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

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 Peter and Maria, and placed the bridal crowns on their 906 heads, with Theophanes the protovestiarios and George Soursouboulos acting as groomsmen. A splendid and sumptuous banquet having taken place, and all the customary wedding festivities having been joyfully completed, Theophanes the protovestiarios entered the city together with Maria, the daughter of the emperor Christopher. On the fourth day of the wedding, the emperor Romanos gave a splendid feast on the quay of the Pēgē for the imperial dromon, having decorated it with silk cloths. There the emperor Romanos feasted with Peter the Bulgarian, together with his son-in-law Constantine and his son Christopher. 33 But when the Bulgarians made no small objection that Christopher should be acclaimed first, and then Constantine, the emperor Romanos yielded to their objection, and what they had requested came to pass. 34. When all the wedding ceremonies were completed, and Maria was about to make the journey to Bulgaria with her husband Peter, her parents went out with her as far as the Hebdomon, together with Theophanes the protovestiarios, and having feasted there with Peter, when he was about to depart, they embraced their daughter and shed many tears and all that is natural at the loss of a beloved child, and having embraced their son-in-law and entrusted her to his hands, they returned to the palace. But Maria, having been handed over to Bulgarian hands, departed for Bulgaria, at once rejoicing and grieving, grieving 907 because she was deprived of her dearest parents and the imperial household and the company of her kinsfolk, but rejoicing because she was joined to an emperor for a husband and was named mistress of the Bulgarians. She departed, therefore, taking with her splendid and varied wealth and innumerable goods. 35. At that time also ambassadors from Melitene came to the emperor Romanos, offering to make treaties of peace. And not long after, Apochaps, the grandson of Amer, being amir of Melitene, and the general Aposalath, a most noble and wealthy man, came from Melitene. Having been received, therefore, with great and fitting honor by Romanos and having made agreements of peace, they returned to their own lands. From then on they campaigned with the Romans against their fellow Hagarenes, and in the victory celebrations they would enter the city with the Romans, leading Hagarene captives; which was a wonderful and paradoxical sign of the misfortune of the godless Hagarenes. But when Apochaps, a prudent, intelligent, and powerful man, died, the inhabitants of Melitene broke the peace. Therefore, both the domestic of the schools John Krokouas with the themes and the tagmata, and Melias with the Armenians, campaigned against them again, and making many raids daily, and by continuous incursions capturing 908 and plundering them, they brought Melitene into such straits that they very quickly sacked it and razed it to the ground, and not only this city but also its neighboring cities and lands, which were both very productive and fertile and provided many other revenues. The emperor, therefore, having established this Melitene as a curatorship, caused many thousands of gold and silver to be collected from there annually as tribute. 36. Niketas, magistros and father-in-law of the emperor Christopher, was accused of plotting with him to move against his own father and to drive him from the throne. So they took him out of the city and tonsured him a monk, exiling him to his own suburban estate. 37. On the 18th of the month of July, in the 2nd indiction, Stephen the patriarch died, having served 2 years and 11 months. On the 14th of the month of December, they bring Tryphon, a monk living as a solitary in the Opsikion, who was renowned for his piety and holiness, and they ordain him patriarch for a specified time, until Theophylact the

καὶ Μα ρίᾳ τῇ τοῦ Χριστοφόρου θυγατρὶ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ συγκλήτῳ εἰς τὸν ναὸν τῆς ὑπεραγίας θεοτόκου τὸν τῆς Πηγῆς, καὶ εὐλόγησαν Πέ τρον τε καὶ Μαρίαν, καὶ τοὺς νυμφικοὺς στεφάνους ταῖς αὐτῶν 906 ἐπέθηκαν κεφαλαῖς, παρανυμφεύοντος Θεοφάνους πρωτοβεστια ρίου καὶ Γεωργίου Σουρσουβούλου. λαμπρᾶς δὲ καὶ πολυτελοῦς γεγονυίας τραπέζης, καὶ πάντων τῶν εἰθισμένων τοῖς γάμοις φαι δρῶς ἐπιτελεσθέντων, εἰσῆλθεν Θεοφάνης πρωτοβεστιάριος ἅμα Μαρίᾳ τῇ θυγατρὶ τοῦ βασιλέως Χριστοφόρου ἐν τῇ πόλει. τῇ δʹ δὲ τοῦ γάμου ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς εὐωχίαν λαμπρὰν ἐν τῇ τῶν Πηγῶν ἀποβάθρᾳ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ δρόμωνος, περικοσμήσας αὐτὴν ὑφάσμασι σηρικοῖς. ἔνθα συνειστιάθη Ῥω μανὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς Πέτρῳ Βουλγάρῳ ἅμα Κωνσταντίνῳ γαμβρῷ καὶ Χριστοφόρῳ υἱῷ. 33 τῶν δὲ Βουλγάρων ἔνστασιν οὐ μικρὰν ποιησαμένων πρότερον εὐφημισθῆναι Χριστοφόρον, εἶθ' οὕτως Κωνσταντῖνον, ὑπεῖξε τῇ ἐνστάσει τούτων ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥω μανός, καὶ γέγονεν ὅπερ ᾐτήσαντο. 34. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πάντα τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς γάμοις συνετελέσθησαν, ἔμελλε δὲ Μαρία ἤδη τὴν πρὸς Βουλγαρίαν σὺν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς Πέτρῳ ὁδὸν ὁδεύειν, οἱ ταύτης γονεῖς μέχρι τοῦ Ἑβδόμου συνεξῆλθον αὐτῇ ἅμα Θεοφάνει πρωτοβεστιαρίῳ, καὶ συνεστιαθέν τες ἐκεῖσε Πέτρῳ, ἐπειδὴ ἔμελλεν ἀπαίρειν, περιχυθέντες τῇ θυ γατρὶ καὶ πολλὰ καταχέαντες δάκρυα καὶ ὅσα εἰκὸς ἐπὶ στερήσει σπλάγχνου περιποθήτου, τόν τε αὐτῶν γαμβρὸν ἀσπασάμενοι καὶ ταύτην ταῖς αὐτοῦ χερσὶ παραθέμενοι ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις ὑπέστρε ψαν. Μαρία δὲ Βουλγαρικαῖς παραδοθεῖσα χερσὶ τὴν ἐπὶ Βουλ γαρίαν ἀπῄει, χαίρουσά τε ἅμα καὶ λυπουμένη, λυπουμένη μὲν 907 ἐφ' οἷς γονέων φιλτάτων ἐστέρηται καὶ βασιλείων οἴκων καὶ συνη θείας τῶν γένει προσοικούντων, χαίρουσα δὲ ὡς βασιλεῖ προσηρ μόσθη ἀνδρὶ καὶ δέσποινα Βουλγάρων προσηγορεύθη. ἀπῄει τοί νυν πλοῦτον ἐπικομιζομένη λαμπρὸν καὶ παντοδαπῆ καὶ σκευὴν ἀναρίθμητον. 35. Τότε δὲ καὶ πρέσβεις πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν ἐκ τῆς Μελιτηνῆς παρεγένοντο, εἰρηνικὰς σπονδὰς ἐπὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι πάκτα παρέχοντες. μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ καὶ Ἀπόχαψ ὁ τοῦ Ἄμερ ἔγγονος, ἀμηρᾶς ὢν Μελιτηνῆς, καὶ ὁ Ἀποσαλὰθ στρατηγός, εὐγενέστατος καὶ πλούσιος ὤν, ἐκ Μελιτηνῆς παρεγένοντο. ἀπο δεχθέντες οὖν μεγάλως μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης τιμῆς παρὰ Ῥω μανοῦ καὶ σύμφωνα εἰρήνης ποιήσαντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὰ ἴδια. ἔκτοτε δὲ συνεξεστράτευον τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις κατὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων Ἀγαρηνῶν, ἔν τε τοῖς ἐπινικίοις συνεισήρχοντο τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐν τῇ πόλει, αἰχμαλώτους ἄγοντες Ἀγαρηνούς· ὅπερ ἦν θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον δεῖγμα τῆς τῶν ἀθέων Ἀγαρηνῶν δυστυχίας. τε λευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀπόχαψ, ἀνδρὸς φρονίμου καὶ συνετοῦ καὶ δυνατοῦ, διέλυσαν τὴν εἰρήνην οἱ τὴν Μελιτηνὴν κατοικοῦντες. ἐκστρατεύουσιν οὖν κατ' αὐτῶν πάλιν ὅ τε δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν Ἰωάννης ὁ Κροκόας μετὰ τῶν θεμάτων καὶ τῶν ταγμάτων καὶ ὁ Μηλίας μετὰ τῶν Ἀρμενίων, καὶ πολλὰς προνομὰς καθ' ἑκάστην ποιούμενοι, καὶ ταῖς συνεχέσιν ἐπιδρομαῖς αἰχμαλωτίζοντες τού 908 τους καὶ ληΐζοντες, εἰς τοσαύτην στένωσιν τὴν Μελιτηνὴν περιέ στησαν ὥστε αὐτὴν συντομώτατα ἐκπορθῆσαι καὶ ἕως ἐδάφους καταστρέψαι, οὐ μόνον δὲ ταύτην ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ὁμόρους αὐτῇ πόλεις καὶ χώρας πολυφόρους τε οὔσας καὶ πιοτάτας καὶ ἄλλας πολλὰς παρέχειν προσόδους. ταύτην οὖν τὴν Μελιτηνὴν εἰς κου ρατωρίαν ἀποκαταστήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλὰς χιλιάδας χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου ἐκεῖθεν δασμοφορεῖσθαι ἐτησίως πεποίηκεν. 36. Κατηγορήθη δὲ Νικήτας μάγιστρος καὶ πενθερὸς Χριστοφόρου βασιλέως ὡς ὑποτιθέμενος αὐτῷ κατὰ τοῦ ἰδίου γενέσθαι πατρὸς καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτὸν ἐξεῶσαι. τοῦτον οὖν ἐξαγαγόντες τῆς πόλεως ἀπέκειραν μοναχόν, ὑπερορίσαντες ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ προαστείῳ. 37. Μηνὶ δὲ Ἰουλίῳ ιηʹ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ʹ, Στέφανος ὁ πα τριάρχης τελευτᾷ, ποιήσας ἔτη βʹ καὶ μῆνας ιαʹ. ∆εκεμβρίῳ δὲ μηνὶ ιδʹ ἄγουσι Τρύφωνα μοναχὸν ἐν τῷ Ὀψικίῳ μονάζοντα, ἐπ' εὐλαβείᾳ καὶ ἁγιότητι μαρτυρούμενον, καὶ χειροτονοῦσι πατριάρ χην ἐπὶ χρόνῳ ῥητῷ, μέχρις ἂν εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας φθάσῃ Θεοφύ λακτος ὁ