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

Andronikos, learning this, despairing, along with his relatives and his children and his men, went away and seized the fortress of Kabala, having come into complete rebellion, so that Samonas said to the emperor "Did I not tell you, O master, that Doukas was a rebel?" 38 And straightaway the emperor sends Gregorios Iberitzes, domestic of the schools, who was a kinsman by marriage of Andronikos, to make war on him. And Andronikos, learning this, and that patriarch Nicholas had been expelled, fled to the Hagarenes along with his relatives and his friends and children, who had then come out against the Romans, and he was received with great favor by the emir. 39 But Leo the emperor was grieved on account of Andronikos, and often he wished to send him a signed message, which Theophilos had also done for Manuel. But certain men advised the emperor that one of the Saracens of the praetorium should be treated kindly and sent to Syria with a signed message. This indeed the emperor did, writing in cinnabar and sending it with a chrysobull inside a small manger-shaped case. And when the Hagarene had gone out from the emperor, Samonas, having summoned him, said to him, "Do you know what you are holding?" saying this on account of the wax seal. "You carry 868 the ruin of Syria." And giving it to him, he instructed him to put this into the hands of Azar. And he went away and did this. And Andronikos was seized and bound along with all his relatives. And learning that these things had happened to him through the treachery of Samonas, he was forced to become a Muslim, both he and those with him. From then on, Constantine his son and the rest, seeing that it was impossible for Andronikos to get out, by his counsel not long after took to flight and came out from the middle of Syria to Roman territory in a truly wonderful way, and being fought against through the country, with difficulty a few were saved with his son Constantine. 40. And from Tarsus there entered the city for an exchange of prisoners both the elder Abalbakes and the father of Samonas; and the emperor saw these men with ceremony and honor and glory in the Magnaura. And they also adorned the great church with lavish decoration, and they showed all the precious vessels to the Hagarenes, a thing which was unworthy of the empire and of the Christian state, for the sacred vessels of God to be seen by the gentiles. And the father of Samonas wished to be with his son and to remain in Roman territory. But Samonas advised him, saying "Hold to the faith which you have; and I, if I am able, will rather come to you." 41. And on the day of Pentecost, Leo the emperor crowns his son Constantine through Euthymius the patriarch. 869 And Samonas gave Constantine his man, who had previously served Basil the magistros and keeper of the kanikleion, to serve Zoe Augusta; who was loved by the emperor Leo and the Augusta. For this reason Samonas envied him greatly, and slandered him as being intimate with the Augusta; which things the emperor, thinking them to be true, sent and had him tonsured a monk in the monastery of Saint Tarasios through Samonas. And after a little while, he ordered Samonas to take him into his own monastery of Speira, wishing to take him back again. Having gone, therefore, for an excursion to Damatrys, and having had lunch in the monastery of Samonas, he saw Constantine, and straightaway ordered Samonas, and dressed him in secular clothes, and he served the emperor wine in the kletorion, and returned with him to the palace. 42 But Samonas, seeing the emperor's love for him increasing, conspires with the megas koitonites and Michael Tzerithon, and they make a very slanderous paper against the emperor, written and composed by the Rhodian, who was a notary of Samonas. And the emperor, having gone into the great church, found it in the place where he prayed in the metatorion, and he took it up, and having read it, was in great distress, seeking the one who had done this. And there was also an eclipse of the moon, and the emperor ordered the astronomers who were then present to state its meaning. And when Pantoleon the metro- 870 politan, who was a friend of Samonas, was coming in to the emperor, he asked him

τοῦτο μαθὼν Ἀνδρόνικος, ἀπο γνούς, ἅμα συγγενέσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τέκνοις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώποις αὐτοῦ ἀπελθὼν ἐκράτησε κάστρον τὴν Καβάλαν, εἰς τελείαν ἀπο στασίαν ἐλθών, ὡς εἰπεῖν καὶ Σαμωνᾶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα "οὐκ ἔλεγόν σοι, ὦ δέσποτα, ἀντάρτην εἶναι τὸν ∆οῦκα;" 38 παρ ευθὺ δὲ ἀποστέλλει ὁ βασιλεὺς Γρηγορᾶν δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν τὸν Ἰβηρίτζην, συμπένθερον ὄντα τοῦ Ἀνδρονίκου, καταπολεμῆσαι αὐτόν. μαθὼν δὲ τοῦτο Ἀνδρόνικος, καὶ ὡς ὁ πατριάρχης Νικόλαος ἐξεώσθη, προσέφυγε τοῖς Ἀγαρηνοῖς ἅμα τοῖς συγγενέσι καὶ φίλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ τέκνοις, ἐξεληλυθόσι τότε κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, καὶ ἀπεδέχθη παρὰ τῷ ἀμερουμνῆ μεγάλως. 39 ἐλυπεῖτο δὲ Λέων ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τὸν Ἀνδρόνικον, καὶ πολλάκις ἐβούλετο ἀποστεῖλαι αὐτῷ λόγον ἐνυπόγραφον, ὃ καὶ Θεόφιλος διὰ τὸν Μα νουὴλ ἐποίησε. συνεβουλεύσαντο δέ τινες τῷ βασιλεῖ φιλοφρονη θῆναί τινα τῶν τοῦ πραιτωρίου Σαρακηνῶν καὶ ἀποσταλῆναι ἐν Συρίᾳ μετὰ λόγου ἐνυπογράφου. τοῦτο δὴ καὶ πεποίηκεν ὁ βα σιλεύς, γράψας διὰ κινναβάρεως καὶ ἀποστείλας μετὰ χρυσοβούλ λου ἔνδοθεν φατλίου βραχέος τράκτου. ἐξελθόντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀγα ρηνοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, προσκαλεσάμενος αὐτὸν Σαμωνᾶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ "οἶδας τί κρατεῖς;" τοῦτο εἰπὼν διὰ τὸν κηρόν. "τὴν ἀπώ 868 λειαν τῆς Συρίας βαστάζεις." καὶ δοὺς αὐτῷ παρήγγειλε τοῦτο βαλεῖν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ Ἀζήρ. ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν τοῦτο πεποίηκεν. ἐκρατήθη δὲ Ἀνδρόνικος καὶ ἐδεσμήθη μετὰ πάντων τῶν συγγενῶν αὐτοῦ. καὶ μαθὼν ὡς διὰ δόλου τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ ταῦτα αὐτῷ γέγο νεν, ἀναγκασθεὶς ἐμαγάρισεν αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ. ἔκτοτε δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἰδόντες ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν Ἀνδρόνικον ἐξελθεῖν, βουλῇ αὐτοῦ μετ' οὐ πολὺ φυγῇ χρη σάμενοι θαυμαστὸν ὄντως ἐκ μέσης Συρίας πρὸς Ῥωμανίαν ἐξῆλθον, καὶ καταπολεμούμενοι κατὰ χώρας μόλις ὀλίγοι διεσώ θησαν μετὰ Κωνσταντίνου υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. 40. Ἐκ δὲ Ταρσοῦ εἰσῆλθον ἐν τῇ πόλει περὶ ἀλλαγίου ὅ τε Ἀβαλβάκης ὁ γέρων καὶ ὁ τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ πατήρ· καὶ τούτους ἐθεάσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς μετὰ κοσμήσεως καὶ τιμῆς καὶ δόξης ἐν τῇ Μαγναύρᾳ. ἐκαλλώπισαν δὲ καὶ τὴν μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν ἐν κόσμῳ πολυτελεῖ, καὶ ὑπέδειξαν ἅπαντα τὰ τίμια σκεύη τοῖς Ἀγαρηνοῖς, ὅπερ ἀνάξιον ἦν βασιλείας καὶ Χριστιανικῆς καταστάσεως, τοῦ θεαθῆναι παρὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη τοῦ θεοῦ. ὁ δὲ τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ πατὴρ ἔθελε συνεῖναι τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ μεῖναι εἰς Ῥωμανίαν. ὁ δὲ Σαμωνᾶς παρῄνεσεν αὐτῷ λέγων "κράτει τὴν πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις· κἀγώ, εἰ δυναθῶ, ἐλεύσομαι πρός σε μᾶλλον." 41. Τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς πεντηκοστῆς στέφει Λέων ὁ βασι λεὺς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντῖνον δι' Εὐθυμίου πατριάρχου. 869 δέδωκε δὲ Σαμωνᾶς Κωνσταντῖνον ἄνθρωπον αὐτοῦ, τὸν δουλεύ σαντα πρότερον Βασιλείῳ μαγίστρῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου, δου λεύειν Ζωῇ Αὐγούστῃ· ὃς ἠγαπήθη παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Λέοντος καὶ τῆς Αὐγούστης. διὰ τοῦτο πολλὰ ἐφθόνησε Σαμωνᾶς αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐλοιδόρει ὡς συνόντι τῇ Αὐγούστῃ· ἅπερ ὁ βασιλεὺς νοήσας ἀληθῆ εἶναι, ἀπέστειλε καὶ ἀπέκειρεν αὐτὸν μοναχὸν ἐν τῇ μονῇ τοῦ ἁγίου Ταρασίου διὰ τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ. μετ' ὀλίγον δὲ ὥρισε Σα μωνᾶν ἀναλαβέσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ μονῇ Σπεῖρα, βουλόμενος πάλιν ἀναλαβέσθαι αὐτόν. ἀπελθὼν οὖν εἰς πρόκενσον ἐν τῷ ∆αματρῦ, καὶ ἐν τῇ μονῇ τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ ἀριστήσας, εἶδε Κων σταντῖνον, καὶ παρευθὺ ὥρισε Σαμωνᾶν, καὶ ἔνδυσεν αὐτὸν κοσμι κά, καὶ ἐκέρασε τὸν βασιλέα εἰς τὸ κλητόριον, καὶ ὑπέστρεψε μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ. 42 ὁρῶν δὲ Σαμωνᾶς αὐξανομέ νην τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπ' αὐτὸν βουλεύεται μετὰ μεγίστου κοιτωνίτου καὶ Μιχαὴλ Τζηρίθωνος, καὶ ποιοῦσι χαρτίον πολυ λοίδορον κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, γράψαντος καὶ συντάξαντος αὐτὸν τοῦ Ῥοδίου νοταρίου ὄντος τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ. ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ἐν ᾧ ηὔχετο τόπῳ εἰς τὸ μιτα τώριον, καὶ ἦρεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀναγνοὺς ἐν μεγάλῃ θλίψει ἦν, ζη τῶν τὸν τοῦτο ποιήσαντα. γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἔκλειψις σελήνης, καὶ διωρίσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῖς οὖσι τότε ἀστρονόμοις εἰπεῖν τὸ ἀποτέ λεσμα. εἰσερχομένου δὲ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Παντολέοντος μητρο 870 πολίτου, φίλου ὄντος τῷ Σαμωνᾷ, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ὁ