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1 The homeland, then, of the aforementioned Leo was Armenia, and his lineage was from the Assyrians on one side and from the Armenians themselves on the other, who , having handed over their own parents to a bloody slaughter from an unholy intention, were condemned to exile, and there, while enduring a poor life as exiles, they begot the said beast. Indeed, just as Leo was reaching adolescence, he exchanged his homeland for a village named Pidra, which belonged to the Anatolic theme; and there, having reached the age of a man, being counted among the most warlike and murderous, he was blessed with a reputation for valor. At that time Nikephoros, who became a trophy in Bulgaria, was directing the reins of the empire, and he had sent out Bardanios, surnamed the Turk, as monostrategos, administering the supervision and care of the five themes in the East, on account of both his boldness in wars and the other virtues that bloomed in him; who, since he loved to dominate his enemies and was always dreaming of the empire, enrolled this Leo, about whom is the account—who had a striking gaze and a noble stature 7 and otherwise seemed witty in conversations—among his own bodyguards and attendants, and indeed before this, or a little after this, also Michael the Stammerer and Thomas from Lake Gazourou, all of them being humble and obscure and just then being brought to the attention of those entrusted with military commands. (2) These men therefore were dependent on Bardanios, and in him they anchored their worldly hopes; and he, being a lover of the empire, communicated his intention and desire for it to a certain monk living in the region of Philomelion, and he entreated him to send up suppliant prayers to God, to direct his steps and to award the empire to him. But he heard immediately that you must not dare such things, Bardanios, through which will come to you loss of property and the gouging out of your eyes and misfortune otherwise not well; but if you can be persuaded by one advising you, leap away from these things quickly, not putting any beginning at all of such affairs of yours into your mind. The man was filled with dejection and gloom, having heard these words. And finally he went out of the little room full of despair and affliction. But when the monk saw the aforesaid men, Leo and Michael and Thomas, leading the horse for him to mount, he urged the general to return; and expecting to hear some new and strange things, he returned faster than 8 speech. But he again beseeched him not to desert to the expected dreadful things and not to exchange his present good fortune for an absent misfortune; but to these men he testified with a prophetic tongue, affirming that the first and second of them will become masters of the empire you long for, but not you, while the third, partaking only of the acclamation and proclamation, will not succeed at all, but will also wickedly cast away his own soul. Stricken in his soul by these things, he variously let the color drain from his face and again went homeward, on the one hand casting certain blasphemies and insults against the man, and on the other announcing to these men that man's prophecies concerning them, and pouring much laughter on what had been said. (3) Therefore, bidding farewell to that man's words, on the nineteenth of the month of July of the 11th indiction, having gathered a large force against the reigning Nikephoros, and having brought the four themes under him over to his own side by his words, apart from the Armeniakon (for they did not submit to him), he begins the rebellion. At that time, then, the subject population hated Nikephoros, being oppressed by the weight of the public taxes, which somehow became both a pretext and a contributing factor for that man's rebellion; but there was also another cau-

2

1 Πατρὶς μὲν ουν τοῦ δηλωθέντος Λέοντος ̓Αρμενία, γένος δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐξ

̓Ασσυρίων τὸ δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν ̓Αρμενίων, οι  καὶ τοὺς ἰδίους ἐξ ἀνοσίου γνώμης σφαγῇ μιαιφόνῳ παραδόντες γεννήτορας ὑπερ- ορίας κατεδικάσθησαν, κἀκεῖσε δὴ τὸν πένητα βίον, ατε δὴ καὶ φυγάδες, διαθλοῦντες τὸν εἰρημένον θῆρα ἀπέτεκον. αρτι γοῦν εἰς ἐφήβους ὁ Λέων ἐτάττετο, καὶ κώμην Πίδραν κατονομαζομένην, ὑπὸ τὸ θέμα τελοῦσαν τῶν ̓Ανατολικῶν, τῆς πατρίδος ἀλλάσσεται· ενθα δὴ καὶ ἀνδρὸς ἡλικίαν δεξάμενος, τοῖς μαχιμωτάτοις καὶ φονικωτάτοις καταριθμούμενος δόξης εὐμοίρησεν ἐπὶ γενναιότητι. Νικηφόρος τότε τὰς τῆς βασιλείας ιθυνεν ἡνίας, ὁ τρόπαιον ἐν Βουλγαρίᾳ γενόμενος, καὶ μονοστράτηγον τὸν Βαρδάνιον, ῳ  Τοῦρκος ἐπίκλην, τῶν πέντε θεμάτων τῶν κατὰ τὴν ̓Ανατολὴν τὴν ἐφορείαν καὶ πρόνοιαν διοικούμενον διά τε τὴν ἐν πολέμοις τόλμαν καὶ τὰς αλλας ἐπανθούσας αὐτῷ ἀρετὰς ἐξαπέ- σταλκεν· ος ατε δὴ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀγαπῶν κυριεύειν καὶ τὴν βασι- λείαν ἑκάστοτε ὀνειροπολῶν, τοῦτόν τε, περὶ ου  ὁ λόγος, τὸν Λέοντα καταπληκτικὸν βλέποντα καὶ γενναῖον ἀνάστημα εχοντα 7 καὶ αλλως ἀστεῖον ἐν ταῖς ὁμιλίαις δοκοῦντα τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ δορυφόροις ἐγκαταλέγει καὶ διακόνοις, καὶ πρό γε τούτου η  μετὰ τοῦτο μικρὸν Μιχαήλ τε τὸν Τραυλὸν καὶ Θωμᾶν τὸν ἀπὸ λίμνης Γα- ζουροῦ, ταπεινοὺς πάντας καὶ ἀζήλους οντας καὶ ἀρτίως εἰς γνῶ- σιν ἀγομένους τοῖς τὰς πολεμικὰς ἐγκεχειρισμένοις ἀρχάς. (2) ἐκρέ- μαντο ουν ουτοι τοῦ Βαρδανίου, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐλπί- δας ἐσάλευον· καὶ ουτος τῆς βασιλείας ων ἐραστὴς ἀνδρί τινι μο- νάζοντι κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Φιλομηλίου χῶρον καὶ ἐνδιαιτωμένῳ τὴν ταύτης ἀνακοινοῦται γνώμην αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ πρὸς θεὸν εὐχὰς ἱκετηρίους παρεκάλει τοῦτον ἀναπέμπειν, τὰ αὐτοῦ διαβή- ματα κατευθυνούσας καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐπιβραβευούσας αὐτῷ. ἀλλ' ηκουσεν αὐθωρὸν ὡς οὐ δέοι τοιούτων κατατολμᾶν πραγμά- των, Βαρδάνιε, δι' ων ἀπώλειά τε περιουσίας καὶ ὀμμάτων περι- κοπὴ καὶ δυστυχία αλλως οὐ καλῶς σοι γενήσεται· ἀλλ' ει τι εχεις πεισθῆναί σοι συμβουλεύοντι, ἀποπήδησον τούτων διὰ βρα- χέων, ἀρχήν τινα μηδ' ολως τῶν τοιούτων σου πραγμάτων βάλ- λων εἰς νοῦν. ἐπληρώθη κατηφείας καὶ ἀχλύος ὁ ανθρωπος τού- των τῶν λόγων ἀκηκοώς. καὶ τέλος ἐξῄει τοῖ δωματίου πλήρης ἀθυμίας καὶ θλίψεως. ὡς δὲ τοὺς εἰρημένους ανδρας, Λέοντά τε καὶ Μιχαὴλ καὶ Θωμᾶν, τὸν ιππον αγοντας ἀναβῆναι τούτῳ ὁ μοναχὸς ἐθεάσατο, τὸν στρατηγὸν ὑποστρέφειν παρεκελεύετο· καὶ ὡς καινῶν τινῶν καὶ ξένων ἀκούσεσθαι προσδοκῶν, θᾶττον η  8 λόγος ὑπέστρεφεν. ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνον μὲν αυθις ἐξελιπάρει μὴ πρὸς τὰ ἐλπιζόμενα αὐτομολῆσαι δεινὰ καὶ τὴν ἀποῦσαν κακοπραγίαν τῆς παρούσης εὐδαιμονίας ἀλλάξασθαι· αὐτοὺς δὲ τούτους προφήτιδι γλώττῃ διεμαρτύρετο, βεβαιῶν ὡς ὁ πρῶτος τούτων καὶ δεύτερος τῆς σοι πεποθημένης βασιλείας γενήσονται ἐγκρατεῖς, ἀλλ' οὐ σύ, ὁ τρίτος δὲ εὐφημίας μόνης καὶ ἀναρρήσεως μετασχὼν οὐδ' ολως εὐοδωθήσεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ κακῶς τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπορρήξει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ. τούτοις βαλλόμενος τὴν ψυχὴν ποικίλως ἠφίει κατὰ πρόσωπον τὰς χροιὰς καὶ αυθις ἀπῄει τὴν οικαδε, ὁμοῦ μὲν βλάσφημά τινα κατὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ υβρεις ἀπορρίπτων, ὁμοῦ δὲ τούτοις τὰς ἐκείνου δι' αὐτοὺς ἐξαγγέλλων προρρήσεις, καὶ γέλωτα πολὺν καταχέων τῶν εἰρημένων. (3) χαίρειν ουν εἰπὼν τοῖς ἐκείνου λόγοις, τῇ ἐννεακαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ ̓Ιουλίου μηνὸς τῆς ιαʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος κατὰ τοῦ βασιλεύοντος Νικηφόρου χεῖρα συναθροίσας πολλήν, καὶ τὰ ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν τέσσαρα θέματα τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ λόγοις ὑπαγαγών, τῶν ̓Αρμε- νιακῶν χωρὶς (οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑπεῖξαν αὐτῷ), τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως αρχε- ται. ἐμίσει μὲν ουν τότε τὸν Νικηφόρον τὸ ὑπήκοον τῷ βάρει πιεζόμενον τῶν δημοσίων τελῶν, ο  γέγονέ πως καὶ ἀφορμὴ καὶ σύνδρομον ἐκείνῳ τῆς ἐπαναστάσεως· γέγονε δέ τι καὶ ετερον αι-