History
And what i have accurately ascertained from those who saw it, these things i will also commit to writing. 2. just now in the month of november, of the
He commanded that the triremes and the other transport ships should all be brought to anchor in a good harbor, and that they should control the sea, a
War. therefore, having gone around and seen that it was by nature difficult to enter and hard to approach for on the one side it had the sea as a saf
They would be frustrated. and having gone out of the camp, and having overrun a part of the country, when he learned from those who had been taken ali
It was easy to attack by assault, being raised to the greatest possible height, and girded with two trenches dug to a corresponding depth), and the de
Having divided his phalanx into three parts by night, he went against the scythians, and falling upon them suddenly, in a brief moment of time he wrou
Meet them, when i give the signal with the trumpets. such was the exhortation that the general delivered and the army shouted 22 and applauded, and w
6. but nikephoros phokas, the colleague of the aforementioned leo (for it is necessary, having summarized the account, to proceed with the history in
The general, having seen this, spurred his horse, quickened his pace, rode in and restrained the soldiers' onslaught, persuading them not to kill the
Having drawn up an irresistible battle-line, went through the land of the hagarenes. to them, having heard of the attack of nikephoros, it did not see
Was dignified by his rank), was hostilely disposed towards nicephorus. 11. he decided, therefore, to attempt a revolution at once but not having at h
, to proclaim him supreme commander, and to entrust the forces of asia to him, so that he might defend and check the assault of the foreigners. for th
He said, if you are persuaded to take up the rule of the east, i shall quickly declare you emperor, and restore you to the imperial thrones. speak wel
For he was gently nursing his little body), then, recovering again, he said, “speak, most brave one, what need is there to consider this?” but he said
I have assumed the imperial office, but compelled by the necessity of you, the army, and you yourselves bear witness for me that i was both shunning s
Before the report of his proclamation could fly abroad, to seize in advance the straits and passages of the sea. for thus he thought that matters woul
Numbering over three thousand, attacked the house of joseph and his collaborators along with the people. and having subjected these to plunder and pil
Especially the monks), they did not allow the man to persist in what he had decided, but urged him both to embrace marriage and not to shun meat-eatin
Makes it flood in a single hour) emboldened by these things, the barbarians mocked the emperor and insolently hurled insults at him, and making sorti
Having fallen upon it, accomplishing nothing noble or vigorous. and he considered the matter an outright disgrace and insult, and an indelible reproac
Having come to the region around tarsus, there he encamped and having pitched a palisade round about, he ordered the crops and the meadows, luxuriant
Having recovered the standards, which, crafted from gold and stones, the tarsians had captured in various battles while routing the roman force, and h
Of the spectacle, turned to flight and ran back to their own houses. and from the pushing and disorderly rush, no little slaughter occurred, with very
To blow favorably upon them, but blowing against them strongly and fiercely, it has sunk their affairs. but the account will now clearly reveal these
To those acting against the divine ordinance, if somehow at least in this way people, being afraid, would abstain from evil deeds, and would cling to
He had taken a fortress, and having crossed mount lebanon transversely, he turned his attention to tripoli, which he saw was fortified and exceptional
Being obliged to drive them away, and to guard the flocks from harm, they, in addition to not driving them away, themselves cut them down and tear the
Having come, and having been befriended by the ruler of the tauroi, and having corrupted him with gifts and bewitched him with persuasive words (for t
Reconciliation and friendship might be secured. the mysians gladly received the embassy, and putting daughters of the royal blood 80 on wagons (for it
They might do. but as they were already considering rushing to their defense, and to stoutly resist the enemy in close combat, as dawn was brightly br
Boasting to all about his brave deeds in wars. 6. having approached the emperor with these words and, 85 as was likely, having bewitched him (for he s
Having lowered from above, one by one they first pulled up all the conspirators, and then john himself. having come up, therefore, beyond all human su
The vengeance for these things, and to those who were slipping he seemed relentless and burdensome, and oppressive to those wishing to lead an indiffe
At the end of the month of december, during the thirteenth indiction of the six thousand four hundred and seventy-eighth year, a throng of select men,
Having captured him, confines him to amaseia. having therefore from this secured sufficient safety for himself and for his affairs, and having purged
To make amends for what nikephoros had improperly introduced. for nikephoros, whether wishing to correct divine matters that were being disturbed by s
And having found him not very accurately versed in secular education, but most diligently trained in divine and our own, he anoints him patriarch of a
The bosporus, but to pass by moesia, which belongs to the romans, and has from of old been a part of macedonia. for it is said that the moesians, bein
To make replies. for we trust in christ, the immortal god, that if you do not depart from this land, you will be driven from it by us even against you
A disgrace by the raids of the scythians to send out bilingual men dressed in scythian attire into the homesteads and customs of the enemy, so that t
The romans on the one hand shouted for joy, and were strengthened for valor but the scythians, growing cowardly at the new and strange nature of the
2. the emperor, when he learned of such a revolt, was disturbed, as was likely, and having brought up bishop stephen from abydos with wingless speed,
He saw that murders along with the ensuing conspirators were proceeding harshly and inhumanely, he decided to no longer delay or be slothful, so that
Considering into what fortunes the unholy and blood-guilty john has enclosed my family, having mercilessly slain the emperor and my uncle, who was his
Eye, and to learn that these things were red, just as they had been from of old. phocas, considering this prodigy a second evil omen, and seeing also
Immediately, lest it be some ill-omened thing, and destruction befall the pursuing mysians but learning they were fleeing at full speed, he both purs
The russian minds were lifted up in audacity and boldness. therefore, the emperor, not enduring their overweening arrogance and their blatant insolenc
Being given out, and going under the earth by the inscrutable wisdom of the creator and again from the 130 celtic mountains gushing up, and winding t
Should set a phalanx against us, things will not end well for us, but in dreadful perplexity and helplessness. therefore, having strengthened your spi
Is called drista) lingering with his whole force. but in this way kalokyres escaped, and night coming on stopped the romans from battle. and just on t
And they killed up to one hundred and fifty vigorous men. but the emperor, learning of such an event, quickly mounted his horse and urged his follower
But the rest of the multitude he bound in fetters and shut up in prisons. he himself, having gathered the entire host of the tauro-scythians, numberin
1. and just as day was dawning, the emperor fortified the camp with a strong palisade in this manner. a certain low hill of dorystolon rises at a dist
He was courting them with gifts and toasts, encouraging them to proceed vigorously to the wars. 3. while these matters were in suspense, and the battl
He flees to a divine and great sanctuary, seen as a pitiful supplicant instead of a haughty and boastful tyrant. whom the men of the drungarius dragge
Having drowned. for it is said that, being possessed by greek 150 orgies, they perform sacrifices and libations for the dead in the greek manner, havi
On the next day (it was the sixth day of the week, and the twenty-fourth day of the month of july), when the sun was setting, the tauro-scythians, hav
Was being concluded. 10. but the romans, following the divine man who went before, 155 engage with the enemy, and a fierce battle having commenced, th
With purity. at any rate, having conferred a few things about a truce with the emperor, seated beside the rowing-bench of the skiff, he departed. but
Was crossed over. this is the greatest of the rivers cutting through asia, 161 and one of those that flow from eden, as we have learned from the divin
The emperor, as one who abused the power of his leadership for certain powerful men, and did not direct the affairs of the church as was established b
Having assembled forces, and having meticulously armed them, departing from the reigning city, he advanced through palestine, a prosperous land, flowi
The mainland is enclosed by strongholds, stretching upon a certain steep hill on the other side it is surrounded by the sea, putting forth a well-hav
Before until fire-bearing ships were secretly sent out from byzantium by those in power. which bardas parsakoutenos the magistros was leading, and ha
I would have been destroyed, if some divine providence had not led me out of that very danger, which caused me to ride out with speed, before the ravi
Furthermore, the star rising in the west at the setting of the morning star, which, making its risings in the evening, kept no fixed position at one c
Of the city, but already becoming feeble, and suffering from a deep and intractable panting. and having just come to the royal hearth, he was shown to
numbering over three thousand, attacked the house of Joseph and his collaborators along with the people. And having subjected these to plunder and pillage and ruin, he rushed to the shipyards, and from there he prepared the fire-bearing triremes, with the consent of the people and the senate, to be moored near Nicephorus. Nicephorus, having embarked on them at once, came to the monastery of the Abramites, which they also call Acheiropoietos; and from there he sent men to take possession of the imperial palace. When Joseph saw them approaching, terrified and seized with unbearable fear (for the guards around him had already joined Nicephorus), he abandoned the palace and arrived running at the sanctuary. So it was possible to see him who shortly before was arrogant and had raised his eyebrows above his forehead, a pitiful suppliant and with his very ears drooping, and showing in himself that nothing of human affairs is stable or immovable, but rather reversing and short-lived, and like dice are tossed here and there and shifted. Therefore his flight to the sanctuary became for Bardas, the father of Nicephorus, a release from there and a rescue to his son. 8. But Nicephorus, since matters were proceeding to the end he desired, stripping off and casting away his private tunic, and fastening on the imperial and royal cloak, 48 transformed himself into a more kingly state; and mounting a proud white horse, adorned with royal trappings and purple cloths, he rode in through the Golden Gate, applauded and honored by all the people and those in authority. He was riding in on the sixteenth of the month of August, in the sixth indiction, in the 6th year, when these things were done. Now, when he entered the renowned sacred precinct, and received worthy honors from the assembly of priests, he is crowned with the royal diadem by Polyeuctus, who directed the patriarchate, being in his fifty-first year of age. As for his appearance, he was something like this: his complexion tending more to dark than to fair, and his hair deep and dark-blue; his eyes were black, deep in thought, set beneath bushy eyebrows; his nose was of medium thinness and thickness, ending gently in an aquiline shape; his beard was of moderate length, showing sparse grey hairs along the jaws; sinewy for his age and sturdy, very broad in the chest and shoulders, but in courage and strength like the legendary Heracles; and in prudence and moderation and in unerringly devising what was necessary, he surpassed all the men who had been born in his generation. Therefore, having been bound with the royal crown, he goes up to the royal court, escorted by the multitude and those in authority, and having entered he sat upon the royal throne. So one could see fortune adorning herself and exulting in what was accomplished, and placing all human 49 affairs under her control, and establishing nothing mortal as the private possession of anyone. But he, when he ascended to the throne, and held the rudders of it safely and securely, promoted Bardas, his own father, to the rank of Caesar; and he appointed John, who had assisted him at the beginning of the movement, whose surname was Tzimisces, Domestic of the East and Magister. And Leo, his own brother, he appointed Curopalates and Magister; and indeed Basil, who had plotted against Joseph, as was told by me, he raised to the glory of Proedros. 9. And he himself pretended to maintain his usual unassailable moderation, avoiding the company of a wife and abstaining from eating meat. but those who pursued the monastic life and supposedly regulated his way of life (for he honored
ὑπὲρ τοὺς τρισχιλίους χρηματίζοντας, τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ συνεργούντων ἅμα τῷ δήμῳ ἐπιτίθεται. καὶ εἰς διαρπαγὴν
καὶ προνομὴν καὶ ἐρείπωσιν ταύτας περιστήσας ἐπὶ τὰ νεώρια ὥρμησεν, ἐκεῖθέν τε τὰς πυρφόρους τριήρεις, συνευδοκοῦντος τοῦ
δήμου καὶ τῆς συγκλήτου, πρὸς τὸν Νικηφόρον ὁρμίσασθαι παρεσκεύασεν. ὧν ἐπιβὰς ἐξαυτῆς ὁ Νικηφόρος τῇ τῶν Ἀβραμιτῶν, ἣν καὶ
Ἀχειροποίητον ὀνομάζουσι, προσέσχε μονῇ· ἐκεῖθεν τε τοὺς παραληψομένους ἑστίαν ἐξέπεμψε τὴν βασίλειον. οὓς ὁ Ἰωσὴφ προσιόντας
ἰδὼν, ὀῤῥωδήσας τε καὶ δέει ἀσχέτῳ ληφθεὶς (ἤδη γὰρ οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν φρουροὶ τῷ Νικηφόρῳ προσέθεντο), καταλιπὼν τὰ βασίλεια δρομαίως
εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἀφίκετο. ἦν οὖν ὁρᾷν τὸν πρὸ μικροῦ σοβαρὸν καὶ τὰς ὀφρῦς ᾐρκότα ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτωπον, ἱκέτην ἐλεινὸν καὶ αὐτὰς κατεπτηχότα
τὰς ἀκοὰς, καὶ δεικνύοντα ἐν αὑτῷ, μηδὲν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τελεῖν πάγιον ἢ ἀκίνητον, παλίντροπα δέ τινα καὶ ὠκύμορα, καὶ δίκην
κύβων τῇδε κἀκεῖσε μεταῤῥιπτούμενα καὶ μεταπεττευόμενα. ἡ γοῦν τούτου πρὸς τὸ ἱερὸν προσφυγὴ τῷ τοῦ Νικηφόρου γενέτῃ Βάρδᾳ
γέγονεν ἐκεῖθεν ἀπαλλαγὴ καὶ ἀνάσωσις ἐπὶ τὸν υἱόν. ηʹ. Ὁ δὲ Νικηφόρος, ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν ἑαυτῷ τέλος ἐχώρει τὰ πράγματα,
τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν περιελὼν καὶ ἀποσφενδονήσας χιτώνιον, τὴν αὐτοκρατορικὴν καὶ βασίλειον ἐφεστρίδα ἐμπορπη 48 σάμενος, εἰς τὸ βασιλικώτερον
ἑαυτὸν μετεσκεύασεν· ἵππου τε ἀγερώχου τῶν λευκῶν ἐπιβὰς, φαλάροις κεκοσμημένου βασιλικοῖς καὶ τάπησιν ἁλουργοῖς, διὰ τῆς
χρυσῆς πύλης εἰσήλαυνεν, ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ δήμου καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει κροτούμενός τε καὶ γεραιρόμενος. ἑκκαιδεκάτην ὁ Αὔγουστος ἤλαυνε
μὴν, ἐπὶ τῆς ἕκτης ἰνδίκτου, ἐν τῷ ϛʹ ἔτει, ὅτε ταῦτα ἐπράττετο. ἄρτι δὲ, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὸν τοῦ θείου περίπυστον σηκὸν εἰσεφοίτησε,
καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ τῶν ἱερέων πληρώματος ἀξιοχρέους τιμὰς ὑπεδέξατο, πρὸς τοῦ τὴν πατριαρχίαν ἰθύνοντος Πολυεύκτου τῷ βασιλικῷ διαδήματι
στέφεται, ἓν καὶ πεντηκοστὸν ἔτος τῆς ἡλικίας ἐλαύνων. τὴν δὲ ἰδέαν τοιόσδε τις ἦν· ὄψις αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸ μέλαν πλέον ἢ τὸ λευκὸν
ἀποκλίνουσα, κόμη δὲ βαθεῖα καὶ κυανῆ· ὀφθαλμοὶ μέλανες, ἐπὶ συννοίας πεφροντικότες, δασείαις ταῖς ὀφρύσιν ὑποκαθήμενοι· ῥὶς
μέσως ἔχουσα λεπτότητος καὶ παχύτητος, ἠρέμα συμπεραινομένη γρυπότητι· ὑπήνη σύμμετρος, ἀραιὰν παρὰ τὰς γνάθους προβαλλομένη
τὴν πολιάν· ἀγκυλεὸς τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ στιβαρὸς, εὐρύτατος τὸ στέρνον καὶ ὤμους ὡς μάλιστα, τὴν μέντοι ἀνδρείαν καὶ ῥώμην κατὰ
τὸν θρυλλούμενον Ἡρακλῆν· φρονήσει δὲ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ καὶ τῷ τὸ δέον ἀνεπισφαλῶς ἐπιφράσασθαι, πάντων κατευμεγέθει τῶν κατ'
ἐκείνου τὴν γενεὰν γεγενημένων ἀνδρῶν. ταινιωθεὶς οὖν τῷ βασιλείῳ στέφει ἐπὶ τὴν βασίλειον αὐλὴν ἄνεισι, παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους
καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει δορυφορούμενος, καὶ δὴ παρελθὼν ἐπὶ θρόνον ἐκάθισε τὸν βασιλικόν. ἦν οὖν ὁρᾷν τὴν τύχην ἐνωραϊζομένην καὶ
ἐπιγαννυμένην τοῖς τελουμένοις, καὶ πάντα ἑαυ 49 τῆς τιθεῖσαν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματα, καὶ μηδὲν τῶν φθαρτῶν μηδενὸς καθίστασθαι
ἴδιον. ὁ δὲ, ἐπεὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπέβη, καὶ τῶν οἰάκων ἀσφαλῶς τε καὶ ἀδεῶς ταύτης ἀντείχετο, Βάρδαν μὲν, τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα,
εἰς τὴν τοῦ Καίσαρος τιμὴν προεβίβασε· τὸν δὲ συναράμενον αὑτῷ Ἰωάννην κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κινήματος ἀρχὴν, ᾧ Τζιμισκῆς τὸ ἐπίκλην,
∆ομέστικον Ἀνατολῆς καὶ Μάγιστρον ἀναδέδειχε. Λέοντα δὲ, τὸν ἴδιον σύναιμον, Κουροπαλάτην καὶ Μάγιστρον προβάλλεται· τὸν δέ
γε Βασίλειον, τὸν τὸν Ἰωσὴφ, ᾗπέρ μοι ἐῤῥήθη, καταστασιάσαντα, εἰς τὸ τοῦ προέδρου κλέος ἀνεβιβάσατο. θʹ. Αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν συνήθη
προσεποιεῖτο ἀπαρεγχείρητον σωφροσύνην διατηρεῖν, γυναικός τε συζυγίας ἐκκλίνων καὶ κρεωφαγίαν ἀποδιοπομπούμενος. ἀλλ' οἱ
τὸν μονήρη βίον μετιόντες καὶ αὐτοῦ τὸν τρόπον δῆθεν ῥυθμίζοντες (ἐτίμα γὰρ
