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
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 suspicion, and having drawn their swords, they burst into the imperial chamber, and having seized the bed, and finding it empty with no one resting in it, they were frozen with fear, and tried to hurl themselves down to the sea. But a certain bold fellow from the women's quarters, leading them, points out the emperor sleeping, whom they surrounded and began to kick, leaping upon him. And as he was awakened and propped his head on his elbow, Leo called Balantes strikes him violently with a sword. And he, in great pain from the 88 wound (the sword reached as far as the eyebrow and the eyelid, scraping the bone but not striking the brain), cried out in a very loud voice, "Theotokos, help me!"; and he was drenched with blood from all sides and was covered in crimson. And John, having sat down on the imperial couch, ordered them to drag the emperor to him. And when he had been dragged, crouching and collapsing to the floor (for he was not able to get up on his knee, his gigantic strength having been struck down by the sword-blow), he questioned him with threats, and said, "Tell me, you most ungrateful and malicious tyrant, was it not through me that you took possession of the Roman dominion, and received such great power? How then, having disregarded such a benefit, and being driven mad by envy and fury, did you not shrink from deposing me, your benefactor, from the command of the armies? But you sent me away to be idle in the fields with the farmers, like some dishonored exile, a man so noble and more vigorous than you; one whom the armies of the enemy dread, and from whose hands there is no one who will rescue you now. Speak, therefore, if any reasoned defense against these things is left to you." 8. But the emperor, already fainting and having no one to defend him, called upon the Theotokos for aid. And John, grabbing his beard, mercilessly plucked it, and the conspirators with the hilts of their swords cruelly and inhumanely 89 struck his jaws, so as to loosen his teeth and dislodge them from their sockets. And when they were sated with tormenting him, John kicks him in the chest, and raising his sword drove it through the middle of his skull, having ordered the others also to strike the man. And they slashed him mercilessly, and one, striking his back with a short-sword, pierced him through to the chest. Such a weapon is made of iron and is long, exactly resembling a heron's beak; but it differs from the beak in its shape insofar as nature has allotted that bird a straight one, whereas this extends into a slight, moderate curve, presenting a rather sharp point. Such, then, was the end of his life that Nicephorus the emperor found, having lived all the time of his life for fifty-seven years, and having steered the rule of the empire for only six years and four months; a man who indisputably surpassed all his generation in courage and physical strength, most experienced and effective in matters of war, and unyielding to every kind of hardship, and stern with his body and not given to flattering pleasures; magnanimous and brilliant in political matters, judging most lawfully, and legislating securely, and being inferior to none of those versed in these things; and in prayers and all-night vigils before God he was unbending and adamantine, keeping his mind undistracted in the hymns, and in no way wandering towards vain things. But the many attributed this fault to the man, that he wished virtue to be kept unassailed by all 90, and the precision of justice not to be debased. For which reason he was also inexorable in
χαλάσαντες ἄνωθεν, καθ' ἕνα τοὺς συνωμότας πρότερον ἅπαντας ἀνιμήσαντο, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην αὐτόν. ἀνελθόντες οὖν παρὰ
πᾶσαν ἀνθρωπίνην ὑπόνοιαν, καὶ τὰ ξίφη γυμνώσαντες, εἰς τὸν βασιλικὸν εἰσελαύνουσι θάλαμον, καὶ τὴν κλίνην κατειληφότες, καὶ
ταύτην εὑρόντες κενὴν καὶ μήτινα ἐν αὐτῇ διαναπαυόμενον, ἐπεπήγεσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ δέους, καὶ κατακρημνίζειν αὑτοὺς ἐπειρῶντο πρὸς
θάλασσαν. ἀλλ' ἀνδράριόν τι τῶν ἐκ τῆς γυναικωνίτιδος ἰταμῶν, αὐτῶν ἡγησάμενον, ὑποδεικνύει τὸν βασιλέα καθεύδοντα, ὃν κύκλῳ
περιστάντες ἔνυττον τοῖς ποσὶν ἐναλλόμενοι. διυπνισθέντα δὲ τοῦτον καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐπ' ἀγκῶνος ἐρείσαντα, ξίφει βιαίως παίει
Λέων ὁ Βαλάντης ὀνομαζόμενος. ὁ δὲ περιαλγήσας τῷ 88 τραύματι (μέχρι τῆς ὀφρύος καὶ τῆς βλεφαρίδος τὸ ξίφος καθίκετο, ἀπαράξαν
μὲν τὸ ὀστοῦν, μὴ πλῆξαν δὲ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον), Θεοτόκε, βοήθει, ἐκέκραγε γεγωνοτέρᾳ φωνῇ· ἐῤῥεῖτο δὲ πανταχόθεν τῷ αἵματι καὶ
κατεφοινίσσετο. ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης, ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς καθίσας στρωμνῆς, ἑλκύειν ὡς αὑτὸν τὸν βασιλέα παρεκελεύσατο. ὃν ἑλκυσθέντα,
ὀκλάζοντά τε καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἔδαφος διαῤῥέοντα (οὐδὲ γὰρ οἷός τε ἦν ἐπὶ γόνυ ἀνίστασθαι, καταβληθείσης αὐτῷ τῆς γιγαντώδους ἰσχύος
τῇ τοῦ ξίφους πληγῇ), ἀνηρώτα τοῦτον μετὰ ἀπειλῶν, καὶ, λέγε μοι, ἀγνωμονέστατε σὺ καὶ βάσκανε τύραννε, οὐ δι' ἐμοῦ τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς
ἡγεμονίας ἐπέβης, καὶ τὴν τοσαύτην δυναστείαν ἀνείληφας; πῶς οὖν, τῆς τοιαύτης ἀλογήσας εὐεργεσίας, καὶ φθόνῳ καὶ μανίᾳ οἰστρηλατηθεὶς,
τῆς τῶν στρατευμάτων καθαιρήσειν ἀρχῆς τὸν σὸν εὐεργέτην ἐμὲ οὐκ ἐνάρκησας; ἀλλὰ κατ' ἀγροὺς σχολάζειν διαφῆκας μετὰ τῶν γεωργῶν,
ὡσεί τινα ἄτιμον μετανάστην, ἄνδρα γενναῖον οὕτω, καὶ νεανικὸν ὑπὲρ σέ· ὃν τὰ τῶν ἐναντίων φρίττει στρατόπεδα, καὶ οὗ τῶν
χειρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις σε ῥύσεται νῦν. εἰπὲ τοίνυν, εἴ τίς σοι πρὸς ταῦτα δικαιολογίας ἀντιλογία ὑπολέλειπται. ηʹ. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς,
λειποθυμῶν ἤδη καὶ μὴ ἔχων τὸν αὑτῷ ἐπαμύνοντα, τὴν Θεοτόκον ἐκάλει ἐπίκουρον. Ἰωάννης δὲ τὸν πώγωνα τούτου δραξάμενος ἀνηλεῶς
ἔτιλλε, καὶ οἱ συνωμόται ταῖς λαβαῖς τῶν ξιφῶν τὰς αὐτοῦ σιαγόνας ὠμῶς καὶ ἀφιλαν 89 θρώπως ἔνυττον, ὡς διασαλεῦσαί τε τοὺς
ὀδόντας καὶ παρακινῆσαι αὐτοὺς τοῦ φατνώματος. ἐπεὶ δὲ προσκορεῖς ἦσαν τοῦτον ποινηλατούμενοι, κατὰ τῶν στέρνων ὁ Ἰωάννης
παίει ποδὶ, τό τε ξίφος ἀνατείνας κατὰ μέσον διήλασε τοῦ κρανίου, πλήττειν τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐγκελευσάμενος. οἱ δὲ
κατεσπάθιζον τοῦτον ἀνηλεῶς, καί τις ἀκουφίῳ τὸ μετάφρενον αὐτοῦ πλήξας διαμπερὲς ἐπὶ τὰ στέρνα διήλασε. τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον ὅπλον
σιδήρειον ἐπίμηκες πέφυκεν, ἐρωδιοῦ ῥάμφει προσεοικὸς ἀτεχνῶς· παρὰ τοσοῦτον δὲ διαλλάττει τοῦ ῥάμφους κατὰ τὸν σχηματισμὸν,
παρ' ὅσον ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἰθυτενὲς ἡ φύσις ἐκλήρωσε τῷ πτηνῷ, τὸ δὲ εἰς καμπὴν ἠρέμα μετρίαν ἐκτείνεται, ὀξεῖαν ἐπιεικῶς προβαλλόμενον
τὴν ἀκμήν. τοιαύτην μὲν δὴ Νικηφόρος ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ τὴν τοῦ βίου εὗρε καταστροφὴν, πάντα μὲν τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον πεντήκοντα
καὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτη διαβιοὺς, ἓξ δὲ καὶ μόνους ἐνιαυτοὺς πρὸς μησὶ τέσσαρσι τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἰθύνας ἀρχήν· ἀνὴρ ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ σώματος
ῥώμῃ πᾶσαν ἀδηρίτως ὑπερβαίνων τὴν κατ' αὐτὸν γενεὰν, ἐμπειρότατός τε καὶ δραστικώτατος τὰ πολέμια, καὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν ἰδέαν πόνων
ἀνένδοτος, καὶ σώματος ἀμείλικτος καὶ ἀκολάκευτος ἡδοναῖς· μεγαλόφρων τε καὶ μεγαλοφυὴς τὰ πολιτικὰ, ἐννομώτατα δικάζων, καὶ
νομοθετῶν ἀσφαλῶς, καὶ μηδενὸς τῶν ἐν τούτοις κατατριβέντων ἡττώμενος· ἐν δὲ ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ ταῖς παννύχοις πρὸς Θεὸν στάσεσιν
ἄκαμπτός τε καὶ ἀδαμάντινος, ἀμετεώριστον ἐν ταῖς ὑμνῳδίαις τὸν νοῦν συντηρῶν, καὶ πρὸς τὰ μάταια μηδόλως ῥεμβόμενον. ἐλάττωμα
δὲ τοῦτο προσῆπτον οἱ πολλοὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ, ὅτι τε ἀπαρεγχείρητον ἐβούλετο πρὸς ἁπάν 90 των συντηρεῖσθαι τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ μὴ παραχαράττεσθαι
τὴν τοῦ δικαίου ἀκρίβειαν. διὸ καὶ ἀπαραίτητος ἦν εἰς
