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
to make amends for what Nikephoros had improperly introduced. For Nikephoros, whether wishing to correct divine matters that were being disturbed by some of the priests, as he thought, or to exercise authority even over sacred things, which was abominable, had compelled the hierarchs 99 to draft a tome, providing that no ecclesiastical matters should be enacted without his approval. These things Polyeuktos suggested the emperor should do; for otherwise it was not possible for him to be allowed to enter the sacred palace. And he, having accepted such a declaration, both brought the Augusta down from the palace, and exiled her to the island called Prote, and he delivered the tome of Nikephoros to the synod, and he pointed out Leo Balantes, insisting that this man, and no other, had revealed himself as the murderer and slayer of Nikephoros. Thus John, having been received into the divine sanctuary, and crowned by Polyeuktos, returns to the royal hearth, acclaimed by all the military host and the populace. 5. Thence seizing a little truce and ease, he divided his entire personal property in two; and it was very great, having been left to him both by his ancestors (for John was descended from a most illustrious family, noble on his father’s side from those from the rising of the sun, and on his mother’s side the nephew of the emperor Nikephoros), and from the imperial gifts, which he had generously carried off on account of his trophies in wars; one part he let the neighboring and bordering farmers divide among themselves; the other part he dedicated to the hospital for the maimed opposite Byzantium, building in addition to the old structures for those suffering from the sacred disease also other houses. And having multiplied their number, 100 going up and visiting them, he both distributed gold to them, and did not disdain to treat as he was able their ulcerated limbs and those worked over by the disease, although he was most delicate and very fond of beauty. So much pity and sympathy did he have for the suffering part of nature, setting at naught, whenever he met with them, both the majesty of the empire and the pride engendered by the purple. And he granted exemption from taxes to the theme of the Armeniacs; for he originated from there. And when the time came for the salary, which both the senate and the noble and notable element of the state receive from the imperial hand, for all who were deemed worthy of this gift, he increased the salary as a bonus, moved by a generous and benevolent mind. 6. And since great Antioch on the Orontes had already been captured by the emperor Nikephoros, and was bereft of its hierarch (for the previous Agarene ruler of this city had killed the patriarch Christopher, an apostolic and divine man, by driving a javelin through his chest, bringing against the man the charge of piety towards Christ the savior), the emperor John, making the resettlement of this city a priority, was eager and very intent on finding a worthy man for this hierarchy. And while he was perplexed and pondering this, Theodore of Koloneia came to his mind, a man who from his youth had chosen the solitary and quiet life, and had subdued his flesh with much ascetic sweat. For putting on a hair-cloth rag, 101 and with this covering the iron which he wore, tyrannizing his little body, he would not take it off before it had completely disintegrated and become useless. And it is said that such a monk had prophesied the proclamation of the reign first to Nikephoros, and again to John. This man, who was then present in Byzantium, John brings to Polyeuktos; and he, having examined the man together with the bishops who were in residence,
προσαποτίσῃ, ὃν ὁ Νικηφόρος παρὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐνεώχμωσεν. ὁ γὰρ Νικηφόρος, εἴτε τὰ θεῖα πρός τινων τῶν ἱερέων κινούμενα βουλόμενος
διορθοῦν, ὡς ᾤετο, εἴτε κατεξουσιάζειν καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν, ὅπερ ἔκσπονδον ἦν, τόμον σχεδιάσαι 99 τοὺς ἱεράρχας κατεβιάσατο, μήτι
τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν πραγμάτων ἐκτὸς τῆς ἐκείνου ῥοπῆς ἐνεργεῖν. ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πολύευκτος τῷ βασιλεῖ ποιεῖν εἰσηγεῖτο· ἄλλως γὰρ
οὐχ οἷόν τε ἐξεῖναι αὐτῷ ἐς τὰ θεῖα εἰσιτητέον ἀνάκτορα. ὁ δὲ, τὴν τοιαύτην φάσιν δεξάμενος, τήν τε Αὐγοῦσταν τῶν ἀνακτόρων
κατήγαγε, καὶ κατὰ τὴν νῆσον τὴν λεγομένην Πρώτην περιώρισε, τόν τε τοῦ Νικηφόρου τόμον τῇ συνόδῳ ἐπέδωκε, καὶ Λέοντα τὸν
Βαλάντην καθυπεδείκνυεν, αὐτόχειρα τοῦ Νικηφόρου καὶ αὐθέντην πεφηνέναι τοῦτον, οὐκ ἄλλον, ἰσχυριζόμενος. οὕτως εἰς τὸν θεῖον
σηκὸν ὁ Ἰωάννης παραδεχθεὶς, καὶ πρὸς τοῦ Πολυεύκτου στεφθεὶς, ἐς τὴν βασίλειον ἑστίαν παλινοστεῖ, παρὰ παντὸς τοῦ τε στρατιωτικοῦ
πλήθους καὶ τοῦ δημοτικοῦ εὐφημούμενος. εʹ. Ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεχειρίας μικρᾶς καὶ ῥᾳστώνης δραξάμενος, τὴν προσοῦσαν αὑτῷ κτῆσιν
ἀνέκαθεν δίχα διαιρήσας· πολλὴ δέ τις ἦν ἔκ τε τῶν προγόνων αὐτῷ καταλειφθεῖσα (λαμπροτάτου γὰρ γένους ὁ Ἰωάννης κατήγετο,
πρὸς μὲν πατρὸς εὐγενὴς τῶν ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν, ἐκ δὲ μητρὸς ἀνεψιὸς Νικηφόρου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος), καὶ ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν δωρεῶν,
ἣν διὰ τὰ ἐν πολέμοις αὑτοῦ τρόπαια φιλοτίμως ἀπεφέρετο· τὴν μὲν τοῖς ὁμόροις καὶ ἀγχιτέρμοσι γεωργοῖς ἀφῆκε διανείμασθαι·
τὴν δὲ τῷ καταντιπέρας Βυζαντίου τῶν λελωβημένων νοσοκομείῳ ἠφώρισε, προσεπιδομήσας τοῖς παλαιοῖς δόμοις τῶν τῇ ἱερᾷ νόσῳ
καμνόντων καὶ ἑτέρας οἰκίας. καὶ τούτων τὸν ἀριθμὸν πολυπλασιάσας, 100 ἀνιών τε καὶ ὡς αὐτοὺς παραγινόμενος, διένεμέ τε τούτοις
χρυσὸν, καὶ τὰ ἡλκωμένα καὶ τῇ νόσῳ κατειργασμένα τούτων μέλη οὐκ ἀπηξίου θεραπεύειν κατὰ τὸ ἐνὸν, καίτοι ἁβρότατος ὢν καὶ
λίαν φιλόκαλος. τοσοῦτον εἶχε τὸ φίλοικτόν τε καὶ συμπαθὲς πρὸς τὸ κάμνον τῆς φύσεως, παρὰ φαῦλον, ὅτε πως τούτοις ἀπήντα,
τόν τε τῆς βασιλείας ὄγκον καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς ἁλουργίδος ἀποτικτόμενον τῦφον τιθείς. φόρων τε ἀτέλειαν τῷ τῶν Ἀρμενιακῶν θέματι
παρέσχεν· ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ὥρμητο. τῆς δὲ ῥόγας ἐνστάσης, ἣν ἥ τε σύγκλητος καὶ τὸ τῆς πολιτείας εὐγενὲς καὶ ἐλλόγιμον παρὰ τῆς
βασιλικῆς χειρὸς ἀποφέρεται, πᾶσι τοῖς ἠξιωμένοις ταυτησὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς, προῖκα τὴν ῥόγαν ἐπηύξησε, φιλοτίμῳ καὶ φιλαγάθῳ γνώμῃ
κινούμενος. ϛʹ. Ἤδη δὲ τῆς πρὸς Ὀρόντῃ μεγάλης Ἀντιοχείας πρὸς τοῦαὐτοκράτορος Νικηφόρου ἁλούσης, καὶ τοῦ ἱεραρχοῦντος χηρευούσης
(ὁ γὰρ τὸ πρότερον κατάρχων ταύτης Ἀγαρηνὸς τὸν πατριάρχην Χριστοφόρον, ἀποστολικὸν ἄνδρα τε καὶ θεσπέσιον, ἀνεῖλεν, ἀκόντιον
κατὰ τῶν στέρνων αὐτοῦ διελάσας, ἔγκλημα τἀνδρὶ εἰς τὸν σωτῆρα Χριστὸν ἐπάγων εὐσέβειαν), ταύτης τὸν συνοικισμὸν προὐργιαίτερον
ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰωάννης ποιούμενος, διὰ σπουδῆς εἶχε καὶ πολὺς ἦν ἐγκείμενος, τῆς ἱεραρχίας ταύτης τὸν ἄξιον εὑρεῖν. ἀλύοντι δὲ
τούτῳ καὶ γνωματεύοντι, ἐπὶ νοῦν ἦλθεν ὁ ἐκ Κολωνείας Θεόδωρος, ἀνὴρ ἐξ ὀνύχων τὸν ἐρημικὸν καὶ ἀπράγμονα βίον αἱρετισάμενος,
καὶ πολλοῖς ἱδρῶσιν ἀσκητικοῖς τὸ σαρκίον καταδαμάσας. τρίχινον γὰρ ῥάκος ἐνδιδυσκό 101 μενος, καὶ τούτῳ περικαλύπτων τὸν
σίδηρον, ὃν ἔφερε τυραννῶν τὸ σωμάτιον, οὐ πρότερον αὐτὸ ἀπεσκευάζετο, πρὶν ἂν διεῤῥύη τε ὅλον, καὶ εἰς οὐδὲν ἐχρημάτιζε.
λέγεται δὲ, τὸν τοιοῦτον μοναστὴν Νικηφόρῳ τε πρότερον, καὶ αὖθις Ἰωάννῃ, τὴν τῆς βασιλείας θεοκλυτῆσαι ἀνάῤῥησιν. τοῦτον
τῷ Βυζαντίῳ τότε παρουσιάζοντα ὁ Ἰωάννης προσάγει τῷ Πολυεύκτῳ· ὁ δὲ, ἅμα τοῖς ἐνδημοῦσι τῶν ἐπισκόπων τὸν ἄνδρα ἐξητακὼς,
