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

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 was a very strong and capable man, was strategos of Adrianople, who had displayed very many deeds of valor against the Bulgarians, the Bulgarian Symeon again with his entire army surrounded the aforementioned city. But since the grain for those in the city had run out and a harsh famine pressed upon them (for they had no way to get provisions), being pressured by want they betrayed both themselves and the strategos to the Bulgarians; Symeon, having captured him and having put bonds over his whole body, and having punished him with countless tortures, finally killed him with a bitter death, worthy of his own most relentless and most cruel soul. Having therefore handed over the defense of the city to the Bulgarians, he withdrew; they, having heard of the Roman army's assault against them, abandoned it and departed, and it came under the Romans again. 16. And when Leo of Tripoli came out against the Romans with a great force and warships and seized the island of Lemnos, John the patrician and droungarios of the fleet, called Rhadinos, suddenly attacked him and seized the island; and when war broke out, by the cooperation of God the Hagarenes under him were routed, and only Tripoli himself was saved by flight. 17. In the month of September, in the 2nd indiction, Symeon the archon of Bulgaria campaigns against Constantinople with his whole army, and plunders both Thrace and Macedonia, and burns everything and destroys and cuts down trees. Arriving as far as Blachernae, he demanded that the patriarch Nicholas and some of the magnates be sent to him in order to meet with them about peace. Both sides therefore took hostages from each other, and first the patriarch went out, then Michael the patrician who was called Stypiotes, and John the mystikos and paradynasteuon; for John the rhaiktor had already been slandered to the emperor, and feigning illness he had left the palace and had been tonsured in his own monastery near Galakrenai. 18 So they conversed with Symeon about peace, but he sent them away, and sought to see the emperor Romanos himself. For he had been informed by many about both his prudence and manliness and intelligence. The emperor therefore rejoiced greatly at this; for he desired peace and a stop to the daily sheddings of blood. He therefore sent men and constructed on the shore of Kosmidion a very well-fortified landing stage in the sea, so that the imperial trireme, sailing through, might moor there. Having therefore fenced it on all sides, he ordered a partition to be made in the middle, in which they were to speak with each other. Symeon therefore sent men and set fire to the church of the most holy Theotokos at the Pege and all the surrounding areas, being clear from this that he did not want peace but to deceive him with lofty hopes. 19 And having arrived at Blachernae, the emperor along with Nicholas the patriarch entered the holy reliquary and stretched out his hands in prayer, then falling prostrate he wet that holy ground with his tears, beseeching the all-pure Theotokos to soften the unbending and relentless heart of the tyrant and arrogant Symeon to agree to terms of peace. Having therefore opened the holy casket where the revered omophorion of the most holy Theotokos is treasured, the emperor took it up from there and put it on like an unbreakable breastplate, and put on his faith in the spotless Theotokos like a helmet, he went out of the church fenced about with sure weapons. Having therefore adorned the fleet with him with shields and sure weapons, he occupied the designated place to converse with Symeon. 20 It was therefore the fifth day when these things happened, the 19th of the month of November, and the fourth hour of the day. Symeon arrived bringing an infinite multitude, divided into many battle-lines, some with golden shields and golden spears, others

στερίσκεται. Βάρδαν τὸν Βόϊλαν ἀπέκειραν μοναχόν, τοῦ βασι λέως οἰκτείραντος φίλον τυγχάνοντα. 15. Τοῦ δὲ πατρικίου τοῦ ἐπονομαζομένου Μωρολέοντος Ἀδριανούπολιν στρατηγοῦντος, κρατίστου πολλὰ καὶ δεξιοῦ τυγ χάνοντος, ὃς πλείστας κατὰ Βουλγάρων ἀνδραγαθίας ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ πάλιν ὁ Βούλγαρος Συμεὼν σὺν παντὶ τῷ στρατεύματι αὐτοῦ τὴν εἰρημένην πόλιν περιεκύκλωσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὅ τε σῖτος τοὺς ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐπιλελοίπει καὶ λιμὸς ἐπίεζε χαλεπός οὐδαμόθεν γὰρ εἶχεν ἐπισιτίσασθαι, τῇ ἐνδείᾳ πιεζόμενοι προδεδώκασιν ἑαυτούς τε καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν τοῖς Βουλγάροις· ὃν χειρωσάμενος Συμεὼν καὶ δεσμὰ καθ' ὅλου τοῦ σώματος περιβαλών, καὶ μυρίαις αἰκίαις τοῦτον τιμωρησάμενος, τελευταῖον ἀπέκτεινε θανάτῳ πικρῷ, ἀξίῳ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀπηνεστάτης καὶ ὠμοτάτης ψυχῆς. Βουλγάροις οὖν τὴν τῆς πόλεως φυλακὴν παραδοὺς ὑπεχώρησεν· οἳ τὴν κατ' αὐ τῶν τοῦ Ῥωμαίων στρατοῦ ἔφοδον ἀκηκοότες, ταύτην καταλελοι πότες ἀπῆλθον, καὶ πάλιν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους αὐτὴ ἐγένετο. 16. Λέοντος δὲ τοῦ Τριπολίτου μετὰ δυνάμεως πολλῆς καὶ πλοίων πολεμικῶν κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐξελθόντος καὶ ἐν τῇ νήσῳ Λήμνῳ καταλαβόντος, Ἰωάννης πατρίκιος καὶ δρουγγάριος τοῦ πλωΐμου, ὁ Ῥαδινὸς κατονομαζόμενος, αἰφνιδίως ἐπέθετο αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν νῆσον κατέλαβεν· καὶ πολέμου γεγονότος, θεοῦ συνεργίᾳ 898 οἱ ὑπ' αὐτὸν τρέπονται Ἀγαρηνοί, μόνος δὲ ὁ Τριπολίτης φυγῇ διασώζεται. 17. Σεπτεμβρίῳ δὲ μηνί, ἰνδικτιῶνος βʹ, Συμεὼν δὲ ὁ ἄρχων Βουλγαρίας πανστρατὶ κατὰ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐκστρα τεύει, καὶ ληΐζεται μὲν Θρᾴκην τε καὶ Μακεδονίαν, ἐμπυρίζει δὲ πάντα καὶ καταστρέφει καὶ δενδροτομεῖ. μέχρι Βλαχερνῶν παρα γενόμενος ἐπεζήτησεν αὐτῷ ἀποσταλῆναι τὸν πατριάρχην Νικό λαον καί τινας τῶν μεγιστάνων ὥστε περὶ εἰρήνης αὐτοῖς συντυ χεῖν. ἔλαβον οὖν ὁμήρους παρ' ἀλλήλων ἀμφότεροι, καὶ ἐξῆλ θον πρότερον μὲν ὁ πατριάρχης, εἶτα Μιχαὴλ πατρίκιος ὁ προσ αγορευόμενος Στυπιώτης, καὶ Ἰωάννης μυστικός τε καὶ παραδυ ναστεύων· ἤδη γὰρ Ἰωάννης ὁ ῥαίκτωρ διαβληθεὶς πρὸς τὸν βα σιλέα, ἀσθένειαν προφασισάμενος τοῦ παλατίου κατεληλύθει καὶ ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ μονῇ πλησίον Γαλακρηνῶν ἀπεκάρη. 18 οἱ μὲν οὖν μετὰ Συμεὼν περὶ εἰρήνης διελέγοντο, ὁ δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀπεπέμ ψατο, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν ἐζήτει θεάσασθαι. παρὰ πολλῶν δὲ πεπληροφόρητο περί τε τῆς αὐτοῦ φρονήσεως καὶ ἀν δρίας καὶ τῆς συνέσεως. ὁ τοίνυν βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ τούτου σφόδρα ἠγαλλιάσατο· ἐπόθει γὰρ τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ τὸ στῆναι τὰς καθ' ἑκά στην ἐγγινομένας τῶν αἱμάτων ἐκχύσεις. ἀποστείλας οὖν ἐν τῷ Κοσμιδίου αἰγιαλῷ κατεσκεύασεν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ὀχυρωτάτην ἀπό βασιν, ὥστε τὴν βασιλικὴν τριήρην διεκπλέουσαν ἐν αὐτῇ προσορ 899 μίζεσθαι. περιφράξας οὖν αὐτὴν πάντοθεν διατείχισμα μέσον γενέσθαι προσέταξεν, ἐν ᾧ ἀλλήλοις ἔμελλον ὁμιλεῖν. ἀποστείλας οὖν Συμεὼν τὸν τῆς ὑπεραγίας θεοτόκου ναὸν τὸν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ ἐνέπρησεν καὶ τὰ πέριξ αὐτοῦ σύμπαντα, δῆλος ὢν ἐντεῦθεν μὴ τὴν εἰρήνην ἐθέλων ἀλλ' ἐλπίσι μετεώροις τοῦτον ἐξαπατῶν. 19 παραγενόμενος δὲ ἐν Βλαχέρναις ὁ βασιλεὺς ἅμα Νικολάῳ τῷ πατριάρχῃ ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ σορῷ εἰσῆλθε καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἐξέτεινεν εἰς εὐχήν, εἶτα πρηνὴς πεσὼν τὸ ἅγιον ἔδαφος ἐκεῖνο τοῖς δάκρυσι κατέβρεχε, τὴν πανάχραντον θεοτόκον ἀντιβολῶν τὴν ἀκαμπῆ καὶ ἀμείλικτον τοῦ τυράννου καὶ ὑπερηφάνου Συμεὼν καρδίαν μαλά ξαι τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην συνθέσθαι. τὸ ἅγιον οὖν κιβώτιον διανοί ξαντες ἔνθα τὸ σεπτὸν τῆς ὑπεραγίας θεοτόκου τεθησαύρισται ὠμοφόριον, καὶ τοῦτο ἐκεῖθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνελόμενος καὶ ὥσπερ τινὰ θώρακα ἀδιάρρηκτον περιβαλόμενος, καὶ τὴν πίστιν τὴν εἰς τὴν ἄμωμον θεοτόκον οἷα περικεφαλαίαν τινὰ περιθέμενος, ἔξεισι τοῦ ναοῦ ὅπλοις ἀσφαλέσι περιφραξάμενος. τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ οὖν στόλον ἀσπίσι τε καὶ ὅπλοις ἀσφαλέσι κατακοσμήσας τὸν ὡρισμέ νον τόπον κατέλαβε συνομιλῆσαι τῷ Συμεών. 20 πέμπτη οὖν ἡμέρα ἦν ὅτε ταῦτα ἐγένετο, ιθʹ τοῦ Νοεμβρίου μηνός, δʹ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ὥρα. παρεγένετο Συμεὼν πλῆθος ἄπειρον ἐπαγόμενος, εἰς πολλὰς διῃρημένον παρατάξεις, τῶν μὲν χρυσασπίδων καὶ χρυσοδοράτων, τῶν δὲ