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
the vengeance for these things, and to those who were slipping he seemed relentless and burdensome, and oppressive to those wishing to lead an indifferent life. But I say, that if some envious and resentful fortune, as things were going smoothly, had not quickly removed this man from life, the Roman empire would have won the greatest glory, such as it had at no other time. But Providence, hating the harsh and overweening thoughts of men, both cuts them short and restrains and forces them to nothing, guiding by what inscrutable judgments it knows the ferry of life toward what is advantageous. 9. But John, when he had committed such a god-hated and unholy abomination, went to the splendid house of the imperial hearth (they call the building the Chrysotriklinos), fitted the red boots to his feet, and sat on the imperial throne, and took thought for public affairs, so that he might become master of them, and that none of the emperor's blood relatives might rebel against him. But the guards of Nikephoros, having at last heard of his murder, rushed to his defense, suspecting that the man was still among the living, and tried with all their might to break open the iron gates. But John ordered the head of Nikephoros to be brought, and 91 this to be shown through an opening to his bodyguards. And a certain man, called Atzypotheodoros, coming forward, both cut off the head, and showed it to the rebels. And they, seeing the strange and unbelievable sight, let the swords from their hands fall, and sang a palinode, and proclaimed John emperor of the Romans with one voice. And the corpse of Nikephoros lay all day long in the open on the snow; it was the eleventh day of the month of December, a Saturday; whom John ordered to be given a holy burial late in the evening. Having wrapped him therefore in a makeshift wooden coffin, in the middle of the night they secretly carried him out to the sacred shrine of the Apostles, and at the heroön, where the body of the divine and renowned Constantine lies, they buried him in one of the imperial sarcophagi. But justice did not slumber over the bloody murder by those accursed men, but afterwards pursued and punished them all, and having had their property confiscated, and having been reduced to extreme poverty, wretches that they were, they departed from life wretchedly, all those who had been perpetrators of his slaughter with their own hands. But it seems to me that enough has been said about the deeds of the emperor Nikephoros, and of his life and end. But to wear out the account beyond measure and to dwell on it, I consider the failing of busybodies and of those who exceed the fullness of writing, by whom not even a chance detail is left unexamined. It seems to me necessary, therefore, having curtailed this narrative about him 92 and his deeds, and to recount as far as possible the deeds of John, who was called Tzimiskes by surname (this being a word of the Armenian dialect, which translated into Greek means *mouzakitzes*; for being very short in stature he acquired this nickname), so that deeds beneficial to life and worthy of memory may not flow away into the depths of oblivion. LEO THE DEACON'S HISTORY 6. 1. And when the emperor Nikephoros had been slain in the manner I have described, John, surnamed Tzimiskes, took up the reins of the empire. And as the fourth watch of the night was already beginning, as the seventh day was dawning, the eleventh
τὴν τούτων ἐκδίκησιν, καὶ τοῖς ὀλισθαίνουσιν ἀδυσώπητος καὶ φορτικὸς ἐδόκει, καὶ ἐπαχθὴς τοῖς ἀδιάφορον ἀντλεῖν τὸν βίον ἐθέλουσιν.
ἐγὼ δέ φημι, ὡς εἰ μή τις κατὰ ῥοῦν φερομένοις τοῖς πράγμασι βάσκανος νεμεσήσασα τύχη τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον ταχὺ τοῦ βίου ἀπήγαγε,
μεγίστην ἂν ἡ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονία καὶ οἵαν οὐκ ἄλλοτε εὔκλειαν ἀπηνέγκατο. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἡ πρόνοια, τὰ σκληρὰ καὶ ὑπέραυχα τῶν
ἀνθρώπων ἀποστυγοῦσα φρονήματα, κολούει τε καὶ περιστέλλει καὶ εἰς τὸ μηδὲν συνωθεῖ, οἷς οἶδεν ἀνεφίκτοις κρίμασι πρὸς τὸ
συμφέρον τὸ τοῦ βίου πορθμεῖον εὐθύνουσα. θʹ. Ὁ δέ γε Ἰωάννης, ἐπεὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον θεοστυγὲς καὶ ἀνόσιον μῦσος εἰργάσατο, ἐπὶ
τὸν λαμπρὸν οἶκον τῆς βασιλικῆς ἑστίας παρελθὼν (Χρυσοτρίκλινον τὸν δόμον κατονομάζουσι), τό τε πέδιλον τὸ ἐρυθρὸν τοῖς ποσὶν
ἐνηρμόσατο, καὶ παρὰ τὸν θρόνον κεκάθικε τὸν βασιλικὸν, καὶ περὶ τῶν κοινῶν πραγμάτων ἐφρόντιζεν, ὅπως τούτων ἐγκρατής τε
γένοιτο, καὶ μήτις αὑτῷ διαστασιάσοι τῶν ἐξ αἵματος προσηκόντων τῷ αὐτοκράτορι. οἱ δὲ τοῦ Νικηφόρου ὑπασπισταὶ, ὀψέ ποτε τὴν
ἀναίρεσιν τούτου ἐνωτισθέντες, ὥρμησαν ἐπαμῦναι αὐτῷ, ὑποτοπάζοντες, ἐν τοῖς ζῶσιν ἔτι περιεῖναι τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ τὰς σιδηρέας
πύλας παντὶ σθένει ἀναμοχλεύειν ἐπειρῶντο. ἀλλὰ ὁ Ἰωάννης τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐνεχθῆναι τοῦ Νικηφόρου ἐνεκελεύσατο, καὶ 91 ταύτην
ὑποδειχθῆναι διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς τοῖς ἐκείνου σωματοφύλαξι. παρελθὼν δέ τις, Ἀτζυποθεόδωρος καλούμενος, ἐξέτεμέ τε τὴν κεφαλὴν,
καὶ τοῖς στασιάζουσιν ὑπεδείκνυεν. οἱ δὲ, τὸ ἀλλόκοτον καὶ ἄπιστον ἀθρήσαντες θέαμα, τά τε ξίφη τῶν χειρῶν μεθῆκαν, καὶ παλινῳδίαν
ᾖσαν, καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην αὐτοκράτορα Ῥωμαίων ὁμοφώνως ἐκήρυττον. ὁ δὲ τοῦ Νικηφόρου νεκρὸς κατὰ τὸ ὕπαιθρον ἐπὶ τῆς χιόνος πανημέριος
ἔκειτο· ἑνδεκάτη ἦν τοῦ ∆εκεμβρίου μηνὸς ἡμέρα, σαββάτῳ· ὃν πρὸς ἑσπέραν βαθεῖαν τῇ ὁσίᾳ παραπεμφθῆναι ὁ Ἰωάννης προσέταξε.
θήκῃ οὖν σχεδιασθείσῃ ξυλίνῃ ὡς ἔτυχε περιστείλαντες, μέσον τῶν νυκτῶν λαθραίως εἰς τὸν θεῖον τῶν Ἀποστόλων σηκὸν ἐξεκόμισαν,
καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἡρῷον, ἔνθα τὸ τοῦ θείου καὶ ἀοιδίμου Κωνσταντίνου σῶμα κατάκειται, ἐν μιᾷ τῶν βασιλικῶν σορῶν ἐκήδευσαν. ἀλλὰ
γὰρ οὐκ ἐπενύσταξεν ἡ δίκη τῇ μιαιφονίᾳ τῶν ἀλαστόρων ἐκείνων ἀνδρῶν, μετῆλθε δὲ πάντας ποινηλατοῦσα μετέπειτα, καὶ δημευθέντες,
κατὰ τὰ ἔσχατα πενητεύσαντες, κακοὶ κακῶς τοῦ ζῇν ἀπηλλάγησαν, ὅσοι τῆς ἐκείνου σφαγῆς αὐτόχειρες ἐξεγένοντο. ἀλλ' ἀποχρώντως
γὰρ εἰρῆσθαί μοι δοκεῖ περὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων τῷ αὐτοκράτορι Νικηφόρῳ, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ βιοτῆς καὶ καταστροφῆς. τὸ δὲ πέρα τοῦ
μετρίου κατατρίβειν τὸν λόγον καὶ κατατείνειν ἐκεῖ, πολυπραγμόνων ἡγοῦμαι τὸ πάθος καὶ τῆς γραφῆς ὑπερβαινόντων τὸ πλήσμιον,
οἷς μηδὲ τὸ τυχὸν παρεῖται ἀνεξερεύνητον. δέον οὖν εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, ταύτην τὴν περὶ ἐκείνου 92 καὶ τῶν αὐτῷ πραχθέντων διήγησιν
περιστείλαντα, καὶ περὶ τῶν τῷ Ἰωάννῃ πραχθέντων, ὃς κατ' ἐπίκλησιν Τζιμισκῆς ἐκαλεῖτο (τοῦτο δὲ τὸ τῆς Ἀρμενίων διαλέκτου
πρόσρημα ὂν, εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα μεθερμηνευόμενον μουζακίτζην δηλοῖ· βραχύτατος γὰρ τὴν ἡλικίαν τελῶν ἐπωνυμίαν ταύτην ἐκτήσατο),
κατὰ τὸ ἐνὸν ἐξειπεῖν, ὡς ἂν μὴ λήθης βυθοῖς παραῤῥυῇ ἔργα βιωφελῆ καὶ μνήμης ἐπάξια. ΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ ∆ΙΑΚΟΝΟΥ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ ϛʹ. αʹ. Τοῦ
δὲ αὐτοκράτορος Νικηφόρου τὸν τρόπον, ὃν εἴρηταί μοι, ἀναιρεθέντος, τὰς τῆς βασιλείας ἡνίας Ἰωάννης, ὁ κατ' ἐπίκλησιν Τζιμισκῆς,
ὑποζώννυται. ἤδη δὲ τετάρτης φυλακῆς τῆς νυκτὸς ἀρχομένης, ἑβδόμης ἡμέρας διαφανούσης, ἑνδεκάτης
