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
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 they might learn their plans, and these things might become manifest to the emperor. Therefore, having received such a report from the emperor, they occupied Europe. 12. But the Tauroscythians, having heard of their crossing, separating off a portion of their own army, and having added to it a multitude of Huns and Mysians, sent them to march against the Romans. And as soon as the Magister Bardas perceived their approach, being in other respects a noble and active man, but then convulsed with anger and the impetus of strength, having gathered the 109 picked men around him, he hastened to an engagement with the enemy. And indeed, having summoned John Alakas, he sent him out to scout, both to observe the Scythians, and to estimate the quantity of their multitude, and in what place they were encamped, and what they were doing; and to send word to him as quickly as possible, and to report everything, so that he might make preparations and draw up the army for war. And John, having taken the picked men who followed him, rode with speed against the Scythians; and on the next day he sends to the Magister, urging him to come with the multitude; for the Scythians were encamped not far off, but near. And he, having heard such words, drew up the phalanx in three parts, and ordered one part to follow on the front, and the others to lie in ambush in the transverse woods; and then to rush out from the ambush, whenever they should hear the trumpet sounding the battle-charge. Having given these orders to the commanders, he went to meet the Scythians face to face, fighting mightily. But the army of the enemy was superior in number, amounting to over thirty thousand; for those following with the Magister, along with the ambush parties, were no more than ten thousand. And when the engagement took place on both sides, the more vigorous fell. Then indeed it is said that one of the Scythians, glorying in his strength and bulk of body, separating from the phalanx around him, rode out, and charged at Bardas, and struck him with a sword on the helmet; but the blow of the sword was in vain, the 110 blade being bent back by the helmet, and slipping off elsewhere due to its resistance. But Constantine the patrician, being a kinsman of Bardas, his jaw just showing the down of youth, being monstrous in body, and in strength irresistible and unconquerable, drawing his sword rushed to strike the Scythian; but he, seeing his charge, evaded the blow, leaning back on the hip of the horse. But the horse received it on the neck, which was cut clean through; and the Scythian, falling down together with his horse, was slaughtered by Constantine. 13. And as the battle swayed this way and that, and shifted with many and evenly balanced turns for each side, Bardas ordered the battle-charge to be sounded, and the drums to be beaten frequently; and when the phalanx rose up from the ambushes at the signal, and came upon the rear of the Scythians, fear entered them and they turned to flight. But before the pursuit had become glorious, a certain one of the notable Scythians, by his size of body and the brightness of his arms being more distinguished than the others, was going about the front line, strengthening his comrades for valor. Riding out against him, Bardas Sclerus struck him on the head, and drove the sword through as far as his belt, with neither his helmet protecting him, nor his cuirass holding back the strength of the hand, or the cut of the sword. And when he had been cut in two and dashed to the ground,
λώβη ταῖς ἐκδρομαῖς τῶν Σκυθῶν· ἔς τε τὰς ἐπαύλεις καὶ τὰ ἤθη τῶν δυσμενῶν διγλώσσους ἄνδρας ἐκπέμπειν Σκυθικὸν ἠμπισχημένους
ἱματισμὸν, ὡς τὰ σφῶν διαβούλια γνοῖεν, καὶ βασιλεῖ ταῦτα κατάφωρα γίγνοιντο. τὴν τοιαύτην οὖν φάσιν πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως εἰληφότες,
τὴν Εὐρώπην καταλαμβάνουσιν. ιβʹ. Ταυροσκύθαι δὲ, τὴν τούτων ἐνωτισθέντες διάβασιν, ἀπόμοιραν τῆς σφετέρας στρατιᾶς διαιρέσαντες,
Οὕννων τε καὶ Μυσῶν πλῆθος ταύτῃ προσεταιρίσαντες, κατὰ Ῥωμαίων χωρεῖν ἐκπεπόμφεσαν. ἄρτι δὲ τὴν τούτων ἐπήλυσιν ὁ Μάγιστρος
Βάρδας αἰσθόμενος, καὶ ἄλλως γενναῖός τε καὶ ῥέκτης τυγχάνων ἀνὴρ, τότε δὲ σφαδάζων θυμῷ καὶ ῥώμης ὁρμῇ, τοὺς 109 ἀμφ' αὑτὸν
λογάδας συνειληφώς, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων ἠπείγετο συμπλοκήν. καὶ δὴ Ἰωάννην τὸν Ἀλακᾶ εἰσκαλέσας, εἰς κατασκοπὴν ἀπέστειλεν,
ἀθρῆσαί τε τοὺς Σκύθας, καὶ τὸ τοῦ πλήθους εἰκάσαι ποσὸν, καὶ καθ' ὃν αὐλίζοιντο τόπον, καὶ ὅ,τι πράττοιεν· πέμπειν τε τὴν
ταχίστην ὡς αὐτὸν, καὶ πάντα διαγγέλλειν, ὡς συσκευάσοι, καὶ ἐκτάξοι τὴν στρατιὰν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον. Ἰωάννης δὲ, τοὺς ἑπομένους
λογάδας ἀνειληφώς, κατὰ τάχος ἐπὶ τοὺς Σκύθας ἱππάσατο· τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ παρὰ τὸν Μάγιστρον στέλλει, ἐπισπεύδων τοῦτον ἱκέσθαι
μετὰ τοῦ πλήθους· μὴ πόῤῥω γὰρ, ἀλλ' ἐγγύθεν, τοὺς Σκύθας αὐλίζεσθαι. ὁ δὲ, τῶν τοιούτων λόγων διακούσας, τριχῆ διατάξας τὴν
φάλαγγα, τῇ μὲν ἐφέπεσθαι παρήγγειλε κατὰ μέτωπον, ταῖς δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ἐγκαρσίους προλοχίζειν δρυμούς· τηνικαῦτα δὲ τῆς ἐνέδρας
διεκθέειν, ὁπηνίκα τῆς σάλπιγγος, τὸ ἐνυάλιον ἐπηχούσης, διακούσαιεν. ταῦτα τοῖς λοχαγοῖς παρακελευσάμενος, κατὰ στόμα τοῖς
Σκύθαις ἀντεπῄει, κραταιῶς διαγωνιζόμενος. ἐπλεονέκτει δὲ πλήθει τὸ στράτευμα τῶν ἐναντίων, ὑπὲρ τοὺς τρισμυρίους τελοῦν·
οἱ γὰρ τῷ Μαγίστρῳ συνεφεπόμενοι, μετὰ τῶν λόχων, οὐ πλέονες τῶν μυρίων ἐτύγχανον. τῆς δὲ συμπλοκῆς γενομένης παρ' ἀμφοτέρων,
ἔπιπτον οἱ νεανικώτεροι. ἐνταῦθα δὴ λέγεται τῶν τινα Σκυθῶν, ἀλκῇ καὶ σώματος ὄγκῳ γαυρούμενον, τῆς ἀμφ' αὑτὸν ἀποκριθέντα
φάλαγγος ἐξιππεῦσαί τε, καὶ τῷ Βάρδᾳ ἐπιδραμεῖν, καὶ ξίφει τοῦτον πλῆξαι κατὰ τῆς κόρυθος· κενὴν δὲ γενέσθαι τὴν τοῦ ξίφους
καταφορὰν, τοῦ 110 ἀθέρος ἀναγναμφθέντος τῇ κυνῇ, καὶ ἀλλαχόσε τῇ ταύτης στεγανότητι περιολισθήσαντος. Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ὁ πατρίκιος,
σύναιμος τῷ Βάρδᾳ τελῶν, ἄρτι τῷ ἰούλῳ τὴν γένυν ἐπιχνοάζων, πελώριός τε πεφυκὼς τῷ σώματι, καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν δυσεκβίαστος καὶ
ἀκαταγώνιστος, τὸ ξίφος σπασάμενος ἴεται τὸν Σκύθην βαλεῖν· ὁ δὲ, τὴν φορὰν αὐτοῦ ὑπειδόμενος, ἐκκλίνει τὴν πληγὴν, κατ' ἰσχίον
ὑπτιάσας τοῦ ἵππου. δέχεται δὲ ταύτην παρὰ τὸν αὐχένα ὁ ἵππος, ὃν διαμπερὲς ἀποτέμνεται· ὁ δὲ Σκύθης, ἅμα τῷ ἵππῳ κατενεχθεὶς,
πρὸς τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου ἐναποσφάττεται. ιγʹ. Τῆς δὲ μάχης τῇδε κἀκεῖσε μετακλινομένης, καὶ συχνὰς καὶ ἀμφιταλάντους μεταβαλλούσης
ῥοπὰς ἐφ' ἑκάτερα, τὸ ἐνυάλιον ὁ Βάρδας ἐνηχεῖν ἐγκελεύεται, τά τε τύμπανα θαμινὰ παταγεῖν· τῆς δὲ φάλαγγος ἐκ τῶν λόχων ἐξαναστάσης
κατὰ τὸ σύνθημα, καὶ κατὰ νώτου τῶν Σκυθῶν γενομένης, δέος τε αὐτοῖς εἰσῄει καὶ πρὸς φυγαδείαν ἀπέκλιναν. μήπω δὲ γεγενημένης
λαμπρᾶς τῆς διώξεως, τῶν ἐπιφανῶν τις Σκυθῶν, μεγέθει σώματος καὶ ὅπλων λαμπρότητι πεφυκὼς τῶν ἄλλων ἀριπρεπὴς, κατὰ τὸ μεταίχμιον
περιῄει, ἐπ' ἀλκὴν τοὺς ἑταίρους ἐπιῤῥωννύς. τοῦτον Βάρδας ὁ Σκληρὸς ἐξιππασάμενος παίει κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς, καὶ μέχρι τοῦ ζωστῆρος
τὸ ξίφος διήλασε, μήτε τοῦ κράνους αὐτῷ ἐπαρκέσαντος, μήτε τοῦ θώρακος τὴν τῆς χειρὸς ἐπισχόντος ἰσχὺν, ἢ τὴν τοῦ ξίφους τομήν.
διχῆ δὲ τούτου διατμηθέντος καὶ προσαραχθέντος τῇ γῇ,
