Chronicon OF GEORGE THE MONK LIVES OF THE NEW EMPERORS.

 he summons to the palace Nikephoros the renowned patriarch and with him the leading bishops and priests in the presence of the senate, and says, Know

 a man-slaying fruit of a seed bitterly kept and sprouted in our generation, I know not whence this terrible condemnation was allotted to the Romans. w

 and the fool will speak foolish things. For being exceedingly ignorant and nonsensical, he did not know at all those Cherubim wrought of gold, which t

 we have recorded as being preserved. 21 And sight is a witness, a truthful teacher. Both the length of time and the building of the venerable churches

 This apostolic preaching they continue to uphold and never in another jurisdiction, where there are Christians, is that wicked and lawless and God-ha

 {THE REIGN OF MICHAEL THE STAMMERER.}

 Therefore, having plundered it moderately, but not as he had hoped, but as divine providence allowed on account of our sins, he accomplished nothing m

 {THE REIGN OF THEOPHILOS.}

 of impiety and insolence, and of tyranny and madness, the deluded and vain-minded one. Since therefore he was possessed by the same deceit and derange

 this? But the emperor, as if rebuked, forcefully dragged him from the sanctuary, and having inflicted no small number of blows upon him, exiled him,

 as was fitting, he received him, immediately making him magister and domestic of the scholae, and receiving his children from holy baptism. 14. Elated

 most lawless ones, or Pharaoh the Egyptian, or Nebuchadnezzar the Assyrian? Or should we bring all these together and name you one and the same, since

 he wished to take, but he received two pounds for him, the general having also been ordered to test him, and if he was brave, to make him a guardsman.

 Then, having impiously committed many shameful, terrible, and absurd acts, they were driven from there as apostates. But having fled to the imperial c

 having secretly brought out Theophobos through Boukoleon, they saved him near Narsou, in what is now called 'of Theophobias', and they placed this the

 and overturned every day. And so finally, through imperial commission and cooperation, the fathers in exile and bitter prisons were recalled and resto

 Theophilitzes said, My lord, 817 I have a young man, most experienced and most brave with horses, just as your majesty desires, by the name of Basil.

 church, having a warden named Nicholas. And on that night a divine voice called the warden, saying Arise, bring the emperor into the oratory. And ha

 to Bardas, Do not strike the logothete. But they slaughtered him and cut him limb from limb in the Scythian manner, showing the rawness and savagery

 having constructed it very beautifully with flowing water. And when this was completed, there was someone in the city named Peter, a man of letters an

 plotting against him. But he heard these things as nonsense. But Basil, hurrying to convince the emperor, befriends Symbatios, a patrician and logothe

 standing on a high rock, cried out loudly to the emperor, A fine journey you have made, O emperor, having slain your own kinsman and your paternal bl

 Peganes to cense him with an earthenware censer with sulfur. And they blind Symbatios in one eye, and they also cut off his right hand, and they set h

 the emperor. And John the Chaldos immediately with his sword striking the emperor cut off his hands. And Iakobitzes the apelates, the Persian, woundin

 and having been eaten by worms, he died. 3. And the emperor, having come forth on the day of Christ's nativity during the procession to the great chur

 before the fleet arrived, with the emperor lamenting and mourning greatly. 12. And when Niketas Xylinites, the epi tes trapezes, was accused of being

 he made Leo fashion and wear in his boot, saying to him that Often when your father is looking for a small knife for some need, why do you not give i

 of the drome and having gone up to the ambo of the church, having read the charges against the patriarch Photius, they brought him down from the thro

 to make war against Hagion. And when an engagement occurred, those with Constantine were defeated and slaughtered, with him barely escaping. 9. And th

 He having died, Symeon sought pretexts to break the peace for seeking other captives as well, he advanced against the Romans. And the emperor Leo app

 he having given his word to Basileios, he confided everything to him. But Samonas, entering in to the emperor, said to him that, my lord, I wish to te

 Of Nicholas the Patriarch, the monks were pardoned from death, Karamalos to the Pikridiou monastery, and Eustathios to the Stoudiou monastery. And the

 He was persuading, he fled to Siricha to the precious cross, pretending that he had come on account of faith in the cross. So Constantine, the son of

 Andronikos, learning this, despairing, along with his relatives and his children and his men, went away and seized the fortress of Kabala, having come

 Samonas said, Against whom is the affliction? The metropolitan said to him, Against you and if you get past the 13th of June, from then on you wil

 he dressed it and made an illumination for the animals. For this reason the hand of God was lifted from him, as one who attached the honor of God to i

 of the detachments fell, and so many that the place was flooded with blood pouring down like a river. And Gregoras the son of the Doux was also killed

 879 of Domenikos the Hetaeriarch. Zoe deposes Patriarch Nicholas along with those with him in anger, telling him to look after and care for the affair

 others in the engagement of the war, 882 both Constantine Lips and John Grapson and a sufficient number of other commanders. 17. And at some point Rom

 These things came to pass. 23 But the emperor took Nicholas the patriarch and Stephen the magister to be with him in the palace, drawing the authority

 the basileopator, having made signed golden bulls as if from the person of the emperor Constantine, containing the overthrow of such a plot, and that

 they came forth in a procession. 2. In the month of June, of the 8th indiction, on a Sunday, the union of the church took place under Romanos, with al

 and many others. Therefore, having barely been saved, he entered into the dromon. And Alexios Mouseles the droungarios also came fleeing, armed, with

 is deprived. They tonsured Bardas Boilas as a monk, since the emperor pitied him as he was a friend. 15. When the patrician nicknamed Moroleon, who wa

 of silver-shielded and silver-speared men, and of those adorned with every color of arms, all of them fenced in with 900 iron, who, having taken Symeo

 Stephen the metropolitan of Amaseia being a eunuch. 903 26. In the month of October, the mystikos John, the paradynasteuon, was accused of aspiring to

 and with Maria the daughter of Christopher and with the whole senate to the church of the most holy Theotokos of the Spring, and they blessed both Pet

 son of the emperor Romanos, whom they were about to ordain patriarch of Constantinople. 38. On the twenty-fifth of the same month an unbearable winter

 he having already reached old age and his sons being still infants. and his remains were placed in the aforementioned monastery of his father. 43. And

 Consequently, the rest of the dromons and the triremes, having sallied forth, worked a complete rout, and they sank many ships with their crews, and w

 a military force being besieged and coming into the greatest necessity, its inhabitants sent an embassy to the emperor Romanos to have the siege lifte

 a monk. 1 Constantine, his son-in-law, was therefore left as sole emperor who, having immediately honored Bardas, the son of Phokas, with the dignity

this?" But the emperor, as if rebuked, forcefully dragged him from the sanctuary, and having inflicted no small number of blows upon him, exiled him, not only for having been rebuked by him, but also because he learned that he honored and venerated the holy icons and slandered his own impiety. Not long after, when he was present in the Great Church, and the patriarch had reproached him, he brought the archbishop back with an entreaty. 796 But when he judged himself unworthy of the priesthood because of what he had suffered, the emperor made him steward of the Great Church. And he released Alexios from prison, restoring to him all his property, holding him in honor. 9. There was also Manuel, the most renowned general of all those in the East, honored by the emperor. This man, having had some words with Myron, who was logothete of the drome and father-in-law of Petronas, was slandered to the emperor by Basileios at the instigation of Myron, as aspiring to the imperial office, and terrible things were being plotted against him. But Leo the protovestiarios, standing up and taking care for Manuel, was assuring the emperor that the things being said against him were false. When Manuel learned these things, and seeking to avoid the emperor's wrath and slanders, he secretly left the city as far as Pylae and, mounting the public vehicles, went as a fugitive as far as the kleisourai of Syria, hamstringing the horses. And he made these things known to the Hagarenes, that "I am fleeing the emperor's wrath, and if you do not force me to abandon my own faith, I take refuge with you. If you will receive me thus and on these terms, send me a promise of safe-conduct." And they, receiving this with great joy, sent a promise of safe-conduct, and received him as emperor of the Romans. 10 When the emperor learned this, he was in great affliction and despondency, and he took counsel with John the synkellos about this. And he said, "If you earnestly wish Manuel to come 797 back, O emperor, I myself am ready to do this, by taking money and being sent to the amermoumnes, supposedly to visit those in prison and in chains, and having a signed letter from your majesty, with which I shall persuade Manuel to come into your presence. And I think I can accomplish this through the signed letter of your majesty and my persuasion and his piety and because it is natural for him to love his fatherland." And the emperor, giving him a great amount of money and gifts for the amermoumnes, sent him off. 11 And he went in with much money and all sorts of valuables, so that even the Hagarenes were astonished at his wealth, who, having distributed stipends at the prisons and seen the protosymboulos, was also able to speak secretly with Manuel and to give him the signed letter and the emperor's safe-conduct. And he, having done this, returned, reporting to the emperor all that he had accomplished; but Manuel, having requested from the amermoumnes to go out against a certain nation hostile to them, obtained his request, and taking the son of the amermoumnes and a very large force, he went forth and won a great victory. And for this he was established in greater honor than before, and he himself was all-powerful with the amermoumnes. 12 Wherefore, having great concern to depart into Romania, after some time he said to the commanders of the amermoumnes that "If you provide me with the son of the amermoumnes and an army, I will go out and subjugate Romania." 798 And they, telling the amermoumnes, sent him off. And when he came near the theme of the Anatolics, having summoned his subordinates and the son of the amermoumnes as if to move about and to hunt, being far from the enemy, he embraced the son of the amermoumnes and, kissing him, said that, "I for my part am departing to my emperor and my own people, having preferred nothing in life to my fatherland and kinsmen; but you, with your own men, since you need suspect you will suffer no harm from us, go away to your own people." And he thus returned with tears and shame; but Manuel proceeded to the emperor, having sent ahead a messenger to him. 13 And the emperor, receiving the messenger as an angel of great good tidings, honored him lavishly with money and dignities, and Manuel,

τοῦτο;" ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ὡς ἐλεγχθεὶς τοῦτον τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου βιαίως ἐξήγαγεν, καὶ πληγὰς αὐτῷ οὐ μετρίας ἐπιθεὶς ἐξώρισεν, οὐ διὰ τὸ ἐλεγχθῆναι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ μαθεῖν αὐτὸν τὰς ἁγίας εἰκόνας τιμᾶν καὶ σέβε σθαι καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ δυσσέβειαν διαβάλλειν. μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ παραγινομένου, καὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου αὐτὸν ὀνει δίσαντος, αὐτὸν τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον ἤγαγε μετὰ παρακλήσεως. τοῦ 796 δὲ ἀνάξιον ἑαυτὸν τῆς ἱερωσύνης κρίναντος δι' ἃ πέπονθεν, ὁ βα σιλεὺς οἰκονόμον τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας πεποίηκεν. καὶ Ἀλέξιον τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου ἐξέβαλεν, ἀποδοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν περιου σίαν αὐτοῦ, ἔχων αὐτὸν ἐν τιμῇ. 9. Ἦν δὲ καὶ Μανουὴλ ὀνομαστότατος στρατηλάτης πάν των τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ, τιμώμενος παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως. οὗτος Μύρωνι συμβαλὼν λόγους τινάς, λογοθέτῃ τε ὄντι τοῦ δρόμου καὶ πενθερῷ τοῦ Πετρωνᾶ, διεβλήθη τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑπὸ Βασιλείου ὑποβολῇ Μύρωνος ὡς τῆς βασιλείας ὀρέγεται, καὶ ἐμελετᾶτο δεινὰ κατ' αὐτοῦ. Λέων δὲ ὁ πρωτοβεστιάριος ὑπὲρ τοῦ Μανουὴλ προϊστάμενος καὶ φροντίζων διεβεβαιοῦτο τῷ βασιλεῖ ὡς ψευδῆ εἰσὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτοῦ λεγόμενα. ἃ μαθὼν Μανουήλ, καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ διαβολὰς ἐκκλίνων, λάθρα τῆς πόλεως ἐξελθὼν μέχρι Πυλῶν καὶ τοῖς δημοσίοις ὀχήμασιν ἐπιβὰς ἀπῆλθε φυγὰς μέχρι τῶν κλεισούρων Συρίας, τὰς τῶν ἵππων ἰγνύας ἐκκόπτων. ἐδήλωσέ τε τοῖς Ἀγαρηνοῖς ταῦτα, ὡς βασιλέως ὀργὴν ἐκφεύγω, καὶ εἴ γε μὴ καταναγκάσητέ με τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ πίστιν καταλιπεῖν, προσφεύγω ὑμῖν. εἰ οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις προσδέχεσθέ με, λόγον ἀπαθείας μοι ἀποστείλατε. οἱ δὲ τοῦτο μεγάλῃ χαρᾷ δεξάμενοι, λόγον ἀπαθείας ἀποστείλαντες, προσεδέξαντο ὡς βασιλέα Ῥω μαίων. 10 τοῦτο μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν πολλῇ θλίψει καὶ ἀθυ μίᾳ γέγονεν, καὶ βουλὴν ἐποιεῖτο μετὰ Ἰωάννου συγκέλλου περὶ τούτου. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν "εἰ προθύμως βούλει τὸν Μανουὴλ προσελ 797 θεῖν, ὦ βασιλεῦ, αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἕτοιμος τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, χρήματα λαβὼν καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀμερουμνῆν σταλεὶς ὡς δῆθεν τοὺς ἐν εἱρκτῇ καὶ δεσμοῖς ἐπισκεψόμενος, ἔχων καὶ ἐνυπόγραφον λόγον παρὰ τῆς σῆς βασιλείας, ᾧ πείσω τὸν Μανουὴλ εἰς ὄψιν ἐλθεῖν. δοκῶ δὲ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι τῷ ἐνυπογράφῳ λόγῳ τῆς βασιλείας σου καὶ τῇ ἐμῇ πειθοῖ καὶ τῇ ἐκείνου εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ τῷ εἰκὸς εἶναι τῆς πατρίδος ἐρᾶν." ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς πάμπολλα χρήματα καὶ δῶρα πρὸς τὸν ἀμερουμνῆν δοὺς αὐτῷ ἀπέστειλεν. 11 ὁ δὲ εἰσελθὼν μετὰ πολλῶν χρημάτων καὶ κόσμου παντοίου, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς Ἀγα ρηνοὺς ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκπλαγῆναι, ὃς τὰ δεσμωτήρια ῥογεύσας καὶ τὸν πρωτοσύμβουλον θεασάμενος ἠδυνήθη καὶ λά θρα συνομιλῆσαι τῷ Μανουὴλ καὶ δοῦναι αὐτῷ τὸν ἐνυπόγραφον λόγον καὶ τὸ φυλακτὸν τοῦ βασιλέως. καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦτο πράξας ὑπέστρεψεν, ἀναγγείλας τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅσα διεπράξατο· ὁ δὲ Μα νουὴλ ἐξαιτήσας τὸν ἀμερουμνῆν τοῦ ἐξελθεῖν κατὰ ἔθνους τινὸς πολεμίου αὐτοῖς ἔτυχε τῆς αἰτήσεως, καὶ λαβὼν τὸν τοῦ ἀμε ρουμνῆ υἱὸν καὶ λαὸν πλεῖστον ἀπῆλθε καὶ νίκην μεγάλην εἰργά σατο. καὶ τούτῳ ἐν μείζονι τιμῇ ὑπὲρ τὸ πρῶτον καθίσταται, καὶ πάντα ἦν αὐτὸς παρὰ τῷ ἀμερουμνῇ δυνάμενος. 12 ὅθεν ἔχων φροντίδα πολλὴν τοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ἐν Ῥωμανίᾳ, μετὰ καιρόν τινα εἶπε πρὸς τοὺς δυνάστας τοῦ ἀμερουμνῆ ὅτι ἐάν μοι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀμερουμνῆ καὶ λαὸν παρέξετε, ἐξελθὼν ὑποτάξω τὴν Ῥωμανίαν. 798 οἱ δὲ τῷ ἀμερουμνῇ εἰπόντες αὐτὸν ἀπέστειλαν. ὁ δὲ ἐλθὼν πλη σίον τοῦ θέματος τῆς Ἀνατολῆς, προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς ὑποχει ρίους αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀμερουμνῆ ὡς δῆθεν διακινήσων καὶ κυνηγήσων, πόρρωθεν τῶν πολεμίων γενόμενος, περιπλακεὶς τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ ἀμερουμνῆ καὶ καταφιλήσας αὐτὸν εἶπεν ὅτι "ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μου καὶ τὰ ἴδια, μηδὲν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ προτιμήσας πατρίδος καὶ συμφυλετῶν· σὺ δὲ μετὰ τῶν σῶν, ὡς μηδὲν δεινὸν πείσεσθε ὑποπτεύοντες παρ' ἡμῶν, ἄπιθι πρὸς τοὺς σούς." καὶ οὗτος μὲν οὕτω μετὰ δακρύων καὶ αἰσχύνης ὑπέστρεψεν· ὁ δὲ Μανουὴλ ἐχώρει πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, προαπο στείλας αὐτῷ τὸν μηνύσοντα. 13 ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς καὶ τὸν μηνυ τὴν ὡς μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν ἄγγελον ἀποδεξάμενος χρήμασί τε καὶ ἀξιώμασιν ἐφιλοτιμήσατο, καὶ τὸν Μανουήλ,