38

but having despaired that they would ever be able to bring him over to their opinion, they withdrew. And when the Bulgars again raided Illyricum, some of the Roman commanders with the regiments under them opposed them. But when they used incantations and sorcery, the Romans were shamefully defeated and, except for a few, 141 all were destroyed. Their destruction a comet star foretold, and ravens flying over and leading them as they marched, and the trumpeters, instead of a martial sound, sounding something pathetic and mournful. After the aforementioned Timothy had inflicted many evils upon the orthodox and died, John the Cappadocian was entrusted with the leadership of the church, having presided over it for two years. The empress Ariadne also died. It is said that in the time of the reign of Anastasius a statue of the Tyche of the city, made of bronze in the form of a woman, having one of her feet inside a ship standing before her and wrought of similar material, stood somewhere in the city. Of this image of the ship, certain parts, having been broken either through wear of time or by malicious design, had been removed. Therefore, cargo ships no longer moored at Byzantium, but coming near were driven back by the force of winds, and if long ships, moved by many oarsmen, had not brought their cargoes 142 into the city, those in it might have been consumed by famine. This situation, having persisted for a time, became a matter of concern for the administrators of public affairs. So the cause was suspected by someone, and it was reported to those to whom the care of the city was committed. And the broken pieces of that ship were sought and found and were restored to it and fitted together, and the voyage was unimpeded for the ships, and the sea was full of them sailing in. And so that they might know if this was the impediment to the ships' entry, they again removed the parts of that ship. and as many of the ships as were still sailing in were again driven back by the force of the wind. From this it was confirmed that the impediment to the entry of the cargo ships into the city was from the breaking of that bronze ship, and deeming that ship worthy of care, they repaired it. A little before his death, Anastasius, having been informed of a plot against him, arrested many, among whom were both Justin and Justinian, and was of a mind to execute them. But he was prevented 143 in a dream by a certain fearsome man who seemed to stand by him and say, "Do no harm to Justin and Justinian, for each of them is destined to serve God in his own time." For which reason he released them from the charge of treason. And again the emperor Anastasius is said to have seen a dream, a certain fearsome man holding a book and saying to him, "Behold, because of your wrong belief I blot out fourteen years of your life." And since Anastasius had received an oracle that he would die by a thunderbolt, he built the so-called Tholoton and lived in it, but he gained nothing from this. For one time, when most terrifying thunderclaps were breaking and many lightning bolts were flashing from them, he, being afraid, moved from room to room and slipped from chamber to chamber. And thus in one of the imperial bedchambers he was found lying dead, having lived eighty-eight years, and having reigned out of them twenty-seven years and three months. In these times a most terrible earthquake occurred, and 144 in Byzantium collapses happened in various places. But great Antioch almost entirely collapsed, and its inhabitants were buried in the collapses. This Anastasius built the so-called Long Wall, stretching from the great sea as far as Selybria, on account of the raids of the Mysians, that is the Bulgars, and the Scythians. And he also set up his own column of bronze on the column of Taurus, as the one formerly standing on it, which happened to be that of Theodosius the Great, had fallen. And so he who had reigned thus ended his life thus. And Justin the Thracian was proclaimed emperor, born of parents

38

δὲ ἀπογνόντες ὡς οὐκ ἄν ποτε μετενεγκεῖν αὐτὸν δυνηθεῖεν εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν, ὑπεχώρησαν. Τῶν δὲ Βουλγάρων αὖθις τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν καταδραμόντων ἀντετάξαντο τούτοις τινὲς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ταξιαρχῶν μετὰ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοὺς ταγμάτων. ἐκείνων δὲ ἐπῳδαῖς χρησαμένων καὶ γοητείαις, ἡττήθησαν αἰσχρῶς οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ πλὴν ὀλίγων 141 ἅπαντες διεφθάρησαν. ὧν τὴν φθορὰν κομήτης ἀστὴρ προεμήνυσε καὶ κόρακες πορευομένων αὐτῶν ὑπεριπτάμενοί τε καὶ προηγούμενοι καὶ οἱ σαλπιγκταὶ ἀντὶ ἐνυαλίου ἠχῆς περιπαθές τι καὶ θρηνῶδες ἠχήσαντες. Τοῦ δ' ἄνωθεν ῥηθέντος Τιμοθέου πολλὰ τοῖς ὀρθοδόξοις ἐνδειξαμένου κακὰ καὶ τελευτήσαντος, Ἰωάννης ὁ Καππαδόκης τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐνεχειρίσθη τὴν προστασίαν, ἔτη δύο ταύτης προστάς. τέθνηκε δὲ καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Ἀριάδνη. Λέγεται δὲ ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῆς βασιλεία Ἀναστασίου ἄγαλμα τῆς Τύχης τῆς πόλεως ἐν εἴδει γυναικὸς ἐκ χαλκοῦ πεποιημένον, θάτερον τῶν ποδῶν ἐντὸς νηὸς ἐχούσης πρὸ αὐτῆς ἑστώσης καὶ ὁμοίας ὕλης ἐξειργασμένης, ἵστασθαί που τῆς πόλεως. τούτου δῆτα τοῦ τῆς νηὸς εἰκονίσματος ἢ τῷ χρόνῳ μογήσαντος ἢ ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς μέρη τινὰ θραυσθέντα ἀφῄρηντο. οὐκέτι οὖν φορτηγοὶ νῆες προσώρμουν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον, ἀλλὰ πλησίον ἰοῦσαι βίαις πνευμάτων ἀνείργοντο, καὶ εἰ μὴ νῆες μακραὶ καὶ πολλοῖς ἐρέταις κινούμεναι τοὺς φόρτους ἐκείνων 142 εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐκόμιζον, τάχα ἂν λιμῷ οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ κατηνάλωνται. τοῦτο ἐπὶ καιρὸν κρατῆσαν τοῖς τῶν κοινῶν φροντισταῖς διὰ φροντίδος ἐγένετο. ὑπετοπάσθη τοίνυν παρά του τὸ αἴτιον, καὶ προσήγγελτο τοῖς οἷς ἡ τῶν τῆς πόλεως ἀνεῖτο φροντίς· καὶ τὰ θραύσματα τῆς νηὸς ἐκείνης ζητηθέντα εὑρέθησαν καὶ ταύτῃ ἀποκατέστησάν τε καὶ συνηρμόσθησαν, καὶ ὁ πλοῦς ἦν τοῖς πλοίοις ἀκώλυτος καὶ μεστὴ τούτων εἰσπλεόντων ἡ θάλασσα. ἵνα δὲ γνοῖεν εἰ τοῦτο τοῦ τῶν πλοίων εἴσπλου κώλυμα ἦν, ἀφῄρηντο αὖθις τὰ μέρη τῆς νηὸς ἐκείνης· καὶ ὅσαι τῶν νεῶν ἔτι ἦσαν εἰσπλέουσαι, πνεύματος αὖθις βίᾳ γεγόνασιν ὀπισθόρμητοι. ἐντεῦθεν ἐβεβαιώθησαν ἐκ τοῦ θραυσθῆναι τὴν χαλκῆν νῆα ἐκείνην τὴν κωλύμην γίνεσθαι τοῦ εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἴσπλου τῶν πλοίων τῶν φορτηγῶν, καὶ τὴν ναῦν ἐκείνην ἐπιμελείας ἀξιώσαντες ἀνεκαίνσαν. Πρὸ μικροῦ δὲ τῆς τελευτῆς αὐτοῦ Ἀναστάσιος, ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ μηνυθείσης, συνέσχε πολλούς, σὺν οἷς καὶ Ἰουστῖνον καὶ Ἰουστινιανόν, καὶ ἦν γνώμης ἀπολέσαι αὐτούς· ἐκωλύθη δὲ 143 κατ' ὄναρ φοβεροῦ τινος ἀνδρὸς δόξαντος παραστῆναι αὐτῷ καὶ εἰπεῖν "Ἰουστίνῳ καὶ Ἰουστινιανῷ μηδὲν ἐργάσῃ κακόν· μέλλει γὰρ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ὑπουργῆσαι τῷ θεῷ ἐν καιροῖς ἰδίοις·" ὅθεν ἀφῆκεν αὐτοῖς τὸ τῆς καθοσιώσεως ἔγκλημα. καὶ αὖθις δὲ ὄναρ ἰδεῖν λέγεται ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀναστάσιος ἄνδρα τινὰ φοβερὸν τόμον κατέχοντα καὶ λέγοντα πρὸς αὐτόν "ἰδού, διὰ τὴν κακοπιστίαν σου ἀπαλείφω τῆς ζωῆς σου ἔτη τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα." ἔχων δὲ κεχρησμοδοτημένον ὁ Ἀναστάσιος ὅτι ἐκ κεραυνοῦ θανεῖται, τὸ λεγόμενον Θολωτὸν ἐδομήσατο καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ διῆγεν, ἀλλ' οὐδέν τι τούτου ἀπώνατο. βροντῶν γάρ ποτε καταρρηγνυμένων φρικωδεστάτων καὶ ἀστραπῶν ἐκτριβομένων ἐκεῖθεν πολλῶν, ἐκεῖνος δειμαίνων εἰς δίαιταν ἐκ διαίτης μετέβαινε καὶ ἐκ θαλάμου εἰς θάλαμον ὑπεδύετο. καὶ οὕτως ἐν ἑνὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν κοιτώνων εὑρέθη κείμενος τεθνεώς, ζήσας μὲν ἔτη ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ὀκτώ, βασιλεύσας δ' ἐξ αὐτῶν κʹ καὶ ζʹ ἐπὶ μησὶ τρισίν. Ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τούτοις γέγονε σεισμὸς φοβερώτατος, καὶ 144 ἐν μὲν τῷ Βυζαντίῳ ἐν διαφόροις τόποις συμπτώματα συμβεβήκασιν· ἡ μεγάλη δὲ Ἀντιόχεια σχεδὸν ἅπασα κατεπτώθη, καὶ οἱ ταύτης οἰκήτορες τοῖς συμπτώμασι κατεχώσθησαν. Οὗτος ὁ Ἀναστάσιος ἔκτισε τὸ Μακρὸν τεῖχος οὕτω λεγόμενον καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μεγάλης θαλάσσης διῆκον ἄχρι τῆς Σηλυβρίας διὰ τὰς ἐφόδους τῶν τε Μυσῶν ἤγουν Βουλγάρων καὶ τῶν Σκυθῶν. ἔστησε δὲ καὶ στήλην οἰκείαν ἐν τῷ τοῦ Ταύρου κίονι ἐκ χαλκοῦ, τῆς πρῴην ἐν αὐτῷ ἱσταμένης πεσούσης, ἣ τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοδοσίου ἐτύγχανε. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ὧδε βασιλεύσας ὧδε κατέλυσε τὴν ζωήν· ἀνερρήθη δὲ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστῖνος ὁ Θρᾷξ, γονέων μὲν ἐκφὺς