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
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 Antioch. But Polyeuctus, having survived for a few days after the appointment of Theodore, departed this life, leaving as memorials to the church the images of his virtues, and the knowledge of divine and human wisdom and science, which he practiced to the utmost. And when Polyeuctus, having steered the reins of the patriarchate for thirteen years, had passed on to the blessed rest, it became the concern of the emperor John to place upon the throne of the hierarchy a man who surpassed the many in virtues and ways. On the next day, therefore, having summoned the hierarchs and the senate into the imperial court, he spoke thus: 7. I know one principle, the highest and first, which from non-being into being brought forth the system of the visible and invisible world. But I recognize two in this life and in the lower sphere, priesthood and kingship, to the one of which 102 the creator entrusted the care of souls, and to the other the governance of bodies, so that no part of these should be defective, and it might be preserved perfect and entire. Therefore, since he who guided the church has paid the debt of nature, it is indeed the work of that unerring eye to bring forth to the ministry of divine things the one who surpasses all, to whom the pursuits of men are known even before they are formed. But I myself, of whose character I have had undisputed experience for a long time, this is the one I am raising to the ecclesiastical thrones; so that a man who has spent his life in a corner might not go unnoticed, a man famed for all kinds of excellences, to whom indeed the gift of foresight has been granted by God. For he has revealed to me many future events with a divine voice, which came to pass in their own time. The emperor spoke, and brought into their midst the hermit Basil, who from his youth chose the solitary life, and showed many contests of ascetic labors on the heights of Olympus. He urged this man to ascend to the patriarchal hearth; and on the following day (this was the day of the Resurrection, on which the orthodox faith concerning the veneration of the holy icons was affirmed by the divine fathers) Basil received the anointing of the high priesthood, and was proclaimed ecumenical patriarch. 8. But the mind of the emperor John was tossed by many cares, as to which he should give precedence, being caught at a crossroads, so as not to be diverted from what was necessary. For both the scarcity 103 of necessities and the deepening famine, had been plaguing the Roman empire for a period of three years; the Russian threat also loomed, suggesting no good prospects, and the raid of the Carthaginians and Arabs against Antioch in Syria, recently acquired by the Romans. Therefore, the invincible evil of the famine he dispelled with the transport of grain, which he with foresight swiftly gathered from markets everywhere, having stopped the spreading of so great a calamity. And the attack of the Hagarenes he repelled with the battle line of the eastern armies, with Nicholas the Patrician as general; who, being a domestic eunuch of the emperor, had acquired experience from much practice in contests. Towards Sviatoslav, however, the commander of the Russian host, he decided to negotiate. And so he sent envoys to him, instructing him, having received the payment promised by the emperor Nicephorus for the raid against the Mysians, to withdraw to their own lands and the Cimmerian [Bosporus]
ἐφευρών τε τὴν μὲν θύραθεν παιδείαν οὐ πάνυ ἠκριβωκότα, τήν γε μὴν θείαν καὶ ἡμετέραν ἐξησκημένον φιλοτιμότατα, χρίει αὐτὸν
πατριάρχην Ἀντιοχείας. ὁ δὲ Πολύευκτος, μικρὰς ἡμέρας ἐπιβιοὺς μετὰ τὴν Θεοδώρου προχείρισιν, μεταλλάττει τὸν βίον, μνημεῖα
τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καταλιπὼν τὰς τῶν ἀρετῶν εἰκόνας, καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς θείας καὶ ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας καὶ ἐπιστήμης, ἣν εἰς ἄκρον ἐξήσκησε.
τοῦ δὲ Πολυεύκτου ἐπὶ τρισκαίδεκα ἐνιαυτοὺς τὰς τῆς πατριαρχίας ἡνίας ἰθύναντος, καὶ πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν μεταναστάντος κατάπαυσιν,
σπουδὴ ἐξεγένετο τῷ αὐτοκράτορι Ἰωάννῃ, εἰς τὸν τῆς ἱεραρχίας θρόνον ἄνδρα ἐπιβιβάσαι τὸν ἀρεταῖς καὶ τρόποις τῶν πολλῶν ὑπερφέροντα.
τῇ γοῦν ὑστεραίᾳ ἐς τὴν βασίλειον αὐλὴν τοὺς ἱεράρχας εἰσκαλεσάμενος καὶ τὴν σύγκλητον, ἔφησε τοιαῦτα· ζʹ. Μίαν ἀρχὴν ἐξεπίσταμαι,
τὴν ἀνωτάτην καὶ πρώτην, ἥτις ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι τὸ τοῦ ὁρατοῦ καὶ ἀοράτου κόσμου παρήγαγε σύστημα. δύο δὲ τὰς ἐν
τῷδε τῷ βίῳ γινώσκω καὶ τῇ κάτω περιφορᾷ, ἱερωσύνην καὶ βασιλείαν, ὧν τῇ μὲν 102 τὴν τῶν ψυχῶν ἐπιμέλειαν, τῇ δὲ τὴν τῶν σωμάτων
κυβέρνησιν ἐνεχείρισεν ὁ δημιουργὸς, ὡς ἂν μὴ τούτων χωλεύσοιτο μέρος, ἄρτιόν τε καὶ ὁλόκληρον διασώζοιτο. τοίνυν, ἐπεὶ τὸ
χρεὼν ὁ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἰθύνων ἐξέτισεν, ἔργον μὲν τούτου τοῦ ἀλαθήτου πέφυκεν ὀφθαλμοῦ, τὸν κατευμεγεθοῦντα πάντων εἰς τὴν
λειτουργίαν τῶν θείων παραγαγεῖν, ᾧ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ πλασθῆναι τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τῶν ἀνθρώπων διέγνωσται. αὐτὸς δὲ, οὗ πεῖραν ἀνδρὸς
ἀναμφίλεκτον ἐκ τοῦ μακροῦ χρόνου παρείληφα, τοῦτον ἐπὶ τῶν θώκων ἀναβιβάζω τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν· ὡς μὴ λάθοι κατὰ γωνίαν τὸν
βίον διηντληκὼς ἄνθρωπος παντοδαποῖς προτερήμασι κλεϊζόμενος, ᾧ γε καὶ τὸ προορατικὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ δεδώρηται χάρισμα. πολλὰ γάρ
μοι τῶν μελλόντων ἀνεῖλε θείᾳ ὀμφῇ, ἐκβάντα ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς αὐτῶν. εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ εἰς μέσον παρήγαγε τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν
Βασίλειον, ὃς ἐξ ὀνύχων τὸν μονήρη βίον αἱρετισάμενος, συχνοὺς ἀγῶνας ἱδρώτων ἀσκητικῶν ἐν ταῖς τοῦ Ὀλύμπου ἀκρωρείαις ἐπεδείξατο.
τοῦτον ἐς τὴν πατριαρχικὴν ἑστίαν ἀνιέναι παρεκελεύσατο· τῇ δὲ ἐπιούσῃ (αὕτη δὲ ἦν ἀναστάσιμος ἡμέρα, καθ' ἣν τὴν ὀρθόδοξον
πίστιν περὶ τῆς τῶν σεπτῶν εἰκόνων προσκυνήσεως οἱ θεῖοι πατέρες ἐκράτυναν) τὸ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ὁ Βασίλειος χρίσμα δέχεται,
καὶ οἰκουμενικὸς πατριάρχης ἀνακηρύττεται. ηʹ. Ἰωάννῃ δὲ τῷ αὐτοκράτορι πολλαῖς ταῖς φροντίσιν ἐταλαντεύετο ἡ διάνοια, ποίᾳ
δὴ προτέρᾳ δοίη τὴν ῥοπὴν ἐν τριόδῳ ἀπειλημμένος, καὶ μὴ παρενεχθείη τοῦ δέοντος. ἥ τε γὰρ σπάνις 103 τῶν ἀναγκαίων καὶ ὁ
λιμὸς ἐκβαθύνας, ἐπὶ τριετῆ καιρὸν τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπεβόσκετο· ἐπέκειτο δὲ καὶ ἡ Ῥωσσικὴ κίνησις οὐ χρηστὰς ὑποτιθεμένη
ἐλπίδας, καὶ ἡ τῶν Καρχηδονίων καὶ Ἀράβων κατὰ τῆς ἐπὶ Συρίαν Ἀντιοχείας, ἄρτι προσκτηθείσης Ῥωμαίοις, καταδρομή. τὸ μὲν οὖν
ἄμαχον κακὸν τοῦ λιμοῦ τῇ σιταγωγίᾳ, ἣν ἐκ τῶν ἁπανταχῆ ἐμπορίων προνοίᾳ διὰ τάχους συνήγαγε, διέλυσε, στήσας τὴν νομὴν τοῦ
τοσούτου δεινοῦ. τὴν δέ γε ὁρμὴν τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν τῇ τῶν Ἑῴων στρατευμάτων παρατάξει ἀνεχαίτισε, Νικολάου τοῦ Πατρικίου στρατηγοῦντος·
ὅστε οἰκεῖος ὢν σπάδων τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐμπειρίαν ἐκ πολλῆς μελέτης τῶν ἀγώνων ἐκέκτητο. πρὸς μέντοι τὸν Σφενδοσλάβον, τὸν τῆς
Ῥωσσικῆς πανοπλίας κατάρχοντα, ἔγνω διακηρυκεύεσθαι. καὶ δὴ πρέσβεις ὡς αὐτὸν ἐκπέμπει, παραγγέλλων αὐτῷ, τὸν πρὸς τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος
Νικηφόρου ἐπὶ τῇ καταδρομῇ τῶν Μυσῶν ὑπεσχημένον ἀνειληφότα μισθὸν, ἐπὶ τὰ σφῶν ἤθη καὶ τὸν Κιμμέριον μετανίστασθαι
