravery, they turned their backs and fled in a disgraceful and highly disorderly manner. The Romans followed, and they filled the entire plain with corpses. Many more were taken alive than fell. All the survivors, save a few, were wounded. And no one would have escaped the peril ^D if the onset of night had not restrained the Romans from the pursuit. Consequently, of so many myriads of barbarians, very few survived at all. Of the Romans, 25 men fell in the battle, while almost all were wounded.

The Scythian war did not yet have an end for Skleros, nor had it been granted to the Romans to wash off the gore of this battle, when imperial letters arrived, summoning Bardas Skleros to the emperor. Upon his arrival there, he was immediately ordered

to cross over into Asia, having received an army sufficient for the proposed campaign. ^A For it happened ^B that Bardas Phocas, having fled from Amaseia, to which he had been relegated, had formed a secret conspiracy with his kinsmen, friends, and acquaintances. With these he had sworn an oath to take Caesarea in Cappadocia, and there he had gathered no small number of mercenaries. The leaders of these were the sons of the patrician Theodulus Parsacutenus, Theodore and Nicephorus, and another patrician, Simeon Ampelas. Relying on these resources, Bardas Phocas, having assumed a diadem and the other imperial regalia, had stirred up a sedition against the emperor. Regarding this defection, his father, Leo the Curopalates, had persuaded some with gifts and others with promises of dignities and possessions, having used for this purpose the ministry of the bishop of Abydos; and he himself had decided to cross over secretly from Lesbos into Thrace together with his son Nicephorus. Once this was discovered by the emperor—for the bishop of Abydos had been apprehended, convicted, and had revealed the whole matter—the curopalates was handed over to the judges, and by all of these was condemned to death along with his son. But the emperor mitigated the sentence so that both might be deprived of their eyes and sent into perpetual exile. It is said that he secretly instructed the executioners not to deprive them of their sight, but by feigning to have gouged them out, to leave their vision intact, and not to claim that they had done so by order of the emperor, but rather that they had done so moved by their own humanity. This was the outcome of the affairs of the curopalates. But Skleros, having crossed into Asia and arrived at Dorylaeum, first attempted to persuade Phocas and his accomplices, if he could, by promises of good things, to turn away from their designs (for he had indeed received a mandate from the emperor to struggle as far as possible to keep his hands clean of civil blood). But when he realized that he was attempting the impossible (for the rebels were being incited to greater boldness rather than becoming weaker through his embassies), he decided to proceed to action, and having gathered his army, he set out for Caesarea. Those who were with Phocas, having learned of this, and choosing to abandon their reliance on uncertain hopes in favor of those things at hand, accepted the gifts offered by the emperor and, when night fell, defected to Skleros. First of all was Diogenes Adralestus, then Ampelas and the sons of Theodulus—who had been the authors of the entire defection—and sequentially the rest of the entire multitude, so that Phocas was left alone with only his own servants. ^C Deprived of all aid, abandoned, and drowned in despondency and indignation against those who had first incited him to rebellion and then betrayed him, he fell asleep as night encroached. In his sleep he imagined himself to be crying out and suffering anguish, and to be complaining to God about those who had injured him: “Lord, do thou avenge me of those who have infested me.”* And when he wished to add the rest of the psalm, he heard a voice that forbade him to proceed, for it said that the remaining part of that song had already been anticipated by Bardas. He therefore rose up trembling, and seeing that he had lost all hope, such as he was prepared, he mounted his horses with his retainers and fled to the fortress of Tyropoeum. When Bardas was made certain of his flight,

* Psal. XXXIV, 3.

^A he sent forward swift horsemen to meet him quickly and capture him before he could enter the fortress. They, having used intense speed in their pursuit, overtook him upon the plain, just as he was about to approach the foothills of the fortress. One of them, a man preeminent in daring and bravery, Constantine by name, surnamed Charon, leaving the others behind, rode with great intensity toward Phocas, who was guarding his rear and was prepared to receive anyone who might come against him. When Charon saw him from afar and recognized him, he assailed him with crude and indecent insults, calling him base and cowardly, and bidding him wait a little so that he might receive the rewards of his defection. Phocas, hearing these insults and not unaware of who was saying them, checked his bridle and, turning toward him, said: "It behooved you, O man, considering the instability of human fortune, not to reproach or trample upon a man who has been forced into such [troubles] by these same reversals, but rather to pity and have mercy on one who is suffering misfortune, who has had a father who was curopalates, a grandfather who was Caesar, an uncle who was emperor, and who has himself been a duke ^B and numbered among the highest, yet is now subjected to the ultimate evils and calamities." When the other replied, "These are fine things, O evil head, to be said to children who might be deceived; you shall not trick me with these trifles of yours," and while goading his horse and riding forward more boldly, Phocas drew the club that was hanging under his cloak, and rushing to meet him, struck him on the head with the blow. He rendered him dead immediately, the helmet being unable to withstand the force of the blow, and having turned his own horse, [Phocas] continued on his way. When the rest of those who were in pursuit arrived there and saw the corpse of Charon, they were struck with a sudden consternation ^C and halted, none of them daring to proceed further. Thus, Phocas, having obtained security, arrived at the fortress. Shortly thereafter, Bardas retired, and having immediately sent messengers to Phocas, with an oath, he confirmed that he would look after him as was proper to have for a kinsman (for Sophia, the sister of Phocas, had married Constantine, the brother of Durus), and he persuaded him to surrender himself to the emperor, in order to obtain pardon for his rebellion. Accordingly, Phocas, having received the word of honor from the sworn Durus that no harsh action would be taken against him, surrendered himself and his own to him. The emperor was content with this punishment, that he should be made a cleric and banished to Chios, and he ordered Durus to return to the West with his expeditious cohorts. ^D

XYLANDER'S AND GOAR'S NOTES

^A and, struck by the unbearable nature of his downfall, all [the soldiers] stopped the pursuit, as no one dared to go any further. And thus, Phocas, having gained safety, goes up into the fortress. After this, Sclerus also arrived, repeatedly sending word to him and writing with oaths that he was concerned for him as a kinsman (for he had married off his sister Sophia to Sclerus' brother Constantine), and advising [Phocas] to defect to the emperor and thus win over his [the emperor's] sympathy through his voluntary surrender. Having therefore received oaths that he would suffer no harm, he surrendered himself to Sclerus along with those who were with him. The emperor inflicted no other evil upon him, but only sentenced him to be a monk and exiled him to the island of Chios. He ordered Sclerus, however, to hasten back to the West with his light-armed troops.

John also takes as his wife for himself, Theodora, the sister of Romanus and daughter of Constantine the Porphyrogennetos; and by this action, he greatly gladdened the citizens, as he seemed to be preserving the power of the empire for that family.

In the second year of his reign, intending to campaign against the Ross, he recruited the armies with honors, and appointed as generals men distinguished by their prudence and experience in military arts, and he took care of all other supplies, so that the army should lack nothing. He also took care of the fleet through Leo, who was later the protovestiarios and at that time the drungarios of the fleet—having repaired the old ships and constructed new ones, he established a formidable fleet. When everything was in good order, spring having arrived, having offered sacrifices to God for a successful outcome and having left instructions for the citizens, he set out from the Queen of Cities. When he arrived at Raedestos, there met him two ambassadors from the Scythians [i.e., the Ross], who under the guise of an embassy had come, in fact, to scout out the affairs of the Romans. The emperor, knowing well the reason for their arrival, ordered them, even though they were complaining and shouting that they were suffering injustice, to go around the entire camp and to be spectators of the ranks (for he was not ignorant of the reason for their coming). ^B He ordered them to leave after they had gone around and scouted out everything, and to tell their leader that with such good order and with such an obedient people, the Roman emperor was coming armed to make war upon him.

He thus sent away the ambassadors, while he himself, taking light-armed troops in his rear—about five thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry—and ordering the rest of the entire multitude to follow slowly with Basil the parakoimomenos, crossed the Haemus [mountains] and unexpectedly entered the enemy territory and invaded it; and he pitched his camp near the great city of Persthlabas, which held the palaces of the Bulgarians. This sudden event threw the Scythians into astonishment and helplessness, and Calocyrus, the author and cause of the present evils, who was staying in that city at the time, not enduring even to hear the sound of the trumpet (for he happened to be lingering there too), since he perceived that the emperor had arrived in person to fight the war, slipped out of the city secretly and fled to the camp of the Ross. When they saw him and learned of the arrival of the emperor, they fell into no small alarm. Yet, having taken heart, after Sphendosthlabos had encouraged them with many exhortations and speeches appropriate to the occasion, they arrived and encamped opposite the Romans. In the meantime, the army with the emperor ^C was moving into the plain that was before the city, and suddenly fell upon the enemy who were expecting nothing of the sort; these were five thousand men, exercising themselves in arms outside the city. After they resisted for a little while, they were soon exhausted and took to flight; and partly they met an inglorious death, and partly they escaped into the city. While these things were being done...

the Scythians within the city, perceiving the sudden arrival of the Romans and the struggle with their own men, each grabbing whatever weapon chance offered, rushed out to help. The Romans intercepted them as they advanced in a disordered and scattered line and slaughtered them, so that, unable to offer even a little resistance, they turned to flee. When the Roman cavalry rode ahead and blocked the way leading to the city, those fleeing and scattered across the plain were captured and slain, until the whole level ground was covered with corpses and an uncountable number had been taken alive.

Sphagellus, who was in command of the entire army at Persthlabus (he ranked second after Sphendosthlabus among the Scythians), fearing for the city as was to be expected, shut the gates, secured them with bars, and from the wall warded off the approaching Romans with all manner of missiles and stones. Night came on and broke off the siege; but at first light, the proedros Basil arrived with the rest of the troops, whose arrival brought great joy to the emperor. The emperor climbed a certain hill so that he might be visible to the Scythians, and the masses, having gathered together, encircled the city. Although the emperor frequently exhorted the barbarians to yield from their opposition and not to perish utterly, they would not be persuaded to descend from the wall. Filled with righteous anger, the Romans took up the siege, driving off the defenders of the walls with arrows and setting ladders against the ramparts. ^C A certain courageous soldier, holding a sword in his right hand and bearing a shield raised above his head with his left, was the first to scale the wall by way of one of the ladders. By warding off blows with his shield and driving away those standing in his path with his sword, he ascended along the battlements, and having scattered the enemies who were there, he provided a safe place for his own men to ascend. Others imitated him one after another, and when in this way quite a few now held the wall, they formed a wedge and drove the Scythians back, and these cast themselves headlong from the walls. In other different places, many others, imitating those who went before, also climbed the wall by ladders. And as the Scythians were in a panic, certain Romans, unobserved by the enemy, reached the gates without any trouble, and having opened them, let in the entire army. The city having been captured in this way, the Scythians, who were fleeing through the narrow alleys, were caught and killed, while the women and children were taken captive. Borises, king of the Bulgarians, was also captured along with his wife and children, still wearing the royal insignia, and was brought to the emperor. ^D The emperor showed himself very humane to him, addressing him as King of the Bulgarians and allowing all the captive Bulgarians to go wherever each wished. XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES. (26) The librarian scribbled this in the margin: "I marvel if at that time there was no stout spear among the barbarians, by which they could have prevented such an ascent." It seems to pertain to this, because these narratives are certainly thin; and such great deeds should be described more diligently according to their circumstances, lest they appear rather as fabrications and nonsense. For that the virtue of one man often stands and prevails against many foes, there is no doubt in historical faith. But that one man should climb a wall in the way it is written here, with many armed enemies watching from above, seems among the impossibilities. It is more likely, as Zonaras seems to hint, that he had taken the wall at a place where it was empty of defenders, and others likewise; and then, having made an attack against the defenders and routed them, they prepared the opportunity for the rest to ascend. Not much more artistic is the narrative below regarding Basil [and the blinding of] Ibatza, where the author of such a great deed, an enemy, was able to calm an armed and raging hostile multitude with a motion of his hands and soothe it with a speech—a crowd which, once stirred up, is not accustomed to heed even a magistrate. XYL.

^A And climbing the walls in various places using ladders. And as the Scythians were in confusion, some [soldiers] managed to reach the gates without resistance, and having flung them open, led the army inside. In this way, when the city had been captured, the Scythians who were fleeing through the narrow streets were intercepted and slaughtered, while the women and children were taken captive. Boris the king of the Bulgarians was also captured together with his wife and children, because he was wearing the insignia of royalty, and he was led to the Emperor. The Emperor treated him with kindness, calling him the King of the Bulgarians, and releasing all the captured Bulgarians, he let them go free wherever they wished to go, declaring that they were not coming into slavery, but rather to freedom, and that he recognized only the Rosses as enemies and treated them as foes.

The bolder of the Scythians had occupied a certain fortification within the city’s palace, eight thousand in number, and for a time they remained hidden, and many of those who for historical reasons came there, or for the sake of plunder, were secretly seized and killed. When this became known to the Emperor, a battle-worthy army was sent against them. But those who were sent were sluggish and feared to attempt a siege, ^B not because they feared the Rosses, but because the location was fortified and impregnable. The Emperor easily resolved this; taking up his arms, he proceeded on foot in front of the others. For when the soldiers saw this, they all instantly took up their arms and ran, each one hastening to get ahead of the Emperor, and with shouting and clamor they attacked the fortress. As the Rosses courageously withstood the siege, the Romans set fire to it in many places and thus overcame those who were resisting. For unable to withstand the power of the fire and the Roman hand, each one threw themselves down the precipices and fled; many of them were consumed by the fire, many perished by being thrown down the cliffs, and the rest were met by the sword and captivity. The city was captured in this way, having resisted for two whole days. Having regained the city upon its capture, the Emperor stationed a significant garrison, provided plentiful supplies for life, celebrated the feast of Saint Anastasia, and renamed the city Joannopolis after himself, and on the following day he set out on the march to Dorostolum, which is also called Dristra.

^C Sphendosthlabus, having heard of the capture of Persthlabus, was disturbed as one might expect, yet he did not lose his courage; instead, he encouraged those around him, exhorting them now more even than before to show themselves as good men. Having arranged other matters as well as he could, and having put to death all the Bulgarians he held in suspicion—who were about three hundred in number—he set out against the Romans. The Emperor, having taken the cities along the route and stationed commanders in them, and having sacked many fortresses and small towns and given them to the soldiers for plunder, continued on his way. Upon the scouts reporting that Scythians were approaching, he sent forward a select army, ^D under the leadership of Theodore of Mistheia; he ordered…

^A him to lead the army, to scout the number of the enemy and report it to him, and if it seemed opportune, to test their strength by a light skirmish; he himself followed behind, drawn up with the entire army. When those with Theodore came to blows with the enemy, they attacked them with great violence. The Russians, fearing an ambush, did not advance further, but after many of their men were struck and some fallen, they turned aside to the nearby mountains, which were dense and thick with wide wooded ravines, and through the mountainous region they escaped back to Dristra. The number of these men was seven thousand, while the Romans who routed them were three hundred. The Scythians then united with Sphendosthlabos and, having roused him from there with his entire army, established a camp twelve miles before Dorostolon, ^B numbering three hundred and thirty thousand men, and they awaited the emperor's arrival with eagerness and boldness.

The Romans, elated by their recent victories and expecting that the battle to decide the entire outcome of events would soon be joined, knowing moreover that they had God as their helper—who is accustomed to assist not those who initiate injury, but those who suffer it—were inspired with alacrity and boldness, not only the more courageous among them, but even the fearful and faint-hearted, and they were all extremely eager for the clash. When the armies came into each other’s sight, and both emperors had strengthened their own men with words appropriate to the present situation and had urged them on, the trumpets sounded the martial alarm, and the hosts charged each other with equal eagerness.

At the first assault, the Romans, having lunged with a violent impetus, struck down many and shook the ranks of the barbarians; yet the enemy did not give way, nor was an opportunity granted to the Romans to pursue them, for the Scythians rallied themselves and, raising a shout once more, rushed upon the Romans. For some time, the battle was evenly matched. ^C But as the day was already inclining toward evening, the Romans encouraged one another and, as if emboldened by mutual exhortations, pressed down upon the left wing of the Scythians and with unbearable force struck down many in their assault. When the Scythians gathered to the afflicted part, the Roman emperor sent some to the aid of his men and followed himself, with the imperial standards displayed, spurring his horse onward, bearing his spear leveled, and urging on his men with his voice.

A most fierce battle then took place, and the fight underwent many changes (for it is said the struggle suffered twelve turnings), until at last the Russians, despairing of their safety, scattered in disordered flight into the plain; the Romans pursued them and slaughtered many. Many of the Russians fell, and even more were captured; the rest escaped by flight to Dorostolon.

The emperor, having offered sacrifices of victory to the victorious martyr George (for it was on the day of his commemoration that he had clashed with the enemy), on the following day took his force to Dorostolon, and having arrived there, he fortified an encampment. Yet he…

^A did not wish to attack before the arrival of his fleet, lest the river being left without guard, the Russians might be able to escape with their ships. Meanwhile, Sviatoslav, fearing a rebellion, bound in chains and other shackles those Bulgarians whom he held prisoner, numbering about twenty thousand, and prepared himself to endure the siege.

When the fleet had arrived, the Emperor began to assault the walls, and he frequently routed the Scythians when they made sorties. One day, towards late evening, when the Romans had scattered for their meal, the barbarians, divided into two parts, horse and foot (for then, for the first time, were they seen on horseback, having hitherto fought only on foot), poured out from two gates of the city: one toward the east, which Peter, the master of the camp, had been ordered to guard with Thracians and Macedonians; and the other toward the west, where Bardas Sclerus had been stationed on watch with the Eastern forces. ^B A fierce struggle took place, with the Romans resisting them bravely. And although for some time the victory felt uncertain, in the end the Romans by their own valor routed the barbarians, and after many had been killed—especially of the cavalry—drove the rest into the city. No Roman was wounded, and nothing was lost except for three horses.

Having been broken in this way and forced within the walls, the barbarians spent a sleepless night, and lamented those who had fallen in the battle with wild and terrible cries, so that all who heard them would have thought they were hearing not the laments of men, but the roaring and lowing of wild beasts. ^C At the break of dawn, he recalled to Dorostolon all those who were scattered for guard duty in various fortresses, and they arrived quickly in response to his call. The Emperor, having taken his whole force, went into the plain before the city, and provoked the barbarians to battle. When they did not come out, he returned to the camp, rested quietly, and envoys came to him from Constantia and other fortresses situated across the Ister, begging for amnesty for their past actions and surrendering themselves along with their fortifications. He received them kindly and sent men to receive the fortresses, along with garrisons sufficient to hold them.

When evening had fallen, the Russians opened all the gates of the city and, being much more numerous than before, fell unexpectedly upon the Romans, who were spending the night, because of the darkness. In the first encounter, they seemed to prevail, but after a little while the Romans gained the upper hand. For when it happened that Sphagellus fell while fighting heroically, his loss caused the barbarians to fall into confusion and their ardor to slacken. Nevertheless, they remained unyielding throughout the whole night and the following day until solid midday. Then, once the Emperor had sent a force to cut off their access into the city, the Russians, realizing this, turned to flight; and finding the entrances to the city fortified against them, they fled through the plain and ^D were cut down as they were intercepted.

When night fell, Sviatoslav began to surround the walls of the city with a deep trench, so that the Romans might not easily be able to approach to assault them with a rush; and having fortified the city in this way, he resolved to endure the siege most firmly. But because many of his soldiers were in a bad state due to their wounds, and since his supplies were now consumed and famine loomed, as the Romans would not allow anything to be imported from elsewhere

^A [in which huge rains, a terrible hail, dreadful lightning, and thunder had occurred], Svyatoslav, having watched for a deep, moonless night, boarded monoxyla [28] with two thousand men and set out in search of provisions. Having collected whatever grain, millet, and other life-sustaining items each could find, they returned up-river with their monoxyla toward Dorostolon. On the journey back, seeing on the riverbank quite a few of the soldiers—some watering their horses, others gathering grass or wood—they disembarked, approached through the woods without making a sound, and suddenly set upon them while they were unsuspecting. They killed many and forced the rest to scatter into the nearby thickets. Having then re-boarded their boats, they were carried to Dorostolon by a favorable wind.

When the Emperor learned of this, he was most annoyed and sternly rebuked the commanders of the fleet for not noticing the barbarians' departure from Dorostolon, even threatening them with death if any such thing were to happen again under their watch. This caused them to guard both banks of the river with the utmost diligence thereafter. Indeed, when the Emperor had attacked the city for some 65 consecutive days, he decided to test it instead through siege and famine. He therefore fortified all the roads with trenches and guards so that no one could leave the city to fetch provisions, while he himself remained at leisure during the siege.

And as these things were happening at Dorostolon, Leo the Curopalates and his son Nicephorus—whom we mentioned earlier had been released with their eyes intact, even though the sentence had decreed they be gouged out ^C—were once again plotting tyranny. Having corrupted many of the city and palace guards and believing they had arranged everything according to their designs, they hired a ship and sailed from the island to which they had been relegated, arriving at the mainland opposite the city near the suburb called Pelamydium. From there, they came to Constantinople at the first cock-crow. But Leo, the Drungary of the fleet, who together with Basil the Raictor had been entrusted with the guard of the palace, was informed of this by one who was privy to their schemes; he sent out a sufficient force to apprehend the Curopalates and his son. Upon noticing this, they fled for refuge to the Great Church; ^D from there, they were dragged away and sent off to the island of Prote, where their eyes were gouged out.

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES. (28) Monoxyla are boats hollowed out from a single tree trunk, so light that they can even be carried on the shoulders. Constantine in *De Administrando Imperio*, ch. 9, discusses this at length. Goar.

was managing the state, while they were still younger in both age and prudence. This ruler, as soon as the supreme power devolved upon these youths, quickly recalled their mother from exile. Furthermore, anxious lest anyone else should invade the empire, and fearing Bardas Skleros ^A above all (for he had always coveted it, and during the reign of Tzimiskes, having been convicted of attempting tyranny, he would have been blinded had he not been saved from punishment by the emperor himself); holding him, therefore, in the greatest suspicion, as one to whom all the forces were then entrusted, and who could easily drive them wherever he wished, being designated as the commander of the entire East, he judged that it would be for the benefit of the republic and would serve to strengthen the empire if he were to diminish his power and render him weaker for ^B attempting new things. Therefore, he took away his prefecture of the East and appointed him commander of Mesopotamia, with orders to keep a diligent watch against the incursions of the Saracens. In the same way, he treated Michael Bourtzes with suspicion; and in order to tear him away from the alliance of Douras (for he was the leader of a certain cohort with him), he promoted him to the dignity of *magistros* and appointed him commander of Antioch, situated on the Orontes. He transferred the inspection and command over all the eastern forces to Peter the patrician, formerly a servant of Phokas, and named him commander of the army; a eunuch, indeed, but ^C otherwise energetic and most experienced in military affairs. Douras, however, took this indignity so poorly that he could not even keep that resentment hidden in his own mind, but inveighed ^D with insulting words against the author [of this decision], who, in return for his glorious deeds and the victories he had won, was demoting him from horses (as they say) to donkeys. But the ruler cared little or nothing for these things, ordering him to be content with what was given and not to attempt anything further, unless he wished to be stripped of his command and confined as a private citizen in his own house. And prosoneidisai, and

Narrative concerning the famine of the Rus and concerning Anemas

At that very time, another event occurred which is worthy of being told. A stone tablet of Proconnesian marble was found carelessly discarded in a garden belonging to one of the senators; it had two human figures depicted on its surface, one of a man and one of a woman. On the pediment of the tablet was inscribed an epigram reading as follows: "May John and Theodora, those who love Christ, live for many years." This led some into astonishment, as to how the present state of affairs was so clearly revealed beforehand; others, however, believed the matter was not free from trickery and sorcery, thinking that the master of the garden had wanted to curry favor with the emperor through this contrivance. Whether it is one way or the other, I cannot say. Meanwhile, the Scythians—pressed by famine within and suffering—not to mention the damage from the siege engines outside—and particularly in that part of the city which John the Magister, son of Romanos Kourkouas, was ordered to guard (for the stone-throwing engine located there was causing no small amount of harm to those inside)—dispatched some of their fiercest heavy-armed soldiers mixed with light infantry to that very spot, to see if they could somehow disable the engine. Kourkouas, having realized this, took with him the bravest of his men and hurried to its defense. Having reached the midst of the Scythians, his horse was struck by a javelin and fell, and he himself, having fallen with it, was butchered and killed. But the Romans rushed up, engaged with the Rus, preserved the engine unharmed, and drove the Scythians back, shutting them into the city. When July arrived and was in its twentieth day, the Rus came out in great numbers; they engaged with the Romans and fought, exhorted and encouraged in their struggles by a man named Ikmoros—a man of the greatest prominence among the Scythians, second only to the aforementioned Sphagellos, and held in honor by all, not because of any blood relationship, nor through any particular favor, but solely on account of his virtue. When Anemas—the son of the Cretan [(29)] ameras Basil Kouroupas, one of the imperial bodyguards—saw this man fighting valiantly, encouraging the others, and throwing the Roman ranks into confusion, he was neither stunned by the man's size nor daunted by his strength; rather, gripped by ardor of heart and urging his horse this way and that, with an irresistible rush he drew the sword hanging at his thigh and charged the Scythian. He struck him with the blade on the left shoulder near the collarbone and severed the neck, so that it came about that his head, along with his right hand, was cut off and fell to the ground. And the Scythian lay fallen; but Anemas returned unharmed to his own side, if night had not supervened...

^A to rescue him. Upon the death of Icmor, the Romans, while despoiling the dead, found women among the slain who had fought against the Romans alongside their husbands. A mingled cry arose at this event, the Romans shouting for joy at the victory, and the Scythians uttering an indistinct wail and slackening in their resistance. Pressing forward, the Romans forced them to flight, and they sought cover within the city in an inglorious manner. Many fell in the course of this day, trampled to death by each other due to the narrowness of the space, or slaughtered by the Romans as they were overtaken. Sphendosthlabus himself narrowly escaped capture; the survivors, having escaped the danger, cut a great lamentation within the enclosure.

Since the war was going badly for the barbarians and there was no hope of alliance (for their own kinsmen were far away, and the neighboring barbarian nations, fearing the Romans, refused them assistance; and sustenance had failed them, nor was it possible for any to be brought in from anywhere, as the Roman fleet kept the banks of the river under strict watch—whereas for the Romans, by contrast, all good things flowed in each day as if from some inexhaustible spring, and ^B both cavalry and infantry forces were added continuously; and it was not even possible for them to take to their own light boats and escape, as the outlets, as we have said, were strictly guarded), they held a council. Some advised stealing away by night, others that they should ask for pledges and guarantees from the Romans, since there was no other way for their retreat, and so depart for their own lands. And others gave advice one way or another as the occasion afforded. But though all were desirous of ending the war once and for all, Sphendosthlabus exhorted them to fight the Romans one more time, suggesting that they should either by fighting bravely overcome their opponents, or, if they could not be victorious, prefer a glorious and blessed death over a most shameful and disgraceful life; for it would be unlivable for them if they were to procure their safety by flight, since they would henceforth be despised by the neighboring nations, whom they had previously terrified. ^C This advice of Sphendosthlabus pleased them, and they all settled upon undertaking the final struggle for their lives with all their might. On the following day, therefore, they went out of the city in full force and closed the gates, so that it might not be possible for anyone, having turned back, to be saved by fleeing to the city; and they engaged the Romans. A fierce struggle ensued, and while the barbarians fought courageously, the Romans, oppressed by the sun and plagued by thirst as they were in full armor (for it was the very middle of midday), began to give way. The emperor, perceiving this, rendered aid with great speed, accompanied by those around him; he himself took the brunt of the battle, and gave orders for skins full of wine and water to be brought to the army that had been exhausted by the sun and thirst. Those who used these, having checked both the thirst and the burning of the sun and refreshed themselves, charged against the Scythians with vehemence and force. While they resisted bravely, the battle was evenly matched, ^D until the emperor, perceiving that the narrowness of the place was hindering the prowess of his men and that this was emboldening the Scythians, commanded his leaders to withdraw back into the plain, far from the city, and to present the appearance of a retreat—not by scattering, but by withdrawing gradually—so that whenever they had enticed the enemy far from the city, they might suddenly wheel their horses and attack them. The leaders executed the command. And the Russians, thinking that the Romans were fleeing, exhorted one another and followed them with a great clamor.

And when the Romans reached the specified place, they turned and struck them bravely. There, a fierce battle ensuing, it happened that the general Theodore of Mistheia fell to the ground after his horse was pierced by a spear. A hard struggle arose over him, with the Russians exerting themselves to make an end of him, and the Romans to prevent his being carried off. For this Theodore, having fallen from his horse, seized one of the Scythians by his belt and, moving him here and there with the strength of his hand like some light little shield, fended off the spears cast at him, and gradually retreated toward the Romans in a backward motion. Finally, the Romans pressed forward, repulsed the Scythians, and rescued the man from danger. And the armies were completely separated, with the outcome of the war by no means yet determined. ^B But the emperor, seeing the Scythians fighting more spiritedly now than before, and being aggrieved by the waste of time, and pitying the Romans also, who were suffering misery and being badly hurt by the war, thought to decide the matter by single combat. And so he sent a mission to Sphendoshlabus, challenging him to single combat, saying that it was necessary for the matter to be decided by the death of one man rather than for nations to be slaughtered and slowly depleted, and for the victor to be master of all. But the other refused the challenge and let loose arrogant words, [P. 681] saying that he himself would better consider what was to his own advantage; but if he [the emperor] had no leisure to live, there were a myriad other ways of death; let him choose whichever he pleased. Having said these things, he applied himself to war preparations with greater zeal. The emperor, having given up hope of a fight by challenge, set about by all means to block the entrance to the city ^C to the barbarians, and dispatched for the task Bardas Skleros the Magister with the regiments that he himself commanded; meanwhile he ordered the patrician Romanus (30), the son of Constantine the Emperor, son of Romanus the elder, and Peter, the prefect of the army, to invade the enemy with their forces; and the battle was joined most sharply on both sides, and the victory, inclining now to one side and now to the other, remained doubtful for a long time. There, again, the Cretan ^D [NOTE: The Latin text here corresponds to the Greek text which is partially missing from the OCR input window, but the Latin column continues the narrative:] ...most sharply on both sides, and the victory, inclining now to one side and now to the other, remained doubtful for a long time. There, again, the Cretan... [Text continues to notes provided in the margin.]

emir’s son, Anemas, having stirred his horse this way and that and spurred him on more fiercely, charged with youthful courage against Sphendosthlabos himself. Breaking through the ranks of the enemy, he struck him on the center of his head with his sword and brought him down from his horse, though he did not slay him, as the armor he was wearing provided protection. He himself, however, was surrounded and struck by many, and perished while putting up a heroic resistance, becoming a great wonder even to his adversaries. It is said that the Romans received divine assistance at that time. For a squall rising from the South stood in the faces of the Scythians, not allowing them to use their own discretion in the battle. And a man on a white horse was seen by the entire Roman army, fighting in the lead and breaking up and throwing into confusion the enemy's phalanxes—a man who was known to no one before or after this event; they claimed he was one of the triumphant martyrs, Theodore. The emperor was accustomed to use these figures as defenders and avant-garde against the enemies; indeed, it so happened that this battle took place on the very day on which we are accustomed to celebrate the memory of the military commander. A noble woman in Constantinople also confirmed that the apparition was of supreme power, having seen it in a dream the day before the engagement, and having thought that she was standing by the Theotokos and heard her say to a certain soldier, "Lord Theodore, my and your John is in peril, hasten to bring him aid," and she recounted this at sunrise to her neighbors. These things were seen, and the Scythians were turned to flight again; and finding the city gates closed by Skleros, they were scattered across the plain, and were slain in numbers beyond counting, being trampled by one another and cut down by the Romans; almost all of them were wounded. The emperor, honoring the martyr and paying back the reward for his assistance, tore down from their foundations the church in which his divine body is kept and built a great and most beautiful one, assigning to it magnificent endowments; he also renamed the city, calling it Theodoropolis instead of Euchaneia. When Sphendosthlabos had employed every stratagem and was thwarted in all his efforts, seeing that no hope was left to him, he looked toward terms of peace. He therefore sent envoys to the emperor, requesting assurances that he might be counted among the allies and friends of the Romans, might be allowed to return home unharmed with his company, and that any Scythian who wished might visit Roman territory for the sake of trade. Receiving the embassy... [alt-version omitted]

the emperor, and repeating the famous saying, that it is the custom of the Romans to conquer their enemies more by kindness than by arms, confirmed all that was requested. When the treaty was made, Sphendosthlabus also requested to come into the sight and presence of the emperor. Having given his consent, he arrived. And having mixed with one another, and conversed about whatever they wished, they departed. At the request of Sphendosthlabus, the emperor also sent an embassy to the Patzinaks, asking if they would be friends and allies to them, and not cross the Ister to plunder the lands of the Bulgarians, and to allow the Ross to pass through their land without hindrance and return home. Theophilus, the archbishop of Euchaita, fulfilled this embassy. They accepted the embassy, and having forbidden the passage of the Ross alone, they made terms regarding other matters. When the Ross had sailed away, the emperor, having taken care of the fortresses and cities along the banks of the river and having left a sufficient garrison, set out for the customs of the Romans. The bishop of the city, along with the synod and all those in authority, received him with paeans and congratulatory shouts of victory, crowning him, and having prepared a quadriga of white horses magnificently, they requested that the emperor board it and celebrate a triumph. ^A But he, wishing for nothing arrogant, but showing himself to be moderate, accepted the crowns offered and completed the triumph on a white horse, while he placed the Bulgarian royal robes on the chariot, and above these, the image of the Mother of God as the guardian of the city, ordering it to go before him. When he was in the so-called Forum and had been sufficiently acclaimed, and had returned victory thank-offerings to the Mother of God and her Son, he stripped Boris of the insignia of the Bulgarian kingdom in the sight of the citizens; these were: a crown of gold, a tiara woven from fine linen, and red sandals. From there he went to the Great Church, and having given the Bulgarian crown as a votive offering to God in it, and having raised Boris to the dignity of magistros, he went to the palace. ^B Sphendosthlabus, returning to his own customs while passing through the land of the Patzinaks, falls into ambuscades already prepared and awaiting him, and he himself, along with the multitude that accompanied him, is destroyed, as the Patzinaks were angry with him on account of the treaty with the Romans. The emperor, giving thanks for the victories to Christ the Savior, rebuilt the temple above the arch of the Chalke from the ground up, sparing nothing that contributed to its luxury and adornment. He also released all those subject to the entire themes from the so-called hearth-tax (kapnikon). He also commanded that the image of the Savior be inscribed on both the gold coin and the obol, which had not been done before. ^C And letters were written in Roman fashion on the other side, going as follows: "Jesus Christ, King of Kings." And this his successors also observed. ^D

^A Patriarch Basil having been accused of certain charges and deposed in a council, Antony the Studite was put forward as patriarch. In the month of August, in the third indiction, a comet appeared, called "the bearded one," and it was visible until the month of October of the fourth indiction. This portended the death of the emperor and the incurable misfortunes that were to befall the land of the Romans from civil wars.

As for the cities that had been acquired by the emperor Nicephorus and became tributary to the Romans, as has been said before, since they lifted up their heel and shook off the Roman power, the emperor went out against them and traveled as far as Damascus. Having recovered some by persuasion and speech, and others by war and force, and having settled everything as was fitting, he set off for the Queen of Cities. On his way, when he arrived at Anazarbus and Podandus and was passing through the remaining regions, and seeing what was under his feet, observing opulent estates and fields that were well-favored and rich, he asked those present to whom these belonged. When he learned from those asked that all of them belonged to the chamberlain Basil—this one and that one having been recently acquired for the Romans by Nicephorus the emperor, this one by that domestic of the schools, and this one and that one by you, and all donated to Basil—and seeing that nothing worth mentioning was left of what had been acquired for the public treasury, he became deeply pained and sighed from the depths of his heart. "It is a terrible thing, O those present," he said, "if public monies are consumed, and the Roman armies are distressed, and the emperors undergo labors outside their borders, while what is acquired from so many toils and labors becomes the possession of one eunuch." And the emperor indeed said these things, but one of those present to Basil carried the emperor's speech to him and stirred him to anger. And from that time he sought an opportunity to do away with the emperor.

Therefore, having approached the man accustomed to pouring wine for the emperor with flatteries and having deceived him with gifts, and having mixed in a poison—not one of the most potent kinds that brings instant danger, but one that slowly and little by little consumes the strength of the one who drinks—he poured it for the emperor. Having drunk it and little by little becoming ill, and failing in his own strength, and finally even having his shoulders break out with carbuncles, with much blood flowing from his eyes, he entered the Queen of Cities and ended his life, having reigned for six years and as many months and a little more, leaving as successors to the empire Basil and Constantine, the sons of Romanus.

The end of John thus happened in the manner mentioned; the power of the empire was transferred to Basil and Constantine, the sons of Romanus, in the year 6484, in the fourth indiction, in the month of December. Basil was then in his twentieth year of age; Constantine was three years his junior. And these indeed bore the name and form of emperors; but the authority over all things belonged to Basil

^A for, on account of the tender and delicate age of the emperors and the fact that their understanding was not yet fully matured, the administration of affairs was conducted by the *proedros* Basil. And as soon as the power concerning the sons of Romanos arrived, he immediately sent out couriers and brought their mother from exile to the palace. Fearing also insurrections against the empire, and more than all others Bardas Skleros the *magistros*, who was ever lying in wait for the empire and constantly aching for rebellion (for he had been seized even during the reign of Emperor John while plotting, and though condemned to have his eyes gouged out, he was rescued by him from the common fate), fearing this man most of all, as he had then been entrusted with the entire Roman force and could easily lead and manipulate it wherever he wished (for he was appointed commander-in-chief of the entire East), he considered it advantageous and safe for the empire to cripple the greater part of his power and render him weaker against the suspected rebellion. And thus he removes him from the command of *stratēlatēs* and appoints him *doux* of the regiments in Mesopotamia, ordering him to keep watch and guard against the incursions of the Saracens. He devised the same thing also for Michael Bourtzes, who was suspect, endeavoring to detach him from the company of Skleros (for he too was with him, commanding a certain military regiment). Honoring him with the dignity of *magistros* [P. 685], he appoints him *doux* of Antioch by the Orontes. And he appoints the *patrikios* Peter, the servant of Phokas, as overseer and supervisor of all eastern regiments (34), naming him *stratopedarchēs*, a man who was a eunuch, but otherwise active and most experienced in warfare. This grieved Skleros deeply, so that he could not even restrain his indignation magnanimously with himself, but complained and reproached [his master], asking if he were receiving such rewards instead of the brave deeds and triumphs he had performed for him, progressing to the worse, even [to the point where] the *parakoimōmenos* cared little or nothing, telling him to be content with what was given and not to meddle further, unless he intended, instead of a commander, to be a house-dweller of his own home. These things being thus arranged by the *parakoimōmenos*, Bardas departed from the Queen of Cities with great speed and took possession of the command entrusted to him. And since in previous commands he had often shown himself grave and active, and was beloved, one might say, by the whole army, and had disclosed the mystery of his intent to many whom he trusted, and especially to the regiment of the *stratēlatai* (35), and now thinking the time convenient to reveal what he had been planning, having deliberated with his confidants, he brings forth the rebellion he had been aching for for so long, and takes up arms against the emperors and his own kin. Immediately, then, the [regiments of the] *stratēlatai*, ^{B C D}

XYLANDRI AND GOAR’S NOTES

^A Anthes by name, Alyates by surname, who was among his most capable servants, he sends to the Queen of Cities, in order that, if he could, he might steal away Romanus his son (who by chance was sojourning in the capital) and bring him to himself. He, having arrived in the city, and hastening in every way to seize him, sowed ill reports against Sclerus, through which he was able to escape notice, appearing unsuspected, and to carry off Romanus and lead him to Sclerus. Bardas, having now brought his plot into the open, clothes himself in the diadem and assumes the remaining marks of the empire, and is proclaimed emperor by all the Roman army present, with the Armenians leading the acclamation.

Since he knew that he needed much money for having cast so great a die—things that cannot be accomplished without those necessary supplies, as the orator says—he turned immediately to the collection of these, arresting the public tax collectors and levying the public funds, and seizing and punishing those who otherwise provided suspicion of wealth, while some even offered their own property voluntarily in the hope of receiving greater returns; and thus in no long time he gathered a great amount of wealth. [P. 686] Having seized a strong fortress called Charpote, situated in Mesopotamia, and having fortified it in every way and stationed a sufficient guard, he deposited in it the gathered wealth, and intended it to be a starting point in case of failure and a harbor of safety. And to the neighboring Saracens, both the emir of Amida, which is called Emet, Apotulphus, and the emir of Martyropolis, which they call Miepherkin, Apotaglus, he gave and received pledges, and through kinship contracted with them, he secured the terms of friendship, and he received much money and Arab cavalry as support.

When the fame of this had run everywhere, all who delighted in revolutionary affairs flowed toward him. Now that summer had arrived, he set out with his entire army and hastened towards the capital, full of hope and imagining himself all but seated in the palace. For indeed, a night vision of a certain monk who laid claim to virtue emboldened him and rendered him more daring for the undertaking. For he seemed to see fiery men, who took Bardas and led him up to some very high vantage point; and he met there a woman more imposing in appearance than a human, and she gave him the royal scourge. ^B This scourge Bardas interpreted as a symbol of empire, but it was in fact the wrath of God against the Romans.

^C When the news had reached the Queen of Cities, the emperors were cast into anxiety, and discouragement took hold of the wise of the body politic, and as a sign of piety one takes also a rod, not one that is heavy and hard, but light and soft. Because of the educational aspect in meekness, and not wrathful and destructive, and not crushing and obliterating. ^D

XYLANDER'S AND GOAR'S NOTES.

^A

It in no way disturbed those who were witnesses to the struggle and the great vigor of those who thought highly of their own strength; they stood their ground and engaged each other. And Skleros, having struck the horse of Phokas with the bit, cut it with his sword. Phokas, striking him on the head with his mace and knocking him from the neck of the horse, threw him down by the weight of the blow; and when he had fallen, Phokas spurred his own horse, cut through the ranks of the enemy, and having ascended the hill, called back his men from their flight. Those belonging to Skleros, having observed him suffering badly from the blow and already fainting from his wounds, led him to a spring to wash himself; for they suspected that Phokas had already accomplished his total destruction. ^B When the horse had dashed away and the one who was holding him had fled, and one of the soldiers, carried by an irregular rush, and splattered with blood (they called the horse the "Egyptian"), and having looked and seen whose horse it was, and thinking that their own lord had fallen, they turned in disorder to flight, throwing themselves into ravines and the river Alus, and perishing miserably without anyone pursuing them. Phokas, seeing this from the hill, and thinking that it was a result of divine working, as one might suppose, followed after those who were fleeing and being trampled by one another, killing some and capturing others. But Skleros, having been treated by others, fled toward Martyropolis; from there he sent an embassy to Chosroes, requesting auxiliary forces and aid. Since the latter was delaying, neither consenting to what was asked nor refusing, and so Constantine was staying away for too long, Skleros himself, having been compelled along with all his followers, moved toward Chosroes.

The news of the rout of Skleros was announced to the emperor by letters from Phokas, and of his withdrawal into Babylon; the emperor acknowledged him with due honors, and sent an ambassador to Chosroes, the emir of Babylon, the man named Nikephoros the Heaven (or, "Uranus"), beseeching him in no way to consider ^C returning the rebel, nor to wish to become an example of evil to descendants, nor himself to be an abettor of injustice, but rather to aid the just emperor against the unjust rebel. [P. 694] He also delivered letters signed by the emperor, by which he offered pardon to Skleros and those with him for all their evils, provided they repented and acknowledged their lord and returned each to his own home. When Uranus arrived to Chosroes with the letters, and they refused, Chosroes, suspecting evil, handed over the ambassador and the rebels into custody. Concerning the rebels who did not come to the emperor with Skleros: Leo the captive, and the Lydian leader Andronikos, who had already departed from the living, his children, Christopher Epeiktes, and Bardas Monchus, Armacurius, the "Flat Stone," and other fortified castles in the province of Thrace; these held out ^D until the eighth indiction, making raids from there, and they plagued the emperor. Even though the office was not being exercised.

^A by him, he was seized by a burning in the heart; and, spurring on his horse with senseless impetuosity, he collided with his opponents. Having achieved nothing of note, he fell, struck a mortal blow, and all who were about him scattered into the nearest glens and thickets. It was reported then that the leader of Bardas’s household troops intended to desert to the emperor’s army. Sclerus summoned him, reproached him, and, having done nothing more to him openly, released him, but secretly signaled the mercenary Saracen soldiers, and had him killed; for they, surrounding the man as he was passing by at midday, cut him down with their swords.

^B The commanders of the imperial armies, expecting the imminent approach of Sclerus, decided to seize the critical points of the road; they moved with the entire army and encamped opposite him, having occupied the routes by which he was expected to pass. Learning this, Sclerus was sluggish and reluctant to proceed, and by wasting time in delay, he kept watch on what would come to pass. He was incited, however, and shown to be more eager by a certain general who had come over, Sachakius by name, surnamed Brachamius; for he arrived and admonished him not to waste time in idleness, saying that such delay would breed contempt. Deeming his counsel timely, he was appointed leader and guide for the journey. He led the way, and the other followed. In three days he reached Lapara; this place is a part of Cappadocia, now called Lycandus, named so because of its richness and fertility. The camp-commander, learning of this, employed a night march for fear that Sclerus might outstrip him, and encamped opposite his opponents. ^C And for a time they held back and prolonged the open engagement, contending to steal a victory. But Bardas outmaneuvered the opponents, having prepared many dinners as if he were about to feast his own army, and by this means deceived the enemy. For they supposed that on that day a battle would not be initiated, and they themselves turned to feasting. But Sclerus, as he learned this (for he had prepared the armies for battle), suddenly signaled the onset with a trumpet and fell upon the enemy who were engaged in their meal. They, however, not being struck with panic by the suddenness, grabbed whatever weapons were at hand and received those who were approaching, and for a time they defended themselves vigorously. Then Bardas, having extended his flanks and fearing that he might enclose the enemies within, and having let loose his mercenaries against their rear, put them to flight and caused a great slaughter, with the Duke of Antioch, Burtzes, being the first to retreat, whether out of cowardice or treachery; for both were said of him. Barda also took the entire camp along with the baggage, and acquired infinite wealth from it. From there he again came to the city called Tzamandus. Now Tzamandus is a city situated on a craggy rock, populous and abounding in wealth, which he took by surrender ^D and collected no small amount of wealth. This victory of his shook many who were keeping faith with the emperor and caused them to pass over to Sclerus, of whom the leader was Burtzes, and then the patrician and duke Andronicus, surnamed Lydus, with his sons. The Attalensians also threw Michael Curticas, the prefect of the imperial fleet, into chains and joined Sclerus with the entire fleet, and were ordered by that same leader to wage war against the Cibyrraeots.

When these facts were reported to the emperor and the parakoimomenos, a council was held, and it was decided that one of those intimate with the emperor should be sent against the tyrant, invested with authority equal to that of a tyrant, unaccountable, and possessing the power to promote with honors and enrich with gifts those who would join him. The plan met with approval, and Leo, the emperor’s protovestiarius, was sent, having taken as his advisor a certain John, a patrician, a man of distinction and renowned for his skill in diction, having received authority from the emperor to do, without hesitation, everything that is within the power of an emperor. Having set out, then, and arriving at Cotyaeum in Phrygia, he joined the stratopedarch Peter and pitched his camp there, as Bardas was at that time staying in Dipotamon; Dipotamon is an imperial village, which the locals call Mesenacta. ^B Secretly, therefore, by promises of gifts and the bestowing of honors, he attempted to seduce the rebels and draw them to himself and make them well-disposed toward the emperor, but he was unaware that he was rather strengthening the opposition, as they judged his solicitation to be a sign of weakness. Whence, also despairing, he broke camp from Cotyaeum and, having bypassed Sclerus by night, he proceeded toward the east. This action struck great fear into those around Sclerus, who were worried not only for their property and possessions but also for those things dearest to them. Indeed, many, swearing off the rebellion, flocked to the protovestiarius, so that the rebel faction was in danger of being dissolved like dust. In order to prevent this, Sclerus, fearing the magister Michael Burtzas—who, as we said, had just recently joined him—and the patrician Romanus Taronites, sent them out with a light-armed army, commanding them to stand against the protovestiarius, to attack him by surprise, and to prevent his excursions to the best of their ability, while avoiding a general engagement as far as the situation permitted. But when Burtzas and those with him approached the imperial army, they were compelled, even against their will, to fight contrary to Sclerus’s orders, because of the following reason. Saracens coming from Berrhoea, which is toward the east, bringing the annual taxes to the Romans, were reported to be making their way to the Queen of Cities, and that they were intending to pass through the middle of the armies on a certain appointed day. And when the set time arrived and the Saracens were about to pass by the fortress called Oxylithos, ^C on both sides the battle lines were drawn up, and with great force of spirit they were brought to battle, with the gold which the Saracens were carrying offered as a prize to the victor. A conflict ensued, and Burtzas was driven back, many of his men being killed.

especially the Armenians; for the Romans slaughtered all the Armenians they could catch, feeling no pity because they were the first to join the rebel. ^B When the news of the defeat was brought, Bardas, allowing no time for delay, gathered his men and set out at once; having arrived at a place called Rageas, he pitched camp and waited for a favorable time for battle. As the imperial forces tarried, the fighting dragged on, and many of the rebels, shaken by the previous defeat, were deserting to the protovestiarios. Now, as many of the emperor’s army as were vigorous and inexperienced in war were eager for an engagement, exultant from the recent victory, but the older men and those worn out by service were hesitant and sought to avoid the battle. But since, according to the saying, "Evil counsel follows quickly," the protovestiarios yielded to the younger men and, sounding the trumpet, led his forces out to battle. Bardas, dividing his own army into three, held the center himself, while he placed his brother Constantine, at the right wing, and Constantine Gabras, at the left, in command. When the clash occurred and the commanders at the wings stirred their cavalry against the enemy, the men of the protovestiarios could not withstand the onslaught and took to flight, and a great slaughter ensued. John the patrician and Peter the camp-prefect fell there, along with many other illustrious men. The protovestiarios was also captured, along with other men of rank. Bardas gave orders for the protovestiarios to be guarded, but he ordered the eyes of Theodore and Nicetas, the brothers-in-arms Agiozacharites, to be gouged out in the sight of the whole army, as they had violated the oaths which they had sworn to him and had defected to the protovestiarios. ^C This victory brought great increase to Bardas’s affairs, and everyone, so to speak, small and great, moved to him; the emperor’s affairs, however, wavered on but one anchor, the holy one: the help of God. The paracaimomenos, while still caring for land matters, was even more concerned with matters at sea; for he was troubled by the opposing commander of the fleet, Michael Curtices, who had plundered every island and was now expected to besiege Abydus in the Hellespont. Therefore, having equipped a fleet very well, he sent it against Curtices, with the patrician Theodore Carantenus as navarch. He sailed out and, having gone through the straits of the Hellespont, clashed with Curtices at Phocaea. A fierce naval battle took place, and the men of Curtices were defeated and scattered, and with Carantenus thereafter holding command of the sea, maritime matters reached a state of peace. And so, the paracaimomenos, with affairs at sea settled, sent Manuel Eroticus, born of noble lineage and renowned for his virtue and courage, to ^D

^A guard Nicaea. A short time later, Sclerus also arrived, and after burning the villages around Nicaea, he finally came to Nicaea itself and hastened to sack it with siege engines and machines. But Manuel defended the siege bravely, and after burning the ladders and engines brought up to the wall with artificed fire, Sclerus, despairing of capturing it by siege, hoped to take the city through lack of necessities.

As a long time was spent in the siege and those inside were pressed by famine, Manuel, not knowing what to do or from where to bring in the necessities of life—as Sclerus was carefully watching the entrances—decided to circumvent Sclerus with a trick. Indeed, after secretly filling the granaries of Nicaea with sand and covering the surface with grain so as to deceive the eyes of those looking, he summoned one of the captives from the enemy's side, showed him the stores, and sent him off to Sclerus with orders to say that he ^B did not fear the siege from famine (for he had sufficient supplies for two whole years), and that the city was otherwise impregnable by siege. "However," he said, "since I wish you well, I am ready to withdraw from the city, if you would give me an oath that I and those with me may depart wherever we choose." Bardas gladly accepted the proposal and provided guarantees, so Manuel took the Nicaeans and his army with all that they had and went into the Queen of Cities.

When Sclerus took Nicaea and discovered the trick concerning the grain, he was annoyed at having been deceived; nevertheless, he left a capable guard in it and appointed a certain Pegasius as general over them, while he himself continued with the following deeds. ^C The paracaimomenos, having despaired of the whole situation (for Sclerus was already approaching the Queen of Cities), realized that there was one sufficient remedy: to summon Bardas Phocas from exile, thinking that he alone would be a sufficient opponent for Sclerus. He summoned him more quickly than word could tell, confirmed his safety with oaths, provided him with abundant wealth, honored him with the rank of magister, appointed him Domestic of the Schools, and sent him against Sclerus.

He, having assumed the struggle for the whole cause, first attempted to cross into Abydos from Thrace. But being repelled from there, as Romanus the son of Sclerus was guarding the regions in the Hellespont, he returned to the Queen of Cities. From there, having boarded a ship and eluded the enemy, he arrived at the opposite coast ^D and, using night marches, went to Caesarea. There, having joined up with the magistros Eustathius Maleïnos and the magistros Michael Burtzes (for he too, out of repentance, had arrived to choose the emperor's side again), he prepared for war with them. And so, having assembled an army as the occasion allowed, and having gathered those who had been scattered by flight, he arrived at Amorium. Sclerus, having heard of his departure, and thinking that now for the first time he would have a struggle against a warrior who knew how to endure the shifts of war bravely and tactically—since until then he had been opposed by eunuchs, creatures of the bedchamber, and those accustomed to dwelling in the shade—led his army from Nicaea to Amorium. There, the banners were joined and battle was engaged; and

^A Phocas’s army, which, having been worsted in previous engagements, had lost its daring and the vigor of its spirit, retreated, and the victory fell to Durus. Yet the soldiers of Phocas did not yield basely or with broken ranks, but slowly and with composure, so that they appeared to be withdrawing not out of fear, but by the order of their commander. For Phocas, as his soldiers turned their backs to the enemy and prepared for flight, brought up the rear and repelled those who were rushing at them, nor did he allow them to charge his retreating men with excessive violence.

It is said that Constantine Gabras, pursuing the enemy with his men, was struck by the bold intention of capturing Phocas, thinking that this would bring him the highest glory. Sticking spurs to his horse, he charged at him with a most fierce onset. Phocas, having seen and recognized him, lightly turned his horse and met him, and struck Constantine on the helmet with his mace; the latter, stunned by the unbearable force of the blow, immediately lost consciousness and fell from his horse. While his men abandoned the pursuit of the enemy and lifted him up to tend to him, Phocas, now more secure, moved forward slowly without letting go his reins. ^B

Having thus escaped, Phocas and his men occupied the Charsianon and, having set up camp, pondered the future, meanwhile honoring with titles the many who came to him and inciting the eagerness of his followers with benefits. Durus, following him, pitched his camp at the place called the Imperial Baths and challenged his namesake (for both were named Bardas) to battle. And since he accepted the challenge with alacrity, another battle was joined. And although the soldiers of Phocas resisted for some time—with Phocas himself riding about everywhere and shattering the ranks of the enemy with his iron mace, dealing countless slaughters—they eventually turned their backs and took flight.

From this battle, Phocas went with all speed to Iberia and sought reinforcements from David, the prince of that region, and indeed obtained no small number. For Phocas had been joined in friendship with David from the time that he had been duke of Chaldia. With these and his own men whom he had gathered from the flight, he marched to Pancaleia (a wide field, suitable for cavalry, situated quite close to the river Halys), where the camp of Durus was. Again, they fought with all their might. And here, Phocas, seeing his men little by little giving way and looking toward flight, judging an honorable death to be better than a base and infamous life, broke through the ranks of the enemy and rushed with a violent impulse at Durus himself, who stood his ground bravely, with no soldier coming to his aid, because all wished the war to be decided by the struggle of the commanders. And indeed it seemed a most beautiful sight, and one likely to stir great admiration in the spectators, to watch the single combat of two men preeminent in daring and strength of spirit. ^C And so, as they joined in duel at close quarters, Durus ^D

^B strikes off the right ear of Phocas’s horse, together with the bridle, with his sword. But Phocas, striking him on the head with his mace, knocks him down, so that, brought low by the force of the blow, he collapses upon the neck of the horse; he himself, spurring his horse and breaking through the enemy’s ranks, gets away and, ascending a certain hill, began to recall those who were in retreat. His men, seeing Durus in a bad state from the blow and already fainting from the wound, lead him to a certain spring to wash off the blood; for they supposed that Phocas had already been delivered to total destruction. But when the horse—which they called an Egyptian—leaped away and fled from the one holding it, and was running without a rider through the armies with disordered impetuosity, besmeared with blood, those who recognized whose horse it was, thinking that their own commander had fallen, turned in disorder toward flight, hurling themselves into precipices and the river Halys, and perishing ignominiously, with no one pursuing them. Phocas, observing this from the hill and suspecting that the event was, as was likely, the work of God, descends with those accompanying him and presses upon the fugitives, who were trampling one another and oblivious to any defensive resistance, slaying some and capturing others. Durus, having escaped with a few, flees to Martyropolis; from there he sends his own brother, Constantine, as an envoy to Chosroes, the prince of Babylon, asking for relief and alliance. Since the latter was stalling, neither agreeing to the proposal nor refusing it, and Constantine was wasting time, Durus himself was compelled to go there. ^C When the rout of Durus was announced to the emperor by letter from Phocas, along with his departure to Babylon, the emperor received him and honored him worthily, but to Chosroes, the amermumn of Babylon, he sends as ambassador the Vestes Nicephorus, surnamed Uranus, entreating him not to deign to afford any shelter to the rebel, nor to wish to become a base example to posterity—for a king to neglect injuries done to a king, and to add support to an unjust tyrant and rebel. He also entrusted to the envoy imperial letters, sealed, by which he deemed Durus and those with him worthy of the remission of all sins, if they should come to their senses, recognize their own lord, and return to their own affairs. But when Uranus had safely reached Chosroes and the imperial letters were discovered, Chosroes, suspecting the envoy, Durus, and all the Romans with him, delivers them into custody. ^D As for the rebels who had not accompanied Durus, Leo the captive and the sons of the duke Andronicus the Lydian—Christopher the Epeicta and Bardas the Mongos (for the latter had died earlier)—having occupied Armacurium, the Flat Rock, and other fortified strongholds situated in the theme of the Thrakesians, held out until the eighth indiction; and making incursions from these, they troubled the emperor; nor did they cease their banditry before they crossed over to the emperor, upon being promised amnesty through the patrician Nicephorus Parsacutinus.

^A At that time, also, the patriarch Antonius, having resigned the priesthood at the time of Sclerus’s rebellion, died; and Nicholas, surnamed Chrysobergius, was ordained patriarch, the Church having been without a shepherd for four and a half years. There was also an eclipse of the sun around midday, such that even stars were visible. As the Bulgarians departed from their allegiance at the death of the emperor John, four brothers were chosen to rule them: David, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, who were the sons of one of the counts who had possessed great power among the Bulgarians, and for this reason they were called the Comitopuli. For of those related by blood to Peter, the others had been cut off by death; but Borises and Romanus, his sons, having been brought into the City as has been stated before, remained in it—the former honored by the emperor John with the rank of magister, and Romanus having been castrated in his reproductive organs by Joseph the paracakoimomenos earlier. And when it happened that the emperor John died, they fled from there and hastened to reach Bulgaria. And Borises, while passing through a certain thicket, was struck by an arrow and killed by a certain Bulgarian who thought he was a Roman (for he was wearing a Roman garment); but Romanus was saved, and some time later he returned to the Queen of Cities, as will be told in its own place. Of these four brothers, David immediately died, having been slain between Castoria and Prespa and the so-called Beautiful Oaks by certain Vlach wayfarers; Moses, while besieging Serres, was struck by a stone from the wall and died. And Aaron, too, because as it is said he favored the Romans or was usurping the rule for himself, was slain by his brother Samuel, along with his entire family, on the 14th of the month of July, in the region of Rhametnitza, [P. 695] with only Bladosthlabus, who was also called John, his son, being saved—by Radomerus, who was also called Romanus, the son of Samuel. And Samuel was established as sole monarch of all Bulgaria. ^B Being a man of war and never knowing how to remain at rest, finding an opportunity while the Roman armies were occupied in the battles against Sclerus, he overran all the West, not only Thrace and Macedonia and the lands adjacent to Thessalonica, but also Thessaly and Greece and the Peloponnese; and he took many fortresses, of which the pre-eminent one was Larissa, whose inhabitants he relocated with their whole families into the interior of Bulgaria and, having enrolled them in the lists of his own soldiers, used them as allies against the Romans. He also transferred the relics of Saint Achilleus, who had served as bishop of Larissa in the time of Constantine the Great and had been present at the great and first synod together with Reginus of Scopelos and Diodorus of Tricca, and deposited them in Prespa, where his royal palace was located. The emperor, desiring to avenge himself upon this man for the things he had done, as soon as he had shaken off his cares regarding Sclerus, having gathered the Roman forces, decided to make an incursion into Bulgaria himself, not deeming it worthwhile to consult Bardas Phocas, who was commander of the schools, or the rest of the eastern lords. Entering into Bulgaria through the regions near the Rhodope and the river Hebrus, along with the magister Leo Melissenus…

behind, he left the magistros Leo Melissenos to guard the narrow passages; he himself, having traversed the defiles and forests near Triaditza—which was formerly called Sardica—pitched his camp in a place called Stoponius, where he began to deliberate on the siege of Sardica. It was also heard that Samuel was holding the peaks of the surrounding mountains, shrinking from open battle through fear, and laying ambushes on all sides to harm the enemy as he could. ^B While these things were happening and this was the emperor’s intent, Stephen, the Domestic of the Schools of the West—whom they called Contostephanos because of his short stature—being most hostile to Leo Melissenos, approached the emperor as night was already falling and urged him, abandoning all other concerns, to break camp and return to Constantinople. He claimed that Melissenos was coveting the empire and was hastening toward the city with great speed. This talk troubled the emperor, and he immediately ordered the camp to be moved. But Samuel, taking this disordered departure of the enemy for a flight, as was natural, suddenly rushed upon them with shouts and clamor, threw them into a panic and flight, seized their camp, and became master of all their baggage, as well as the imperial tent itself and the imperial insignia. With difficulty the emperor made his way through the narrow passes and reached Philippopolis; having arrived there and finding Melissenos unmoved and diligently maintaining the guard entrusted to him, he rebuked Contostephanos for his lie, which had been the cause of such great evil. He, unable to bear the reproof calmly but responding ferociously and insisting that he had advised correctly, so irritated the emperor with his impudent petulance that he leaped from his throne, seized him by the hair and beard, and threw him to the ground.

In the 15th indiction, in the year of the world 6494, in the month of October, the earth was violently shaken; many houses and temples collapsed, as did a part of the sphere ^C of the Great Church of God. The emperor magnificently repaired this, spending ten centenaria of gold on the machines alone, by which the workmen, standing and receiving the materials pulled up to them, applied themselves to the work. ^D Meanwhile, the magnates of the Roman empire, being angry with the emperor—Phocas Bardas and certain others with him, because he had engaged in the Bulgarian expedition while slighting them and holding them in no account, and others for other various insults; and Eustathius the magistros Maleinos, because he had been ignominiously dismissed from said expedition—gathered in the Charsianon at the house of the aforementioned Maleinos on the 15th of the month of August, in the 15th indiction, and designated Bardas Phocas emperor, adorning him with the diadem and other insignia of empire. At the same time it was reported that Duras from Syria...

was coming. For, as we have said, after having been imprisoned by Chosroes along with his associates in Babylon, he had remained held in custody, deprived of all care for his body and worn down by the hardship of captivity and the insolence of his jailers; suddenly, however, a bright fortune shone upon him, and he and his companions were paradoxically led out of prison. But in what manner he was freed from his bonds, and how he made it safely back to Roman territory, the narrative will presently tell.

The Persian race, having been stripped of its royal rule by the Saracens, was always seething with rage against them, secretly thinking and seeking an opportunity and a device to strike down those who held the power and to seize back their ancestral rule again. Now there was among them a man descended from a noble line, Inargus by name, skilled in speaking and in other respects a warlike and active man. He, perceiving that King Chosroes was ruling loosely and incompetently, ^B and thinking that the opportunity which the Persians had long sought was now at hand, roused the entire race of the Achaemenids and stirred up a revolt against the Saracens. Having procured, moreover, a mercenary force of about twenty thousand from the eastern Turks, he ravaged and overran the lands of the Saracens, utterly destroying those he captured and sparing not even children. Against him, Chosroes fought many times, both through his own generals and in person, but was defeated in every battle. Despairing at last, and knowing that he was unable to move weapons against the Persians from this point, since his own armies had been cut to pieces many times and could not even bear to hear the name of the Persians, he turned his thoughts to the Romans whom he held captive. He began to reason most prudently: if Sclerus were not one of the illustrious and highest-ranking men, and outstanding in strength of both soul and body, he would never have risen up against his own lord, ^C nor would he have driven him into such straits, nor, subsequently, would so many and such great men have come to hold the honor of emperor while he was an exile enduring an unhappy life. Having conferred with his own senate, he releases this man and his companions from prison, deems them worthy of every care, and finally offers his request concerning the war. Although Sclerus at first was reluctant, saying with irony how men could be able to wage war after having been imprisoned for so long a time and having endured to the full the hardships of confinement, Chosroes persisted again and begged him to take money beyond counting and armies infinite in number and splendidly equipped, and to take command of the war, and not to bear a grudge for his imprisonment, as he (Chosroes) was able to overshadow the past evils and the miseries of the prison with subsequent benefits and kindnesses. Finally, ^D Sclerus is persuaded and promises to accomplish what was commanded.

He did not consent at all to taking troops of Arabs or Saracens or other nations subject to Chosroes; but he requested permission to raise the guards of the cities in Syria and to take out the Romans held captive in them and arm them, saying that it was impossible for him to undertake the war against the Persians in any other way. Chosroes accepted the proposal; the prisons were quickly opened, and the Romans held in them were freed. About three thousand men were gathered from them. Having sent these to the baths and cleansed them of the squalor contracted in their confinement, and having clothed them in new garments and provided to each the suitable and sufficient armor, and having taken guides for the journey, he sets out with them against the Persians. A battle array having been formed, and those around Sclerus having attacked the Persians with great force, they, being struck with terror by the strangeness of the armor and the unfamiliar speech and the unknown manner of the battle array, and above all by the swift onslaught and momentum of the Romans, were put to flight and fell in such numbers that, as the proverb has it, not even a messenger remained of the disaster, Inargus himself also having fallen in the engagement. ^B Having seized much booty and very many horses, they decided not to return to Chosroes, but, taking the road which leads to the Roman dominion, they escaped the Saracens by forced marches and safely reached their own territory. Another account holds that after the victory over the Persians, they returned to Chosroes and were humanely received by him, and that when, shortly after, the end of his life overtook him, he enjoined his son and namesake, who succeeded him as king, to provide the Romans with an escort and send them home. Sclerus, in one of the ways mentioned, arrives in Roman territory, finding Bardas Phocas acclaimed as emperor, and is himself likewise acclaimed by those accompanying him.

Having found matters in this state, ^C he was much divided and varied in his thoughts. For he judged himself to be far too weak to hold and maintain his rebellion on his own strength alone; yet he considered it very ignoble and cowardly to affiliate with either Phocas or the emperor. After long and much deliberation with his men, he finally concluded that to be acclaimed emperor by himself alone was hazardous and unprofitable, on account of its impossibility; but he judged that to attach himself to one of the potentates and scorn the other was dangerous, because the outcome of the future is uncertain. Therefore, he decided to acquire both factions as much as possible, so that if there should be a failure with one, he might have a helper and ally in the other. He sends letters to Phocas requesting a partnership and a division of the empire, if they should be able to defeat the emperor. Privately, however, he sends his son Romanus to the emperor, as if he had deserted, having reasoned and decided very cunningly that if Phocas were to prevail, he himself would be the deliverer of his son, while if the emperor's cause were to prevail, he might avoid the danger through the intercession of his son. Romanus, therefore, having provided a pretext of flight, goes to the emperor; having been received by him with great kindness and joy, he was immediately honored with the dignity of magister and, throughout everything, was used as a counselor in the wars. For indeed, after the arrival in Syria

^A of Sclerus, the emperor, relieved of his anxieties and attending more manfully to the administration of affairs, since he perceived that the chamberlain was not pleased with what was being done—but rather was grumbling and hoped to commit terrible deeds if he found the opportunity—removed him from power and ordered him to stay at home. But when he saw him not resting, but always meditating strange things and hastening to regain his former power, he placed him in exile beyond the Straits, having also taken away most of his property, so that, lacking the means to provide for expenses, he might not be able to commit some grave crime. Deprived of his advice, and having need of friends to whose loyalty he could entrust himself in uncertain times, he then truly embraced Romanus, knowing him to be a cunning and energetic man, and most excellent in military matters.

Bardas Phocas, when he learned of the return of Sclerus, sent him letters offering that very thing which Sclerus desired, and he confirmed the promises with an oath. He promised, indeed, that once the matter was concluded according to their wishes, he would yield to Sclerus the rule of Antioch, Phoenicia, Coele-Syria, Palestine, and Mesopotamia, while reserving for himself Constantinople and the remaining nations. Sclerus received these words with great joy, and, trusting in the oaths, he went into Cappadocia to Phocas to finish what remained to be arranged concerning their alliance. When Phocas had enticed him into the trap, he stripped him of the imperial insignia and sent him to the fortress of Tyropaeum, ^B surrounding him with a strong guard. He himself entrusted a portion of the army to the patrician Calocyrus Delphinas and sent him to Chrysopolis, which is situated on the other side of the strait facing Constantinople. With the rest of the army, he went down to Abydos, hoping in this way, with the straits occupied, to overcome the citizens through lack of necessary supplies. The emperor, having requested many times that Delphinas withdraw from Chrysopolis and not keep his camp facing the city, and since he could not persuade him, prepared ships by night and embarked the Rus (for he had obtained help from them, having given his sister Anna in marriage to their prince, Vladimir). Crossing the strait with them without the enemy realizing it, he attacked and easily overcame them. He impaled Delphinas on a stake in that same spot where he had pitched his tent, delivered the blind Nicephorus, the brother of Phocas, into custody, and, having punished the remaining captives at his own discretion, he returned to the imperial city.

Meanwhile, Phocas was besieging Abydos with great effort, while the townspeople defended themselves bravely; for the drungarius of the fleet, Cyriacus, had been sent ahead to bolster the spirits of the townspeople. A little later, the Emperor Constantine crossed over to Abydos, and his brother Basil followed him immediately. These things having been done, Phocas left a portion of his army to continue the siege of Abydos, and with the remaining part he marched to meet the emperors. Now, there was nothing lacking for the joining of battle but the signal, when Phocas, believing it better to meet death honorably than to live disgracefully, seeing the emperor ^D

^A riding back and forth from afar, arranging the ranks of his own men and encouraging them, and considering with himself that if he should succeed against him, he would more easily overcome the rest, spurred his horse and rushed violently against him, breaking through the opposing phalanxes and appearing irresistible to all. But as he now approached the emperor, he suddenly turned and went up onto a certain hill, and dismounting from his horse and stretching himself out upon the ground, he gave up his life, whether struck a fatal blow by one of the soldiers while he was being carried along in the disorder, or whether he had perished from physical exhaustion in some other way. However, no wound at all was found upon his body, and for this reason the prevailing account holds that he was killed by poison. ^B For it is reported that Simeon, the most trusted of his attendants, persuaded by gifts from the emperor, killed him with a drug. For Phocas was accustomed in war to taste cold water before the engagement; having done this in this battle, he unwittingly swallowed the poison along with the water. For a long time, as Phocas lay on the hill, everyone thought he had given himself over to a short rest because of some bodily ailment. But when he remained lying there for a long time, and someone approached and found him dead and speechless, and his death became known to all, the rebels immediately turned to flight, while the emperor's forces were emboldened and pursued them without looking back; and Leo and Theognostus the Melisseni, Theodosius the Mesanyctes, and many others were taken prisoner. These the emperor brought with him into the city and ^C led them in triumph through the middle of the forum, mounted on donkeys, sparing only Leo Melissenus. For it is said that he, during the battle array, had tearfully rebuked his own brother Theognostus, who was mocking the emperors and hurling unbecoming insults at them, and had ordered him to refrain from such petulant speech and not to speak so impudently against his masters; and when he did not obey, he had threatened him with a *seiromastēs* (48) and inflicted several blows upon him; and the emperor himself, watching these things, said to those present: "Do you see, O men, how from the same wood come both a cross and a winnowing-fan (49)?" For this reason, then, it is said that Leo was excused from the triumph.

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

(48) *Seiromastēs* is a rope-whip. But what exactly it is, I do not know. I had almost translated it "scourge." XYL. — As to what *seiromastēs* is, Hesychius teaches: ^D a type of spear, a type of dart, a dart. Suidas: a spear-like staff. Tzetzes: a dart. Under the number, one reads of Phinehas the Israelite having killed the man and the harlot shamefully bound together; for which Aquila puts *kontos* (pike), Symmachus *dory* (spear), the Vulgate a dagger. An anonymous lexicon cited elsewhere already. GOAR. (49) On the proverb concerning the cross and the winnowing-fan, I suspect this has the sense that among these people the cross was held to be the most precious and therefore most holy thing, while a winnowing-fan was ordinary and vile. Therefore, he was comparing the slanderer to the latter and the modest brother to the former. This is religious, and a note of the divine judgment of the prophet. XYL. — Xylander has certainly grasped the meaning, if not the words, of the proverb. For what is vile in a winnowing-fan, or what is so foreign to a cross, that when the discussion is about value, it should hold the extreme opposite? But it will certainly hold it, if it is taken in its genuine meaning as a wooden shovel by which earth, rubbish, and filth are removed or moved. That this sense has been held from antiquity is testified by the Euchologium in the office for the dead, by which it is read that the priest, about to throw earth upon a corpse, takes [it] up and sprinkles it. And moderns pronounce it *ptuarion* and *ptycharion*. Thus the anonymous lexicon from the Royal Library. GOAR.

^A Verily, when Phocas had died in the month of April of the second indiction, in the year 6497 from the origin of things, and his rebellion had been suppressed, Sclerus, having regained his freedom, pulled himself together and began to pursue his former enterprise. When the emperor learned of this, he exhorted him by letter to finally make an end of the shedding of Christian blood, being a man who would also render an account of his life's deeds in judgment, to understand at this late hour what is expedient, and to acknowledge the ruler bestowed upon him by God. Softened by these letters, and having received guarantees of immunity and safety, along with the title of Curopalates conferred upon him, he returned to the favor of the emperor. Yet God did not deem him worthy to behold the emperor with his own eyes; for on the journey he lost his sense of sight and was led in blind ^B before the emperor. Upon seeing him, the emperor is said to have remarked to those standing by: "He whom I so feared and trembled at comes now led by the hands of others."

Relieved of the weight and cares of civil wars, the emperor devised plans for punishing Samuel and the other regional lords who, finding license while he was occupied with rebellions, had inflicted no small damage upon the Roman Empire. Therefore, he set out for the regions of Thrace and Macedonia, and descended into Thessalonica, to render thanks to the great martyr Demetrius. There he left the Magister Gregory Taronites with a strong garrison to check and cut off the forays of Samuel, while he himself returned to Constantinople and from there set out for Iberia; for David, the Curopalates of that region, had died and written the emperor as the heir to his possessions. Having gone there, therefore, and having settled the inheritance, and having persuaded George, brother of the late Curopalates David, to be content with inner Iberia and not to encroach upon alien territories—having struck a treaty with him and taken his son as a hostage—he ^C proceeded to Phoenicia, taking with him even those of noble birth from his own Iberia, the foremost of whom were Pacurianus, Phebdatus, and Pherses, brothers by blood, whom he also graced with the rank of Patrician. After arriving in Phoenicia, he compelled the emirs of Tripoli, Damascus, Tyre, and Berytus—for these, shortly before, while he himself was detained by the civil war against Phocas, had entered into a pact and taken up arms against Antioch, and had encountered and slain the Patrician Damian, prefect of that city, thereby bringing no small danger upon it—to submit to the Romans. And having secured these matters as safely as could be, and having received hostages as well, he returned to Byzantium.

^D As he was traveling back through Cappadocia, Eustathius...

^A Maleinus the magister received him hospitably with his entire army, and abundantly supplied everything for him and for his troops. The emperor, pretending to approve of this good turn, took him along with him to Constantinople; and he never allowed him to return home again, but, while abundantly supplying him in the city with all his needs, kept him guarded like a wild beast in a cage, until his life’s end. When he died, all his property was confiscated by the state. The emperor also enacted a law restraining the powerful from increasing their property by the acquisition of villages [(52)]. This had also been done before him by Constantine the Porphyrogenitus, the grandfather of the emperor, and by Romanus, the latter’s father-in-law.

Nicolai Chrysoberges having guided the Church for twelve years and eight months and having ended his life, Sisinnius the magister was appointed—a learned man and most highly skilled in the medical art—in the year of the world 6503, in the eighth indiction. He also reconciled those who were in disagreement over the fourth marriage. And having shepherded the Church for only three years, he departed from this life, and Sergius was appointed, who was head of the monastery of Manuel and traced his lineage back to Photius the patriarch. ^B

When Samuel had campaigned against Thessalonica, and had divided the rest of his multitude into divisions and ambuscades, but had sent a few men on an expedition as far as Thessalonica itself, the doux Gregory, perceiving the approach, sent his own son Ashot to see and scout the multitude and to bring him word, while he himself followed behind. Ashot, having gone out and engaged the scouts and put them to flight, was caught unawares, having been caught in the midst of the divisions. When Gregory learned this, he rushed to aid in haste, eager to rescue his son from captivity; but he too was surrounded by the Bulgarians and, having fought bravely and heroically, fell. Upon the notification to the emperor of the doux’s demise, the magister Nicephorus Uranus, the governor of all the West, was sent; for he too had previously escaped from Babylon and reached the Queen of Cities. ^C When he arrived in Thessalonica, he learned that Samuel, having been elated by the slaughter of the doux Gregory Taronites and the capture of his son, had consequently crossed the Thessalian Tempe and passed the Peneus river, and was storming through Thessaly, Boeotia, and Attica, and through the isthmus at Corinth into the Peloponnese, and was plundering and ravaging all these regions.

XYLANDRI AND GOAR’S NOTES

^A Having set out himself with the armies around him, he traversed the foothills of Olympus and arrived at Larissa. Leaving his baggage there, he took his light-armed troops and traveled through Thessaly with a rapid march; crossing the plain of Pharsalia and the Apidanus river, he pitched his camp along the bank of the Spercheius river ^B on the side opposite that where Samuel himself was encamped. Because boundless rains had poured down from the sky, and the river was flooding and churning, a battle at that moment was despaired of. But the magister (*Uranus*), having scouted the river up and down, and finding a place where he thought it would be possible for them to cross, gathered his army by night, crossed the river, and attacked the forces of Samuel while they were sleeping undisturbed. They were slaughtered in numbers beyond counting, with no one daring to even look toward resistance; Samuel himself and his son Romanus were struck with deep wounds. They would have been captured had they not cast themselves among the dead and lain as though deceased; when night fell, they escaped unnoticed into the mountains of the Aetolians, and from there, traveling through the peaks of those mountains and the Pindus, they were saved in Bulgaria. The magister, having liberated the Roman captives, despoiled the fallen Bulgarians, plundered the enemy camp, and having gathered much wealth, returned with the army to Thessalonica.

Samuel, having returned home, gave his own daughter in marriage to Asot, the son of Taronites, after restoring his freedom; for the girl, seized by love for him, threatened to destroy herself if she were not lawfully joined to him. Having carried out the wedding, he sent him with her to Dyrrachium, supposedly for the protection of the region. But Asot, having arrived there, and having won his wife over to his own way of thinking, fled with her to the Roman triremes which were cruising along that shore for the purpose of guarding the borders. They were transported to the emperor, and by him he was honored with the rank of *magister*, and his wife, *zoste*. He also brought letters from a certain dynast, one of those in Dyrrachium by the name of Chryselius, who promised to hand over the city of Dyrrachium ^C to the emperor if he himself and his two sons were honored with the rank of *patrikios*. The emperor having confirmed by letter that he would fulfill his promises completely, Dyrrachium was betrayed to the *patrikios* Eustathius Daphnomeles, and the sons of Chryselius were honored as *patrikioi*, he himself having been prevented by death (53).

At this same time, Paul the *magister*, called Bobus (54), a man of the first rank in Thessalonica, and Malacenus, the *protospatharios*, noted for intelligence and eloquence, having been accused of being inclined in their spirits toward the Bulgarians, were relocated; the one, Paul, to the plain in Thrakesion (55), and Malacenus to Byzantium. This ^D *illustrious ones*

XYLANDER AND GOAR’S NOTES. (53) I conjecture that the intention existed, but that this betrayal of Dyrrachium did not succeed on account of the untimely death of Chryselius. But that Basil had gained possession of it, you will easily judge from the following, when it is said that Basil undertook an expedition for the sake of defending Dyrrachium from John, and was informed by the *patrikios* Pegonites of the death of John there, etc. XYL. There is nothing here that is lacking or defective for one perceiving Xylander’s sense; (54) They mean "stammering" and "mute" in Greek. GOAR. (55) He means the plain of *Pedias*. I suspected this. He says *illustrious ones* which was how those eminent in the empire used to be designated, as *spectabiles*, *clarissimi*, etc. The matter is known, and the notation of the word

^A *illustrious* ^B—for some of those from Adrianople who were *illustrious* and had distinguished themselves in military commands, fearing they might suffer some harm because they were suspected, joined themselves to Samuel. Batatzes did so with his entire household, but Basilius Glabas did so alone; the emperor imprisoned his son and held him for three whole years, then released him. At that time, the emperor also gave a legitimate wife to the ruler of Venice, the daughter of Argyros and sister of Romanos, who later became emperor, thus binding the Venetian people to himself. The emperor also made an incursion into Bulgaria by way of Philippopolis, having assigned the patrician Theodorocanus to guard it. And having destroyed many of the fortresses in Triaditza, he returned to Mosynopolis.

In the year 5508, 13th indiction, the emperor sent a heavy force against the Bulgarian fortresses beyond the Haemus, having as commanders the patrician Theodorocanus and the protospatharios Nikephoros Xiphias. They took both the greater and lesser Pershlaba and Pliscoba, and the Roman force returned home unharmed and victorious.

In the following year, the emperor again set out against the Bulgarians by way of Thessalonica; Dobromeros, the ruler of Berroa, came over to him, surrendered the city to the emperor, and was honored with the rank of proconsul. But Nicholas, who was holding Servia with a garrison—whom they called Nicolitzas as a diminutive on account of his short stature—resisted zealously and endured the siege that was brought against him with great fortitude. But when the emperor attacked the fortress with vigor, it was taken, and Nicolitzas himself fell into his power. The emperor transferred the Bulgarians from there and established Romans to guard it. Having done this, he returned to the queen of cities, taking Nicolitzas with him, whom he even honored with the rank of patrician. But this man, being of an unstable mind, fled from there, escaped to Samuel, and came with him to besiege Servia. But the emperor, appearing suddenly, again broke the siege of the city, as Nicolitzas used flight alongside Samuel. But the faithless one did not escape to the end; for, having fallen into a Roman ambush, he was captured and brought as a prisoner to the emperor, and sent to Constantinople, was cast into prison.

The emperor then went to Thessaly and restored the fortresses there that had already been razed by Samuel; those held by the Bulgarians he besieged and took, and he transported the Bulgarians to the place called Boleron. Having left a capable garrison in all of them, he returned to the place called Bodena. Bodena is a fortress situated on a sheer rock, through which the water of the lake of Ostrovo flows secretly underground, appearing again down below. And since those inside did not surrender themselves voluntarily, he took it by siege. Having likewise transplanted these people to Boleron and fortified this place with a substantial garrison, he returned to Thessalonica.

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

^A The commander of that fortress, Draxamus, a warlike man, requested from the emperor permission to reside in Thessalonica. The emperor having consented, he took as his wife the daughter of the first of the *peribatarioi* 56 of the church of the trophy-bearer Demetrius, and they had two children together. Later, he fled and was captured, but upon the intercession of his father-in-law, he was pardoned. Having fled a second time, he was released in the same manner. After begetting two more children, he fled a third time, but was caught and impaled.

Meanwhile, as the Numerite and Ataphite Arabs were severely vexing Coelesyria and Antioch itself with their incursions, the emperor sent the *magistros* Nicephorus Uranus as praetor of Antioch, having appointed the *patrikios* David Arianites as his successor in the praetorship of Thessalonica. And at Philippopolis, Theodore Canus having resigned the praetorship on account of his advanced age, the emperor entrusted it to the *protospatharios* Nicephorus Xiphias. When Uranus arrived at Antioch, he defeated the Arab leader Cistrinites in two or three battles, easily persuaded him to remain quiet henceforth, and restored affairs to a state of profound and tranquil peace.

^B In the following year, the fifteenth indiction, the emperor besieged the city of Bidyna; after investing it for eight full months, he took the city by force. While the emperor was engaged in this, Samuel, leading a light-armed force, launched a surprise attack on Adrianople on the very day of the feast of the Dormition of the all-holy Theotokos 58, and falling upon the public festival that was wont to be held annually, he seized much plunder and returned to his own territory. The emperor, having very carefully fortified Bidyna, returned safely to the royal city, devastating and subduing all the Bulgarian fortresses in his path. But when he approached the city of Scopia, he discovered Samuel encamped carelessly beyond the Axios river, which they now call the Bardarios. For, relying on the flood of the river, and thinking it currently impassable, he was living without precaution. However, one of the soldiers found a ford and led the emperor across with his forces. Thus, taken by surprise, Samuel fled in such a rout with his men that not one of them dared to show his chest to the enemy. His tent and his entire camp were captured. Furthermore, the official placed in command of the city of Scopia by Samuel, Romanus—the son of Peter, king of the Bulgarians, brother of Boris, and also called Simeon after his grandfather—delivered the city to the emperor. The emperor, accepting him for this service, honored him with the rank of *patrikios* and *praepositus*, and sent him to command at Abydos. ^C Returning from there, the emperor marched toward Pernicus, which was defended by... ^D

Krakras, a man most excellent in the art of war. Having spent no small amount of time there and having lost many men in the siege, as he realized that the fortress was superior to the siege, and as Krakras could not be softened by wheedling words, promises, or other pledges, he moved on to Philippopolis. Departing from there, he arrived in Constantinople. ^A In the same indiction, he issued a decree that the taxes of deceased poor men should be paid by the wealthy. This tax collection was termed *allelengyon* (59). Although Patriarch Sergius and many other bishops and ascetics petitioned that this irrational burden be removed from the subjects, the emperor did not comply. In the eighth indiction, in the year 6518, the ruler of Egypt, Azizius, on account of a slight cause and grievances not even worth mentioning, broke the treaty that he had with the Romans. He destroyed the divine temple in Jerusalem that had been built at the Holy Sepulchre of Christ at great expense, ruined the holy monasteries, and drove those who were devoted to the exercises of a pious life within them out into exile across the world. ^B In the following year, there was a winter so severe that every river, lake, and even the sea itself froze into ice. In the month of January of the same indiction, there occurred a most terrifying earthquake, and the earth remained in a state of tremors until the ninth day of the month of March. On that day, at the tenth hour of the day, there was a roar and a terrible shaking both in the Queen of Cities and in the themes; the domes of the church of the Holy Forty [Martyrs] and of All Saints collapsed, which the emperor immediately restored. These were the precursors ^C of the revolt that later occurred in Italy. For a certain powerful man, one of those who lived in Bari, by the name of Meles, incited the people in Longobardia and took up arms against the Romans. The emperor sent Basil Argyros, the strategos of Samos, and the man called Contoleon, who was strategos of Cephallenia, to restore order for the Romans; Meles, having drawn up his forces against them, defeated them brilliantly, and many were killed, not a few were taken captive, and the rest saved their lives by a shameful flight.

The emperor never ceased from entering Bulgaria every year to cut down and devour everything in his path. Samuel, unable to hold the open country or stand against the emperor in a visible battle, but being crushed on all sides and losing his own strength, decided to block the emperor’s entry into Bulgaria with trenches and barricades. ^D Knowing, therefore, that it was the emperor’s custom to make his passages through the so-called Kimba-Longos and Kleidion, he decided to fortify this pass and block the emperor’s entrance. Having constructed a barricade of great width and placed guards within it...

he waited for the emperor. ^A When the emperor arrived and attempted the passage, the guards held out bravely, killing and wounding those who pressed forward from the higher ground. When the emperor had already despaired of the crossing, Nicephorus Xiphias, who was then strategos of Philippopolis, came to an agreement with the emperor. He advised the emperor to wait and keep up continuous assaults upon the barricade, while he himself, he said, would depart to see if he could accomplish anything useful and life-saving. Taking the men around him, he turned back, made a circuit of the very high mountain lying to the south of Kleidion—which they call Balathista—and, making use of rugged paths and pathless ways, on the 29th of July, in the 12th indiction, he suddenly appeared from above with a shout and a din behind the Bulgarians. They, terrified by the unexpected event, turned to flight. The emperor, with the barricade now deserted, broke through the wall and pursued them. Thus many fell, and far more were captured, though Samuel himself with difficulty escaped the danger through the assistance of his own son, who bravely withstood the attackers, placed his father on a horse, and led him away to the fortress called Prilep. The emperor blinded the captured Bulgarians, who are said to have numbered about 15,000, and ordered that every hundred of the blinded men be led by a single-eyed man, and sent them to Samuel. When Samuel saw them arriving in that number and order, his spirit was not strong enough to bear such a calamity with fortitude; instead, a vertigo overcame him, he collapsed in a faint, and fell to the ground. Though those present restored him somewhat with water and ointments, and when he had recovered himself a little, he asked for a draught of cold water. After he had drunk, he was seized by a heart attack and died two days later. He was succeeded by his son Gabriel, who was also called Romanus. He was stronger than his father in physical vigor, but far inferior in wisdom and intelligence, having been born to Samuel by a certain captive woman from Larissa. He began his rule on the 15th of September, in the 13th indiction. When he had not yet reigned for a full year, he was killed while out hunting by John, who was also called Vladislav, the son of Aaron, whom he himself had once rescued from death. ^B Before this happened, after David Arianites had been sent to govern Thessalonica, Samuel sent Nestoritzas, one of the most powerful Bulgarians, with a great army against that city. Theophylactus, accompanied by his son Michael, encountered them in battle, routed them, and after taking much booty and many captives, he came with these to the emperor, who was then attacking the barricade ^C in the narrow pass at Kleidion [(60)]. After the emperor had crossed the barricade—as has been related—he marched toward Strumpitza. He captured the fortress called Matzucium, and as he was now drawing near to Strumpitza, he ordered Theophylactus Botaneiates, the Dux of Thessalonica, with a force to cross over the hills situated at Strumpitza and to burn the barricades in his path, so that he might in this way open a route for himself to Thessalonica. As he set out with his garrison... ^D

NOTÆ OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

^A those on the heights of Stroumpitza, and to burn the bundles [of fodder] on the roads leading to them, and to make the road leading to Thessalonica easy for him to travel. He went his way, and upon entering, he was allowed by the Bulgarians keeping guard to pass through without hindrance. But as he intended to return to the Emperor after fulfilling his orders, he fell into ambushes laid for this very purpose in a long, narrow pass. Having entered it, and being surrounded on all sides and pelted from above with stones and arrows, unable to defend himself because of the density of the ranks and the impossibility of exiting the narrows, he fell, not even being able to use his own hands, and a great part of his army perished with him. When these things were reported to the Emperor, they filled him with great despondency.

Hence he did not judge it wise to advance further, but instead turned back and came to the Zagoria, where the very strongly fortified fortress of Melenikos is situated, built upon a rock and surrounded on all sides by precipices and deep ravines. Thither the Bulgarians from the surrounding area had fled for refuge, paying little heed to the Romans. To them the Emperor sent one Sergius, a eunuch, one of his most intimate chamberlains, a man of sound mind and eloquent speech, to test their intentions. Having arrived there, he used many persuasive arguments and succeeded in teaching the men what was necessary, so that they laid down their arms and surrendered themselves and the fortress to the Emperor. The Emperor received them graciously, treated them with due honor, and having installed a sufficient garrison in the fortress, he went on to Mosynopolis. While he was staying there, the news of the death of Samuel was brought to him on the twenty-fourth day of October.

Immediately the Emperor departed from Mosynopolis and went down to Thessalonica, and from there he proceeded to Pelagonia, doing no harm to those in his path, except for burning the palace of Gabriel at Butelia. ^B He also sent an army and captured the fortresses of Prilapos and Stypeion. From there he reached the river called the Tserna, which he crossed by means of rafts and inflated skins, and returned to Vodena; and from there on the ninth day of January he came to Thessalonica.

With the onset of spring, he returned again to Bulgaria and approached the fortress of Vodena; for these men had broken their faith with the Emperor and had taken up arms against the Romans. Therefore, having laid a stiff siege, he forced them to give pledges and surrender the inhabitants. He moved these people to Boleron, and having erected two other fortresses in the middle of the rough terrain, one of which he named Kardia and the other Saint Elias, he returned to Thessalonica. While he was there, Romanos, who was also called Gabriel, promised through a certain Roman named Cheirotmetos (a name derived from [his] severed hand) that he would be his servant and subject. But the Emperor, suspecting that the letters were deceptive, sent the patrician Nikephoros Xiphias and Constantine Diogenes, who had succeeded the Botaneiates as the general of Thessalonica, with an army into the region of the Moglena. While they were ravaging the entire region and besieging the city, the Emperor himself arrived, and having diverted the river that flowed by the city by turning its course, he undermined the foundations of the walls and cast wood and other combustible material into the trenches, and set them on fire. ^C When the material was burnt, he destroyed the wall. Upon seeing this, the townspeople pitifully became suppliants and surrendered themselves and the stronghold. Domitianus Caucanus was captured there, a powerful man and privy to Gabriel's ^D counsels.

as well as Elitzes, the archon of Moglena, and many other nobles, and no small number of fighting men. The emperor sent those who were able to bear arms to Aspracania, while he ordered the rest of the rabble to be plundered, and the stronghold to be burned. Another stronghold called Enōtia, which was adjacent to Moglena, was also taken.

^B On the fifth day, Romanus the Cheirotmetus (Hand-severed) arrived, bringing with him the servants of John, also known as Bladisthlabus, the son of Aaron, and carrying letters declaring that he had killed Gabriel at Petriskos and that the entire authority had been transferred to himself, and promising to show the proper submission and servitude to the emperor. Having read this, the emperor confirmed his intentions with a golden bull and sent it back to John. After a few days, the Hand-severed Romanus returned, bringing letters from John and the princes of Bulgaria, by which they professed themselves to be subjects and slaves of the emperor. ^C Caucanus, the brother of Domitianus who had been captured at Moglena, also defected to the emperor, and was received by him with honour. But when the emperor learned that John had written these things deceitfully and craftily, and was planning the opposite of what he had promised, he returned to Bulgaria; he laid waste the surrounding region, Astrobos and Sōskos and the plain of Pelagonia, and he blinded all the Bulgarians he captured. He then advanced as far as the city of Achris, where the palaces of the kings of Bulgaria were built; having seized the city and arranged everything properly, he intended to proceed further and reach Dyrrachium, for the situation there required his presence. For as long as Trymalia and the parts of Serbia nearest to it remained in the power of Bladimerus (who was the son-in-law of Samuel), a man who was just and a lover of peace and virtue, Dyrrachium remained at peace. But after John killed Samuel and, through false oaths, deceived Bladimerus—who had surrendered himself through the mediation of David, the archbishop of Bulgaria—and shortly after perfidiously murdered him, the situation in Dyrrachium was greatly shaken and disturbed, because John repeatedly attacked the city through his commanders, and sometimes even in person. ^D However, no small event hindered the emperor's plan. For when he set out for Achris, he had left behind with a detachment of troops Georgios Gonitziatēs and Orestēs the protospatharios, a captive, ordering them to raid the plains of Pelagonia. The Bulgarians, led by Ibatza, a man of great nobility and proven virtue, lured them into an ambush and slaughtered them all. Grieved at this, the emperor returned in distress to Pelagonia, and after pursuing and chasing Ibatza, he arrived in Thessalonica. From there he crossed over to Mosynopolis, having sent an army against the siege of Strumpitza under the command of the patrician David Arianitēs, who suddenly appeared and captured the stronghold which is called Thermitza. He also sent another army against the strongholds of Triaditza, led by Xiphias. The latter, having subdued everything that was situated in the plain, captured the stronghold which is named Boion.

^A The emperor, having returned to Constantinople in the month of January of the year 6524, sent a fleet into Chazaria, having as its commander Mgo, the son of Andronicus, duke of Lydus. With the assistance of Sphengus, the brother of Bladimerus—the same who had the emperor Basil’s sister in marriage—he subdued that region, its prince, Georgius Szulus, having been captured in the first engagement. At that time also, Senacherimus, the prince of upper Media, which they call Aspracania today, fled to the emperor with his entire family, surrendering his dominion, because he did not have enough strength to resist the neighboring Agarenes who were pressing upon him; he was honored as a patrician and duke of Cappadocia, and received in place of his own domain the cities of Sebastea, Larissa, ^B and Maram, along with many other properties. For he, being hard-pressed by the neighboring Agarenes and not being able to withstand them, fled to the emperor, surrendering his own country. Basil the patrician Argyrus was dispatched to govern it, but having failed in all respects, he was stripped of his authority; and as his successor, Nicephorus Comnenus the protospatharius was sent, who, having arrived in the country, brought the region into subjection to the emperor, partly by persuasion and partly by force.

In the year 6524, in the fourteenth indiction, the emperor set out from the royal city and arrived at Triaditza. He laid siege to the fortress of Pernicus, but as those within were defending it courageously and with great spirit, and many Romans were falling, he realized that he could not achieve what he had attempted. Thus, accomplishing nothing, he withdrew and went to Mosynopolis. There, having rested his troops, at the approach of spring he entered Bulgaria ^C and laid siege to the fortress called Longum, which he captured. Having sent David Arianita and Constantine Diogenes into the plains of Pelagonia, he drove away a great deal of livestock and many captives from there. After burning the captured fortress, the emperor divided the prisoners into three parts, of which he assigned one to the allied Russes, another to the Romans, and the third to himself. Advancing as far as Castoria, he attempted to take that city, but perceiving it to be unassailable, he turned back. For he had received a letter from Tzitzicius, the prefect of Dorostolum—the son of the patrician Theudates the Iberian—in which it was indicated that Cracras, having gathered a very numerous army and joined himself with Joannes, and having also taken the Patzinacae into their alliance, intended to make an incursion against the Romans. ^D Perturbed by this letter, he returned in haste. On the way, he captured and burned the fortress of Bosograda; he rebuilt Berroea and, after ravaging and tearing down the surroundings of Ostrobos and Moliscus, he halted from proceeding further; for it was announced to him that the movement intended by Cracras and Joannes against the Romans had been impeded, as the Patzinacae had frustrated them of their aid. On his return, he captured the fortress of Setaena, where Samuel had a citadel and had stored a great deal of grain; he commanded his soldiers to plunder the grain and burned everything else. Following these events, he sent the cohorts of the Scholæ against Joannes, who was not far distant from him.

^A Joannes, however, laid an ambush for them as they advanced. When the Emperor learned of this and feared they might suffer some harm, he rode out from the ranks of his men, and saying nothing other than, "Whoever is a warrior, let him follow me," he departed with great haste. When the scouts of Joannes became aware of this, they returned in fear to the camp of Joannes and filled it with cowardice and confusion, shouting nothing else but, "Bezeile, o Tzaïsar" (63). As everyone fled in disorder with Joannes, the men around Diogenes took courage and pursued them. They killed many, and captured two hundred men in full armor, along with the horses, the baggage of Joannes, and his nephew. Having done these things, he returned to Vodena, and having settled everything there, he departed for Byzantium on the ninth day of the month of January, in the fifteenth indiction, in the year 6526.

^B Having obtained his freedom, Joannes went off to besiege Dyrrachium with barbaric arrogance and pomp. A siege having been formed and a battle joined, he fell, though it remained unclear who had struck him down, after having ruled the Bulgarians for two years and five months. When the Emperor was informed of the death of Joannes by the patrician Nicephorus Pegonites, who was governing Dyrrachium, he immediately set out on an expedition. When he had reached Adrianople, the brother and the son of the famous Cracra met him, bringing joyful news: they were handing over to the Emperor the celebrated fortress of Pernikos and thirty-five other castles. Having honored them suitably and raised Cracra to the rank of patrician, he arrived at Mosynopolis. There, envoys also arrived from Pelagonia, Morobisdos, and Lipenios, surrendering their cities to the Emperor. Departing from there, he came to Serrhae, where Cracra arrived with the lords of the ten castles that had surrendered, and he was well received. Dragomuzus, who held the region of Strumpitza, also joined them; he was honored with the rank of patrician, bringing with him the patrician Joannes of Chaldia, who was then released from his long imprisonment; for it happened that he had been captured by Samuel and had remained in prison for twenty-two years.

^C As the Emperor neared Strumpitza, David, the Archbishop of Bulgaria, arrived with a letter from Maria, the wife of Joannes, promising to surrender Bulgaria if she were to obtain what she requested. Bogdanus, the lord of the inner castles, also met him, and he too was honored with the patrician rank, because he had long favored the Emperor’s affairs and had put his own father-in-law to death. ^D From there he moved on to Skopje, and leaving the patrician David Arianites as the governor of the city, he returned by way of the fortresses of Stypeion and Prosakon, while the subjects honored him with prayers and congratulations. Turning then to the right, he entered Achris and pitched his camp there, with all the people meeting him with paeans, applause, and auspicious acclamations.

XYLANDRI AND GOAR'S NOTES

through the fortresses Stypeion and Prosakos, amidst litanies and hymns, being praised and honored. ^A Again, having turned towards the right, he arrives at Achris, and there he pitched his camp, the whole populace meeting him with paeans, acclamations, and praises. The city of Achris is situated on a high hill, very near a great lake, from which flows the river Drinos northward, then, veering to the west, it empties into the Ionian Sea near the fortress of Elisson; it was the metropolis ^B of all Bulgaria, where the palaces of the kings of Bulgaria were established, and where their treasures were stored. The emperor opened these, and found a great quantity of money, crowns made of pearls, garments interwoven with gold, and a hundred centenaria of pure gold, all of which he distributed as a largesse to the soldiers around him. Having appointed Eustathios Daphnomeles, a patrician, as governor of the city, and having given him a significant garrison, he went out to the camp, and received the wife of John, also called Bladisthlabos, who had been brought to him, along with three sons and six daughters whom she was bringing with her, as well as an illegitimate son of Samuel, two daughters of Radomeros (the son of Samuel), and five sons, one of whom had been blinded by John—mutilated at the time when he killed Radomeros, Samuel's son, along with his wife and his son-in-law Bladimeros. Maria also had three other sons by John, but they had managed to flee to Mount Tmorum, which is one of the peaks of the Ceraunian Mountains. He received her kindly and graciously, and ordered that she be kept in safety along with the others. Furthermore, other Bulgarian magnates, Nestoritzes, Zaritzes, and the younger Dobromeros, also approached the emperor, each with their own troops; and they were received kindly and honored in a manner befitting the emperor. Then Prusianos and his two brothers, the children of Bladisthlabos who had fled to Tmorum, as mentioned before, being worn down by a long siege (for soldiers, at the emperor's command, were keeping watch over the descents of the mountain), sent heralds to the emperor, requesting pledges of safety and promising to surrender themselves. To them the emperor gave kindly answers, and, setting out from Achris, he comes to the lake called Prespa, having built one fortress on the mountain lying between, which he named Basilida, and another in the aforementioned lake. From Prespa he travels to the place called Diabolis, where, an elevated dais having been raised, he received the brothers of the circle of Prusianos, and having comforted them with gentle and kind words, he honored him with the rank of magister and the others with that of patrician. Ibatzes was also brought, having been despoiled of his sight. But it is worth recounting the manner of his blinding; for the narrative holds something pleasant and wonderful. ^C

Xylander's and Goar's Notes

^A After the death of Bladisthlabus (who was also called John), and after his wife Mary and their children had surrendered, and all the other nobles of entire Bulgaria had submitted, this Ibatzes alone fled and occupied a mountain that had very difficult access and a most beautiful royal fortress (some call it Brochotum, others Pronistan), with gardens and other excellent amenities. He alone opposed the will of God, and gradually gathering forces, he plotted a rebellion, dreaming of the Bulgarian empire. This deed caused the emperor no small annoyance, and for that reason he gave up his direct route and turned towards the south, and betook himself to Diabolin, in order to force that rebel to lay down his arms, or else to crush him by war. And so the emperor, while ^A dwelling in the aforementioned place, exhorted Ibatzes by letter not to lift up his hands alone, when all Bulgaria had been subjugated, nor to imagine the impossible, knowing that the undertaking would not end to his benefit. But he, receiving the letters and replying with others, and offering all sorts of excuses, delayed and evaded, so that the emperor was forced to spend fifty-five days in that place, being lured by promises. The situation became known to Eustathius Daphnomeles, the governor of Achris, that the emperor was anxious about the suppression of Ibatzes. And so, having found a suitable time, and having communicated the plan to two of his most trusted servants and revealed the design, he proceeded with the deed. A public festival was being held by Ibatzes, the Dormition of the all-holy Mother of God. On this day, he was accustomed to invite to a feast not only his neighbors and those living nearby, but also many from quite far away. Eustathius therefore travels unbidden to the festival, and upon meeting those who were guarding the passes, he ordered them to announce who he was and that he was present to share in the joy of the ruler. When they had reported this, Ibatzes was amazed that an enemy ^B should come of his own accord and deliver himself into the hands of foes. Nevertheless, he ordered him to come, and received him joyfully when he was admitted, and embraced him. Just as the morning hymn had been finished, and all the others had dispersed to their own lodgings, Eustathius approached Ibatzes, and requested that the others withdraw for a little while, as if he were about to speak with him in private about something very necessary and profitable for him. He, not perceiving the trap and the deceit, and believing in truth that the other also wished to become one of those joining him in his rebellion, ordered his servants to stand back a little, and taking his hand, he led him into a certain garden shaded by trees and having a hollow, such that not even a voice could be heard there because of the density of the trees. Having arrived inside, Eustathius, finding Ibatzes alone, and being a man quick with his hands, at once threw him to the ground, and pressing his knee against the chest of the one lying there, he stopped his voice, and ordered his two servants to come to his aid most quickly; they, as had been ^D arranged, standing and attentive to the outcome, as soon as their master's voice reached their ears, rushed up, stopped Ibatzes’ mouth with a garment, lest by his shouting the multitude should flow together and the attempt be made vain; and they gouged out his eyes. They cast the blinded man into the courtyard outside the garden, and they themselves climbed up to an upper room of the house, and with swords drawn awaited the assault of the enemies. When the crime became known, a huge crowd flowed together. Some holding drawn swords in their hands, others spears, others bows, some stones, some wood, others torches

while others brought easily combustible material, they ran to assist, shouting: "Let them be slaughtered, let them be burned, let them be cut limb from limb, let the wicked ^A be buried under stones! Let no one spare these wretches."

Seeing the gathering, Eustathius, although he had despaired of his own safety, nonetheless urged his men to be of stout heart, and not to grow soft or betray themselves to their enemies and surrender to those who desired their death, thinking that they would obtain safety from them rather than be miserably killed. He himself, looking out at the crowd through a window and making silence with a motion of his hands, addressed them thus: "That I have no private enmity with your leader, O multitude, you yourselves can judge, knowing accurately that he is a Bulgarian and I a Roman; and I am not a Roman from those dwelling in Thrace and Macedonia, but from Asia Minor, which those who have knowledge know how far it lies from your homeland. That I have undertaken such an act not rashly or in vain, but compelled by some necessity, you who are wiser will understand. For I would not have so madly thrown myself into an obvious danger and disregarded my own life, if there were not ^B some other reason that forced me to carry out this deed. Know, therefore, that the deed which has been done is by the command of the Emperor, in whose service I acted as an instrument. And now, if you wish to destroy me, behold, I am surrounded and in your power; yet you shall not deal with me without trouble, nor will we lay down our arms and commit ourselves to be treated at your whim, but we will fight for our lives to the very last breath. And if we are to be killed, which must inevitably happen as we are so few surrounded by so many, we shall deem that death happy, having One who will seek out and avenge our blood, against Whom you should consider whether it is possible for you to resist for very long."

Having heard these words, the gathering, struck with fear of the Emperor, gradually dispersed, scattering in different directions. The older and wiser ones offered auspicious acclamations to the Emperor and submitted. Eustathius, in great security, having taken Ibatza, brought him to the Emperor. Embracing him for his bravery, the Emperor immediately appointed him governor of Dyrrachium and gifted him all of Ibatza’s movable property, while he delivered Ibatza himself into custody.

^C At that same time, Nicolitzas also, who had been captured and released so many times, was hiding in the mountains; when a force was sent against him, and his companions partly went over to the Romans of their own accord and were partly captured, he came down by night of his own will into the Roman camp, and

^A knocking at the door with his hand, he announced who he was and that he was freely delivering his own person into the power of the emperor. But the emperor did not even deign to see him, but sent him off to Thessalonica, ordering that he be kept in custody. He himself, having settled the affairs of Dyrrhachium, Coloneia, and Dryinoupolis as seemed best to him, and having set guards and commanders over the themes, and having allowed those of the Roman captives who wished to remain in their place to do so, while ordering the rest to follow him, came to Castoria.

There, two daughters of Samuel were brought to him, who, seeing Maria, the wife of John, standing by the emperor, rushed upon her to do away with her. But the emperor calmed their rage, promising to honor them and enrich them greatly, and having honored Maria with the dignity of *zoste*, he sent her off to the Queen of Cities with her sons. He also destroyed all the fortresses in Servia and Soskos through Xiphias, and leveled them to the ground. And he came to the fortress of Stagos, where Elemagus, the prince of the Belograds, presented himself to him with his colleagues, in the guise of a slave. Departing from there, he went to Athens. On the way, as he passed by Zetunion, he saw the bones of the Bulgarians who had fallen there at the time when the magistros Nikephoros Ouranos had routed Samuel, and he marveled. He was also greatly struck by the wall built ^B at Thermopylae (which is still called Skelos) to repel the Bulgarians, by Rupenes.

When he arrived in Athens, he gave thanks to the Theotokos for the victory, and having adorned the temple with many brilliant and costly votive offerings, he returned to Constantinople. And he celebrated his triumph, crowned with a golden crown ^C having a crest on top, entering through the great gates of the Golden Gate, with Maria, the wife of Vladislav, and the daughters of Samuel and the rest of the Bulgarians going before him. This was the second indiction, in the year 6527. And thus, with spoils and victory, he entered the Great Church, and having sung hymns of thanksgiving to God, he went off to the palace. Sergius, the patriarch, kept urging him, having returned as a victor, to abolish the *allelengyon* (for he had promised to do this if he were to prevail over the Bulgarians), but he did not persuade him. This man, having shepherded the Church of God for twenty full years, departed to the Lord in the month of July, in the second indiction, in the year 6527. And Eustathius was appointed patriarch, having been the first of the presbyters of the church in the palace. ^D

With Bulgaria enslaved to him, the neighboring nation of the Chorbatians also submitted to the emperor, along with their princes, who were two brothers; the emperor bestowed upon them honors and ample wealth, and the nations also became subject. But the brother of Nestongus, Sermon, who ruled over Sirmium, alone refused to obey. To him Constantine Diogenes, the governor of the regions there, sent an envoy, feigning friendship and swearing an oath that he desired to meet with him and conclude affairs

He added that if he feared any treachery, he should take only three servants with him and meet him in the middle of the river flowing by, as he himself would also do. Sermo ^A complied, and thus met with Diogenes. When they were about to confer, Diogenes, pulling a dagger he had hidden in his bosom, suddenly plunged it into the side of Sermo and killed him. His servants escaped by flight. Diogenes, having assembled the neighboring armies, marched with a strong force to Sirmium; by frightening the widow and supplementing this with great promises, he persuaded her to surrender both herself and Sirmium to the Emperor. She was sent to Byzantium and there joined in marriage to one of the leading citizens, while Diogenes was appointed governor of the newly captured territory.

The Emperor Basil also repaired the aqueduct of Emperor Valentinian, providing the citizens with an abundance of water.

After a short time, having sent an embassy and ceded to the emperor as much territory as he wished, he made peace, giving his son Pancratius as a hostage; the emperor made him a *magistros* and returned home. As for the others who had taken part in the sedition of Xiphias and Phocas, the emperor deprived them of their property and shut them in prison; he put to death only the patrician Pherses, who had been the first of all to join the rebels, and who had killed four *curatores* of neighboring princes, and with his own hand had cut off the head of an imperial eunuch. Also, a certain imperial chamberlain was thrown to the lions, having been convicted of attempting to poison the emperor for the sake of Xiphias. ^A

When Anna, the sister of the emperor, had died in Russia, and her husband Bladimer had already died before her, a certain Chrysochir, a kinsman of the deceased Bladimer, recruited eight hundred men, embarked them on ships, and came to Constantinople pretending that he wished to enter into service. But when the emperor ordered him to lay down his arms and then make his request, he disobeyed and crossed the Propontis. Having reached Abydos, he engaged in a naval battle with the commander who was guarding the coastline; he defeated him without difficulty and reached Lemnos. There, the Russians were all slain by deception by the fleet of the Cibyrraeots, and by David of Ochrida, prefect of Samos, and by Nicephorus Cabasilas, who was the *dux* of Thessalonica. ^B

Wishing to launch an expedition against Sicily, Basil sent ahead Orestes, one of his most trusted eunuchs, with large forces. He himself, intercepted by fate, was unable to follow. For in the month of December, in the ninth indiction, in the year 6534, he was suddenly seized by a disease and passed away. A few days before his death, the Patriarch Eustathius had died; in his place the emperor appointed Alexius, a monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery, who had come to visit him, bringing with him the holy head of the Forerunner. After the emperor had installed him on the patriarchal throne through the protonotary John, whose services he used in the administration of public affairs, he expired in the evening. He lived 70 years, all of which he reigned. He held the supreme power alone for 50 years. He appointed his brother as his successor to the empire and instructed him to bury him in the church of John the Evangelist and Theologian, at the Hebdomon. And he did so. ^C

Having gained the empire and obtained license to do whatever he pleased, Constantine caused many evils to the state. For, being a man given over to depraved pursuits, he neither did nor thought about any of the things that pertained to his office, but delighted in horse races, mimes, and buffoons. ^D

He spent his nights at play and dicing, and instead of choosing as officials in the civil and military administrations those who had proven their worth in deed and word, he appointed drunken and emasculated slaves, filled with every kind of filth and abomination. He promoted them to the highest positions of authority, while passing over those who excelled in lineage, virtue, and experience. ^A For he appointed Nicolaus, the head of his chamberlains, as Domestic of the Schools and cubicularius, and after him, Nicephorus, who held the second rank, as protovestiarius, and Simeon, the third in order, as Drungary of the Watch, bestowing the honor of proedros upon them all. He also appointed Eustathius, who followed them at a great distance in merit, as a duke of great stability. He chose as Duke of Antioch a certain eunuch named Spondyles, and as Duke of Iberia, Nicetas from Pisidia—both of them men infamous for their malice. ^B These men filled everything with turmoil and confusion, and they all but overturned the empire, which from the time of Romanus, the father of the emperors, and under those who had subsequently held the scepter in succession—Nicephorus, Tzimisces, and Basil—had flourished and been a terror to the neighboring nations.

Not only was Constantine indifferent in his choice of officials, appointing them just as it happened, but he also persistently persecuted the more noteworthy and proven men, plotting against the illustrious. In this way, he blinded the patrician Constantine, the son of the master Michael Burtzes, offended because he had reported his shameful conduct to the emperor Basil before his own accession to the empire. He also destroyed many other good men, as the narrative will explain as it proceeds. ^C Such, then, were the beginnings of his reign. But what narrative could worthily describe the events that followed? As I have already mentioned, he was addicted solely to buffoons, mimes, and games, and was more captivated by horse races than anyone had ever been; he deemed these the only things worth caring for, having no regard for the rest, which he considered secondary to his own follies and lusts.

He blinded Nicephorus Comnenus, a prudent man famed for his virtue and bravery, who, as governor of Media and Aspracania, had subjugated the neighboring tribes; he did this for no just cause, but out of envy of the man’s virtue, accusing him of treason. For this Nicephorus, often engaging in battle with the neighboring Saracens in Media, and seeing his own soldiers behaving effeminately and turning their backs in base flight, would first reproach them for their cowardice and then exhort them not to flee so shamefully, but to stand bravely against their opponents; and he persuaded them to agree to this. Since he demanded they confirm this agreement under oath, that they would fight to the death with him against the enemy, they issued a written document, binding themselves thereto with the most dire curses and terrible oaths, promising to stand firmly in the ranks. ^D When Constantine learned of this, he immediately stripped Comnenus of his command, and having brought him back to Constantinople, he accused him in court of conspiracy against the emperor, and upon his conviction of the crime, he gouged out his eyes. He was likewise hostile to the patrician Bardas, the son of the master Bardas Phocas, and to several others; through the work of certain of his domestic slanderers, he wove a trap and, accusing them of plotting treachery against the emperor, he immediately punished them with the loss of their eyes. At that time, Georgius was in command at Naupactus, whom, on account of his inconstancy of spirit,

^A they called Merogeorgius—that is, "foolish Georgius." Because he harassed the townspeople and exhausted them with trumped-up and continuous lawsuits, a sedition arose against him; he was killed, and his goods were plundered. The Emperor not only cruelly punished the authors of the murder but also blinded the high priest of that city himself.

Between Basilius, son of Romanus Sclerus and a patrician, and the magister Prusianus the Bulgar, who was commander of the Bucellarii, a conflict arose, and it even came to a battle. Judging that by this discord they had impudently offended the majesty of the empire, the Emperor banished them both, the one to the island of Oxeia (that is, "the sharp"), and the other to Plate. Shortly thereafter, Basilius was accused of planning an escape, and the Emperor blinded him; but he released Prusianus, though he had been in danger of suffering the same fate. ^B He also put out the eyes of Romanus Curcuas, who had the sister of Prusianus in marriage, as well as those of Bogdanus, Glabas, and Gudelis. He also cut out the tongue of the monk Zacharias, a relative of Bestas Theudatus, pretending that they had plotted against him.

In this year the Patzinaks made an incursion into Bulgaria, and they killed and captured very many people, as well as commanders and battalion leaders. Therefore, Emperor Constantine created Diogenes, who was governor of Sirmium, the Duke of Bulgaria, who, joining battle with them often as they were roaming about, routed them and forced them, after they had crossed the Ister, to stay quiet. ^C Throughout his entire reign, there was a great drought, so that even perennial springs and rivers dried up. Because Basilius used to spare the poor and not demand the public tribute on the day appointed, but instead granted some delay, it happened that at his death two years' worth of tribute was still owed. Constantine demanded not only that, but also the tribute of the three following years (for he ruled for that long); by which not only the needy but also the wealthy were crushed, being forced to pay five years' worth of tribute in three years. ^D At that time, a fleet of Agarenes invaded the Cyclades islands. Georgius Theodorocanus, the praetor of Samos, together with Periboes, the commander of Chios, attacked them and routed them, capturing twelve ships with their crews, and dispersing the rest.

^A On the ninth day of November, in the thirteenth indiction, in the year 6537, Constantine was seized by a sudden illness and, having been given up by the physicians, began to consider whom he might leave as successor to the empire. It seemed good to him, therefore, to summon the patrician Constantine Dalassenus, who was then at his home in the Armeniac theme, ^B to give him one of his daughters in marriage, and to designate him Caesar. And indeed, one of his most trusted eunuchs, a man called Ergodotes, was sent to fetch him. But through the efforts of Simeon, who favored the patrician Romanus Argyrus, this plan was disregarded, and someone was immediately sent by the emperor to order Dalassenus to remain wherever he might be when the letter reached him. Romanus was brought to the palace, and the option was given to him: either to suffer the loss of his eyes, or to dismiss his lawful wife, wed the emperor’s daughter, and be designated Caesar. As he hesitated, his wife, fearing for her husband, voluntarily cut off her hair and renounced the world, thus preserving her husband’s eyes and securing the empire for him. Constantine had three daughters from the daughter of the patrician Alypius, whom he had wed while Basil was still alive; ^C the eldest, Eudocia, embraced the monastic life, while the youngest, Theodora, refused to wed Romanus, whether because of the relationship of their kin, as they say, or because she knew that his wife was still alive. But the second one by age, Zoe, gladly accepted the proposal concerning the marriage. A dispute having been raised about the kinship, and the Church together with the patriarch having resolved the ambiguity, Romanus was wed to Zoe according to ecclesiastical rite and was proclaimed emperor. Three days later, Constantine died, having lived the entire span of his life for 70 years, and having reigned for three years less a month.

Thus, contrary to every hope and expectation, Romanus avoided the danger of the loss of his eyes and was girded with the power of the empire, and was proclaimed independent emperor together with Zoe, the daughter of Constantine. ^D As soon as he sat on the imperial throne, he began to win over his subjects with good and praiseworthy beginnings, starting his acts of kindness with piety. For, knowing that the income of the Great Church was insufficient—as one who had been its administrator in previous times—together with the others that the clergy thereof were accustomed to serve, he ordained that eighty pounds of gold be provided to them annually from the imperial treasury as an addition. He also abolished and completely rooted out the *allelengyon*, which Constantine had intended to abolish, but death had forestalled him. He also emptied the prisons of those confined for certain debts, remitting public debts and paying the private ones. He also ransomed [original-script column: see facsimile] those held captive in Patzinacia. He also made three syncelli metropolitans: Cyriacus of Ephesus, as being a kinsman of the patriarch, Demetrium of Cyzicus, whom he had greatly loved even before he became emperor, and Michael of Euchaita, as [being of noble] lineage.

since he traced his descent to those called the Radeni. He also sent for John, who had been Emperor Basil’s protonotary and had already shorn his hair for religion’s sake, and created him syncellus, appointing him guardian of his wife’s sister, Theodora.

Furthermore, he relieved many of God's ministers who had been reduced to extreme poverty, and comforted others who were aggrieved and oppressed by difficulties. He dispensed a vast sum of money for the salvation of his father-in-law’s soul, ^B and he also generously compensated those who had been ill-treated by him, promoting some to honors, and comforting others with estates and money. He also raised to the brilliant dignity of magister his brother-in-law Romanos Skleros, whose eyes, as we have said, Constantine had put out. He also recalled from his long exile Nicephorus Xiphias, who had of his own accord taken the monastic habit at the Studite monastery.

At that time God sent moderate rains, and the fruits of the ^C earth grew in abundance, especially the olive. On the day of Holy Pentecost, there was a tumult on account of the seating in the sacred office, as the metropolitans would not allow the syncelli to sit above them on the synthronon.

At that time, the magister Prusianus the Bulgarian, being denounced for having entered into a conspiracy with Theodora, the emperor’s sister, [so as to] aspire to the imperial power along with her, was placed under guard in the monastery of Manuel. Once the accusation was sustained, he was blinded, and his mother, the *zoste* of the city, was expelled.

Constantine Diogenes, whose wife was the daughter of the emperor's brother, was transferred from Sirmium and made duke of Thessalonica. Being accused by Orestes, who had been a minister of Emperor Basil, of plotting a defection, he was sent as a praetor to the Thracesians; but once the crime was discovered, he was bound, brought to the city, and cast into a tower. His fellow conspirators—John the syncellus, Eustathius the patrician, and the duke Daphnomeles; Michael Theognostus and Samuel, the nephews of the magister Michael Burtzes; and George and Barasbatzes, who founded the monastery of the Iberians on Mount Athos, the cousins of the patrician Theudatos—were severely beaten and deported after being paraded through the public street. Theodora was also driven from the palace and relegated to Petrion.

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

(78) He uses this word for "brother," just as Virgil said: *And kinsman [of] death, sleep*; whereas in Homer it is *for sleep/Is own brother to death*. But "exkinese" [he moved] to read the sentence following. Whether *Zostica* is a proper name, or whether (as I think) it denotes the office of *Zoste*, is ambiguous. XYL.

(79) A *synthronon* consists of the wall and the semicircular row of seats in the chancel, where the bishop sits with the presbyters, or the patriarch with the pontiffs; whence the *Euchologion* calls these the "consessus" and the fellowship of his throne. In this, the syncelli, ^D that is, the clerics or officials (about whom the Greco-Roman Law treats at length), attempted with all their might—by means of influence, favor, and prestige in preference to other priests and pontiffs—to usurp not only a seated position but even a position of precedence (as the Roman cardinals sought to imitate bishops in this regard). See the aforementioned volume of the Greco-Roman Law. Concerning the chartophylax, and in the *Novellae* of Alexius Comnenus. GOAR.

(80) From the monks and the monasteries, a name adopted in later centuries. GOAR.

his nephews, having been cruelly blinded and led through the middle of the public square, were sent into exile. Theodora was also brought down from the palace and confined in the place called Petrion. ^A On the last day of the month of October, a star was seen traversing its path from the west to the east. And on that very day, the Roman army suffered no small disaster in Syria, under Michael Spondyles, the praetor of the great city of Antioch. There was also such a downpour of rain, persisting until the month of March, that the rivers overflowed and the low-lying areas flooded, so that nearly all the animals were drowned and the seeds consigned to the earth perished; consequently, in the following year, there was great suffering from famine. Now, the emperor, wishing to compensate for the disaster suffered in Syria, set out to launch an expedition against Berrhoea. He sent therefore, with a force of light-armed soldiers, the patrician Constantine Carantinus, the husband of his sister, having instructed him to go and reconnoiter the approaches and to harass the enemy as much as possible, but to abstain from a general engagement until his own arrival. While the army was being gathered for him, Georgius, the prince of Abasgia, died of an illness. His wife, having sent envoys to the emperor with gifts, sought a renewal of the treaty and a wife for her son Pancratius. The emperor, having accepted her embassy, confirmed the treaty and sent Helena, the daughter of his brother Basil, to Abasgia as a bride, and elevated the groom Pancratius to the dignity of curopalates. ^B At this time, a certain portentous and strange event occurred in the Theme of the Thracesians, near the base of Mount Cuzenas, where there is a spring of very clear and limpid water. A voice was heard there, miserable and mingled with wailing and lamentations, like that of a mourning woman. And this happened not once or twice, but day and night continuously from the month of March until June. And when some went to observe the place from which the voice was being emitted, those wailings moved elsewhere. This, as it seems, portended the misfortune for the Romans in Coelesyria which has already been mentioned. For after the emperor Nicephorus had taken possession of most of the cities of Syria and Phoenicia, and John, who succeeded him, had secured the conquests and extended the dominion as far as Damascus, Basil, who ruled after them, being first occupied by the civil wars and later entirely intent upon the campaigns against Samuel, had no opportunity to organize affairs in the East; but he had directed his mind there only as if in imagination, and had devoted himself entirely to the subjugation of the Bulgarian nation. That was the occasion for the more powerful cities of the East to cast off the Roman yoke and to seek their own liberty. But while he was still alive, the revolt was plotted only in secret and not openly. However, when he paid the debt of nature, and his brother Constantine ruled carelessly ^C and was given over to those affairs we have indicated, while the care of all other matters was neglected, the Saracens, having obtained the opportunity, stormed the garrisons of the cities and slaughtered them. Beyond the rest, the affair in Chalepus (which is Berrhoea) was managed by

^A the governor, for he made continuous excursions, and [plundered] Antioch and the neighboring nations and peoples subject to the Romans. Against him Spondyles, the governor of Antioch, as has been said, made an expedition while Constantine was still alive, desiring perhaps to display some manly and noble deed. But joining battle with the leader of Berrhoea, he was defeated; and great was the slaughter of those with him, and he himself escaped most shamefully to Antioch. Now a certain Arab, Musaraph by name, who was taken in war by Pothos Argyros and kept in chains at Antioch, outmaneuvered him in the following way. For this Musaraph, having noticed that the man—whose reins of government had passed to Spondyles—was fickle, promised to be of great service to the Romans if he were freed from his bonds, and that he would perform all things according to their purpose; for he promised to injure that common enemy, and by showing a place where, if a fortress were built and entrusted to him, it would be of no small benefit to the Romans. Spondyles, not understanding his trickery, released the man from his bonds, built the fortress as he had advised, and having placed one thousand Roman soldiers as a garrison there, put Musaraph in command of it. Musaraph, having obtained what he wanted, secretly came to an agreement with the emir of Tripoli and Tusber, the supreme commander of the Egyptian prince, and having received the army sent by them, he slaughtered the thousand [Romans] and delivered the fortress to them. And from that time on ^B the Saracens, carrying out raids from superior positions, did not cease to destroy and ravage the lands in Syria subject to the Romans.

Romanos therefore removes Spondyles from his position and sends as his successor his own brother-in-law, Constantine Carantenos; and he himself followed in order to prepare for waging war against the Saracens. Now when Romanos had already reached Philomelium, envoys came from Berrhoea with many gifts, begging to receive pardon and promising to return to their former servitude and to pay the annual tribute with good grace. There were many men in the Roman army who were famous in war, and among them was the patrician Joannes Chaldas, who urged the emperor to accept the condition and not to lead [the army] into Syria in the season of summer, at which time water is scarce in those regions and the Arab people cannot be withstood, as they are accustomed to endure the heat, swelter, and blazing sun of those regions, which is intolerable to the Romans, who are wearing heavy armor. But Romanos, ^C heeding none of their counsels, but remembering the noble deeds of the emperors before him and desiring himself to perform some fortunate exploit, went into Syria; and he pitched his camp at the castle of Azazium, two days' journey distant from Berrhoea. Intent from there on the conduct of affairs, he sends the patrician Leo Chorosphactes, the commander of the excubitors, with his own regiment, to scout whether the Arabs were approaching, and [to see] in what direction he should transfer his camp. But he [was caught by] those who were guarding the plains with Arab ambuscades and who suddenly attacked him at a chosen moment ^D

suddenly, scattered the people who were with him. The Arabs proceeded to such a pitch of daring and shamelessness that they openly beset the Romans, hindering their foraging and the gathering of other necessities; they harassed them especially as they went out to get water. For the Romans, tormented by thirst, as well as their horses and pack-animals, kept thrusting themselves into manifest danger for the sake of obtaining water, and those who were caught were destroyed. At that time, Constantine, the patrician Dalassenus, having been sent to drive back the encroaching Arabs and to perform some manly and noble deed, became engaged with them and, having fled in disorder, filled the Romans—and the emperor himself—with great panic and confusion; for when he returned in a state of alarm and filled the entire camp with turmoil and disorder, there was no longer any talk of battle, but each man, as best he could, was looking to his own safety. ^B Consequently, a council having been held, it was decided that at dawn they should break up the camp and retreat to Antioch. Indeed, on the tenth day of the month of August, in the thirteenth indiction, in the year 6538, as had been decreed, the Romans opened all the gates of the camp and marched towards Antioch, most of them being afflicted with a bowel complaint, and many also being exhausted by the necessity of thirst. The Arabs attacked these men as they came out of the encampment with great violence. No one stood his ground, but all began a most perilous flight; some were captured, others were trampled and crushed by one another. There occurred there something not unworthy of report. For when the commanders, who had a great reputation for bravery, and the soldiers did not dare to stand their ground but were fleeing shamefully, a certain eunuch of the imperial bedchamber, seeing his own baggage and servants being plundered and not bearing the misfortune with equanimity, spurred his horse this way and that and charged with great force against the Saracens. Drawing his bow, he shot one of them, put the rest to flight, and returned joyfully having recovered his own property. The emperor arrived at Antioch with difficulty; he would have been captured by the enemy had not the imperial companions fought strenuously and saved both themselves and the emperor. ^D Sub id tempus – At that time, George Maniaces was in charge of the province of Teluch. Eight hundred Arabs who had put the Romans to flight returned to him and approached, ferociously boasting; they ordered him, since the emperor was captured and the Roman forces were already destroyed, to leave the city immediately and not to expose himself to certain danger: otherwise, at first light, he would be surrounded with his men and miserably put to the sword. George, pretending to comply with them so as to confirm that belief in the minds of the barbarians, sent them an abundance of food and drink from the city, ordering them to rest and refresh themselves, and signifying that in the morning he would depart with his men and hand over to them the city of Teluch and all the Roman goods. Deceived by these words and by the act, the Arabs gave themselves over to drinking and drunkenness, and that night they

^A lived in complete security and freedom from care. But in the middle of the night, while they were intoxicated and sleeping carelessly, Manaces attacked them, slaughtered them all, and seized two hundred and eighty camels laden with all manner of Roman goods. He cut off the noses and ears of the fallen and brought them to the emperor, who had already arrived in Cappadocia from his flight and was staying in the house of Phocas. The emperor, approving of his deed, appointed him commander of lower Media.

As he was leaving Syria, he appointed Simeon, a servant of his father-in-law Constantine, as domestic of the Schools, and Nicetas of Mistheia as governor of Antioch ^B. He ordered them to direct all their effort toward capturing the castle of Menicus, which had been built by Musaraph, so that they might free Syria from the incursions of Musaraph. But they attacked the castle foolishly and unskillfully, and Musaraph, making a sally by night, burned their siege engines and shamefully drove them away from there. The emperor, hearing of this and not bearing the insult, sent to Syria Theoctistus, a protospatharius, one of his most faithful ministers and at that time the great captain of the sodality, with a large force gathered from the Romans and other nations, appointing him dictator ^C—that is, an autonomous general—and ordering him to join with Pinzarach, the emir of Tripoli. For this Pinzarach had shortly before revolted from the Egyptian Amermumnes and taken up arms against him. And since the Egyptian had sent against him a Turk named Tusber, the commander of his troops, and he saw that he was unequal to the battle, he had recourse to the Roman emperor and desired to enter into an alliance of war with him. The Roman, thinking his petition should by no means be despised, sent Theoctistus with ample forces, instructing him to both join with Pinzarach and also to attempt the castle of Menicus by the way. Theoctistus performed this task with alacrity. And Tusber, indeed, terrified by his sudden arrival and by the greatness of the multitude, returned home. But Musaraph, too, unable to withstand the pressure of the enemy, abandoned Menicus and fled, and being caught in the mountains near Tripoli, he was killed. Theoctistus ^D took over Menicus, which had been surrendered by the son of Musaraph’s brother, and also another castle situated on a craggy rock, named Argyrocastrum. Having settled these matters, he returned to the city, taking with him Arach, the son of Pinsarach, whom the emperor honored with the dignity of patrician. Pinzarach himself followed, escorted and accompanied by the governor of Antioch, Nicetas of Mistheia. The emperor received him most kindly, overwhelmed him with gifts and non-vulgar benefits, and dismissed him home in joy.

XYLANDRI AND GOARI NOTES.

^A Liberavit etiam Charosphactum et suis reddidit.

Theprotospatharius Orestes, whom the narrative mentioned earlier as having been sent by the Emperor Basil into Sicily, being inexperienced in military matters and attempting the task ineptly, was unexpectedly attacked by the Saracens of Sicily, who had been watching for an opportunity. The Romans, who had already been seized by a bowel disease brought on by overindulgence, suffered no small slaughter at their hands. To make amends for this misfortune, the Emperor gathered an adequate force ^B from Greece and Macedonia and sent it into Italy; yet even this force was unable to achieve anything noble, on account of the ignorance and malice of its commander.

In this same year, 6539, which is the 14th indiction, Prusianus was voluntarily tonsured as a monk, and his mother was transferred from the Mantineion monastery in the Bucellarian theme to the Thracesian theme, and the patrician Constantine Diogenes, having been removed from the tower, was tonsured as a monk in the Studite monastery. The Emperor Romanus purchased the house of Triacontophyllus and converted it into a monastery dedicated to our Lady the Theotokos, sparing no expense, although under this pretext he burdened his subjects not insignificantly with the troubles of transporting stones and other materials. He also adorned the capitals of the columns ^C of the Great Church and of the all-holy Theotokos of Blachernae with gold and silver. And intending to rebuild the altar of the Blachernae, he found a long-hanging ancient icon, which he ordered to be restored. Seeing that the wall's incrustation (85) was covered with silver, he ordered it to be removed and a new one to be made. When the plastering was removed, there was found a panel painting, a small icon with the Theotokos holding our Lord and God to her breast, undefiled to this day, three hundred years having passed.

In the year 6540, the 15th indiction, in the month of September, Amer, the son of the prefect of Aleppo, came to the Emperor Romanus with many gifts, requesting to renew the peace and to pay the former tributes. And indeed, Theophylactus, the protospatharius from Athens, was sent, and he both confirmed the treaties and established an alliance with ^D the people of Aleppo. Zoe the Augusta, after the exaltation of the venerable cross, suddenly went off to the Petrion, her

^A sister Theodora having been tonsured as a nun, asserting that in no other way could an end be put to the plots and scandals. The Emperor Romanus also gave his own niece in marriage, with a large dowry, to the lord of Great Armenia. Intending soon to make a second expedition against Syria, the Emperor went out to Mesanacta. While he was staying there, it was reported to the Augusta Zoe, through Theophanes of Thessalonica, that Constantine Diogenes, having conspired with her sister Theodora, was planning an escape to Illyricum with the knowledge of the metropolitan of Dyrrachium and the bishop of Peritheorium (83). Both the bishops and Diogenes were immediately seized. Constantine, upon being interrogated in the palace of the Blachernae by John the praepositus—who later became orphanotrophos and was the brother of the reigning Michael (87)—threw himself from the wall, broke his neck, and died, being cast out with those who take their own lives (88); the bishops, however, were sent to the Emperor at Mesanacta and were released from there.

On the 28th of the month of July, which was the sixth day of the week, at the second hour of the night, a meteor crossed from the south to the north, illuminating the whole earth with its radiance. Shortly after, sad news concerning Roman affairs was brought: that the Arabs were raiding Mesopotamia as far as Melitene, the Patzinaks had crossed the Ister and were ravaging Mysia, and the Saracens had overrun the coastline of Illyricum as far as Corcyra and had burned it. But the other enemies returned home unharmed; the Saracens, however, suffered greatly at the hands of the people of Ragusa and Nicephorus the patrician, the governor of Nauplia and son of Carantenus, being defeated in battle and losing most of their ships. Those who survived, having killed the Roman prisoners they were holding, were destroyed by shipwreck in the Sicilian sea while returning home.

^B In this same year, both famine and plague afflicted Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, the Armeniac theme, and Honorias (89), to such a degree that the inhabitants themselves left their native lands to seek other homes. When the Emperor, returning from Mesanacta to the capital, encountered them and, not being ignorant of the cause of the migration, he compelled them to return home, comforting them with money and other necessities of life. Michael, who was then presiding over the Church of Ancyra, also performed his duty, omitting nothing that might pertain to the remedy of the evils of famine and plague.

On the 13th of the month of August, which was a Sunday, at the first hour of the night, in the year 6540, there was a great earthquake. ^C The Emperor also entered into the capital, and...

upon the death of his former wife Helena, he distributed large sums of money on her behalf. In that same year, on the 28th of February, a star passed from the north toward the south with a sound and a crash; it was visible until the 15th of March, having an arc above it. On the 6th of March, which was a Tuesday, an earthquake occurred. ^A

At this same time, there was an incursion of the African Saracens, with a thousand ships and ten thousand warriors, who ravaged many islands and coastal regions. Nicephorus Carantenus, having engaged a portion of them in battle, put them to flight and sent five hundred captured Saracens to the Emperor. In that same year, George Maniakes, the Protospatharios, son of Gudelius Maniakes, governor of the cities situated along the Euphrates and residing at Samosata, made an attempt upon Edessa, a city of Osrhoene. For the administration of this city was held by Salamanes the Turk, who had been entrusted with it by the emir of Martyropolis, that is, Miepherkim; and, having been corrupted by gifts, promises, and honors, he handed over to ^B Maniakes, in the dead of night, three of the city’s most strongly fortified towers. Having occupied these, Maniakes bravely withstood the siege of the townspeople and called for help from outside. But Apomermanes, the emir of Miepherkim, upon learning of the capture and suddenly appearing with a not insignificant force, undertook to besiege the towers; however, having been bravely resisted by George and repulsed, and seeing that he could accomplish nothing, he plundered the most beautiful buildings and destroyed the ornamentation of the city and even of its Great Church. Having loaded the most precious items onto camels and set fire to what remained of the city, he retreated to Martyropolis. Being relieved of his besieger, Maniakes occupied the fortress situated in the middle of the city on a rocky hill; and having summoned forces from elsewhere, he securely held the city. Having found the autograph letter of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ written to Abgar, he sent it to the Emperor in Byzantium. ^C

When the Egyptian Aziz had died a shameful death—having raged against the Christians and destroyed the temple of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Jerusalem—his son, who had been born to him of a captive Roman woman, gave permission to those who wished to rebuild the temple, which the Emperor, having sent [funds], was eager to have built generously. But death, having arrived, hindered him, and the one after him, Michael, became the completer of the work.

Furthermore, the Magister Basil Sclerus, the husband of the Emperor's sister, who had been blinded by Constantine, being a man of an inconstant and wavering mind, although he had been honored with the rank of Magister and had been the recipient of many favors from Romanus, nevertheless plotted against him. But having been detected, he was expelled from the city with his wife. ^D

Maniakes also sent from Edessa to the Emperor the annual tribute [amounting to] fifty pounds. And Pinzarach, the emir of Tripoli, being unable to withstand the might of the Egyptians, fled to the Queen of Cities. Him the Emperor, with the greatest

^A force and accompanied by the master of the imperial table, Theoctistus, sent back to Syria. He also dispatched with a fleet the protospatharios Technes, from Abydos, to Egypt, with orders to harass the mouths of the Nile whenever possible, and Alexandria itself. He, having steered a straight course and arrived at Alexandria, captured a great many of the enemy's ships, and having amassed a great deal of plunder, returned safe and sound. He also handed over the fortress called Percrin, situated very near to Babylon [Cairo], which the Saracen Alimus held as its prefect, to the Roman Emperor, hoping to be rewarded with the dignity of patrician and many other gifts, having arranged through his son an audience with the Emperor. The fortress was taken over by the patrician Nicholas the Bulgarian, surnamed Chryselius; but the Saracen's son, having arrived in Byzantium and being accorded no attention, as the Emperor was at that time confined by illness, returned home in anger and persuaded his father to attempt to recover his fortress. Therefore, Alimus, having secretly conspired with the neighboring Persians, seized the fortress at night and killed six thousand Roman soldiers, which happened through the fault and negligence of the one in charge, Chryselius. But a little later, the patrician Nicetas Pegonites was sent as praetor, and with the Rossian and the rest of the Roman forces, he besieged that fortress, captured it by storm, and killed Alimus together with his son.

^B At the same time, Alda, the wife of the late George, ruler of the Abasgians, being of the Alan race, attached herself to the Emperor, and surrendered the most strongly fortified castle of Anacouphia, whose son, Demetrius, the Emperor honored with the dignity of magistros. Carantenus also set up another trophy against the Saracens, having intercepted them as they went out for plunder, and sent them in chains to the Emperor.

In this same year of the world, on the seventeenth day of the month of February, an earthquake afflicted the cities in Syria. And Orestes having been relieved of his command, Leo, called Opus, was sent to lead the infantry forces to Italy, and John, one of the imperial chamberlains of the Emperor Basil, was ordered to lead the fleet. Since locusts had for a long time devoured the Eastern provinces, ^C the inhabitants were forced to sell their children and migrate to Thrace; to them the Emperor gave three nomismata each and ordered them to return home, until the locusts, caught up by a violent wind and falling into the Hellespont, [P. 733] perished, and being cast up on the shore, covered the coastal sand. ^D The Emperor also repaired the water conduits which brought water into the city, and the cisterns receiving it, as well as the leprosarium and the orphanage, and everything that had been damaged by the earthquake. In short, he devoted himself to all manner of good works. Meanwhile, he was seized by a lingering disease, his hair and beard falling out,

ruined—as they say—by John, who was later the Orphanotrophos. ^A For this John, even before the reign, when serving Romanus, had attained great power immediately after the latter ascended to the throne. He also had other brothers: Michael, Nicetas, Constantine, and George. But John, Constantine, and George were eunuchs, practicing a rural trade, while Nicetas possessed the reproductive parts and was just beginning to grow his first beard, and Michael, already approaching manhood, was of a most handsome appearance. Both were engaged in the money-changing craft, and they used to debase the coinage. Fortune, as if to foreshadow the power that was about to devolve upon them, had raised all of them, become intimate with the emperor through the agency of John, to great influence; for the others were appointed to various offices, and Michael was promoted by the emperor to commander of the Pantheon ^B (94). The empress, having conceived a demonic and frenzied love for him, and having held secret meetings, consorted with him in the dark. For this reason, they say, the emperor, having been ruined by slow-acting poisons, was tormented by heart-rending diseases, while the empress sought an opportunity to rid herself of the emperor without suspicion and to raise Michael to the imperial throne. Hence, having been brought low by poisons—as has been stated, not those bringing instantaneous death, but those causing a most slow and lingering passing—he spent his life in a wretched and painful state, bedridden, and with his whole soul calling for death. He survived until the 15th day of the month of April, in the second indiction, of the year 6542. Then, on the day of Holy and Great Thursday, having finished the distribution (95) of the largess to the senators, and having desired to bathe in the bathhouse in the Great Palace, and having entered, he was miserably suffocated in the basin of the bath by those around Michael, after he had reigned for 5 years and 6 months (96). That same night, while the holy passion was being chanted, the patriarch Alexius was summoned to the palace by the emperor Romanus, as if he were still alive. ^C When he arrived, he found Romanus dead. And Zoe, sitting on an elevated throne in the gold-adorned triclinium, produced Michael and contended for the patriarch to join him to her in marriage with the sacred prayer. Astonished and tongue-tied, he hesitated, until John and Zoe bestowed pounds of gold upon him, and just as many upon the clergy. Thus the patriarch was persuaded to consecrate this marriage. In this way was Romanus put to death, and he was buried in the monastery most worthily founded by him on the day of Great Friday itself.

XYLANDER AND GOAR’S NOTES.

(93) I do not quite understand this. For this John was a cubicularius; unless perhaps before he practiced a peddling trade. XYL. Circulatores or circumitores are doctors who go about here and there, wandering around, carrying snakes and poisons, and who—with a garrulous examination of words—promise to bring remedies for all manner of diseases; by these the emperor’s [health was] ruined. GOAR. (94) It seems to be the custody of some temple. XYL. Pantheum are the ministers of the military, joined with the trumpeters around the emperor’s table; their company [is found] in the anonymous work of Rigaltius and Meursius. GOAR. (95) This refers to the distribution of the stipend in his presence, by the emperor’s own hand, at the solemn ^D celebration of the Passover. (96) To record here also what the Theologian says: "For how will another save him whom his own [sins] have destroyed?" Concerning what he himself reported or what he does here, I do not see. For Helena, the wife of Argyros, is indeed beyond blame, who, as much as was in her power, keeping the marriage while reluctantly releasing her husband, deservedly claimed his eyes and the empire. But in this Romanus it appears how he is disapproved of by God, since his constitutions are violated under any pretext of necessity whatsoever. XYL.

^A But John, having given fifty pounds of gold to the patriarch and fifty to the clergy together with Zoe, persuaded them to deem them worthy of the sacred rites. Romanus the emperor, having been dispatched in the aforementioned manner, is buried in the monastery of the Peribleptos [(97)] newly built by him, on that very holy and great Friday.

Zoe, having seated Michael upon the imperial throne, imagined that she would have a slave and servant instead of a husband and emperor, and so, having already introduced the eunuchs of her father into the palace, she began to manage affairs more boldly; but everything turned out for her in a brilliant reversal. For John, the emperor’s brother, being an industrious and active man, as soon as he arrived at the palace, fearing for his brother (for he was moved by the example of Romanus) lest he also suffer some harm, both cast out the eunuchs of the empress from the palace and removed her most faithful handmaids, assigning women related to himself by blood as guards and keepers over the empress. And ^B there was nothing small or great that was not transacted according to his will; for she was forbidden from walks, and did not share in baths without his permission, and was entirely stripped of all amusement. Having established everything within, he sends letters throughout the entire empire, informing all that Romanus the emperor had paid the debt of nature, and that Michael had been proclaimed emperor while the former was still alive and permitting it, and wedded to the empress. Toward these things all the others bowed, and with auspicious cries they magnified the new emperor; Constantine Dalassenos, the patrician, alone, dwelling at home, did not bear this news with equanimity, but was appalled, and indeed marveled by what reasoning that common and three-obol man had been preferred over everyone else, when there existed very many most excellent men and those born of highest families, and when he had been proclaimed lord and emperor. ^C When John learned of this, he was filled, as is natural, with commotion and turmoil, and he pondered and considered how he might also ensnare this man in his own net. And so, the eunuch called Ergodotes, a man most apt for such services, is sent to him, on the understanding that he would give and receive oaths and bring the man to the emperor. And he departed to Dalassenos, while John was making the senate his own and the public, and was drawing the favor of the many to himself, raising the leaders of the senate to higher dignities by degrees, and mollifying the public with distributions of gifts and favors, and entirely winning over the subjects to himself.

That these events were not pleasing to God was clearly shown from their very beginnings; ^D for at the eleventh hour of the holy and great Sunday, a hail both unbearable and violent fell down, so that it smashed not only fruit-bearing and sterile trees, but also leveled houses, temples, crops, and vines to the ground. And so that year there was the greatest sterility. A star also, on the Lord’s day which follows Pascha, at the third hour of the night, passed over, obscuring the lights of all other stars with its brilliance, so that many thought the sun was rising. An evil demon also assaulted the emperor, and did not let him go before the end of his life. Those who wished to veil that evil with a fair-sounding name, [alt-version omitted]

^A called it a manic disease; and he remained under it until the end of his life, receiving no cure either by divine power or by physicians, but being pitiably racked and tormented.

Now that Ergodates had arrived to Dalassenus, the latter was unwilling to trust his oaths and to go with him to Byzantium, but sent one of his most trusted men, through whom he sought to be secured by more solemn oaths, promising that once this was done, he would come. Therefore, Constantine Phagitzes, a Paphlagonian eunuch and familiar of the emperor, was sent to Dalassenus, carrying with him the venerable wood of the Cross, the holy impression [of the face of] Christ, the letter written by the hand of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ to Abgar, and the icon of the most holy Theotokos. ^B Having gone, and having given and received oaths from Constantine, he came with him to Byzantium. The emperor received him kindly upon his arrival, honored him with the rank of proconsul, and having presented him with very great gifts, ordered him to live freely and without fear in his own house, which was at [the place called] Cyrus.

At this same time, another thing happened worthy to be recorded. While the Varangians ^C who were acting as guards for the winter in the theme of the Thrakesians were dispersed, one of them encountered an indigenous woman alone in a desolate place and solicited her for debauchery. As she would not be persuaded and he began to use force, she snatched the man’s scimitar (akinakes) and struck the barbarian in the heart, slaying him instantly. When the deed became known in the neighborhood, the rest of the Varangians gathered together, crowned the woman, and gave her all the property of the man who had wanted to violate her; but him they cast out unburied, according to the law concerning those who commit suicide. ^D As for the swarms of locusts, which, as we have already said, we related had perished on the sandy shore in the Hellespont, they came to life again of their own accord and infested the entire coastal region of the Hellespont, and for three whole years they continued to ravage the theme of the Thrakesians, and perished when they reached Pergamon. Before this happened, a vision had been offered to one of the ministers of the bishop, representing the very event. He seemed to see a certain eunuch in white garments, radiant in appearance, who ordered him to open and empty three sacks placed in front of him, one by one, then the second, and lastly the third. When he did as he was ordered, from the first erupted a force of serpents, vipers, and scorpions; from the second, toads, asps, basilisks, horned vipers, and other venomous beasts; and from the third, beetles, gnats, wasps, and other stinging creatures. While he stood speechless at the sight, that splendid man

^A standing very close to him said, “These things, he said, have come upon you and will come upon you because of the unholy deed done against the Emperor Romanus and his wife, and because of the transgression of the commandments of God and the defilement of his bed.” And these things were thus brought to pass. ^B

Michael, meanwhile, the Emperor, being oppressed by a demonic disease and otherwise sluggish and dull regarding the administration of affairs, held the title and appearance of Emperor, but all the activity of civil and military affairs was in the hands of John. He immediately appointed his brother Nicetas as Duke of Antioch; but upon his arrival, the Antiochenes did not admit him into the city, fearing that he might decree something more severe against them, because shortly before this, a certain tax collector named Salibas, who had been ordered to exact tribute from them and had treated the people harshly, had been killed by the populace. However, after he gave an oath promising them pardon for that deed and immunity, they opened the gates. Nicetas, having been admitted and having gained control of the city, caring little or nothing for the faith he had pledged, beheaded and impaled about one hundred men. Furthermore, he confiscated the property of eleven men of primary rank, most opulent and illustrious by birth, the chief of whom was the patrician Elpidius, and sent them in chains to Byzantium, writing to his brother John that he had been prevented from entering the city not because of the murder of Salibas, but because of their goodwill toward Dalassenus. This acted as a spark that fanned the previously conceived suspicion of John against Dalassenus into a flame. ^C Therefore, Dalassenus was immediately brought before the Emperor and, on the third day of the month of August, in the second indiction, was relegated to the island of Plati. His son-in-law, Constantine Ducas, was also cast into a tower because he cried out that these things were being done unjustly, pointed out that the oath was being violated, and called God to witness. Because of him, three men — noble and wealthy men from Asia Minor, namely Goudeles, Baianus, and the one called Probatas — suffered the confiscation of their property, which was given over to the Emperor’s brother, Constantine. Then Simeon, the [protovestiarius], one of the ministers of the Emperor Constantine, because he did not approve of what was being done but cried out against the injustice being done to Dalassenus and the violation of the imperial oaths, was expelled from the palace and the city. When he arrived at Olympus, he laid aside his worldly hair, having been tonsured in the monastery that had been newly built by him, and became a monk.

In the same year, ^D there was an earthquake, and Jerusalem suffered greatly, with many people perishing in the collapse of churches and houses, as the earth shook for forty days. In the month of September of the year 6543, in the third indiction, a pillar of fire appeared toward the east, with its top leaning toward the south. During those same days, the Saracens took Myra, and the Beroeans and Chalepites drove out the governor sent to them by the Emperor. And Pancratius the Abasgian, for the sake of avenging Romanus the Emperor, namely his wife's uncle, broke the peace made with the Romans, and [took] fortresses and castles

previously granted. The Patzinaks, having crossed the Ister, ravaged all of Mysia as far as Thessalonica, and the ships of the Africans caused no little harm to the Cyclades islands. John had no care for any of this; his only settled preoccupation was how Dalassenus might be safely kept and not escape by slipping through his nets. And so, moving him from the island of Plate, he imprisoned him in a secure tower, setting guards over him who were not of low birth. He also recalled George Maniakes from Edessa and sent him out to govern Upper Media and Aspracania, ^B sending Leo Lependrenos to Edessa. Now, as an ulcer was consuming the mouth of the Orphanotrophos and all medical art had despaired of providing a cure, the great worker of wonders, Nicholas, appeared to him in a dream and commanded him to go to Myra as quickly as possible, promising that he would receive his health there. He set off for there swifter than speech, and having obliged the clergy of Nicholas with ointments and other costly gifts, and having enclosed the metropolis of the Myreans with a very strong wall, he returned cured of the disease.

Upon the death of Nicetas, who was governing Antioch in Syria, his brother Constantine was appointed his successor, and the remaining brother, George, became the protovestiarius, as Simeon, as we have said, had donned the monastic habit. The ^C Emperor also freed the imprisoned Antiochenes from their long confinement and raised Michael, the son of his sister Maria, to the lofty height of Caesar. He wept for his sin in the killing of the Emperor Romanus until the very end of his life, propitiating God through good works and handouts to the poor, by building new monasteries and installing monks in them, and by performing other laudable deeds. These would indeed have been effective had he renounced the empire—for the sake of which he had fallen into those sins—and had he repudiated the adulteress, and, as a private citizen, lamented his own crime. But he did none of these things; instead, he continued his association with Zoe, clung to the empire with a grip of iron, and by distributing what seemed to be benefits from public and common funds, hoping thereby to obtain pardon, he considered God to be foolish and unjust, as if He would allow repentance to be purchased with another's money.

In the year 6443, in the third indiction, in the month of May, ^D the Africans and Sicilians who had overrun the Cyclades and the coast of the Thracesian theme were finally defeated by the commanders of those regions; five hundred were brought alive to the Emperor, while all the rest were impaled on the coast from Atramyttium as far as Strobilus. John also sent an envoy, George Probatas, to Sicily to negotiate peace with its emir. Having skillfully completed the business, he brought the emir's son to the Emperor.

^A At this time a chasm occurred in the Bucellarian theme due to an earthquake, and five entire villages were swallowed up. It happened that the *proedros* Nicephorus, a eunuch of the Emperor Constantine residing there, nearly perished, but having escaped the danger beyond all expectation, he had his hair shaven and became a monk in the monastery of Stoudios. ^B Apolaphar Muchumetus, the governor of Sicily, having concluded a treaty with the Emperor, was honored with the rank of *magistros*. And when his brother Apochapsus rose up against him, he was overpowered and fled for the Emperor’s aid. George Maniakes, a *patrikios* and *strategos autokrator*, was therefore sent with an army into Longobardia, and with him Stephen the *patrikios*, commander of the fleet and husband of the Emperor’s sister. ^C When Saracens from Africa and Sicily were harrying the islands and the coastline with many ships, Constantine Chages, the *strategos* of the Cibyrrhaeots, joined battle with them with the local fleet and routed them completely, sending five hundred captives to the Emperor and sinking the rest. A severe frost subsequently occurred and the Danube froze solid, allowing the Patzinaks to cross over and cause no small ruin to Mysia and Thrace as far as Macedonia. Locusts also appeared in the Thracian theme ^D and wrought havoc on the crops.

In the year 6544, the fourth indiction, in the spring, the Patzinaks made three incursions into Roman territory, utterly destroying those they encountered, slaughtering the able-bodied, and subjecting the captives to unspeakable tortures. They also captured five *strategoi* alive: John Dermokaites, Bardas Petzes, Leo Chalcobubas, Constantine Pterotos, and Michael Strabotricares. The princes of the Rus, Nosisthlabus and Hierosthlabus, also died, and their kinsman Zinisthlathes was chosen to rule over the Rus. Serbia, too, which had cast off the yoke upon the death of the Emperor Romanus, was once again reconciled to the Empire. When the *amermoumnes* of Egypt died, his wife, who was a Christian, sent envoys to the Emperor along with her son concerning peace; the Emperor accepted the proposal and established a thirty-year truce with her.

In the month of December, the tenth indiction, in the year 6545, on the eighteenth day of the month, at the fourth hour of the night, three earthquakes occurred, two small and one great. When, as we have said, Lependrenus, the successor of Maniakes, was guarding Edessa, the Arabs residing in Mesopotamia formed a coalition and attacked Edessa, besieging the city. It would surely have fallen, had not Constantine, the brother of the Emperor, sent sufficient aid from Antioch and saved it beyond all hope. The Emperor, appreciative of this deed, appointed him Domestic of the Schools of the East. The Emperor also appointed Antony Paches, a eunuch from Nicomedia related to him by blood, as bishop of Nicomedia, though he was entirely unworthy of the bishopric and, as they say, carried an ox of ignorance on his tongue. When, however, a drought...

^A had occurred for six whole months without any rain falling, the emperor’s brothers held a litany: John carrying the holy mandylion, the grand domestic carrying the letter of Christ to Abgar, and the protovestiarios carrying the holy swaddling clothes. They proceeded on foot from the Great Palace as far as the church of the most holy Theotokos of Blachernae. The patriarch, together with the clergy, also performed another litany. Not only did it not rain, but massive hail fell, which crushed the trees and the roof tiles of the city. As a famine took hold of the city, John sent off and purchased from the Peloponnese and Greece one hundred thousand measures of wheat, and by means of them he brought relief to the citizens.

[P. 740] In Sicily, as has been related, when the two brothers were at odds and Apolaphar was prevailing, one of the brothers called upon Amer Umer of Africa for help, and he promised he would fight as an ally if he received some possession on the island. The Sicilian readily agreed to this, and he [Umer] arrived, and having engaged with Apolaphar—while the force of Maniaces, sent to his aid by the patrician George, had not yet arrived—he defeated him convincingly. The latter fled to Leo Opos, the governor of Longobardia, and asked for aid. Leo, having assembled what forces he could under the pressing circumstances, crossed over into Sicily and, having joined battle with the leader of the Africans many times and gained the upper hand, he checked his unchecked momentum. ^B Afterward, learning that the brothers were making peace and intended to unite and attack the Romans, he crossed back into Italy, bringing with him about 15,000 Roman captives who had been in the ships, and they were released and returned home. Umer the Carthaginian, freed from fear of his enemies, ravaged Sicily securely and with the utmost license. And such was the state of affairs in Sicily.

When an absurd love for the patriarchate of Constantinople had seized John, the emperor’s brother, Demetrius of Cyzicus, and the brothers-german Antony of Nicomedia, the bishop of Side, and the bishop of Ancyra, having communicated the matter, consulted with other metropolitans about ousting Alexius and installing John on the throne in his stead. ^C Therefore, Alexius the patriarch, together with the rest of the Church, sent a message declaring: "Since, as you say, I did not ascend the throne by the votes of the bishops but by the command of the emperor Basil, contrary to the canons, let those metropolitans whom I ordained be deposed, having governed the Church for eleven and a half years; and let those three emperors upon whom I placed the imperial crowns be anathematized, and I shall yield the throne to whomever wishes to take it." Having received this message, those surrounding Demetrius, filled with shame and fear (for the majority ^D had been created by him), nothing seemed more urgent

than silence and tranquility; and John himself abandoned his desire for the possession of the throne for the future.

In the year 6546, indiction 6, on the 2nd day of November, an earthquake occurred around the tenth hour of the day, and the earth continued to tremble until the month of January. Famine was also suffered throughout Thrace, Macedonia, the Strymon, Thessalonica, and as far as Thessaly. Since the clergy of Thessalonica were complaining about the metropolitan Theophanes, because he would not pay them the grain he owed them, the emperor, who was then staying in Thessalonica, urged the bishop not to defraud the clergy of what was lawfully owed to them. And when he clamored and would not obey, the emperor decided to outwit him by guile and check his avarice. He therefore sent one of his ministers, requesting that one centenarium be lent to him until gold could be brought from Byzantium. The bishop took an oath and denied having more than thirty pounds. When he had been removed, the emperor searched his treasuries and found thirty-three centenaria of gold. ^B With these, he paid the clergy all that was owed from the first year of Theophanes’ archbishopric up to that present day, distributed the remainder among the poor, expelled Theophanes from the church, and exiled him to a certain estate; he entrusted the bishopric to Prometheus, and ordered him to provide food for Theophanes, who was to live as a private individual.

When Pancratius, the lord of Abasgia, was vehemently pressing Jasites, the prince of Upper Iberia, John sent against him Constantine, the Domestic of the Schools, his own brother, with all the eastern forces, promising him that he would also send Dalassenus to be his advisor and colleague in conducting the war. ^C This he did not do, and so the Domestic returned without having accomplished his business.

When John was about to take a purging medicine, the Empress Zoe, having learned of this through one of her most trusted eunuchs, the one called Sgouritzes, bribed the physician with no small gifts, promising to raise him to the highest splendor of life and to great riches if he would mix a lethal poison into the medicine. But a certain boy, a servant of the physician, revealed the plot to John, and the conspiracy having been exposed, the physician was exiled to Antioch, his native city, while Constantine Mucupela the protospatharius, who had prepared the poison, was expelled from the city, and higher suspicions regarding the Empress were aroused. ^D Just as George Maniakes the patrician had arrived in Sicily, the brothers who held it, having made peace with one another, strove to drive him from the island. For this reason, they summoned as allies from Africa fifty thousand men. Once they had arrived, a mighty battle took place at the place called Remata, and the Carthaginians were defeated, and such a great slaughter of them was carried forth that the river flowing past was

flooded with blood. After this, he took thirteen cities of Sicily, and, advancing little by little, he subdued the whole island.

In the year 6546, the sixth indiction, a plot was formed against the city of Edessa; and it was nearly falling, had not God saved it. For when the protospatharios Barasbatzes the Iberian was governor, twelve Arab leaders approached him, having five hundred cavalry and five hundred camels carrying a thousand chests, which contained within them two thousand heavy-armed soldiers, claiming that they were going to the Emperor to offer him gifts. ^A Their intention was to bring the chests inside the city and, by night, to bring out the soldiers and occupy the city. The governor received the leaders kindly and entertained them, but he ordered the cavalry and the baggage to remain outside. Now a certain Armenian beggar, having come to the place where the Saracens were lodged, heard one of those in the chests—for he also knew the Saracen language—asking another where they were; and he ran and reported this to the governor. The latter, leaving the leaders at their meal, went out with his own soldiers, broke open the chests, found all the heavy-armed soldiers within, and slaughtered them utterly, along with the cavalry and the camel-drivers. Then he returned to the city ^B and killed eleven of the leaders, but one, having cut off his hands, ears, and nose, he sent home as a better messenger of those things that had happened.

In the year 6547, the seventh indiction, John, increasing his hatred toward Dalassenos, sent into exile Theophanes the patrician, his brother, and his other brother, the patrician Romanos, and Hadrian his cousin, and the rest of his relatives; for he was eager to destroy his family root and branch. Being most shrewd in what one might call wickedness, he devised every path of injustice, adding beyond the public taxes that each of the villages should pay for the ^C air-tax according to their quality and strength—to one four nomismata, to another up to twenty—and other shameful sources of revenue for the sake of greed, which it is a shame even to recount. But the Emperor, tortured by the demon and finding no relief, sent into all the themes and islands two nomismata to each of the priests, and one nomismata to the monks. He also sponsored the baptisms of newborn infants, giving one nomisma and four miliarisia for each. But none of these things profited him; rather, the evil increased, with a dropsical disease also supervening. At this same time there were constant earthquakes and a violent flooding of rains. Also, in some of the themes, the ^D dog-strangling disease [diphtheria] prevailed, such that the living were not sufficient to carry out the dead.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

(9) Regarding what the "air-tax" is: I do not grasp, by the word, what weight or value of nomisma this mark denotes. XYL.

(10) He took up the baptisms, which he judged to be no small work of piety, hoping thereby to redeem his health from God. XYL.

I thought it should be noted in passing that in this and the following there are many things in our author and in Zonaras that do not sufficiently agree. But since both will already be in the hands of people, it is not our place to insert those things into these charts. XYL.

^A Anno 6548, indictione 8, mensis Februarii 2, A terrible earthquake occurred, and while it afflicted other places and cities as well, Smyrna became a pitiable spectacle, as its most beautiful buildings collapsed and destroyed many of the inhabitants. ^B In Sicily, the Carthaginian, having recovered his strength and gathered an army much larger than the previous one, marched toward Sicily to drive out Maniakes. Having encamped in a certain plain, flat and open (the plain was called Draginai), he watched for an opportunity for battle. Maniakes, learning of this, led out his own forces to meet him, having previously ordered the patrician Stephen, the husband of the Emperor's sister and commander of the fleet, as we said, to guard the coastline diligently, lest when the battle was joined, the Carthaginian, having been routed, might escape stealthily or return home. And so, coming to a clash, he routed him with force. A multitude of the Africans perished, numbering over 50,000, but their leader himself escaped the danger, reached the shore, and boarding a light vessel, escaped the notice of Stephen's guards and fled back to his own country. Maniakes, on learning of this, was deeply distressed, and when Stephen came to him, he overwhelmed him with strange insults and, raising his whip, struck him on the head several times, calling him sluggish, effeminate, and a traitor to the Emperor's interests. Stephen, unable to bear this ignominy and insult, soon sent a letter to the Orphanotrophos, indicating that Maniakes was meditating a revolt against the Emperor. And so he was immediately brought as a prisoner to the imperial city and cast into prison along with the patrician Basil Theodorokanos. ^C The entire command of the campaign was entrusted to Stephen, and a certain eunuch, Basil the praepositus Pediadites, was sent as his colleague. In a short space of time, they ruined the whole affair, through rapacity, cowardice, and negligence, losing Sicily. For Maniakes, when he took the cities of Sicily, had built citadels in them and fortified them with adequate garrisons, so that the townspeople could not take them back by treachery. But when he was taken in chains to Byzantium, as we have said, the Sicilians, mocking the negligence of the Roman commanders, summoned an army from the Carthaginians, stormed the garrisons, took the citadels, and recovered all the cities except Messana. Messana was under the command of Catacalo, surnamed Ambustus, a protospatharius and commander of the Armeniac legion, who had with him 300 cavalry and 500 infantry. The islanders, therefore, desiring that not even a spark of the Roman force should be left lurking on that island, gathered everyone who could bear arms and, with no small assistance from the Carthaginians, besieged Messana. ^D For three days Catacalo kept the gates closed and did not allow any of his men to go out, and thereby excited the opinion among the enemy that he was cowardly. Therefore the Saracens wandered about securely, and spent the days and nights on wine, pipes, and cymbals, hoping that the next day they would take the city. On the fourth day, when Pentecost was being celebrated according to custom, Ambustus, observing the security and laziness of the Saracens, and in order that they

^A might take no account of those they were besieging but instead, through their own show of cowardice, might be despised, the Saracens were dispersed without fear; and by night and by day they were given over to drinking, pipes, and cymbals, as if the city were soon to be captured on the morrow. On the fourth day, upon which we are accustomed to celebrate Pentecost, Kekaumenos, observing the carelessness and sloth of the Saracens, and that they were living in great security, taking no account of those inside the wall, encouraged his own people and commanded the priests to celebrate the bloodless sacrifice. Having participated in the divine mysteries with everyone at once, around the hour of the midday meal he threw open the city gates and charged with the greatest force against the enemies, who were drunk and heavy with hangover. He himself, riding with those who were with him, pushed forward ^B first toward the tent of Apolaphar, the governor of the island. And he was killed at once, being unsteady from drunkenness, and his tent was torn down. The other Saracens also fell in heaps, stumbling from drunkenness and, due to the unexpectedness of the attack, completely unable to look toward defending themselves. There was, therefore, a rout of the entire camp, with the Saracens trampling and killing one another, so that the field and the nearest ravines and the rivers were filled with corpses, and out of so many myriads, very few escaped to Panormos. The entire camp was also captured, overflowing with gold and silver and pearls and precious stones, which, it is said, the soldiers measured out by the bushel. And thus, all Sicily, which had been captured in a short time by Maniakes, returned again in a brief period, due to the negligence and wickedness of the generals, to the Saracens, with only Messana remaining, in the manner we have described, with Stephanos and Pediadites having fled into Longobardia. And such was the state of affairs in Sicily.

The Emperor Michael, for the most part, resided in Thessalonica, lingering at the tomb of the triumphant martyr Demetrios, and yearning to find relief from his illness. He did not concern himself with affairs of state even in the slightest, unless compelled by extreme necessity, with the administration of all things and of the entire commonwealth resting upon John. There was no sort of evil and lawless scheme that this man did not devise and employ for the crushing and vexing of his subjects. Indeed, to recount every one of these outrages would be a Herculean labor. For a long time, the people, worn down by this tyranny, kept asking for God’s help and relief. But God also continuously sent forth earthquakes, and the world was full of terrible portents: in the heavens, the rising of comets; in the air, winds and violent rains; and upon the earth, rumblings and shocks. These things, I believe, portended the soon-to-come destruction of the tyrants.

^D In the month of May of the year 6548, in the eighth indiction, the sister of the Emperor, Maria, the mother of the Caesar, went to Ephesus in order to worship at the shrine of the Beloved [John the Evangelist]. And while traveling, having learned of many of the things being done iniquitously, she returned to Byzantium and reported everything to her brother John, and urged him to place some restraint upon this wickedness. He, however, dismissed her with laughter, saying that she thought like a woman and was ignorant of how much was required for the Roman commonwealth. Likewise, when she spoke to the Emperor at Thessalonica, as we have said,

^A John, who was staying at Thessalonica, sent ten centenaria of gold to the Emperor, but the ship was seized by swirling winds, dashed against the Illyrian shores, and wrecked. Stephanus, also called Boisthlabus, the prince of the Serbs—who had fled from the city a short time before and had occupied the land of the Serbs, having driven out Theophilus Eroticus from there—carried off the gold. But John the Magistrate, putting offices up for sale and slackening the reins of all injustice, filled the world with countless calamities, as prefects plundered their subjects with impunity, and no one at all took any notice of what was happening.

When the Emperor at Thessalonica learned of the loss of the gold, he wrote to Stephanus, directing him to send back what was his and not to provide further cause for war. Since Stephanus counted this as nothing, the Emperor sent an army against him, under the command of the eunuch George Probatas. He, having entered Serbia, fell thoughtlessly into the difficulties of the terrain and into impassable valleys, losing his entire army and barely escaping himself.

In this same year, the revolt of Bulgaria also occurred in this way: A certain Bulgarian, Deleanus by name, a slave of a certain Constantinopolitan, having fled from the city, wandered through Bulgaria and arrived at Morabos and Belegrados (these are fortresses of Pannonia situated across the Ister and neighboring the territory of the Turks ^B). He gave himself out to be a son of Romanus, the son of Samuel, and incited the Bulgarian nation, which not long before had bowed its neck to the yoke and greatly longed for liberty. Hence it came about that they put faith in the man’s claims, proclaimed him King of Bulgaria, and led him around through Naissus and Scupiæ, the primary city of Bulgaria, celebrating him as king with auspicious acclamations and cruelly and inhumanely slaughtering every Roman they encountered. ^C When Basilius Synadenus, the prefect of Dyrrhachium, learned of this, he quickly led the local forces against Deleanus, thinking it necessary to meet him before this fire gathered strength. But when he had arrived at the place called Debra, and a certain dispute had arisen between him and one of the military tribunes, Michael Dermocaites, he was accused before the Emperor of plotting tyranny on a false charge. He was immediately stripped of his command, taken to Thessalonica, and placed in custody.

Dermocaites (for he had been ordered to succeed him) ^D managed his office unskillfully and poorly, and in a short time turned everything upside down. For those under him, being plundered unjustly, and despoiled of their own horses and chariots and everything else that they held dear, rose up against the general. But he, perceiving that an ambush was being prepared against him, fled by night. They, therefore, fearing the wrath of the Emperor, revolted openly and appointed a certain man of known prudence and fortitude, by the name of Teichomerus, as their king of Bulgaria. There were now two Bulgarian factions.

one acclaiming Deleanus, the other Teichomerus. But Deleanus wrote ^A friendly letters to Teichomerus, inviting him to an alliance, and persuaded him to come. When the two Bulgarian factions had united, Deleanus called everyone together and exhorted them, saying that if they were convinced that he was descended from Samuel and wished to have him as their king, they should remove Teichomerus; but if this did not seem right to them, he would himself resign and allow Teichomerus to rule. "For," he said, "one thicket does not nourish two thicket-birds, nor will one country be successfully governed by two leaders." When he had said this, a great uproar arose, and they declared that they wanted him alone as their autocratic leader. And at once, upon this plan, they picked up stones and stoned the unfortunate Teichomerus to death. He, having thought for a moment as if in a dream that he held authority, perished along with his authority, and all the power shifted to Deleanus. This man ^B raised all his forces and marched toward Thessalonica against the emperor. Learning of this, the emperor departed in disorder for Byzantium, abandoning all his equipment and his tent and whatever gold and silver and fabrics there were; these, Manuel Ibatza, the emperor's domestic, was ordered to take away and follow, but having received them, he crossed over to Deleanus along with a certain man of the Coetonitae, one of the bedchamber eunuchs.

There was also a drought at this time, such that the abundant springs and perennial rivers almost dried up. There was also a fire ^C in the Exartesis on the sixth day of the month of August, and all the triremes stationed there, along with their equipment, were burned. Deleanus, however, handled matters energetically; having sent an army under the general called Caucanus, he took Dyrrachium. He also sent another army into Greece, commanded by Anthimus; the Allacasseus met him near Thebes, and having engaged, he was routed, and many Thebans were slain. At that time, also, the theme of the Nicopolitans, with the exception of Naupactus, defected to the Bulgarians for a reason which shall be told. A certain Byzantine man, ^D John by name, nicknamed Cutzomytes, having been sent as a tax collector for the public taxes there, acted toward the locals so harshly that he brought destruction upon himself and became the cause of revolt for the Nicopolitans. For, unable to bear his greed, they revolted, cut him into pieces and limbs, and, cursing the Roman emperor, they joined the Bulgarians. They were not so much impelled by affection for Deleanus as they were by hatred of the orphanotrophus on account of his insatiable greed in exactions. For the emperor Basil, at the time when he subdued the Bulgarians, had changed nothing at all, but allowed all things to remain in their original condition, nor did he institute any exaction other than that of Samuel. That had been that whatever Bulgarian possessed a yoke of oxen, he would contribute to the public treasury one modius of wheat, one of millet, and a jar of wine. The orphanotrophus in th-

^A however, decreed that money should be given instead of these goods. The local inhabitants, not bearing this easily—and finding also a fitting opportunity in the appearance of Deleanus—shook off Roman rule and returned to their ancient custom.

At this time, a conspiracy was formed against the Emperor, with Michael known as Cerularius and John Macrembolites, along with not a few other citizens, as the leaders of the crime. These were exiled and their goods confiscated. Another insurrection also occurred against Constantine the Great Domestic at Mesanactes; when this was reported to him, Michael Gabras and Theodosius Mesanictes and many other officers of the regiments were blinded, but Gregory the patrician Taronites, who was said to be the author of the conspiracy, was wrapped in a raw ox-hide over his entire body, leaving only an opening for breath and his eyes, and was sent to the orphanotrophus. ^B

In the month of September, in the ninth indiction of the year 6549 [A.D. 1041], Alusianus, patrician and strategos of Theodosiopolis, the second son of Aaron, suddenly fled from the city and went over to Deleanus for the following reason: While he was strategos in Theodosiopolis, and had been accused of injustice, before an inquiry could be held into the charges against him, John had exacted from him 50 pounds of gold, and he had also been deprived of a woman's estate, which he held in the Charsianon, a very fine one. Having petitioned the Emperor many times regarding this and obtaining no redress, and having despaired of his fortunes on every side, he took up the garb of an Armenian and, pretending to be a servant of Basil Theodorocanus, was on his way to the Emperor at Thessalonica; he fled secretly from everyone and reached Ostrobus, where Deleanus happened ^C to be encamped with his entire army. Deleanus received him with great joy—fearing lest the Bulgarians might incline rather to him, as he had the lineage of royal blood—and admitted him as a partner, as it seemed, of the empire; he gave him an army of forty thousand men, ordering him to go and besiege Thessalonica. At that time, the patrician Constantine, the Emperor’s cousin, was in charge of the city of Thessalonica. He went out, encompassed it with a trench, and pressed the siege with great diligence. But after he had besieged the city for six days in vain, and had been repelled from every side, despairing of taking it by assault, he resolved to capture it by blockade. On a certain day, the townspeople went to the sepulcher of the great martyr Demetrius, and having spent the whole night in supplication and used the myrrh that flows from the divine ^D tomb, they opened the gates as if by a single impulse and rushed out against the Bulgarians. The regiment of the Great-Souled was with the Thessalonians. Having gone out and terrified them with the unexpected...

more than 15,000 Bulgarians, and not a few were taken captive; the rest escaped by a most shameful flight with Alusianus to Deleanus. In this same year, on the 10th day, at the 12th hour of the day, there was an earthquake.

After this defeat, Deleanus and Alusianus, having reunited, began to harbor dark suspicions against one another, the one being ashamed on account of the failed enterprise, the other suspecting that treachery had intervened. Thus, they began to lay ambuscades for each other, watching for an opportunity. Finally, Alusianus, having communicated the matter with some of his household, invited Deleanus to a banquet, and there, having rendered him helpless with drink and drunkenness, put out his eyes, with none of the Bulgarians perceiving what had happened at all. He himself fled to Mosynopolis to the Emperor. The Emperor, having raised him to the dignity of Magister, sent him off to Constantinople to the Orphanotrophos. The Emperor himself, leaving Mosynopolis, went to Thessalonica. From there he crossed into Bulgaria, apprehended Deleanus, and sent him back to Thessalonica; then, moving into the interior (for Manuel Ibatza had still been constructing a wooden rampart near Prilapos, thinking he could hold back the imperial army from advancing and secure the interior regions), but the Emperor, having arrived there more quickly than was expected, broke through the wooden wall, dispersed the gathering of the Bulgarians, and captured Ibatza along with it.

^C Having set everything in order in Bulgaria and appointed governors in the themes, he entered the Queen of Cities, bringing with him both Deleanus and Ibatza. Worn down by the illness that gripped him, and despairing of his safety from every side, he was tonsured a monk by the monk Cosmas Tzintzuluca, who had been with him throughout and instructed him in the necessary precepts. On the 10th of December, in the 10th indiction, in the year of the world 6550, he departed this life after having done penance and piously confessed his sins, lamenting with tears his wickedness toward the Emperor Romanos. He had reigned for 7 years and 8 months; he was a man in other respects lenient and good and of seemingly pious life, had it not been for that one transgression, which many, however, attribute to the Orphanotrophos.

^D Michael having come to such an end, the supreme power fell to the Empress Zoe as if by hereditary right. Therefore, at first, she applied herself to the management of affairs with greater youthful vigor, using as helpers and supporters her father’s eunuchs, whom the narrative has several times enumerated heretofore. Yet she did not remain of the same mind, but looking toward the magnitude of the empire and realizing that she would never be able to manage public affairs correctly by herself, and considering it disadvantageous for such a great authority to be without an emperor and leaderless, she judged it necessary to appoint an emperor who would be able to handle affairs in the circumstances that might arise. Having spent three whole days in deliberations concerning this, she adopted as her son and designated as Emperor of the Romans Michael, the son of the sister of the deceased emperor, and of that Stephen who had lost the cause in Sicily, already at that time being Caesar, and induced by the opinion of men

^A who deemed him active and skilled in affairs, having first bound him with most terrible oaths that he would have her as his lady, mistress, and mother for his whole life, and that he would perform whatever she saw fit to order, she adopted him as her son and proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans, crowning him with the imperial diadem; yet not before she had removed the Orphanotrophos from the way and banished him to the monastery of the Monobatae, and likewise having deposed Constantine the Domestic of the Schools from his office and confined him in his own estates of the Opsikion at the Apse, and in the same way having sent George the Protovestiarios off to his own possessions in Paphlagonia. At the very hour in which Michael was being crowned with the diadem, he was seized with dizziness and darkness and came near to falling, and he was with difficulty revived by ointments, perfumes, and other fragrant substances. Moreover, during the entire time he held the empire (which was four months), earthquakes persisted. Indeed, having been crowned by the patriarch and designated emperor, he won over the senate through the bestowal of honors and the people through the distribution of largesse, and by interceding with the Empress, he obtained permission to recall Constantine the Domestic from his exile; him he decorated with the title of Nobilissimus and kept by his side. But when he appeared to be standing in safety, he suddenly fell. For, corrupted by the letters of the Orphanotrophos and the counsels of the Domestic, who kept urging him ^B not to trust the Empress too much, but to be on his guard against her, lest he suffer things similar to his uncle the Emperor Michael and, before him, to Romanos—who, as they claimed, had been finished off by sorcery—and advising him that, if possible, he should put her out of the way and hasten so as not to be forestalled, he was finally driven by their continuous exhortations on this very subject to prepare a plot against his mother, Zoe. He decided first to test the spirit of the citizens, to see what opinion they held concerning him; if he understood them to be favoring him and steadfastly inclined toward him, he would proceed with the matter, but if the reverse happened, he would abandon the plan. Therefore, for the Sunday following Holy Easter, he commanded a public procession to the Church of the Holy Apostles, hoping in this way to explore the minds of the citizens concerning himself. He came, therefore, crowned, with the senate and all the urban ranks rushing to that spectacle, including those who dwelt along the royal way, hanging out gold and silver vessels from their houses and robes and textiles interwoven with gold, and striving in their joyous acclamations to pour out the very sentiment of their own hearts. The miserable man, ensnared by these things ^C and thinking that all this proceeded from the height of goodwill, as soon as he had returned to the Great Palace, instructed the patriarch to depart for his monastery, which was in Stenon, and to await him there the next day, having given him four pounds of gold, as he intended in short order to appoint his successor. By night he cast the Augusta from the throne and banished her to the Princes' Islands, with a mandate to those who were abducting her that they should shave her and bring her hair to him. ^D

XYLANDER AND GOAR'S NOTES

^A four pounds of gold for the reception which was supposedly to take place for him. But at night, he drags the Empress from her throne and confines her to Prinkipos, having ordered those who were leading her to shear her hair and bring it to him. And those who were sent did as they were commanded. At dawn, he wrote a proclamation [(15)] and gave it to the Eparch of the city to be read to the citizens in the Forum of Constantine; and the proclamation indicated: "Zoe, having been found ill-disposed toward my reign, has been exiled by me; and Alexius, thinking as she does, has been removed from the church. But you, my people, if you maintain your goodwill toward me, will obtain great honors and benefits, and will live a life free from trouble and pure." ^B When the Eparch had read the proclamation to the hearing of the people, a certain voice was heard, though no one was found who had uttered it, saying: "We do not want a stauropates [(16)]–calaphates as emperor, but our ancestral and hereditary sovereign and mother, Zoe." And immediately, as if with one voice, all the people shouted: "Let the bones [(17)] of the Calaphates be dug up!" And having seized stones, benches, and whatever wood came to hand, everyone would have killed the Eparch (he was Anastasius, the patrician, who had served the father of Zoe), had he not used flight to provide for his own safety. They ran to the Great Church (for the patriarch also happened to be there, having purchased his own return, and he was slandering the emperor and seeking the restoration of the Empress); therefore, all the eunuchs of her father ^C and Constantine the patrician Cabasilas and the rest of the entire multitude of the senate all ran there, and by common counsel they sent and brought Theodora from the Petrion to the Great Church, and having clothed her in the imperial purple, they hailed her as Augusta together with Zoe, her sister. And having rushed toward the palace, they hastened to drive Michael from the palaces. He, being terrified by the roar and motion of the people, immediately sent and brought Zoe into the palace, and stripping her of her monastic garments, he re-clothed her in imperial attire. Having then leaned out from the seat in the hippodrome and attempted to address the people ^D that the Empress had been brought and that all things were well for them according to their wish, he was not allowed, as from everywhere they cast insults, as well as stones and arrows, against him.

Xylander and Goar's Notes

(15) *Relationem* (the report/proclamation): he renders it "interpreter," which is directed to the people. I might also call it a decree issued by the emperor. "Apologeticus" and "proven defense of the deed" is rendered more aptly. GOAR.

(16) *Stauropates*: it sounds like "cross-trampler." But whether this is also an impious habit, I do not know. XYL. It signifies one who tramples on the cross. Hence any perjurer, pledging faith by scratching or making a cross, is considered not to break faith, but to trample, despise, and spit upon the cross. Leo Grammaticus: "He despised the perjurers and cross-tramplers." GOAR.

(17) *Let the bones be dug up*: See the notes on what follows. Hence, if one who is a perjurer pledges faith by scratching or making a cross, he is considered not to break faith but to trample, despise, and spit upon the cross. GOAR. *Let the bones be dug up*: for whose bones would be dug up while still living? But, of course, this imprecation had passed into usage so that it was also used regarding the living; just as many foolish people of our day, when tools or instruments fail them, or when they are hurt, dedicate them with dire imprecations, which are no more appropriate in that context than poverty to a rock or damnation to hay. XYL.

^A And it happened that Catakalon Kekaumenos, ^B who had recently come from Sicily bringing the good news of the victory at Messina, had just arrived; thus, relying on this force, the emperor intended to conduct the matter bravely. But since the people were divided into three parts—one portion attacking from the Hippodrome, another at the Excubita, and the third at the Tzykanisterion—the imperial forces also divided their strength into three parts to defend themselves fiercely. A great slaughter of the citizens ensued, as they were naked and unarmed, fighting against armed men with sticks, stones, and whatever objects came to hand. They say that on this day (which was the third day of Antipascha) about three thousand men were killed. Finally, the citizens, outnumbering them, prevailed over the emperor’s men. Breaking through the gates of the palace and entering inside, they plundered the gold and other goods stored in the Sekreton, tore up the public tax registers, and hastened to seize the emperor himself. When he saw that he was overcome, the emperor embarked on an imperial dromon with the Nobilissimus and some of his closest associates, having left Zoe in the palace, and fled to the monastery of Stoudios in the early morning of Wednesday, where both he and the Nobilissimus immediately donned the monastic habit.

The battle, which had begun at the second hour of the second day of Antipascha ^C, ended in the night of the third day. Zoe, having regained power over the empire, wished to cast aside her sister Theodora, but was overruled by the multitude, who asked for her to be a co-ruler. Thus, Theodora also came from the Great Church into the palace. After the senate was convened, Zoe first spoke to the senate, and then from a conspicuous place to the people, giving them thanks, as was fitting, for their goodwill toward her and praying for their welfare; then she inquired what they wanted to be done about the emperor. But all with one voice shouted: "Take away the accursed man, remove the villain from our midst; let him be impaled, let him be crucified, let him be blinded." Zoe hesitated to impose such punishment, for she felt pity for the unfortunate man; but Theodora, full of anger ^D and having now obtained authority, commanded the newly appointed prefect of the city (who was Campanaris) to go at once and gouge out the eyes of Michael and the Nobilissimus. The multitude followed him as he went toward the Studite monastery. Upon learning of their arrival, they fled into the sanctuary of the church of John the Baptist. But the people, still burning with rage on account of the citizens, XYLEANDRI ET GOARI NOTÆ. (18) Location and station of the palace guards. Codinus says: "The palaces of the Chalke and of the Excubita were built." Elsewhere, he designates the palace guard and the regiment of the Excubita, as (those/other authorities) Rufus and Constantine write; concerning which there is no difficulty. GOAR. (19) The day opposite to Easter is the octave of Antipascha, which takes its name from the Gospel reading, to us on the Sunday in Albis. The "third day" which follows is Tuesday. GOAR.

^A broken into by force, and dragging them thence through the forum by their feet as far as the place named Sigma, situated above the monastery of the Peribleptos, they put out the eyes of both there, although Michael had begged much that the punishment be inflicted first upon his uncle, as the author and cause of all the evils that had happened; which was also granted. Having lost their eyes, they were exiled—Michael to the monastery of the Elegmoi on the twenty-first of April, in the tenth indiction, in the year 6550—having reigned for four months and five days; all his kinsmen were dispersed, part here and part there.

^B Upon the power reverting to Zoe, who had her sister Theodora as a co-empress, though she was unwilling, the senate was immediately honored with advancements in rank, and thanks were given for the distribution of gifts to the public, and for the care taken of the state as much as was at all possible. For letters and edicts were sent out to all parts of the empire, which forbade both the sale of magistracies—which had been the practice before—and commanded all kinds of injustice to be driven away. When these matters had been arranged as seemed best to the rulers, the Nobilissimus Constantine was also brought back from exile. And being questioned concerning the public funds, he was terrified by threats and pointed out that there were concealed in his house, which was near the Church of the Holy Apostles, fifty-three centenaria of gold in a certain cistern. This money was returned to the Augustae, and the Nobilissimus was sent back into exile. ^C Then the Augusta appointed as Domestic of the Schools of the East Nicolaus, the eunuch of her own father, and as Duke of the West, the patrician Constantine Cabasilas. And she honored the patrician George Maniakes, whom Michael had previously released from custody, with the rank of Magister and sent him as commander-in-chief with full authority over the armies in Italy. And these things happened thus. A council having been proposed concerning an emperor, it seemed good to all that an emperor be designated and lawfully joined to Zoe in marriage. And she herself indeed desired to have as her husband Constantine the Catepan, whom they even called "Argoclines" from the office he had held, for the man was handsome in appearance, and it was said that he was also secretly intimate with Zoe. But his wife took him out of life with poisons, not because she was hostile to him, but because she understood that she would be deprived of him while yet alive. ^D When this plan of Zoe’s had fallen to nothing, she recalled from exile Constantine Monomachos, whom the Orphanotrophos had ordered to be deported to the island of Mitylene, because he was said by all to be destined to hold the empire. Zoe, while she was still thinking about elevating that other Constantine to the peak of the empire, had designated this one as a praetor of the Greeks. But as he had been removed by poison, because this one bore the same name, he was convenient to the Augusta.

^A He was therefore brought to the church of the commander-in-chief located nearest to Athyras, in the region of Damocranea. And Stephen the Pergamenian, one of the eunuch chamberlains of the Augusta, was sent; he stripped him of his private clothing, dressed him in the imperial purple, and putting him on a swift boat, brought him to the palace. To him, once led there, the Augusta was united in the communion of marriage, the sacred ceremony being performed by the first of the presbyters of the New [Church] (22), who was named Stypes, on the eleventh of the month of June, in the year 6550 [98th year of the cycle]. He was crowned on the following day by the patriarch.

^B When he had already become master of the scepter, he advanced all the senators to higher offices according to the dignity of each, and showed his own liberality to the people with distributions of gold. He also sent mandates into all the themes, both announcing his proclamation and promising the outpouring and freedom of every good thing, and the cutting off of all wickedness. He also transferred John the Orphanotropheus with all that he possessed from the monastery of the Monobatai to the island of Lesbos, and Michael, who was recently deprived of the empire, to Chios, and Constantine the Nobilissimus to Samos. And these things were done in the early days of Monomachus, under the 10th indiction. But on the 6th of the month of October, of the 11th indiction, in the year 6551, a comet appeared, moving from the east toward the west, and it was seen shining for this entire month. It portended the worldly calamities that were about to follow. For Stephen, who was also called Boisthlabus, as was told before, had fled from Byzantium and occupied the Illyrian mountains, and was raiding and plundering the Triballi and the Serbs and the neighboring nations subject to the Romans. Monomachus, not bearing his incursions, commanded by letters to the then-governor of Dyrrachium (he was Michael the patrician, the son of Anastasius the logothete) that, having gathered both his own troops and others, as many soldiers as were stationed in the neighboring provinces subject to the Romans, together with the commanders of the ranks, he should set out against the Triballi and defeat Stephen.

^C But he, being far removed from the science of war, as a man reared in shadows and excessive comfort, setting about the task ineptly and ignorantly, caused a great calamity to the Roman administration. For having gathered the forces which he had been ordered to collect, being about sixty thousand soldiers, he marched into the land of the ^D Triballi by roads that were steep, rough, rugged, and so narrow that not even two horsemen could ride abreast, while the Serbs, it is said, gave way intentionally and allowed him to enter, neither being concerned about a retreat nor occupying the narrows with a proper guard. Having thus entered the plains for the purpose of plunder,

[index: entries preserved]

^A and devastation, his soldiers began to move; but the Serbs, having occupied the narrows and precipitous paths, awaited his return. When it seemed to Michael that he had had enough of plundering, he gathered much spoil and many captives, and the time appeared right for withdrawal. Once they were journeying through the narrow passes, then indeed the enemy, from the heights, pelted them with stones and arrows and all sorts of long-range weapons, and rolled down rocks of enormous size, destroying them; those with Michael were able to use neither their hands nor their weapons, nor could they display any work of valor at all. [P. 755] ^B Some fell there being struck, others were thrown down the precipices and were miserably consumed, so that the nearby ravines and brooks were filled with corpses and became passable for those pursuing them. About forty thousand fell, and seven commanders were slaughtered. The rest, hiding in the thickets and glens and mountain hollows, and having escaped the eyes of their opponents, and scaling these peaks by night, were saved on foot and naked—a pitiful sight to see and worthy of laments. Michael himself was also saved with them, having experienced the same fate.

Georgios Maniakes, the magister in Italy, as has been said, having been sent by the Empress Zoe in order to establish order there (for everything was diseased and being badly managed due to the inexperience and baseness of the leaders), turned his mind toward insurrection. It is worth telling and touching upon the causes [of this] for the precise knowledge of those reading this book. For when he was first sent to Italy by the Emperor Michael to fight as an ally for Apolafar Muchumeto, the ruler of Sicily, who was being attacked by his own brother ^C and the Africans, he happened to have recruited five hundred Franks sent for from the lands beyond the Alps, having as their leader Arduinos by name, the lord of a certain region and subject to no one, with whom he had wrought the trophies over the Saracens. But after he was slandered and removed from his command and brought to the city and imprisoned, and Michael the protospatharios, the Doceanus—an incompetent man and not well-disposed toward the conduct of affairs—was sent to rule Italy in his stead, it did not take long for him to throw everything into confusion and ruin. For by not providing to the Franks in time the rations due to them each month, and rather, as they say, even having insulted and shamefully scourged their leader, who had come to him ^D to exhort him to treat the soldiers kindly and not to deprive them of the pay for their labors, he forced the men to revolt. Although when they had taken up arms he ought to have gathered all the Roman forces and engaged them, he did not do this, but, having taken one regiment, that of the Opsikian and a part of the Thrakesians, [alt-version omitted]

^A and having joined them in battle at Cannae, near the river Aufidus—where in ancient times Hannibal cut to pieces so many myriads of the Roman armies—he was defeated and lost the greater part of his force, having escaped himself from Cannae in a most shameful manner. Yet, even after having been struck by this blow, he did not, like the fisherman in the proverb, come to his senses; nor, having fortified himself with his entire army, did he attack the enemy. Instead, as it seems, emboldened by rashness, he gathered together those who had been defeated and, with the Pisidians and Lycaonians—who make up the regiment of the ^B Federates—he rushed against the enemy at the place called Horae, and was again utterly routed. The Franks recruited an additional force, not small, from the Italians living around the river Po and the foothills of the Alps. When the Emperor Michael heard of this, he removed him from his command and sent Bojoannes, who was thought to be a practical man and proven in war; he was related to that Bojoannes who had been sent into Italy by the Emperor Basil, and who had at that time brought all of Italy as far as Rome under the power of the Emperor. But he too, having gone to the region and having no fresh and vigorous force available, but being compelled to engage the enemy with those who had already been defeated—who had by then grown strong at Monopolis and were holding the land as their own—was defeated and captured, and his army, as many as did not fall by the sword, were scattered here and there, having taken refuge in the fortresses that still held with the Romans. And from that time on, the Franks claimed Italy for themselves as land won by conquest, with the local inhabitants either submitting voluntarily or being subdued by force, except for Brundisium, Hidrus, Tarentum, and Baris; for these four cities remained, keeping faith with the Romans.

After the Emperor Michael died and his successor was driven from the throne, Maniakes, as was mentioned above, was sent into Italy by Zoe; and although he did not have sufficiently large forces, yet, by using strategic expedients, he succeeded in driving the Franks from the parts of Italy around Capua, ^C Beneventum, and Neapolis, and restored a moderate state of affairs and peace. This Maniakes had possessions in the Eastern themes and was a neighbor of Romanus Sclerus, with whom he had maintained a long-standing hostility; he would have killed him several times over had Sclerus not sought safety in flight. But when Monomachus gained the Roman throne, and Sclerus was raised to great fortune (for his sister was the concubine of the Emperor, and he himself had been honored with the rank of *magister* and *protostrator*), he, mindful of the wrongs done to him by Georgius [Maniakes] and abusing his power during Maniakes' absence, caused much damage to his estates and wantonly defiled his marriage bed. When Maniakes, who was in Italy, learned of this, he was moved to great distress and anger. ^D And when, through the machinations of Romanus, it was brought about that his command was taken away from him, seeing his situation as completely ruined (for he understood that a return to the City would not end well for him), he stirred up and corrupted the Italian troops. Since the soldiers were already burning with a desire to return to their homeland, he moved in arms against the Emperor. He therefore killed his successor, the *protospatharios* Pardus, a man from Byzantium who had been sent to replace him—a man who had no merit for such a position, but who was simply known to the Emperor—as soon as he arrived to take over as prefect of that great province. Taking up the diadem and the rest of the imperial insignia, he was hailed as Emperor; then, having loaded his army onto ships, he crossed over into Bulgaria. Upon learning of this, the Emperor was not a little disturbed and sent him letters, in which he and those with him were [index: entries preserved]

^A promised immunity from all fear and urged to lay down their arms, with a promise of every kind of benefit. But because he was implacable and would not abandon his purpose, the Emperor himself also brought together the forces he had, and placing as general over them the *Sebastophoros* ^B (25) Stephen—the one who had brought the joyful news of the empire to him at Damocranea—he sent him against the rebel. The armies met at the place called Ostrobos in Marmarion, and upon an engagement taking place, those around Stephen were routed, Maniakes himself leading the attack and breaking their ranks. They were already acclaiming him as Emperor when, while this was happening, he suddenly fell from his horse and died, no one appearing to have wounded him; for he was found to have a mortal wound on his chest. When this became known to the opposing army, the head of George was cut off, and all who had taken his side were captured, having thrown down their arms and surrendered themselves immediately upon the fall of their leader. A messenger was sent to the Emperor bringing the good news of the victory, and a few days later Stephen also entered, carrying the head of Maniakes and those captured in the war; and he celebrated a triumph through the middle of the square, with the head carried aloft on a spear and the rebels riding on donkeys, while he himself followed behind the procession, sitting on a white horse. And such was the end that the affairs of Maniakes met.

There occurred also another revolt in Cyprus at this ^C time, having as its chief instigator Theophilus Erotikos. For this man, being the *strategos* of the island and always desiring new things, as soon as he heard of the fall of Kalaphates and the confusion that had taken possession of affairs, thinking he had found an opportune time to accomplish his design, stirred up the whole nation of the Cypriots and incited them to the murder of the judge and collector of public taxes, the *protospatharios* Theophylaktos, bringing against him the accusation that he was making the tax collections too grievous. But Monomachos did not need a very long delay to suppress him; for the commander of the fleet, the patrician Constantine Chages, having overcome all the Cypriots, captured him and brought him to the Emperor. When he was brought, the Emperor clothed him in a woman's garment, led him in a triumph during the equestrian games in the Hippodrome, ^D and dismissed him after stripping him of his property. [P. 758] On the 20th day of the month of February, of the 11th indiction, Alexios the patriarch departed this life.

Xylander and Goar's Notes

^A and Michael Cerularius was taken up to his throne on the day of the Annunciation, having been a monk from the time when the Orphanotrophus had exiled him on account of the plot. Gold hidden away in the mansion of Alexius was also reported to the emperor, and having sent servants, he recovered it, amounting to twenty-five centenaria. On the second of May, of the same indiction, the Orphanotrophus was blinded in the place called the village of Marycates, as some say, by Theodora, against the will of the emperor, but as the common report holds, by the emperor himself, who was resentful toward him because of the exiles; and on the thirteenth of the same month he died. In the month of July of the same indiction, Stephen the Sebastophorus was also accused of plotting against the emperor and wishing to make Leo, a patrician and strategos of Melitene, the son of Lamprus, emperor; and Stephen, having been stripped of his possessions and tonsured as a monk, was exiled. As for Lamprus, he was cruelly tortured, led through the forum in a procession for the sake of mockery, and blinded in his eyes, and a little later he departed this life.

^B During this same indiction, in the month of June, the Russian nation rose up against the Roman empire. Up to this point the Russians had maintained peace and friendship with the Romans, and commerce had been free to both sides, and merchants had traveled back and forth. But then, a quarrel having broken out in Byzantium with certain Scythian merchants, and a struggle having ensued from this, and a certain prominent Scythian having been killed, the then ruler of that nation, Vladimir, a man of an impetuous nature and greatly yielding to his anger, having learned of the incident and being deeply aggrieved, and giving no delay or time to the excitement, gathered all those of his people who were fit for war; and having also added not a few auxiliary troops from the nations that inhabited the northern islands of the Ocean, and having gathered a multitude of men—as they say, about 100,000—he embarked them in the vessels customary among them (which we call *lintres*, made from a single hollowed-out tree), and set out against the city. ^C The emperor, having understood his intent, sent envoys, asking that he lay down his arms, and promising that he would compensate for whatever injury had occurred, provided that he did not, for a trifling cause, break the peace that had been established for so many years and set the nations at war with one another. When, however, the barbarian, having received the letters, drove the envoys away ignominiously and gave arrogant and insolent replies, the emperor, having despaired of peace, also prepared himself for war to the best of his ability. He distributed the Scythian merchants dwelling in the city, as well as those who were present as allies, into custody throughout the provinces, lest any plots to be feared should arise from them at home. Then, having equipped as many of the imperial triremes and other light vessels as the urgent occasion of the matter permitted, and having placed on them those of the soldiers who were in Byzantium at that critical time ^D and who could be chosen as naval troops, he himself also boarded his own swift vessel and met the barbarians at the straits of the sea, who were stationed at the Pharos, with no small cavalry force accompanying them along the coast. The fleet having been drawn up on each side for battle, neither party began the engagement, the Scythians remaining within the occupied harbor, and the Romans in the...

^B mouth of the Pontus at the place called Pharus, having also a not inconsiderable cavalry force following them by land. Since the forces stood face to face, neither side began any action; for the Scythians, standing within the harbor where they had moored, remained quiet, and the emperor endured, waiting for their movement. But since time was being wasted and the hour was toward evening, the emperor again sent envoys regarding peace, and again the barbarian dismissed them insultingly, indicating that he would not lay down his arms unless he received three pounds of gold for the head of every one of his sailors. When this answer appeared impossible, ^C he decided that he must engage in battle. As they remained quiet, the emperor summoned the magister Basil Theodorocanus and ordered him to take three fast triremes and provoke the Scythians to battle by a light skirmish, if he could. Basil, having accepted the triremes, did not test their spirits with a light skirmish, but rushing into the midst of the enemy, he burned seven ships with artificial fire and sank three, along with their crews. He also captured one by leaping into it himself, and slaughtering some of those inside and putting others to flight, he left them struck with the boldness of his deed. The Scythians, seeing the emperor ^D now advancing with the entire fleet, and reasoning — as was likely — that if they had suffered such things struggling against three triremes, what would they suffer if forced to engage with the whole fleet, looked toward flight. Casting themselves into a place containing jagged rocks and hidden reefs under the sea, they lost the majority of their ships, while the soldiers from the land also attacked them as they were passing by and destroyed them, so that there were afterwards found about fifteen thousand corpses cast upon the shores. The emperor, having remained for two whole days after the defeat of the Scythians, on the third day returned to the Queen of Cities, leaving behind two legions and the so-called *hetaireiai* under the command of ^A Nicholas the parakoimomenos and the magister Basil Theodorocanus. He charged them to oversee the shores, to patrol and guard them so that no landing of the barbarians might occur, and ordered the entire fleet to wait at the Pharus. The emperor, having accomplished these things, entered Byzantium, while those around the parakoimomenos and Theodorocanus, scouring the shores where the bodies of the barbarians had been cast up after the rout, became masters of much booty and spoils. But twenty-four triremes, having been separated from the rest of the fleet, followed the fleeing barbarians and passed them by as they were pursuing them into a certain gulf where they were anchored. The ^B Scythians, then, learning of their small number and accurately discovering that they were no more than those visible, extended their wings from the promontory on either side, and using tense rowing, hastened to encompass the enemy. The Romans, exhausted by the previous labor of rowing and pursuing and being terrified by the multitude of the enemy ships, inclined toward flight. When the barbarian ships had surrounded the mouth of the bay and it was not permitted to go out into the deep, Constantinus the patrician Caballurius, dux of the Cibyrraeots, fighting bravely against the enemy with his own and ten other triremes, was cut down. Four triremes were captured by the barbarians ^C along with their crews, as well as the flagship itself. All the men in them were slain. The remaining Roman ships were cast upon the shoals, the inconvenient shores, and the rocks and were broken to pieces. Some of the sailors perished in the water, others were either slaughtered by the barbarians or carried away as captives. The survivors were naked, infantrymen...

returning to their camp. The Scythians, seeing that their hopes were not turning into reality, bethought themselves of the journey home. They returned by land and sea (for there were not enough ships for everyone, since some had been sunk or captured during the preceding naval battle, and others were crushed by the swells and storms; and for this reason the majority performed the journey on foot). ^A Katakalon Kekaumenos, an official known as Bestes, who was the governor of the cities and regions around the Ister, met them along the coast of what is called Varna, and joining battle, he routed them. He killed very many, and taking eight hundred prisoners in chains, he sent them to the emperor. For this man, even when the Scythians first departed from their own customs and rushed toward the Queen of Cities, and were making raids into the province that had been allotted to him, gathered the people around him, hurled them at the invaders, and fighting bravely, routed them utterly and forced them to flee to their own ships; and again, guarding the districts of the coast under his jurisdiction, and waiting for the end, he received them as they returned and, standing firm, accomplished what has been mentioned. ^B

In the month of September, in the twelfth indiction, in the year 6552, a violent wind blew, so that the fruits of the vines were nearly destroyed. In that same year, on the ninth day of March, which is the feast of the memory of the holy Forty Martyrs, the emperor, intending to go out in a public procession to pray to them, was intercepted by a sedition of the populace. For when he had proceeded on foot from the palace with a large retinue of guards and acclamations to the church of the Savior in the Chalce, and wished to mount his horse from there to go to the sanctuary of the Martyrs, suddenly a cry was heard from the midst of the crowd: "We do not want Scleraina to be empress, nor shall our Porphyrogennete ladies, Zoe and Theodora, die for her sake." ^C And immediately everything was thrown into confusion, and a tumult seized the crowd, and they demanded to slaughter the emperor. And if the Empresses, looking down from above, had not quickly placated the multitude, not a few would have perished, and perhaps even the emperor himself. When the disturbance had been calmed, the emperor abandoned the procession to the Martyrs and retreated into the palace. ^D

In the thirteenth indiction, the war against Anion began. But it must be explained from the beginning how and for what reason the Emperor Constantine undertook to wage war against the ruler of Anion while he was at peace and had committed no outrage. When George, the prince of the Abasgians,

had moved his weapons against the Romans, the ruler of the country of Anion, Jobanesices, was his ally. ^A But when, as has been said before, the Emperor Basil went up into Iberia and fought in battle against George and routed and crushed him, Jobanesices—fearing that the Emperor, angry because of the alliance, might inflict some incurable harm upon him—took the keys to the city, defected to the Emperor, and surrendered himself and the keys willingly. Basil, accepting his prudence, honored him with the rank of Magister and appointed him ruler for life of Anion and of what was called Great Armenia, having demanded a written document from him that after his death all such authority would return to his [the Emperor's] right and become a portion of the Roman [Empire]. ^B These things came to pass. And the Emperor died, and after many years Jobanesices also died; and when he died, his son Cacicius succeeded to the authority and maintained the peace and alliance with the Romans, yet he held on to the ancestral authority and was unwilling to restore it to the Romans, as the patrician document required. Therefore, Monomachus, having found the document in the palace, demanded Anion and all of Great Armenia, as he was the successor of the Emperor Basil. But since Cacicius confessed himself to be a slave of the Romans but was unwilling to depart from his ancestral authority, the Emperor deemed he must be made war upon. And so, having gathered an army and entrusted it to Michael ^C Bestes the Iasites, the governor who had already been appointed over Iberia, he contemplated making war on Cacicius; and the latter, having gone off, strove as much as he could to carry out the orders. When Cacicius learned of this, and that he had been judged an enemy instead of a friend and ally, he himself gathered his own forces and defended himself against the aggressors as best he could. As things were going badly for Iasites, there was also sent Nicolaus the Proedros, the Domestic of the Schools, who had been the bedchamber attendant of the Emperor Constantine, with a heavy hand, so that by his numbers and power he might overcome Cacicius. Letters were also sent by the Emperor to ^D Aplespharius, the ruler of Tibion and of Persarmenia around the Araxes river, encouraging him to harass Great Armenia and the country lying under Cacicius as much as possible. Nicolaus, therefore, having gone there...

and having asserted that he held the request of Aplespharius as ratified, began to set to work. Aplespharius, upon receiving this, immediately set about the matter and, having attacked many of the fortresses and fortifications ^A of Cacicius, captured them. Cacicius, being attacked by the Roman forces and harassed by the prefect of Tibium, and having despaired of all things, made peace with Nicolaus and, through him, gave himself and the city to the Emperor. Having set out to him, and having been decorated with high dignity of the magisterium and gifted with very extensive estates in Cappadocia, near Charsianon and Licandros, he lived thereafter a peaceful and tranquil life. ^B Monomachus, since those fortresses and towns captured by the prefect of Tibium were reclaimed by him as part of the domain of Anion, and since Aplesphares did not voluntarily release them but relied upon the golden bull, he commanded Nicolaus to wage war against him with the Roman and Iberian army and the forces of Great Armenia, which Cacicius had led. Nicolaus, having gathered all the forces, appointed the bestarches Jasites over them, along with his own servant Constantine, the Alan magister, and sent them to attack Tibium.

Aplesphares was a man, as much as anyone, most skilled in the art of war, knowledgeable ^C in the conduct of affairs, and cunning in evading the plans of his enemies. As he realized he was unequal to engaging in battle with the Roman forces, he kept himself within the walls and diverted the river flowing nearby, in such a way that he flooded the entire plain adjacent to the city and covered it with a pond and mud in the manner of a marsh; and he hid foot-archers in the vineyards that were situated in a circle around the city, and ordered them to await the signal which he himself would sound with a trumpet: thus prepared, he awaited the arrival of the enemy. The Roman commanders, however, believing from fear and desperation ^D of the situation that Aplesphares had shut himself inside the city and covered the field with water, rushed toward the city indiscriminately and in no order, some as cavalry and others dismounted from their horses, as it pleased each one, intending to capture it at the first assault. When they reached the paths that led through the middle of the vineyards, and had already approached the city, Aplesphares sounded the trumpet. And the foot soldiers, rising from their ambush, attacked the Romans, some with stones, others wounding them from above the vine trellises, when indeed every ability to defend themselves had been taken from the Romans. A huge slaughter ensued, and an innumerable multitude of the Romans were cut down, since the horses could not flee, hindered by the silt and the pools. Jasites and Constantine barely escaped and reached Anium, and were the messengers of the calamity to Nicolaus. Informed of this disaster, the Emperor abrogated the magistracy of Nicolaus and Jasites, made Ambustus the Duke of Iberia in the place of Jasites, and in place of Nicolaus created Constantine, great friend...,

^A of the Emperor, a eunuch by nature, born of the Saracens, and one who had served the Emperor before his reign, keeping faith with him. These men, having reached the region and collected their forces, got to work. They did not wish to attack the city of Tibium, which was the metropolis of the whole nation, but attempted ^D the rest of the forts subject to Anium. They took Sancta Maria and the so-called Ampier and Sanctus Gregorius, which were very strongly fortified and craggy, though Aplesphares often tried to assist them while they were besieged, and was as often defeated. They came also to the fort called Chelidonium, situated on a precipitous hill and not far from Tibium; and having surrounded it with ^B a rampart and trenches, they hurried to take it by close blockade; for those inside the wall were in scarcity of necessities, not having had time to bring in supplies on account of the suddenness of the attack. And they would have taken this too, had not the insurrection of the Patrician Leo Tornicius suddenly flared up in the West. For this man, while acting as general in Iberia, having been slandered as aspiring to tyranny, was stripped of his command, tonsured as a monk, ^C and brought to the city, where he was ordered to remain at Adrianople. But not bearing the injuries done to him with ease, he secretly and little by little corrupted the generals who were at Adrianople, who themselves were treated with contempt by the Emperor and were languishing in idleness. Then, through these men and his own acquaintances, he won over for himself the soldiers who were living in idleness, and all those who took pleasure in looting and plunder. And having gathered a sufficient force, he was proclaimed Emperor, and having mustered all the ^D people under him, he appeared swiftly before the Queen of Cities, the Emperor having neither a sufficient army to oppose him, nor trusting the citizens, as he did not know whether they would preserve goodwill and fidelity toward him.

The rebels who had dismounted from their horses, and others on horseback as each desired, ran toward the city intending to take it by storm. When they were once inside the roads amidst the vineyards and had reached the city, then Aplesphares signaled with his trumpet and ordered them to join battle; and rising up from their ambushes, the infantry cast missiles—some arrows, others stones—while others wounded them from the battlements, the Romans being prevented by these from defending themselves against the enemies. A great rout ensued, and an infinite multitude of Romans was slaughtered, for the horses were unable to flee, but fell into the mud and the marshes. With difficulty, then, Jasites was saved along with Constantine in Anium, and they themselves became the messengers of the disaster to Nicolaus. When the misfortune that had occurred was reported to the Emperor, Nicolaus and Jasites were removed from their offices; and in place of Jasites, Cecaumenus was appointed Duke of Iberia, and in place of Nicolaus, the general and autocrat Constantine, the leader of the Great Company, was appointed—a eunuch by nature, of Saracen ancestry, who had served the Emperor prior to his reign and kept faith toward him. These men, having arrived in the region and gathered the forces, set to work. They did not wish to attack the city of Tibium, which was the metropolis of the entire nation, but they attempted the rest of the fortresses that were under Anium. And they took Sancta Maria and what is called Ampier and Sanctus Gregorius, which were very fortified and precipitous strongholds, despite Aplesphares often attempting to bring aid to those being besieged, and being as often defeated. They came also to the fort called Chelidonium, situated upon a precipitous hill and lying not far from Tibium; and having surrounded this with palisades and trenches through a close siege, they hastened to plant [their engines]; for those within the wall were in need of necessities, not having arrived in time to bring in food due to the swiftness of the assault. And they would have taken this one too, had not the defection of the patrician Leo Tornicius suddenly ignited from the West. For this man, exercising command in Iberia and having been slandered as aspiring to tyranny, was stripped of his office, shorn as a monk, and having been brought to the city, was ordered to stay at home in Adrianople. Not bearing the incurable things done to him with patience, he secretly and bit by bit won over the generals who were previously in Adrianople, as many as happened to be overlooked and inactive; and through these and his own relatives, having corrupted3 also those who led the Macedonian and Thracian regiments, and those soldiers who were at leisure, and those who rejoiced in raids and plundering, and having assembled a sufficient band, he is proclaimed emperor; and having gathered all the people under him, he appears swiftly at the imperial city, since the Emperor had neither a sufficient people for counter-battle nor did he trust the citizens that they would preserve goodwill and faith toward him.

^A And for this reason, a messenger is sent in haste to Constantine in Iberia, riding on public horses with imperial letters commanding him to lay aside the works he then had in hand and to arrive as quickly as possible with his forces at the capital. Upon receiving the letters, although he had the fortress in his grasp, he lifted the siege and made a truce with Aplisphares, securing him by curses and oaths that he would preserve goodwill toward the Emperor and never devise anything evil against the Romans. Having acted in this way and taken up his forces, he hastened with zeal toward the capital. And in this manner, Chelidonion escaped capture. But Constantine, having descended with the troops that were with him and the entire army, himself entered the capital, while the entire multitude was moved by the command of the Emperor into Thrace, some to Chrysopolis 31, which lies opposite the capital, and others to Abydos in the Hellespont. But this happened later. Before the forces arrived, Tornicius—as was mentioned—having been proclaimed Emperor in the month of September, in the first indiction, arrived at the capital quicker than a word, [P. 705] hoping to take it by storm because the Emperor lacked sufficient forces. Having pitched his tents opposite the Blachernae, very near the Monastery of the Holy Anargyroi 32, he first attempted to win over the citizens with speeches and promises; and when no one paid him any heed, he already began to take action. The Emperor himself, by means of the citizens and the soldiers who happened to be present, drew up a counter-battle; having stationed the citizens and the populace upon the wall, and having brought out the soldiers who happened to be present—along with certain others whom the city senators had armed by order of the Emperor, not more than a thousand in number—he set them outside the walls through the gates at the Blachernae to stand face-to-face with the tyrant, having set up a ditch as a hindrance to those advancing. It was necessary to keep them inside the gates and to defend against the attackers from the walls, with the magistros Argyros the Italian lamenting greatly and exhorting them to remain inside and not to sally forth, and not to wish to engage in battle with a people who were maddened and raging and trained in military exercises, while they were but a few soldiers and a raw, inexperienced populace. But though he said these things, he did not persuade them; for Constantine, surnamed Leichoudes, who at that time held the first place to the Emperor and was of great power with him, and who was the father of this counsel, stood against him. When these had gone out toward late evening, as the tyrant saw it, he armed the forces around him and attacked with great impetus, and quicker than a word cut across the ditch and put those inside to flight; some of them were captured, while others, fleeing into the city’s ditch, fell in and perished miserably. The citizens were fleeing from the wall, casting themselves down, and in like manner the gate-keepers of the Blachernae walls [left] the gates ^{B C D}

having opened them. And if chance had not thwarted affairs for Tornicius, he would have entered without a blow and ^A became the lord of all. But soon, having pursued as far as the moat beside the wall, he checked the pursuit, and once those around the emperor had recovered, they held the gates and concerned themselves with the guarding of the walls. Then, the emperor himself also came close to perishing, having been struck by an arrow, had not God manifestly saved him, the projectile having lodged in a conical headcovering worn by one of his attendants, which saved both its wearer and the emperor. In this way, the city, having come near to falling, was saved. The rebel, having remained for some days in the camp, since those around him were little by little slipping away and defecting to the emperor, fearing that all might leave him or even seize him and hand him over to the emperor, arose from there and returned to Arcadiopolis. ^B [p. 766] And he himself, having pitched camp there with John Batatzes, remained, but he sent Theodore, surnamed Strabomyta, and the one called Polys, and Malianus Branas, commanders of the western regiments, who were near to him by blood relationship, to besiege Raidestos; for it happened that while the other Macedonian and Thracian cities had gone over to him, this one alone kept faith with the emperor through the zeal of its bishop and a certain local potentate called Batatzes, a kinsman of Tornicius. When those men had departed and wasted time achieving nothing, he himself arose and went there with his entire army, and having brought every attack and engine to bear against the city, and having been stoutly repelled from every side by those within who were repelling the engines, he returned again to Arcadiopolis, having lifted the siege. ^C But then, when the eastern armies had also made the crossing from Chrysopolis and Abydos to Thrace, the emperor Michael, having set the magistros Iasites over them, sent him against the rebels. And this man, having gathered his forces together and encamped against the rebels, did not initiate battle, but rather cared for the regions belonging to the rebels, and treated those who were captured humanely, and secretly sent letters to them promising amnesty for their evils and a bounty of goods. But when winter set in and they themselves, the rebels, as well as their pack animals and horses, were in want of the necessities—being unable to stand against the cold, the famine, and the enemies—they began little by little to defect to the magistros. And while the defections were among the obscure and not the notable, he held out and fed on hopes; but when Marianus Branas, and Polys, and Theodore Strabomyta, ^D and those of the Glabas family, and some others of the notables had left him in a body and flowed to Iasites, having fled with John Batatzes, who indeed was ranked next to him in the rebel camp, since escape was impossible, he took refuge in a church, and the gathering of the rebels was scattered. And Iasites sent and seized these men and brought them in shackles to the emperor, while each of the soldiers returned to his own homeland by the command of the emperor. And Tornicius and Batatzes were blinded on the evening of the feast of Christ’s nativity, and the goods of those who had remained loyal to the tyrant until the end were confiscated, after they had been ignominiously led through the forum and sent into exile. And the rebellion had such an end, but now I shall begin to relate the evils from the Turks. And who the Turks are, and in what manner they began to make war on the Romans, I shall set forth, taking the account from above. [p. 767] The race of the Turks is of Hunnic stock, and it dwells in the northern parts of the Caucasus, being very populous and autonomous, and having never been enslaved by any nation. After the sovereignty of the Persians had been dissolved into the Saracens, and that of the ^C Turks was a Hunnic race, dwelling to the northern parts of the Caucasus mountains, very populous and free, and having never experienced the dominion of any nation. After the Saracens had overthrown the kingdom of the Persians, not only in Persia, but also in Media, Babylon, and Assyria, ruling already also over Egypt and Libya and...

a not inconsiderable part of Europe, since they happened at various times to be at odds with one another, this one great empire was divided into many parts; and Spain had one ruler, Libya another, Egypt another, Babylon another, and Persia yet another. ^A They were not in harmony with one another; rather, those who were neighbors even waged civil wars against each other. Therefore, Muchumetus, the son of Imbrael, being the ruler of Persia, the Chorasmians, the Oretani, and Media at the time when Basil held the tiller of the Roman Empire, and having met with adversity in the war he was waging against the Indians and Babylonians, judged it would be to his advantage to send legates to the prince of the Turks in order to request an alliance from him. He therefore sends legates to him with precious gifts, and requests that there be sent to him as aid three thousand men. The Turk both held the gifts brought to be most welcome, and, having fully approved the request, sent to Muchumetus the three thousand men, as he had requested, under the command of Tragolipaces Mucaletos, son of Miceel. ^B Indeed, he hoped that if they were able to hold back those by whom the Saracens were being invaded, they would very easily be able to see to it that the bridge by which the river Araxes was spanned—and which, having towers erected and garrisons placed on both sides, made Persia inaccessible to the Turks—would, once the guards were driven off, subsequently be made passable for the Turks, and thus an opportunity would be given to him to occupy Persia. Having accepted the Turkish mercenaries and joined them with his own army, Muchumetus conflicts with Pisasirius, the prince of the Arabs, and overcomes him with no trouble, as the Arabs could not withstand the volley of arrows. Having returned home after the victory, ^C he wished to have these same Turks also help him in the fight against the Indians, by whom he was being attacked. And when they requested that it be permitted them to return home and that the guard be withdrawn from the bridge of the Araxes, and he even attempted to use force, the Turks, fearing greater dangers from him, defected and withdrew into the Carbonitid desert (for they, being so few, did not dare to fight against so many thousands), and from there they made sorties and ravaged and plundered the dominion of the Saracens. Muchumetus, taking this most unfairly, sends against the Turks twenty thousand men, placing in charge of the army ten of the most noble Saracen commanders, of known bravery and prudence. These, having set out for war, judging it disadvantageous to enter the desert on account of the lack of water and provisions, ^D and having encamped very near the mouth of the desert, were deliberating on what was to be done. But the leader of the Turks, who was lodging in the depths of the desert, having become informed of the arrival of the Saracens, and having communicated the matter to his men, decided to attack the Saracens and Persians suddenly; and having covered great distances in two days, on the third night he invades them while they were secure in their tents and expecting no evil, and immediately puts them to flight. Having there gained possession of wagons, horses, and a great deal of money, henceforth he ceased to practice brigandage like a fugitive, but instead had his camp openly in the field. And those who on account of their crimes had been banished flocked to him.

And along with them came slaves and others who lived by plunder, so that in a short time a very large force, about 50,000 men, was gathered around him. Thus matters stood with him. ^B But Muchumetus, not bearing the defeat with moderation, but being filled with rage, blinded those ten commanders, and threatened that he would lead those soldiers who had escaped the danger in a triumph, dressed in women’s clothing; yet he himself prepared to join battle. But the soldiers who had been previously defeated, upon learning of these threats, went over to Tangrolipax. Having thus gained such a great force, he gathered his whole army and hastened against Muchumetus, eager to decide the situation in a general engagement. But he too, having armed both Saracens and Persians and Caberians and Arabs, and having formed an army of about 500,000 and 100 tower-bearing elephants, and taking all these, advanced to meet him at the place called Aspachan. And when a most terrible battle took place, many fell on both sides. Muchumetus himself, also, fell: for while he was riding recklessly back and forth and heartening his own people, his horse collapsed, and he was thrown over its neck and died. When he had fallen, the multitude with him came to terms with the enemy, and Tangrolipax was proclaimed by all as king of Persia. Being proclaimed, he sent and removed the guard at the bridge of the Araxes, and gave free passage to any of the Turks who wished to enter Persia. They were released and poured in in great numbers, except for those who were attached to their own homeland, and having overthrown the Persians and Saracens, they themselves became masters of Persia, calling Tangrolipax Sultan, which means "all-sovereign" and "king of kings"; and having taken away all the magistracies from the local inhabitants, he transferred them to the Turks [P. 769] and distributed all of Persia among them, having entirely trampled upon and humbled the local inhabitants.

As matters seemed to be going well for him, ^C he began first to make war upon the neighboring dynasts; and against Pissasirius, the ruler of Babylon, he himself campaigned in person, and having defeated and killed him in various battles, he became master of the Babylonian territory. Against Carbesius, the leader of the Arabs, he sent Cutlumus, the son of his own father's brother, with a heavy force; and he, having departed and joined battle with the Arabs, was defeated and fled most shamefully. As he was returning from the rout and intending to make his journey through Media, or rather Baaspracan (this region was ruled at that time by the patrician Stephanus, who had been sent there by the Emperor, and who was the son of Constantine, who administered the state together with the Emperor, and [son] of Leichudia), he sent messengers to him [alt-version omitted]

asking to be allowed to pass through unimpeded, promising with most fearful oaths to keep the land untouched and unharmed. He, having received the envoys and suspecting that this request was mere cowardice, gathered the local army and went out to meet the Turks as to war. ^A Cutlumusus was deeply grieved at what was happening (for his entire force, returning as though from a rout, was on foot and unarmed), yet even against his will he was compelled to draw up for battle. And when the engagement took place, those around Stephanus were routed, and he himself was also captured along with many others. While passing through Tabrezium, he sold him to the toparch of the region; he himself, having returned to the sultan, apologized for the defeat by shifting the blame onto others, and promised that if he were given an army again and sent against the Cardesius, he would more easily subdue Arabia for him. As if in passing, he also spoke of Baaspracania, that it was a very fertile land but held by women, hinting at the soldiers whom he had fought against. But the sultan was contemplating seizing and killing him, being angry at the disgrace of the defeat; however, he was afraid to move arms against the Romans, trembling and shrinking at the mere reputation of the valorous deeds previously performed by the three emperors—Nicephorus, John, and Basil—and suspecting that the same virtue and power still resided in the Romans. ^B Yet he was balanced and of two minds, and was deliberating what should be done. But Cutlumusus, perceiving the trap, fled with his men and, seizing a very strongly fortified city in Chorasmius named Pasar, became an adversary to the sultan. He, for the time being, did not deem it prudent to wage war against him, but gathered all his own forces and set out against the Arabs, and in the battle that took place he was himself routed. Having returned from this defeat, and unable to bear the shame and the reproach from Cutlumusus, he took with him the greater part of his army and went to Pasar, and continued for a long time to war against his own cousin, who relied on the fortification of the city, and often opened the gates and sallied out, inflicting no small damage on those around the sultan. ^C Against the Romans he sent another force of about twenty thousand, appointing as general his brother's son, Asanes, surnamed "the Deaf," and commissioned him to arrive with all speed and, if things turned out well, to win Media for him. And these things were done in Persia.

Pancratius, moreover, the ruler of Iberia, an unchaste man, violated the wife of Liparites. This Liparites was the son of Horatius Liparites—the man who was killed in the war of the Emperor Basil against Georgius Abasgorun, a man noble in courage and prudence, and of great influence among the Iberians after Pancratius. ^D He, therefore, stung by the atrocity of the injury, took up arms against Pancratius, and having defeated him in battle near the Caucasus and the inner Abasgia, [Note: The text continues to the next page].

royal ^A palace, violated the mother of Pancratius by force, and became master of all the affairs of Iberia. He sent letters to the emperor, requesting to be received into the friendship and alliance of the Romans, which he obtained from the emperor. Some time later, Pancratius traveled through the Phasis river, and through the lands of the Suani and Colchi, and arrived at Trapezus; from there he sent messengers to the emperor, declaring that he desired to enter the capital and converse with him. Having been granted permission, he entered, and upon meeting the emperor, he first reproached him at length, arguing that, imperial authority notwithstanding, he had violated a treaty that he—the emperor—had held with a ruler of no small portion of Abasgia, and that he had entered into an alliance with a private individual who was ^B a rebellious slave. He then requested a reconciliation between them. This indeed took place through the eagerness of the emperor, and they made peace with one another so that Pancratius might be lord and archon of all Iberia and Abasgia, while he [Liparites] himself would be a ruler of a part of Meschia for his whole life, acknowledging the former as his lord and king. And so the affairs concerning Abasgia arrived at this conclusion.

Asan, having been sent by the sultan against the Romans, passed by Tabrezium and the place called Tephlis, and came to Baaspracania, razing and burning everything, slaughtering all he encountered, and sparing not even the age of children. The archon of that region was Aaron Besta, son of Bladisthlabus and brother of Prusianus; knowing that he was not strong enough himself ^C nor capable of resisting such a multitude of Turks, he sent letters to Besta, summoning Catacalon, the prefect of Anium and Iberia, and imploring him to bring reinforcements with all speed. Ambustus, having received the letters, more quickly than words could express set his men in motion and repaired to Aaron. When their forces were joined, they deliberated whether they should engage the Turks in a night battle or in an open fight; Catacalon favored neither, but devised another way to outmaneuver the enemy. He advised that they should leave behind the camp—tents, pack animals, and all other baggage—as it was, and lay ambushes throughout the night in the most opportune locations; then, when the Turks arrived and, finding the camp empty of men, turned to plunder, they should leap forth from their ambush and attack them. His plan did not fail him. For in the morning, Asan set out from his own camp, situated along the Stragnas river, as if for battle; ^D and when no one met him, he approached the Roman camp. Since there was no guard and not a voice could be heard, for it was empty of all troops, he assumed that the Romans had fled. He breached the camp in many places and ordered the spoils to be plundered. But the Romans, moving out from their ambushes at late evening, advanced in organized ranks and attacked the scattered Turks, routing them at the first encounter, as they could not withstand the vehemence of their assault. Asan fell fighting among the first, and all who were of any strength in that army were slaughtered. The rest, being very few and stripped of their arms, escaped through the mountains into the cities of Persarmenia.

^A The sultan, having learned of the disaster that had occurred from those who had escaped, fell into great anxiety and busied himself in haste with how he might repair the calamity that had happened. He assembled a select host from the Turks, the Caberi, and the Limnitae, numbering about one hundred thousand, and entrusting these to Abramius Alim, his half-brother, he sent them against the Romans. Upon the announcement of the barbarians' arrival, the aforementioned commanders of the armies joined forces again and held a council to deliberate on what ought to be done. It seemed to Catacalon that they should engage the Turks outside the Roman borders with the forces present and fight them there, because the greater part of the enemy were without horses and the rest were wearied by the long march; moreover, the Turks lacked the iron shoes with which they are accustomed to protect the hoofs of their animals, ^B whereas the Romans were elated by their recent victory, were eager, and desired to join battle with the enemy. Aaron, on the contrary, declared that the army should be kept back and that the cities and fortresses should be fortified and everything enclosed within walls; that the matter should be referred to the emperor, and that they should not fight such a great multitude against such small forces without his consent. This opinion prevailed. They marched into Iberia and, in a certain plain which is called Osurtru in the vernacular, they encamped in the open air, having first enclosed all the rural population, women, children, and whatever was valuable, within the fortifications. They informed the emperor by dispatched letters of the approach of the enemy. The emperor, having read the letters, commanded these commanders to hold themselves in check until Liparites should arrive with the Iberian forces to join the Roman army. He also urged Liparites by letter, if he truly considered himself an ally and friend of the Romans, to come without any delay with all his troops and join the Roman commanders and fight with them against the barbarians. The commanders, having received the letters, remained quiet as they had been ordered and awaited the arrival of Liparites. He, having received the emperor's command, gathered and armed his men at his leisure. While this was happening and time was being wasted, Abramius in the meantime came into Baaspracania; upon learning that the Romans who had been gathered there had retreated into Iberia upon becoming aware of his arrival—suspecting, as was probable, that this was done out of fear—he set aside the plunder, pursued them, and desired to join battle before other forces could be brought together. The commanders, having been made aware of this and fearing that they might be forced to fight against their will before the arrival of Liparites, withdrew ^C to a certain place difficult of access, surrounded on all sides by precipices and ravines, and remained there, having written to Liparites to come without hesitation. Abramius, having failed to catch up with the Roman army, came to Artze. That place was a large village capable of holding many thousands, and great wealth was contained therein. For there resided there both the local merchants and a multitude from the Syrians, Armenians, and other nations ^D

trusting in their own numbers, they did not deign ^A to enter within the wall, and this even though Theodosiopolis, a very great city possessing a strong and impregnable wall, lay as a neighbor, and though Cecaumenus had previously warned them much through letters, both threatening and imploring them. When, therefore, the Turks had arrived and were applying themselves to the work, those in Artze closed the passages, climbed onto the roofs [P. 773], and defended themselves against the attackers with stones, wood, and arrows. And they continued fighting for six full days. This having been reported to the generals, Cecaumenus was very pressing, urging them to go forth and engage the Turks, who were intent upon the siege, and not to sit idly by and waste time, awaiting the fig-tree aid of Liparites, and failing to watch for the opportune moment, which one might not easily encounter again. But because Aaron resisted, saying that he would perform nothing beyond the imperial command, he too remained quiet. ^B Abramius, however, as matters were not proceeding according to his purpose, and being unable to take the small town by siege, disregarding both wealth and booty, ordered that fire be applied to the houses; and immediately the Turks, raising torches and igniting flammable material, hurled it into the houses. The fire having been kindled from all sides and a great conflagration having arisen, the Artzenians, unable to withstand both the fire and the showers of arrows, yielded to flight. And it is said that about one hundred and forty thousand men perished, some becoming victims of the sword and others of the fire; for these men, when they perceived that they were overcome and destined to be slaughtered, threw their wives and children into the fire. Artze having been captured in this manner, Abramius found much gold, as well as weapons and other useful items that the fire had not rendered useless; and having also rounded up many horses and beasts of burden, and having armed his own people as was necessary, he turned back, searching for the Roman force. ^C This force, by the time Liparites had also arrived from the aforementioned fortification, was positioned in the plain at the foothills of the mountain where the fortress of Capetrus is established. As the Turks were therefore arriving in a scattered manner, Cecaumenus again advised that an attack be made upon them while they were still dispersed and unarrayed. But Liparites would not consent because of the day; for it was the Sabbath, the eighteenth day of the month of September, of the second indiction (38). Among the days of ill-omen, the Sabbath was considered by Liparites as one, and shunning it, he avoided battle. And the affairs of the Romans were in this state; ^D but Abramius, learning from his scouts where the Romans were encamped and that they were resting, advanced.

^A Having drawn up his forces, he arrived ready for battle. The opposing force also saw this, and against its will, it too arrayed itself: the wing on the right held by Kekaumenos, that on the left by Aaron, and in the center was positioned Liparites. It was the hour toward sunset. Facing Kekaumenos was Abramius, and facing Aaron was the other commander of the Turks, Chorosanites, while opposite Liparites was Aspam Selarius, the half-brother of Abramius. A clash having occurred, Kekaumenos and Aaron routed the wings opposite them and pursued them until the cock’s crow; but Liparites, feeling great distress at the falling of his nephew and having made a violent charge, was captured when his horse was wounded and fell. While he was in this state, the Romans returned from the pursuit, dismounted from their horses, and gave songs of victory to God, crying out with one voice, "Who is so great a God as our God?" They waited for Liparites, expecting that he too had given himself over to pursuing the enemies. Since he appeared nowhere, they were in perplexity, wondering what could have happened. To them, as they were thus perplexed, there came a soldier of those who had been stationed under him, who reported to the commanders his rout and capture, and how Abramius—having returned from flight and joined with his own brother (for Asan had fallen in the war)—having taken Liparites and the captives of the Iberians, had retreated to the place called Castrocomium, having made a rapid march. The commanders of the army were paralyzed at the hearing of this. ^B Nevertheless, having spent the night without sleep, once the day had dawned and counsel was added, it was decided by all as beneficial for each to depart homeward. Aaron, having taken his own people, went away to Iban (this being the metropolis of Baaspracania), and Kekaumenos returned with his own men to Anion. But Abramius, being content with the capture of Liparites and deeming himself more blessed than any man because of the present stroke of fortune, having busied himself with nothing else, further hastened his journey and arrived within five days at the place called Re; and from there he went away to the Sultan, having sent ahead the gospel and having announced the capture of Liparites. He, in appearance, rejoiced and exulted over the capture of Liparites, but he envied his brother, who had been deemed worthy of such a success, and he continually meditated and sought a pretext to remove him from the way. ^C The Emperor, then, when he heard of the capture of Liparites, was entirely set on liberating him; and having sent to the Sultan George, called Drosos (Drosos was the clerk of Aaron), with precious gifts for his ransom, he demanded at the same time that he be returned to him and that a peace treaty be established. The Sultan, having received the envoys, and wishing to appear as a magnificent king rather than one who would trade on war, sent Liparites to the Emperor as a gift; and what the Emperor had sent for the sake of the ransom, he indeed accepted, but bestowed all of it upon Liparites, having exhorted him to hold the memory of the present day in his mind forever, and never again to wish to take up arms against the Turks. He fulfilled for him the ^D

embassy to the Emperor which is called by them a *Seriph*; this name has the same significance among them as the *syncellus* had among us toward the patriarch in times past, for upon the death of the latter, he would immediately take his place upon his throne. ^A This Seriph, then, having entered the Queen of Cities and come face to face with the Emperor, and having had speech with him, after boasting much and acting haughtily, and finally hastening to impose tribute upon the Romans for his own sultan, when he found the Emperor in no way inclined to this, returned home in failure. The Emperor, anticipating war from the sultan from that time forward, sent men to secure, as far as was possible, the regions bordering on the land of the Persians. While these things were happening, the movement of the Patzinaks also occurred; and how and in what manner this happened must be told.

^B The nation of the Patzinaks is Scythian, belonging to those who are called the Royal Scythians; it is great and populous, and no single Scythian race can stand against it alone. It is divided into thirteen tribes, which all take the common name of Patzinaks, but each also possesses its own exclusive designation inherited from its progenitor and leader. They inhabit the plains lying beyond the Ister, extending from the Borysthenes river as far as Pannonia, being nomads and always embracing a tent-dwelling life. The leader of this nation at that time was Tyrach, the son of Kilter, a man of the highest nobility, but otherwise sluggish and a lover of quiet. There was also another in the nation by the name of Kegenes, son of Baltzar, of very obscure and almost nameless origin, but most energetic in military matters and strategy. He had often stood his ground and repelled the Uzes (the Uzes are a Hunnish race) when they invaded the land of the Patzinaks, while Tyrach not only did not dare to go out against them, but even took refuge in the marshes and lakes by the Ister. Therefore, the Patzinaks honored Tyrach because of his family, but they cherished Kegenes exceedingly because of his outstanding bravery and skill in wars. Hearing and seeing these things, Tyrach was stung in his soul, fearing for his rule, and he sought a way to dispose of Kegenes. ^C He often set ambushes for him, but they all proved ineffectual. When he had attempted this secretly many times and failed, he decided that he must not delay, but must act openly. Therefore, he sent a multitude and ordered them to seize and kill the man. But he, having foreseen the plot, fled to the marshes of the Borysthenes, and thus escaped destruction. From there, hiding and sending messages secretly to his relatives and his tribe, he was able to incite his own tribe (it was called the Belemarnis) to revolt from the Emperor’s favor, and in addition to this, another called the Pagumanis. Having gathered forces from these two tribes, he drew them up in battle array against Tyrach, who had the remaining tribes. ^D And although he held out for many hours, nevertheless, being oppressed by the multitude, he was put to flight. Wandering then among the marshes and seeking salvation for himself and his own, he found this one recourse: to flee for refuge to the Roman Emperor. Therefore, he set out for Dorostolum, so that he might be safe from plots, and he shut himself and his own—who numbered twenty thousand—into an island of a certain small river, and the prefect of the region (this was Michael

^A the son of Anastasius) he informs, signifying who he was, and to what fortune he had been driven, and that he wished to become a deserter to the Emperor, promising also, if he were received, to be of great use to his affairs. The prefect, having immediately brought the message to the Emperor, was ordered to receive Kegenes at once with his company, and to provide him with necessities, and to send Kegenes himself honorably to Byzantium. When he arrived there, he was kindly and splendidly received, and having conversed with the Emperor, he promised that he would both accept holy baptism himself and persuade those with him to do the same; he was then adorned with the rank of patrician, and three fortresses of those established on the banks of the Ister were assigned to him, along with many acres of land; and thus he was inscribed into the number of the friends and allies of the Romans, chiefly because, as he had promised, he was willing both to be baptized himself and to have those who were with him baptized. In this matter, they made use of the ministry of a certain religious monk, Euthymius, who was sent to them, and who performed the ceremonies of that sacrament at the Ister river and baptized them all.

^B When Kegenes had been placed in safety, and had secured himself against the sudden attacks of the enemy, he turned to avenging himself on the enemy; and having crossed the Ister, sometimes with a thousand, then with two thousand, and at other times with more or fewer men, by means of sudden raids he afflicted the Patzinaks of Tyrachos severely, killing the men he encountered and dragging the women and children into slavery, selling them to the Romans. Tyrachos, not enduring these clandestine raids of Kegenes, sent envoys to the Emperor to propose these things: that the Roman Emperor, who had a treaty with the race of the Patzinaks, ought not to have received at all a man who had deserted from them; or, if he had received him, he should have forbidden him to cross the Ister and harm the friends of the Romans. Therefore, he should either restrain Kegenes’s incursions, or withhold aid from him. If he did otherwise, let him know that he was stirring up a very grave war against himself and his people. ^C When the Emperor heard these demands, he broke into laughter, as he considered it a mockery if he were compelled, through the threats of a Patzinak, to betray a man who had taken refuge in his faith, or to abstain from allowing him to avenge his injuries; and he dismissed the envoys without success. At the same time, he sent letters to Michael, the prefect of the cities adjacent to the Ister, and to Kegenes himself, enjoining them to guard the banks of the river accurately. If any heavy force should approach, they were to indicate this to him by letter, so that he might be able to send some men from the Western legions who, joined with them, could prevent the Patzinaks from crossing the river. He also sent a hundred triremes, ^D ordering them to sail along the Ister and strive to prevent the Patzinaks from crossing. When the envoys returned with their hopes frustrated, Tyrachos became indignant and fumed, and longed for the arrival of winter. Following

the end of autumn and the onset of winter, as the sun entered Capricorn, a strong north wind blew, so that the river froze to a depth of fifteen cubits. Every guard having been relaxed, Tyrachos, seizing the opportunity he had prayed to obtain, crossed the Ister with all the Patzinaks, whose multitude was reckoned at eight hundred thousand, and poured into the further territory, plundering and destroying everything in his path. Letters were sent to the emperor, urging him to bring aid as quickly as possible. Scarcely having read the letters, he wrote to the Duke of Adrianople (this was Constantine Arianites, the magister), who had taken up the Macedonian forces, and also to Basilius Monachos, the governor of Bulgaria, who had taken up the Bulgarian force, to arrive and unite with Michael and Kegenes and fight against the Patzinaks ^B if they carried out the imperial command and all became of one mind. Kegenes, having taken up the Roman phalanxes, encamped in the open fields, and by attacking daily, harassed the Patzinaks not a little. For, upon crossing the river, these had found an abundance of cattle, wine, and drinks prepared from honey, such as they had never even heard of before. As they indulged in these to excess, a disease with an intestinal condition fell upon them, and countless multitudes died every day. Kegenes, having learned of this from a certain defector and judging this to be the opportune moment to attack his enemies, when they were weighed down by both winter and disease, persuaded the Romans—who were hesitant and afraid to engage so many myriads—and launched an attack on the Patzinaks. Terrified by the speed of the rushing enemy and shrinking from the fight, ^C both Tyrachos himself and the other princes, as well as the remaining throng, cast aside their weapons and surrendered themselves to the Romans. Kegenes advised and insisted that they should all be slaughtered to a man, and he adduced a proverb—barbarian, to be sure, but containing much wisdom—that "a snake should be killed in winter, when it cannot move its tail, lest it be warmed by the sun and create trouble and labor for us." This did not seem right to the Roman commanders, but rather a barbaric and impious action, alien to Roman clemency. They opined that it was better to disperse them throughout the deserted plains of Bulgaria and, having scattered them here and there, impose a tribute upon them. In this way, a huge revenue would accrue to the Roman state, and when the emperor needed soldiers against the Turks or other foreign ^D tribes, they could then be armed. After the matter had been debated for a long time, the opinion of the Romans prevailed. Kegenes, having slaughtered as many of the Patzinaks as he had captured, except for those he had sold, returned home. The rest of their multitude, the governor of Bulgaria, Basilius Monachos, distributed throughout the plains of Sardica, Naissus, and Eutzapeli, having first taken away their arms so that they could not plot anything. Tyrachos and one hundred and forty men with him were brought to the emperor; having been kindly received by him, baptized, and treated with the greatest honors, they lived a pleasant life there.

^A But the sultan, unable to bear the fruitless return of his envoys, gathered all his forces from Persia and Babylon and made an incursion against the Romans. When Monomachus heard of this, he hastened to station his own forces against the enemy, and he also armed fifteen thousand of the Patzinaks. He appointed four leaders from among those Patzinaks who lived in Constantinople—Sultzumus, Seltes, Caraman, and Cataleimus—and, having honored them with no small gifts and having provided them with the finest armor and excellent horses, he sent them across to Chrysopolis, adding as a guide the man who was to lead them into Iberia, the patrician Constantine, who was surnamed Adrobalanus. ^B Having crossed the sea, the Patzinaks mounted their horses and set out on the road toward the East; having traveled as far as Melitene, they approached the place called Damatrys, where they halted and began a deliberation—which they themselves call a *commentum*. Some thought that they should proceed and not disobey the emperor's orders within his own domain, since they were separated from their kinsfolk and could neither resist the forces of the Romans alone nor did they have any fortress to which they might retreat should anything unexpected occur. Others thought it better to occupy certain mountains of Bithynia and remain there to defend themselves if anyone should attack them, but by no means to enter Iberia, a remote and foreign region where they would face as enemies not only the enemies of the Romans, but the Romans themselves. Cataleimus alone advised returning to unite with their kinsfolk. When someone asked him, "And how will it be possible to cross the sea?" he said nothing more than to tell them to follow him. Therefore, having attempted in vain to kill Adrobalanus (for he fled and escaped to a three-story upper chamber of the palaces at Damatrys), they followed Cataleimus down to the sea, not indeed hoping that he had ships ready with which they could cross, but hesitating and wishing to see what the method of crossing would be. ^C When they reached the shore, Cataleimus having said only this: "Whoever wishes for themselves and all the Patzinaks to be safe, let him follow me," spurred his horse and entered the sea. Another, and then yet another, imitated this, and finally the whole multitude of the Patzinaks followed, some armed as they were, others having cast away their arms. They swam across the sea and emerged on the opposite shore at Saint Tarasius, and by long marches they arrived at their own people at Triaditza, no one having dared to stand against them or hinder them, as the suddenness of their arrival facilitated their passage for them. ^D Having joined with the Patzinaks who were at Triaditza, they stirred up those who were lingering in other regions as well. After they were all gathered together, they armed themselves with rural axes, reaping hooks, and other rustic tools, and setting out for Philippopolis and crossing the Haemus, they pitched camp at the river Osmus in the plains near the Ister: only Seltes in Lobitzus

^A remained, and was resting. At this time Arianites, having gathered the Macedonian forces, pursued them from behind. And having caught Seltes encamped at Lobitzus, he was unable to capture him (for he had already fled), but he seized his entire camp and turned back. And such was the state of affairs in the West.

But the sultan, as we have said, being enraged on account of the contempt shown to his ambassadors and the failure of his designs, set out with all his forces against the Roman-ruled lands; and having marched down as far as the place called Comius, and being unable to accomplish anything worthy of mention (for the inhabitants of the country had previously secured themselves and their most necessary belongings within the fortresses, for Iberia is filled with very strong fortresses), not daring to advance further because he heard that the Roman forces were being gathered at Caesarea, he turned back, boiling with rage and seeking to perform some great exploit. And having reached ^B Baaspracania, and finding that there, too, everything was defended by walls, he turned to sieges, and first of all he attacked the place called Mantzikierte. Now Mantzikierte is a city situated on a plain, surrounded by a triple wall and watered inside by many fresh springs; and at that time, the townspeople had also brought in an abundance of necessary supplies. Thinking that he would easily overthrow this city because the site made it easy to attack, the sultan, having pitched his camp very close by, attempted to besiege it, and he remained for thirty days besieging it unremittingly, using various siege engines and all kinds of machines. But as those inside were stoutly repelling the attacks by the experience and intelligence of their commander (who was Basil the patrician from Capa), when the sultan realized that he was attempting the impossible, he deliberated on abandoning the siege and turning back. However, Alcan, the leader of the Chorasmians, checked his impulse, asking him to remain for one more day and entrust to him the war against the city. Delighted with the request, the sultan delayed the withdrawal. ^C Therefore, at dawn, Alcan gathered all his men, and having placed the sultan himself and all the most prominent of the Turks upon a certain hillock opposite the eastern gate to watch, he himself went up to that gate with the siege engines. For it seemed that at that spot the wall of the city was lower and weaker, and the opposing ground was somewhat higher, aiding in the siege, because those who were inside the walls could be attacked from above with missiles by the besiegers. Therefore, he divided his army into two parts, one of which was to stand on that higher ground and continuously shoot arrows, while the other, armed with mattocks, two-pronged forks, and other rustic tools, ^D was to move up under the *lesae* (a *lesa* is a kind of hut, woven from osiers and covered on top with oxhide, which is supported by pillars whose bases have wheels attached),

having filled them with men carrying mattocks, spades, and other agricultural implements, he imagined that he would gradually push the huts forward and fit them to the walls and thus undermine the foundations easily and fearlessly, trusting that no one would be allowed to peek over the wall due to the hail of arrows; and he imagined that in this way he would take the city. Seeing this from the wall, Apokapes ordered his wall-guards to remain still and for no one to lean out, but only to have hand-sized stones, bows, and other long-range weapons ready, and to wait for the signal from him (the watchword was, "Christ, help!"), upon the giving of which they were to get to work; he also had near him very large beams, pointed at the base. ^B While he was directing matters thus, Alcan, because the Turkish archers outside seemed to have driven the defenders away with their hail of arrows, moved the *lesae* little by little forward and pressed them against the wall. When the huts had approached and any retreat backward seemed impossible for them, Apokapes suddenly gave the signal, and those assigned to the beams let them fall down upon the huts, while the rest attacked with bows and stones. Then indeed the hut containing Alcan, having been struck by many beams on its roof, was overturned by their weight; and when it was overturned, those inside were exposed and were pelted from all sides with stones and arrows, with no one capable of coming to their aid. All the others fell in the fray, but Alcan was taken alive, being recognized by the splendor of his armor; for two brave and noble youths leaped out from the city gates, seized him by the hair, and dragged him inside the city. Basil immediately cut off his head and threw it at the Turks. The Sultan, having felt most grievous sorrow at that slaughter, broke camp, pretending that he was being recalled home by certain urgent necessary matters, and threatened that in the coming spring he would campaign against the Romans with a greater force. ^C Concerned about this matter, and at the same time thinking of punishing Aplesphares, who had violated the treaty made with Constantine and was harrying the Roman territory, the Emperor gathered all the Eastern troops into one place and appointed as their commander a certain eunuch, Nicephorus, who had once been a priest serving Monomachus while he was still a private citizen, and had renounced the priesthood out of a love for worldly splendor and glory. Him, therefore, adorned with the title of rector and commander of the camps, he sent into the East, not because he was a vigorous man or industrious in military matters, but because he was faithful to the Emperor. This Nicephorus, having advanced with the army as far as the so-called Iron Bridges and Cantzacium, did not encounter the Turks: for they, having encamped on the plain of Persarmenia under the leadership of a certain general Abimelech, the brother of Cutlumusi, and having heard of the heavy Roman expedition, did not dare wait for their arrival and had departed for home. ^D As for Aplesphares, having been shut up within the walls, they ravaged the entire surrounding region and compelled him, even against his will, to renew the treaty [P. 782] and to give as a hostage Artasyra, the son of Phatlumi, the brother of

^A his own, who was ruler of the Kantzakēnōn territory; and having received this hostage, Nicephorus returned to the city.

The Patzinaks, having crossed the Haemus, as we have said, and having scouted the plain that lies between it and the Ister and extends as far as the sea, found a place that had wooded glades, groves, and thickets of every kind, as well as water and pastures—the locals call this place the “Hundred Hills”—and there they settled. From here, they made incursions and harassed the Roman subjects not a little. The emperor sent for Kegenes to consult with him at the capital, and he came immediately with his entire army and encamped on the plain designated for the Byzantines (the place is called Maita) with all his troops. ^B Yet, before he had an interview with the emperor or learned why he had been summoned, he was waylaid that very night by three Patzinaks who, with swords drawn, rushed upon him as he slept and inflicted wounds upon him, though these were not mortal. For, having been discovered immediately by his bodyguards, they dealt weaker blows and, as they turned to flee, they were captured when the crowd, along with Baltzar, the son of Kegenes, rushed to his aid.

At daybreak, Baltzar placed his father upon a four-wheeled carriage and dragged the attackers behind the carriage in chains (for he dared not decide anything further concerning them, because they mentioned the emperor by name). With his entire cavalry, he himself—on foot, together with his brother Gulinus—followed the carriage, which was drawn by two horses, and entered the city. ^C When he arrived at the Hippodrome, he brought the carriage to a halt there, and he himself entered to see the emperor, the report having run ahead and prepared his way. Upon being brought in, he was asked by the emperor why he had not immediately punished his father’s assailants. He replied, “Because they were repeatedly invoking your name.” From this, absurd suspicions arose in Monomachus, and he immediately sent men to bring the prisoners to him to inquire into the reason why they had been driven to attempt the murder of the patrician.

When they said that Kegenes was ill-disposed toward his empire and the city, and that he had planned to enter at daybreak, massacre everyone inside, plunder the city, and flee back to the Patzinaks, the emperor ought to have examined these statements to find the truth. Instead, he did not do so, but, trusting in unfounded and baseless slanders, he brought Kegenes into the palace and, under the pretext of care and medical treatment, imprisoned him in the Elephantina, and separated his sons from him and from each other in different places. He refreshed the multitude of the Patzinaks with all kinds of food and drink to make it appear that he was well-disposed toward them, striving, if it were possible, to strip them of their armor and horses and to hold them and keep them under guard, while allowing those who had attempted the murder to live freely and at will wherever they wished. He believed that he was acting without being noticed, but he did not at all deceive the Patzinaks. For they judged that nothing good was indicated by the fact that he was detaining their leader and that he had separated his sons; and they held the liberty granted to the assassins to be an open sign of malice. Therefore, they received what was sent by the emperor with thanks and

^A lauded the emperor, and seemed to approve of the actions they had taken. But when night came on, with no one suspecting it, they rose from the camp and, conducting their journey vigorously throughout the whole night, on the third day crossed the Haemus and united themselves with the multitude of the Patzinaks. Having thus become all as one, and already having sufficiently provided themselves with arms, they crossed the Haemus, and pitched their camp at Aule (Aule is a fortress situated at the foot of the Haemus and not very far from Adrianople), and turned themselves to pillaging and booty.

^B When Constantine, the magister and Arianites, the commander of the West, learned of this, he too led out an equipped army from Adrianople against them. At first, indeed, falling upon some stragglers, he was successful. But then, encountering the multitude at the fortress called Dampolis, he was defeated, and many Macedonians and Thracians were lost. Theodorus Strabomyta and Polys, men of illustrious stock and renowned for their treachery towards Tornicius, also fell in the war. The magister returned to Adrianople and informed the emperor by letter of the received disaster, and advised that there was need of a fresh army; for with the present forces it was impossible to manage the affair against such a numerous host of enemies, to which they had already turned their backs. ^C But the emperor, even before receiving his letters, had not been ignorant of what occurred. After winning over Tyrach and the other princes of the Patzinaks who were detained in the city with gifts and favors, he sent them off after they had sworn oaths to pacify their own people; and by letter he himself summoned all the Eastern regiments. When they had arrived and crossed by way of Abydos and Chrysopolis, he appointed the rector Nicephorus commander-in-chief and sent him out against the Patzinaks. He sent with him also Catacalon the Cecaumenus, having appointed him commander of the East, and Erbebius the Francopullus ^D, the leader at that time of his own countrymen, ordering them to be present with the rector and to abide by his judgment, and to follow his commands and wishes. He, having taken up the forces and crossed the Haemus through the pass they call the Iron (Gate), went out against the Patzinaks; and having arrived, he encamped in a certain place not far from the Hundred Hills, at the place called Diacene. There, having pitched a fortified camp, he planned that on the morrow he would leave behind there the baggage and whatever was superfluous to the army, and he himself, unencumbered, would depart and join battle with the enemy. For he had foolishly persuaded himself that they would be routed at the first onset; and that concern tormented him, lest any should escape by flight. And not only he, but the entire army as well: for they were bringing with them ropes and thongs with which to bind the captives. This gave them suspicion, and that which was done in the beginning

to act rashly toward them, and he feared and was concerned that some might escape unnoticed, and not he alone, but the entire army; for they were even bringing ropes and thongs to bind those whom they captured. This gave the Patzinaks cause to suspect what had initially happened to them at the fall of Kegenes. Indeed, when the Patzinaks realized the approach of the Romans (for Tyrach and the princes with him, who had been released from the city, had already joined them and were zealously attending to their common interests, having bade a long farewell to their promises to Monomachos), and their more valiant men had ridden forward, and Kekaumenos was crying out loudly and urging that now was the time for an engagement, while they were scattered and dispersed, and not to wait for their total assembly, the rest of the Roman multitude did not approve of his words, but the rector mocked him openly. "Cease," he said, "O commander, and while I command the army, do not exercise counter-command; for one ought not to attack the Patzinaks while they are scattered, lest they take fright and slip into the thickets. ^B Following me, my friend, are not hunting dogs, which track them down and drive them out from the places where they have taken refuge." And this was how the affairs of the Romans stood. When the vanguard of the Patzinaks approached the Roman camp, they turned aside a little and pitched their own camp, and signaled to those behind them to arrive as quickly as possible. When everyone had arrived and they were united, the next day, when the rector had led out the Roman forces, they also drew up against them and proceeded into battle array. ^C The rector himself held the center of the Roman phalanx, Combustus commanded the right wing, and Francopulus the left. When the battle was joined, the Romans did not hold their ground, as the commanders were the first to turn and flee. For they did not even endure, as the saying goes, the sound of the horses' hooves, but were routed and put to flight. Only Combustus, with his attendants and a few kinsmen, fought valiantly and fell in the battle along with all who were with him. The Patzinaks did not dare to pursue the others, fearing an ambush, and for this reason the Romans were able to be saved unharmed. In the meantime, having plundered those who had fallen and seized many weapons and the Roman baggage, they pitched their tents beneath the Roman rampart. And a certain Patzinak, Calinos by name, who knew what manner of man Combustus was from the time when he was in charge of the fortresses along the Ister and the peoples mingled with one another in free trade, finding him lying among the corpses and stripping him, ^D recognized him when he turned his face and discovered that he was still breathing, and placed him upon a horse; for he lay mute, because he had received mortal wounds, one in that part of the head which is called the skull (which was bare, for his helmet had fallen off), extending from the vertex to the eyebrows; the other in the neck, where the tongue has its root, penetrating as far as the bone; and he brought the bloodless man into his own tent. And since he was eager to have him diligently and carefully treated, he saved him so that he survived. And the Patzinaks [cont. in next page]

having thus easily repelled the force that had come against them, began to ravage the Roman land thereafter without fear. The emperor, having learned of the disaster through those who had fled, lamented as was natural, but he began again to gather forces, to retrieve those who had been scattered, and he made haste to rectify the defeat that had occurred by the following year. ^B When the third indiction of the year 6558 had arrived, the emperor appointed the hetairiarch Constantine as commander-in-chief and sent him against the Patzinaks. Taking those forces that had recently been transported from the East, and having gathered those that were wintering in the West, he reached Adrianople; and having there constructed a deep entrenchment, he remained with his notables, considering and exploring whence he might advance further. While he was pondering these things, suddenly, on the eighth of the month of June, the Patzinaks, having crossed the Haemus, appeared at Adrianople. Their arrival having been reported to Constantine by scouts, a deliberation was proposed as to whether or not they should engage in battle with them. But while the notables were consulting in the tent of the hetairiarch, Samuel the patrician Burtzes—a man arrogant and bold, who then commanded the infantry forces and had been entrusted with the entire care of the rampart—having not awaited the signal of the commander, and leaving his post and dismantling the rampart, went out with the infantry and struck against the Patzinaks. As they pressed forward rapidly, the infantry began to struggle; for this reason, Samuel frequently sent to the hetairiarch seeking help, so that he was forced, even against his will, to give the signal for battle. ^C When, therefore, the entire army had gone out to the place called the Royal Spring, and a general engagement had been arranged, because of the suddenness and disorganization, and because the infantry had been previously defeated and the Patzinaks had gained confidence, the Romans were routed and profligated. Yet their slaughter was not great, but they were shamefully shut up within the rampart. Michael the patrician Doceianus fell, and the magister Constantine the Arianite, having received a lethal wound in his bowels, died on the third day. A few others of the ignoble sort also fell. The rest of the entire army, having disgracefully retreated into the rampart, was besieged by the Patzinaks, who were filling the trench with stones and branches and were rushing to take the rampart by force. And this would soon have happened, had not Sulizus been struck by a bolt from a catapult; he was run through together with his horse, and this ^D struck great terror into the Patzinaks who witnessed it. Nicetas the protospatharius, the lieutenant of the legion of the Schools, also sallied forth from Adrianople as a reinforcement. Seeing him, and suspecting that Basil the syncellus was coming with Bulgarian troops (for he was indeed expected), the Patzinaks, becoming afraid, dispersed and fled, one to one place and another to another.

^A

At this same time, an accusation of tyranny was made against certain citizens, whose leaders were Nicephorus and Michael, the sons of Euthymius, and others who traced their origin to the same family. But all the others were saved; Nicephorus alone was condemned without a hearing and sent into exile, his property having first been confiscated.

^B Wishing for the Roman position to become stronger against the Patzinaks, the emperor brought Kegenes out of prison and sent him to the Patzinaks, as he had promised to win them over to the emperor's benevolence. Having gathered all his allies into one body—the Franks, I mean, and the Varangians—and having summoned the horse-archers from Teluch and the Black Mountain and Carcarus, numbering about twenty thousand, and having placed each of the tribes under the command of distinguished men, and having appointed as leader over them all the patrician Nicephorus Bryennius, whom he also titled ethnarch (that is, "chief of the nations"), he sent them to prevent and suppress the raids of the Patzinaks. For after the battle at Adrianople, they had come to despise the Romans utterly and were freely and fearlessly plundering and burning Macedonia and Thrace, killing without mercy even the infants at the breast, such that a portion of them had even reached the Catasyrtas, which are very near the Queen of Cities. But the destruction of these men happened most quickly. For the emperor, having armed a force from the palace guards and others who were found at hand, entrusted them to the patrician John, one of the bedchamber eunuchs of the Augusta Zoe, known by the nickname "Philosopher," who easily dispatched them; for coming upon them by night, he found them all drunken and asleep and slaughtered them, and placing their heads on rustic carts, brought them to the emperor. ^C

Kegenes, then, having gone out, sent envoys to the Patzinaks, and when they promised with an oath to do his bidding, he trusted their oaths and went to them, but immediately he was killed, being cut into small pieces and fragments. Bryennius, for his part, took the forces committed to him, and upon arriving at Adrianople, devoted his care to guarding the regions. The patrician Michael the Acolouthus was also sent as leader of the entire army, having been commanded that he too should abstain from a pitched battle, but should ward off and check their raids. Having gone out and united with Bryennius, he began to engage in operations, and first, falling in with a detachment of Patzinaks at Goloa, he routed and destroyed it; then again, having caught another detached portion of the Patzinaks at Toplitzum (this being a fortress situated along the Hebrus), ^D he destroyed them.

^A When the Patzinaks became cautious due to these reverses, they refrained from plundering the regions situated at the foothills of the Haemus, and turned all their fury toward Macedonia. Having separated all who were able-bodied, they went ravaging the districts in Macedonia, and made preparations to accept battle vigorously if any should confront them. When Bryennios and Michael learned of this, ^B they set out by night so that no one might perceive where they were going, and moving with great speed, they arrived at Charioupolis, where they entered and, together with the army, awaited the opportunity to act. The Patzinaks, having plundered all the fields and suburbs, returned toward evening very close to Charioupolis; they set up their camp, completely unaware that a hostile army was in the city. Thus, they remained there securely, feasting amidst pipes and cymbals. But when night had come on, those around Bryennios and Michael rode out; finding them asleep and snoring, they slaughtered them all. This disaster brought restraint and cowardice upon the Patzinaks. For this reason, they did not make their raids as freely as before, but conducted them with caution during the fourth and fifth indictions.

605 During this same time, the sudden rise of Romanus, called Boilas, occurred. He had been enrolled in the imperial guard (hetaireiai) and, being glib of tongue and thought of as polished and witty, he once came into the sight of the emperor; having conversed with him, he seemed most charming, and from that time on he was never separated from him, but the emperor used him as a counselor and a minister and an agent for every service. By degrees, the emperor promoted him in honors and raised him to such prestige that he held the first place in the palace. This man, being guileful and versatile and always coveting power, whenever any of the senators were in disgrace with the emperor, he would draw them out by secretly revealing his own intent to them. ^C Those who approved of his conspiracies he would gradually and gently draw to his side and bind with oaths; but those who recoiled from the matter even at the first hearing, he would pretend to approve and even admire their loyalty toward the emperor, saying that he had only spoken those things in order to test their minds, and he would swear that he would commend their integrity to the emperor. Finally, having corrupted many of the citizens and being caught preparing an insurrection, he was exposed. The others, all who had conspired with him, were dealt with severely after interrogation, and were stripped of their own properties and sent into exile; but Romanus suffered no harm. For although the emperor had turned away from him for a short while, he soon restored him to his former position.

606 Furthermore, the sultan, as we have said, being angry with his brother ^D Abramius, set continuous snares against his life from that time forward. Abramius, perceiving this, fled to his cousin Cutlumusus, and with his aid made war upon the sultan. The latter, having engaged them in battle at a place called Pasar, was victorious and seized and killed Abramius. Cutlumusus, fleeing with six thousand men and Melech, the son of Abramius, petitioned the emperor through envoys to be received into the faith and alliance of the Romans; and having traveled into Persarmenia to Carse, he awaited the response of the envoys. Meanwhile, besieging Carse, having taken in

^A its citadel, he captured the city. Following this, the sultan, pursuing him, came with his forces into Iberia; upon learning of which, Cutlumusus fled toward Saba and Happy Arabia. The sultan, having arrived in Iberia, began to plunder and burn everything he encountered. Therefore, the emperor in great haste summoned Michael the Acolouthus from the West and sent him into Iberia; once there, having gathered the Franks and Varangians dispersed throughout Chaldia and Iberia, he pressed to restrain the sultan’s incursions by whatever means possible. But the latter, having learned of his swift approach and that he was hastening to join battle with him after amassing an army, and considering what was likely to occur—namely, the discredit that would fall upon him from either outcome, for if he won he would have defeated a subordinate of the emperor, and if he were defeated he would suffer no small shame—picked up his entire army and struck off toward Tabriz.

At that same time, Michael, son of Stephanus, having become the leader of the Triballi and Serbs after the death of his father, ^B formed a treaty with the emperor and was enrolled among the allies and friends of the Roman Empire, being honored with the title of Protospatharios. An elephant and a giraffe were also sent to the emperor from the ruler of Egypt. Wishing to rid himself of the Patzinaks entirely, the emperor assembled forces from everywhere, from the East and the West, and placed Michael the Acolouthus in command of them; he also ordered Basil the Syncellus to rouse the Bulgarian armies, and commanded both to set out against the Patzinaks. Upon hearing of this, the Patzinaks pitched camp near the great Peristhlaba, fortifying it with a deep trench and stakes. When the Romans arrived, they enclosed themselves inside the trench and bore the siege. But since the time was being wasted in the siege to no avail, and the Romans were accomplishing nothing worth mentioning, and were furthermore suffering from a shortage of supplies, they deliberated on what was to be done. It was decided to break off the siege. Therefore, the emperor’s men departed in the dead of silence at night, with the gates of the camp opened. ^C This did not escape the notice of Tyrach; but having learned that they intended to flee, he led a great multitude out of the camp and sent them to occupy the passages where the Romans were intended to pass; he himself immediately attacked them as they were coming out. A terrible rout of the Romans ensued, and some were slaughtered by those catching up from behind, while others were finished off by those who had already occupied the difficult terrain. A great multitude fell, and the syncellus himself fell as well; the rest arrived safely in Adrianople with Michael. The emperor, having been seized with great grief at this misfortune, gathered those soldiers who had survived the rout, and recruited another force and gathered mercenaries, and he deemed his life unlivable if he did not entirely exterminate the race of the Patzinaks. But they, having learned of this through a deserter, sent a delegation to the emperor, requesting peace. He accepted the embassy and made a treaty with them for thirty years.

^D The emperor, while constructing a monastery for the

^A Manganas, which are named after the great holy martyr George, and recklessly squandering on its construction all the public money that was in the treasury, he fell into great financial straits. Because of this, he invented various quite absurd ways of trading and devising unjust exactions. For he appointed public curators, wicked and wretched men, and through them he gathered money from unjust sources. He also dissolved the Iberian army, which numbered about fifty thousand, through Leo the Serb, and in place of the soldiers he collected many revenues from those regions; he also devised many other wicked and illegal exactions, which it is shameful even to mention. ^B Yet what it is necessary to say, this I shall state, that from the time of that emperor and because of his dissipation and ostentation, the affairs of the Romans began to wane, and from that time even to the present, they have little by little receded and arrived at a state of total weakness; for in his pursuit of liberality, he had blindly driven himself to the extreme of extravagance. Yet he was not entirely devoid of good deeds, but there are some works of his worthy of historical record. For the aforementioned monastery and the homes for the aged, the hostels, and the poorhouses within it do not lack praise, nor does the work he performed for the Great Church of God fall short of eulogies. For until his time, the bloodless sacrifice was performed for God in that church only on major feast days, and additionally on Saturdays and Sundays, but on the other days, not at all. ^C This occurred due to a scarcity of funds, which he, having simply set aside, provided so that the holy liturgy could be celebrated adequately every day; a custom which continues to be observed to this day. And he also dedicated vessels pertaining to this holy mystery to that church, made of gold and adorned with precious pearls and stones, which surpassed all others in size, value, and beauty. And he adorned this place with many other such precious gifts. But such were his deeds. A plague afflicted the queen of cities in the seventh and eighth indictions, so that the living were not sufficient to carry out the dead. ^D And in the summer of the seventh indiction, a great quantity of hail fell, and through it not only many animals but also many men perished. The emperor, suffering from the customary disease of gout, was lying in the monastery of the Manganas which had been newly built by him, and since another affliction followed and death already seemed near, those who held the highest positions in the palace consulted together regarding his successor. These were John the logothete, whom the emperor had associated with the administration of affairs after pushing aside Leichoudes, Constantine the protonotary of the dromos, Basil who was in charge of the kanikleion, and the rest who were close to him, asking whom they should establish on the imperial throne. It seemed to all of them, therefore, that Nicephorus the Protenon (an official, one might say, of the first rank) was suitable for this. And so a courier was sent to him in Bulgaria, where he was then in charge of the province, to summon him to the city.

Xylander and Goar’s Notes

^A A courier was sent into Bulgaria to bring him from there; for he happened at that time to be girded with the government of Bulgaria. But when those who served the Empress Theodora learned of this (for Zoe had already finished her life), namely Nicetas Xylinites, Theodore, and Manuel, they placed her in a skiff, brought her to the palaces of the great palace, and proclaimed her empress. The emperor, having died on the 11th of the month of January, in the 9th indiction, in the year 6564, received a burial such as was available in the Mangana. But those around the empress sent and arrested the Proteuōn in Thessalonica, and from there they led him to the Thrakesion to the monastery of Kouzenos, and confined him there.

Having received the ancestral empire, ^B Theodora immediately proceeds against those who had planned to make the Proteuōn emperor, stripping them of their property and relegating them. She also promotes all her eunuchs to the greatest offices, appointing Theodore as Domestic of the Schools of the East, and sending him to the East to check the incursions of the Turks, having removed Magister Isaac Komnenos from the command of the camp. For Monomachus had happened to transport all the Macedonian forces to the East, having Macedonians as all their leaders, among whom was also Bryennios; for there was a rumor among the Turks that it was fated that the Turkish race should be destroyed by such a force as Alexander the Macedonian used to defeat the Persians. She also appointed Nicetas as Logothete of the Dromos, and Manuel as Drungary of the Watch. And for his extensive experience in administering public affairs, she brought in the syncellus Leo, called Strabospondylos, who had formerly served Emperor Michael. While the affairs of the city were being carried on in this way, Bryennios, hearing of the death of the emperor, set out with the Macedonians and descended on Chrysopolis. The empress, because he had departed without her order, seized him, confiscated his property, and sent him into exile, and caused the people to return to where they had come from. Therefore, the empress lived through the whole of the 9th indiction of the year 6564, and toward the end of the month of August of the same indiction, having fallen into a wasting illness, she died.

Her eunuchs, together with the syncellus Leo, ^D declare [Michael] Stratioticus emperor while she was still breathing her last. He was a man born in Byzantium, simple and harmless, and one who had been occupied in military matters from childhood and knew nothing else, and was now advanced in age and had reached that elderly life to which the poet Archilochus declared that inactivity was suitable. This they did, so that he might have only the form and name of the empire, while they themselves might administer public affairs as they wished and be masters of everything, having first sworn that he would do nothing without their knowledge and consent. Michael was proclaimed emperor on the final day of the month of August, in the 9th indiction. When Theodosius the president, the son of the paternal uncle of Emperor Constantine Monomachus, learned of this, he was much aggrieved. And not considering the matter which he...

was about to undertake, nor the difficulty and the failure of the enterprise, nor what manner of die he was casting, he gathered his own household servants and slaves and those who otherwise served him, many neighbors as well, and some of his acquaintances, all of whom were rather light-minded. Taking them up around the late evening from his house (which was situated by what is called the Leon-macellium, which may be interpreted as the people’s market), he proceeded through the square toward the palace, crying out that an extreme injury was being done to him, and complaining to those he met that the empire—as if it were a hereditary possession and fitting for him, since he was related by blood more closely than the others to the departed emperor—was being snatched away from him. When he reached the praetorium, he broke down the gates of the prison and released the captives, hoping, I suppose, to accomplish some great and noble deed by their help. He did the same thing at the Chalce. ^B But the revolt having been made known to the eunuchs in the palaces, the soldiers who were guarding the palace, both Romans and Varangians (the Varangians are a Celtic race serving as mercenaries for the Romans), were quickly armed, and the crews of the imperial triremes were also quickly roused. A sufficient force was assembled and was about to be sent against Theodosius. When he learned of this, turning away from his path toward the palace, he retreated to the Great Church of God; for he hoped that if he entered it, the patriarch and the clergy would receive him, and that a great multitude of people would gather, and they would proclaim him emperor. But all these things turned out to the contrary for him. For both the patriarch and the clergy of the church locked its doors against him as he was coming, and those who were accustomed to rejoice and run together in such matters were nowhere to be found. Even those who had accompanied him up to that place, hearing of the force that was to be sent against them, gradually slipped away and dispersed. Finally, abandoned by all, this wretched suppliant ^C sat down at the church with his son; they immediately sent and took him out of the church and exiled him to Pergamum. They did the same to the more prominent men who had joined him. From this moment on, Michael was indisputably proclaimed emperor.

Having taken up the reins of empire, Michael raised all the nobles of the senate to higher ranks of dignity, and won over the populace with promises of many benefits. But since he was an extremely old man, and mindful of many ancient things, he set about to restore many of the customs of the old that had fallen into disuse, though they contributed nothing to the utility of the empire or the common good. For he ordered what was called the Stratioticum ^D (44) to be cleaned, a deed concerning which the citizens mockingly joked that he was searching for his own die, which he had once lost there while playing, and so was clearing away the dust. He also ordered that the heads of the citizens should not be covered with documents, as is done now, but with caps of fine linen, large and interwoven with purple threads; because... [index: entries preserved]

and he chose as public officials not men from the Senate, but some of the shorthand writers ^A from each archive. Many other such things did he, the details of which I would grow tedious to the listeners by recounting.

When the time arrived for the imperial largesse, which emperors are accustomed to distribute annually to the Senate at the time of Easter, all the leaders of the army, illustrious for their nobility of birth and valor, came before him. Among them were the magister Isaac Comnenus and the magister Catacalo Kekaumenos (this man had been Duke of Antioch, but the emperor had removed him from his command and substituted Michael, his nephew—whom, immediately upon his accession, he had named Ouranos, as if to trace his lineage back to the ancient Ouranos, and whom he sent, honored as the magister of Antioch, to succeed Kekaumenos). There were also Michael the bestarches, Burtza, and Constantine and John, who were of the line of the Doukai from the East, as well as the other leading men of the nobility. They all gathered, both to see the new emperor and to receive the gratuities from him, for word had spread to everyone of his promptness and his magnificent and generous liberality toward acts of benevolence.

When the emperor spoke with Comnenus and Kekaumenos, he praised them, calling them noble and brave commanders—Kekaumenos especially, noting that he had attained the dignity of his position not through the merit of his fathers or by any favoritism, but by his own acts of valor. He acted in the same way toward the others of the nobility, though he remained unwilling to fulfill the wishes of any of them; he did not consent to promote Comnenus and Kekaumenos to the rank of proedros, as they had requested, but sent away all their petitions empty-handed, thereby arousing everyone against him. Such was his disposition toward the esteemed commanders. He did, however, recall Bryennius from exile and appoint him commander ^B of the Cappadocians, with full authority.

NOTES OF XYLANDER AND GOAR

[index: entries preserved]

^A He appointed him over the Macedonian legions and sent him against the Turks. For a certain Turk, Samuch by name—of obscure birth, but noble and energetic in warfare—having served with the Sultan when he made his second incursion against the Romans, remained in the region with three thousand men after the Sultan had returned to Persia. Wandering through the plains and low-lying areas of Great Armenia, and making sudden raids, he caused great harm to the Romans and pillaged them. But the Emperor was unable to conciliate even this man, for he was utterly incapable of flattering or manipulating those who had been deeply insulted and who harbored hidden anger in their souls. For when Bryennius tearfully begged him that the property which Theodora had seized from him be restored, he did not consent; and when Bryennius urged him more vehemently, he dismissed him with that common and hackneyed saying: "Show me your works, then demand your wages." Thus scorned, Bryennius departed, his spirit exacerbated, awaiting an opportunity for vengeance.

^B He behaved in the same way toward Herveius the Frank, a man who had served with Maniaces in Sicily and had raised great trophies, and who, from that time until this, had appeared well-disposed toward Roman affairs. For not only did he not deign to respond when Herveius—who begged and entreated him—sought the honor of the magistracy, but he even dismissed him having ridiculed and mocked him in various ways. So inhuman and difficult in his dealings was the Emperor. Herveius, being a barbarian and unable to control his anger, did not bear this insult with moderation. Ignorant of the plots being hatched by the Romans, he pondered vengeance; having secured permission from the Emperor to depart for his home, he went to the East and betook himself to his house, Dabaramum, situated in the Armeniac province. Having consulted with some of the Franks who were distributed there at the time for winter quarters, and having corrupted three hundred of them, he departed from there and went up into Media. There he joined himself to Samuch, who was living in the region, in order to wage war against the Romans.

^C For a time the agreement remained unshaken; but after some friction arose between the Franks and the Turks, the two peoples began to plot against one another. Samuch pretended to abide by the agreements, but Herveius was always suspicious and expected a sudden attack from the Turks; therefore, he urged his men not to sleep securely, but always to sleep under arms. In the meantime, however, he gave Samuch no indication of his thoughts. ^D Finally, Samuch's treachery erupted. One day, with all his Turks armed, he attacked the Franks while they were at breakfast. Perceiving their arrival, they immediately leapt onto their horses, which by their leader’s command they always kept ready, and rode to meet the Turks. A fierce battle ensued, and, after holding their ground for a short time, the Turks were routed. The greater part of them were killed, and the rest, as footmen and disarmed, escaped by flight to the city of Chleat. Herveius, returning from the pursuit of the enemy, urged his men to retreat to their camp, but they pressed him to proceed to the same city (for their common alliance and...

^A oaths with the amir therein, as well as the prospect of some comfort and a bath in which to wash off the carnage of war). Herveius was strenuous in his insistence, begging them to discard such a thought and not to place too much trust in the oaths of men of another faith and another race, who were persuaded that they acted most piously if they killed many Christians. But since, as he spoke, no one listened to him, and all were of one mind, judging the entry unavoidable, he also set out with them, having first called upon God and testified and ordered them, throughout, to be vigilant and hold their weapons in their hands. The Franks, having entered, disregarded the commander’s orders and gave themselves over to baths, drinking, and feasting. The amir Aponasar, having deliberated with Samouch and the Saracens living in the city, ordered his hosts, when the signal was given, to seize the guests and bind them, or, if that should prove impossible, to slaughter them. He remained quiet for a while; but when the Franks had had their fill of pleasure and had turned to sleep, the signal was given, and he attacked. ^B Some of the Franks were immediately slaughtered, others were seized, and some, hurling themselves from the walls, managed to escape. Herveius was also captured and held in irons. After these events, the amir signaled to the Emperor through messengers that he was well-disposed towards him, and that he had destroyed those who had plotted against his interests, and held their leader in captivity. Such was the outcome regarding the Frankish contingent.

The commanders of the East, having been dismissed by the Emperor as stated earlier, decided to try their luck a second time; and, approaching the protosyncellus Leo Strabospondylus, who managed public affairs at that time, they put him forward as a mediator to the Emperor, begging not to be passed over or contemptuously cast aside like the others. ^C Bringing forward many arguments, they finally added that it seemed unworthy for citizens to enjoy imperial honors—men who had never defended the ramparts, nor even once fought against the enemy—while they, who from their youth had fought and kept watch so that others might sleep securely, should be overlooked and receive no benefit from the Emperor’s generosity. But he, being a churlish and inaccessible man, not only did not receive their petition kindly, but also dismissed the petitioners with insults, disparaging each one of them significantly. They, insulted a second time, having cast away all hope, became agitated and gnashed their teeth in anger. At first, as each chance occurred, they muttered in conversation, reviling the Emperor, and urging one another not to endure each insult lightly, but to prepare themselves for just retribution. ^D Then, gathering together in the Great Church, and having given and received oaths to neither be silent nor endure it, but to take vengeance upon those who had insulted them, they...

^A bound their conspiracy with what they call "adamantine" bonds. It seemed good to Kekaumenos to take Bryennios also into their conspiracy, since he was appointed to command a large number of the Macedonian regiments and would likely be a significant part of the endeavor. And when he too, upon being sounded out on the matter, quickly agreed, they then considered whom they should proclaim emperor once their plan had moved forward to the action stage. And it seemed to all the conspirators simply that Kekaumenos was worthy of this, as he excelled the others in age, manliness, and experience. But he, eager to shake off the burden from himself, ended the wordiness with a brief speech; for he stood up and immediately proclaimed the magistros Isaac Komnenos as Emperor of the Romans, [P. 797] and he prevailed upon the others to do this same thing. Having thus bound themselves to one another, and having secured their plan as best they could, and having spoken their farewells to the emperor, each departed to his own home, so it was believed.

Now, Bryennios also, with his affairs having been settled according to the emperor's will, was departing for the East. He was accompanied by the patricios John Opsaras, who had been sent by the emperor with gold, in order to pay the soldiers their wages. When they had arrived at a certain flat, level place in the eastern province, Bryennios began to distribute the largesse that was due to the Cappadocians from the emperor's bounty. And when he ordered more to be given than the emperor had commanded, he encountered opposition from Opsaras, who said that he did not dare to add anything without the emperor's order. When Bryennios ordered him to be still and to carry out his command without further talk, and Opsaras resisted more boldly, Bryennios was inflamed with anger, rose up from his seat, and struck him with his fists, and finally, grasping him by the hair and beard, he threw him to the ground, and having put him in chains, kept him prisoner in his own tent. He himself took the imperial gold and distributed the wages, increasing them at his own discretion. It happened that at that time the patricios Lykanthes was encamped nearby, commanding the Pisidians and Lycaonians. When he received the report regarding the ill-treatment of Opsaras, and suspected, as was probable, that the matter tended toward an attempted tyranny—for he was ignorant of the plans initiated by the eastern commanders—he armed two of the eastern regiments and attacked the tent of Bryennios, proclaiming Michael as emperor. He seized and bound him, and released Opsaras from his bonds; then, handing Bryennios over to him just as he was, in chains, he ordered him to treat him as he pleased. Opsaras, having been released from his shackles and having become master of the situation, immediately put out Bryennios’ eyes and sent him to the emperor as a prisoner, reporting also the attempted defection. He himself remained in that place, to complete the distribution to the rest of the folk. Bryennios thus paid the penalty for his own rashness and arrogance, that he might not...

speak of folly. But the leaders who had their dwellings in the Anatolic theme—the Proedros Romanos Skleros (for he too was not outside the ranks of the sworn conspirators), Bourtzes, Botaneiates, the sons of Basilios Argyros, and the rest of the group—were for the time being keeping quiet and awaiting the start of the apostasy from elsewhere. But when they learned what had happened regarding Bryennios, ^A and into what crazy misfortunes he had submitted himself, they nimbly turned around, for it was clear that he would denounce the conspiracy and the end would not result in good for the conspirators. All of them arose and departed into Paphlagonia to Kastamon; for Kastamon was the house of the Magister Isaac Komnenos. Arriving and finding him still resting, they roused him even against his will, and they came with him to a certain level place of sufficient breadth; the place is called Gounaria. And having gathered there the neighboring soldiers, and all those who, having learned of the movement, had come together of their own free will, they hailed him with the consent of all as Emperor of the Romans, on the eighth day of the month of June, in the tenth indiction, in the year 6565.

Having been proclaimed emperor, he fortified a camp strictly in that place and waited there, expecting the rest of those who had participated in the conspiracy to gather. But the slowness of Kekaumenos induced him to withstand and not to rush out. For while he was examining and seeking the cause for the delay, a certain messenger came from the East and reported that he, having changed his mind and neglected the oaths he had given, was favoring the emperor's cause and gathering a force with which to attack the rebels. This news plunged those around Komnenos into no small anxiety and agitation, if they were to have such an enemy at their backs; therefore, they held their position in the camp, yearning to learn the truth. But while they were occupied in this, Kekaumenos remained keeping his own counsel, though he held himself back and delayed for the following reason: When he was departing from the capital and returning home, having encountered an imperial courier in Nicomedia, he instructed him to announce to the Logothete of the Drome, Niketas Xylinites, in simple, soldierly words: "As I know, brother, your lord and emperor has considered Komnenos and me as nothing, and having contemptuously rejected our requests, sent us home dishonorably. Know therefore that we are leaving. But he, and you too, if you disapprove of our departure, drag us back to the rear, even against our will, by sending a force." Having said these things to the courier, he pursued his intended journey more intently. But when he came home and realized that Komnenos was quiet, as if he had no part in this matter, he began to fear and dread not a little that Komnenos and the rest might have changed their minds and wished to suppress the conspiracy in silence, and that he alone would pay the penalty for the apostasy, as he had already revealed himself through his message. And he pondered and studied how and in what manner he might secure his own safety; ^B for he neither had a prepared force, nor did the force present seem sufficient to fight against the Emperor of the Romans, more especially because he had not yet consulted with the local troops.

^A Since he had not even gained any assurance that he would be accepted, for this reason he hesitated and seemed to draw back, as those who had not correctly calculated his circumstances were thinking. For it happened that at that time two Frankish regiments and a Russian one were in the area for winter quarters; he was anxious about them, lest they become aware of the plot and, having seized him, send him to the Emperor. Fearing all this, he held himself back until he could secure his own safety. But once he was about to set to the task, having first revealed the plot to his own servants and relatives ^B and having by now gathered around him a force of a thousand men, he at length began to test those who were not entirely firm, approaching the most prominent of the place one by one first, and then gradually testing the braver and the more military-minded. Since he was able for the time being to draw the most prominent to his side, he then began to put the masses to the test; for, having forged imperial letters as if he had been ordered to take up the three allied regiments and the two from the Colonians and the Chaldians ^C and march against Samuch, and having ordered these five to gather in the plain of Nicopolis, in this way he put them to the test. For every day, while forging a review of the troops, he would ride out early and, standing apart from the others, he would first call the leader and reveal the plan, saying that it was necessary to do one of two things: either agree to what he said or face decapitation; then he would call one unit and then another, and by doing the same thing he forced even those who were unwilling to take an oath. At first he led over the two Roman regiments, then after them his own, and next he brought his demands to the foreign ones. Having easily struck them with terror and bound them by oath, and now having become fearless, ^D after he had gathered the Sebastenians, the Melitenians, those from Tephrice, and the other Armenian commanders and soldiers, he began his march, having sent word ahead to Comnenus that he had arranged his affairs well and was now coming with a heavy force. These tidings filled Comnenus with joy and courage, and he who until then had been most timid and faint-hearted became more daring and bold from that time on. Yet he waited for his arrival.

^A and at the same time took the command of the Armeniac legions under his control, as well as the leaders of the theme, some willingly and others unwillingly. Having hastened his march, he arrived and joined Comnenus.

Then, believing that his affairs were in a secure position [P. 800], he entrusted his wife and whatever wealth he possessed to his own brother, John, and sent them to the fortress of Pemolissa (Pemolissa is a rock situated along the banks of the Halys river). He himself, having set out with his entire army and crossed the Sangarius river, proceeded slowly and by foot toward Nicaea, being praised and acclaimed; for he had decided that once that place was captured, he would have a stronghold for whatever might happen in the eventualities of fortune, and thus proceed further forward. He was also granting time for retreat to those armies and to those generals who were still maintaining their loyalty to the Emperor. For indeed, having learned of his approach to Nicaea, they were gently withdrawing and dispersing, the soldiers going home, each fearing for his wife, children, and other most necessary things; the generals departed to the Emperor, becoming messengers to him of the arrival of Comnenus. These were Lychantes, leader of the Eastern regiments, Theophylactus Maniaces, and Phyemius the Iberian, who commanded the phalanx of the Charsianites, and many others not of great distinction.

Already, the Emperor, having been informed of the defection ^B and that the entire Roman hand, save for a few, had risen against him, did not think it wise to send envoys regarding peace, as the beginning of the insurrection was still burning and the affairs were in a state of inflammation; rather, he prepared himself and armed everything in the opposite manner to face the challenge. Having summoned all the Western forces, and having appointed to lead these from the Macedonians those who were illustrious in lineage and who had appeared proven by previous feats of arms, he lavished honors, gifts, and distributions of money, and showed favor to both the commanders and the soldiers. He did the same for the troops that had not been carried along with Comnenus—that is, the Easterners and those from Charsianon—and appointed as their autonomous general and commander the Domestic of the East, Theodore, the eunuch of the Empress Theodora, and assigned to him as a colleague and advisor, as a man experienced in many battles and a brother of the wife of Comnenus, the Magister Aaron, and Ducas, and he sent them forth to confront Comnenus.

These two, having taken control of the aforementioned forces and crossed through Chrysopolis, which lies opposite the City ^C, arrived at Nicomedia. Once there, they sent men to destroy the bridge of the Sangarius river so that the approach to them would not be easy for Comnenus, but that he, being forced to take a detour, would not escape their notice. Departing from there, they ascended to Mount Sophon, and having pitched a fortified camp there, they made preparations for war.

Comnenus, however, everywhere sending out scouts [P. 801] and watchers so that nothing of what was happening would be hidden from him, since he learned that the men around the Domestic had already occupied the heights of Sophon, also made a rapid march and reached Nicaea. Having taken possession of it at the first attempt, and having deposited within it whatever money he had and the bulk of his baggage, and having secured it, he pitched camp at the northern part of the city of Nicaea, about twelve stades away, and quartered there. As the soldiers from both camps then went out for foraging, and as those of Comnenus’s soldiers... ^D

^A and those of the opposing side mingled together, being fellow countrymen, kin, and friends, they began to exhort one another. Those who favored the emperor urged them to abandon Comnenus as a tyrant and a rebel, and to go over to the emperor, lest for the sake of the desire and craving of one man they should come into such great peril, so that in a little while they might suffer not only the loss of their army and wealth, but also run the risk of losing that sweetest thing, the light of their eyes. Those others, in turn, advised them to abandon the emperor, who held only the name of emperor, being in other respects a ^B putrid and senile old man and useless, governed by eunuchs, and to flock to Comnenus, a man valiant in hand and illustrious and distinguished by the military deeds he had previously accomplished, toward whom all the power of the Romans had leaned, just as lines from a circle tend toward a single point, with one and the same constant will. But though they said these things, they did not persuade one another. This was done intentionally, as the leaders of both armies sent some of their trusted men to parley with the soldiers of the opposing army and, as much as possible, to win over those who were willing. When they had made the attempt for some time and no one paid attention to what was being said, and Comnenus was urging his men with the greatest ^C restraint to gather wood and fodder and not to stray far from the camp, the people around the domesticus, and especially the Macedonians, regarding this hesitation as a sign of cowardice and fear, insisted that they must fight. Yielding to them even against his will, he pitched camp at the place called Petroa, not very far from the enemy’s camp, but about fifteen stades away. When the forces had thus come very close to each other and were pressing their commanders to lead them out and not to block them, Comnenus was persuaded to draw out his own phalanxes and set them for battle, having appointed Kekaumenos to lead the left wing, while Romanos Skleros held the right, and he himself was stationed in the center. The domesticus and ^D Aaron were also persuaded to come out for battle and to stand their own force in line against the enemy. The right wing was held by Basil Trachaniotes, who was then the commander of the West and the most excellent of all the Macedonians in birth, prudence, and skill, and was first in authority. The left was entrusted to the magistros Aaron, who had as commanders Lycanthas, Pnyemios, and Randulphos, a patrician and a Frank. The battle was joined in a manner at a place called Ades by the locals: as the signal for battle was given and the forces crashed against one another, Aaron put the right wing to flight and pursued them right up to their palisade, capturing Romanos Skleros. He might perhaps have carried off a clean victory, if not for [P. 802] the extreme caution that kept him from plundering the enemy's camp; he would have gained a complete victory, for Comnenus was already shaken and planning to flee to Nicaea. But Ambustus, having routed those who were opposed to him, did not at all desist from the pursuit, but was carried all the way to the enemy camp, where he broke through the rampart, slashed the tents with his sword, and cast them to the ground. This, being seen from afar (for the camp was on high ground), filled Comnenus and his men with boldness, and those who were standing by Aaron with fear. And so, they too raised a shout with alacrity, and the others took to flight. A great multitude fell in the battle on the emperor's side, especially of the Macedonians—not only soldiers, but also commanders, such as Maurocatacalo, Phyemius, Calzamuntes, and not a few others. Many more were taken captive.

he was pious, and abstained from plundering the camp, as the Komnenos had already been shaken and was looking to flee to Nicaea. But Kekaumenos, having thoroughly routed those who were against him, did not stop the pursuit, but, reaching the very palisade, he broke it; and having gone inside and plundered the tents and cut them to pieces with his swords, he cast them to the ground. This, being seen by those at a distance (for the camp lay on a site that had a gap), put courage into those around the Komnenos, but fear into those around Aaron; for seeing the camp plundered, some shouted, while others rushed to flight. And there fell from the side of the emperor many people, and in particular Macedonians, and not only from the soldiers, but many generals also—Maurokatakalon, Pnyemios, Katzamountes, and others not a few; and many more were taken alive than were killed.

In this battle, they say that, as those on the side of the emperor were routed, Randulph the Frank, wandering in the midst of the fleeing and the pursuing, sought to engage with one of the notable men. When he learned that Nikephoros Botaneiates was passing by, he left the others and went toward him, shouting from afar, urging him to wait, and declaring who he was and for what purpose he challenged him. ^A Botaneiates, noticing this, stopped his movement and engaged with Randulph; and the latter struck with his sword the shield of Randulph and cut it in two, while Randulph struck him upon the helmet, but the sword slipped and caused no injury. Wherefore, others having run up to Botaneiates, they overpowered the man and took him alive and led him away to the Komnenos. There also fell from the side of the Komnenos one general, Leo the Antiochian, and some soldiers. ^B

When the defeat had occurred, and those who had survived the rout and the war had come to the emperor together with the Domestic and Aaron, he himself had despaired of the situation and was already expecting to abandon everything and seek refuge and safety; but those around him did not allow him to do this, but urged him to remain and to die nobly, if need be, for the sake of the empire. To levy troops again and proceed to a second counter-deployment was considered onerous and disadvantageous, but he thought he would prevail if he could win over the goodwill of the citizens; ^C thus he cultivated them and kept them bound to him with gifts and honors. The Komnenos, however, having crushed and scattered the opposing forces, moved from Nicaea and on the third day arrived at Nicomedia. When he had reached that place, there arrived also the envoys of the emperor: the Proedros Constantine Leichoudes, the Proedros Theodore Alopos, and Constantine Psellos, the head of the philosophers. For these three men, thought to differ in wisdom and power of speech from the men of that day—and Psellos incomparably so—were chosen to serve as envoys; and the emperor expected to achieve great things through their eloquence and grace. The embassy gave assurances that if the Komnenos would lay down his arms, he would himself be adopted by the emperor and declared Caesar, and that to all ^D those who had followed his cause, they promised amnesty for their evils and forgiveness for their transgressions.

^A They say, however, that no one paid them heed. They returned to the emperor, received a different embassy, and went back again, discovering that Comnenus was approaching the village of Reas. The embassy declared that Comnenus should be proclaimed emperor after being adopted, and that the honors provided by Comnenus should be confirmed to all who had served in the campaign with him by imperial letters. When the emperor's promise was announced, Comnenus himself and all the commanders with him acclaimed it, and requested that these promises be confirmed by a chrysobull. Only Kekaumenos was dissatisfied with everything; he insisted that the old man must be stripped of the empire and withdraw. He claimed it was unworthy for one who had already been deposed and anathematized by most terrifying oaths to be permitted to rule the Romans again. He said that this would stir up the wrath of God because of the perjury, and that laying down their arms would not be to their advantage, for in a short time Comnenus would be killed by poison and the eyes of those who had conspired with him would be gouged out. It is recorded that even the envoys themselves acted treacherously, sometimes privately approaching Kekaumenos, urging him to hold firm to his opposition and not to yield at all. ^B Those who are well-informed—men incapable of lying—state that they did indeed act in this manner, and they also gave assurances to Comnenus himself under oath that the entire city populace was passionately in favor of him, and that if he just approached the city, they would expel the old man and receive him with celebratory songs of victory and empire. These things, it is said, took place at the camp.

The aged emperor, meanwhile, was tightening the affection of the citizens toward himself with gifts, largesses, honors, and such other things by which the populace is charmed and demagoguery is practiced; he bound them to goodwill and loyalty. Wishing to make the bond of goodwill even stronger and unbreakable, he promulgated a decree and bound the Byzantines with the most solemn oaths and most dire imprecations, that they would never salute Comnenus as emperor or master, nor offer him the honor due to an emperor; he forced each of the senators to sign this and ratify it. All of them, yielding to his power ^C while Comnenus was still far from the city, did sign. But when he approached a village called Almeas and was to spend the next night in the palace of Damatrys, suddenly, at the break of dawn, the *magister* Michael, son of Anastasius, the patrician Theodore Chryselius, the patrician Christopher Pyrrhus, all the commanders of the companies, and some others of lesser rank surrounded the Great Church of God, crying out in a loud voice for the patriarch to come down to them, as they needed to consult him on matters of great necessity. When the patriarch refused to do so, and bolted his doors and the entrance to the spiral staircase which leads to the upper chambers of the church, and sent instead Nicephorus and Constantine, his brothers—that is, his cousins—to tell them he was being consulted through them, those who had gathered there, now augmented by a great crowd (for once the rumor had spread, people were running there from all sides, not only those who took pleasure in new developments, but also not a few of the more prudent men and many senators ^D

^A seized the patriarch’s nephews and threatened to strangle them unless he were to descend to them immediately. Whether he did so against his will—I cannot say—or willingly, as the majority opinion held, he put on his priestly vestment 53 and, having taken up the other insignia of the high priesthood, descended, feigning indignation at having been subjected to a grave injustice. Later events demonstrated that all these things were done as if on a stage, through simulation. For the rabble-rousers, having immediately received him as he descended and brought a throne, seated him on the right side of the holy bema. ^B And at first, under a pretext, they urged him to act as an envoy to the emperor so that he might demand back the document signed by them, since he had already made peace with Comnenus and declared him emperor. For they said that since the document was preserved intact, one of two absurd outcomes would necessarily follow: either they would commit perjury by acclaiming him as emperor, or they would be punished for having insulted the emperor. He at first mollified them and promised he would fulfill their request. Then, after a short time had passed, putting aside all else, they proclaimed Comnenus sole autocratic emperor and declared all those who did not wish this to be enemies of the Romans and rebels, ^C and they authorized the mob to pillage their houses, with the patriarch himself, through the second-in-command of the church 54, Stephen, who was present and consenting, and with Theodore, the patriarch of Antioch, shouting for the proclamation of the acclamation and encouraging the looting and tearing down of the houses of the prominent men who were not pleased by what was happening. And the patriarch was doing these things from within the holy and celebrated church. He sent a messenger to Comnenus and others to the old man [Stratioticus]; to the former he signaled to hasten and not delay, and he demanded his reward for their collaboration, as his desire was now being accomplished; to the latter he signaled to depart from the palaces, as they in no way belonged to him. From this, the patriarch appeared to all to be ^D not only a participant in, but indeed the primary author of the revolt without any excuse. When Stratioticus asked the metropolitans who had been sent to him, "And what does the patriarch grant me in return for the empire?" they replied, "The kingdom of heaven." And he, immediately casting aside his purple robe and crimson shoes, put on private clothing and departed. That this would have happened in any case, both as he himself desired for it, as the metropolitans promised—and would have attained, beyond a doubt, had he departed the palace at the first sign of the revolt—is true. But now, having remained there until the war, and having endured seeing the destruction of so many citizens in civil strife, and having afterwards, with his affairs failing and his subjects oppressing his authority, abdicated against his will—I do not know whether, in place of the corruptible empire, he is destined to obtain the eternal one. But in this matter, let be what is pleasing to God. As Stratioticus retired to his own house, which was in the citadel, on the fourth day of the week,