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 wounded many, and captured very many alive. Therefore, those who were left sailed down to the eastern part, to the place called Sgora. And at that time Bardas Phokas was also sent by land with picked cavalrymen to outflank them. And indeed, when they had sent a considerable detachment to the parts of Bithynia in order to procure for themselves provisions and other necessities, the aforesaid Bardas Phokas, having encountered such a detachment, dealt with them badly, routing and slaughtering them. At that time John Kourkouas, magistros and domestikos of the scholai, also came down with the whole army of the east, and he destroyed many of them, capturing stragglers here and there, so that, constrained by fear of his attack, they remained all together by their own ships and did not dare to run about anywhere. 51 But they had committed many and very great evils before the Roman army came down. For they burned down the whole of what is called the Stenon, and of the prisoners they took, some they crucified, others they fixed to the ground with stakes, and others they set up like targets and shot down with arrows; 916 and as many of the sacred clergy as they captured, they bound their hands behind them and drove iron nails through the middle of their heads; and they gave over many holy churches to the fire. But as winter was already setting in, and being short of food, and fearing both the army that had come against them and the triremes fighting at sea, they decided to return to their own lands. And indeed, while trying to elude the fleet, in the month of September, in the 15th indiction, having set out to sail towards the Thracian parts, they were met by Theophanes the patrikios; for they did not escape his most vigilant and noble spirit. Immediately, therefore, a second sea battle was joined, and the aforesaid man sank very many ships and killed many of them. But a few, having been saved with their ships and having fallen in with the shore of Koile, fled when night came on. And Theophanes the patrikios returned with a brilliant victory and the greatest of trophies, and was received honorably and magnificently and was honored as parakoimomenos. 52. Since the aforementioned John Kourkouas, the magistros, became excellent in the arts of war, and raised many and great trophies, and extended the Roman borders, and sacked very many cities of the Hagarenes; because of the renowned virtue of the man, the emperor Romanos wished to take his daughter for his own grandson Ro 917 manos, the son of his son Constantine. But when envy was stirred up against him by the other emperors on account of such a proposal, he fell from his office, and the patrikios Pantherios, being a kinsman of the emperor Romanos, was appointed domestikos in his place. 53. In the 1st indiction, in the month of April, the Turks came again with a very great force. But the patrikios Theophanes the parakoimomenos went out and made peaceful treaties with them, taking hostages from their prominent men; from which it came to pass that peace was preserved for 5 years. 54. In the second indiction the emperor Romanos sent Paschalios, protospatharios and strategos of Longibardia, to Hugo, king of Francia, seeking his daughter as a bride for Romanos, the son of his son-in-law Constantine; whom the aforesaid Paschalios took and brought up to the City with much wealth. And the wedding took place in the month of September of the 3rd indiction. Having lived 5 years, she died in the days of the reign of Constantine, her father-in-law. 55. When a very violent wind blew in the month of Decem 918 ber, the so-called demes in the Hippodrome collapsed, which were opposite the imperial throne, and they smashed both the benches below them and the so-called stethea. And when a year had gone round, in the same month, his sons brought the emperor Romanos down from the palace. 56. And of the city of Edessa, in which the precious image of Christ was kept, by the Roman

ἀκολούθως καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δρόμωνες καὶ αἱ τριήρεις ἐπεκδραμοῦσαι τελείαν εἰργάσαντο τὴν τροπήν, καὶ πολλὰ μὲν πλοῖα κατέδυσαν αὔτανδρα, πολλοὺς δὲ κατέτρωσαν, πλείστους δὲ ζῶντας συνέλαβον. οἱ περιλειφθέντες οὖν εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀνατολῆς μέρος εἰς τὰ Σγῶρα λεγόμενα καταπλέουσιν. ἀπεστάλη δὲ τότε καὶ Βάρδας ὁ Φωκᾶς διὰ γῆς μετὰ ἱππέων ἐγκρίτων παρατρέχειν αὐτούς. καὶ δὴ τούτων σύνταγμα ἱκανὸν ἀποστειλάντων πρὸς τὰ τῆς Βιθυνίας μέρη ὥστε τὰ πρὸς τροφὴν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην χρείαν αὐτοῖς πορίσασθαι, περιτυχὼν τῷ τοιούτῳ συντάγματι ὁ εἰρημέ νος Βάρδας ὁ Φωκᾶς κακῶς τούτους διέθηκεν, τρεψάμενος καὶ κατασφάξας αὐτούς. κατῆλθε δὲ τηνικαῦτα καὶ Ἰωάννης μάγι στρος καὶ δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν ὁ Κροκόας μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ τῆς ἀνατολῆς στρατεύματος, καὶ τούτων πολλοὺς διέφθειρεν, ἀπο σπάδας τῇδε κἀκεῖσε καταλαμβάνων, ὥστε συσταλέντας αὐτοὺς δέει τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐπιθέσεως μένειν ἀθρόως ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα πλοῖα καὶ μηδαμοῦ διατρέχειν κατατολμᾶν. 51 πολλὰ δὲ καὶ μέγιστα κακὰ οὗτοι διεπράξαντο πρὸ τοῦ τὸ Ῥωμαϊκὸν στράτευμα κατελ θεῖν. τό τε γὰρ Στενὸν λεγόμενον ἅπαν ἐνέπρησαν, καὶ οὓς συνε λάμβανον αἰχμαλώτους τοὺς μὲν ἀνεσταύρουν, τοὺς δὲ τῇ γῇ προσεπαττάλευον, τοὺς δὲ ὥσπερ σκοποὺς ἱστῶντες βέλεσι κατετό 916 ξευον· ὅσους δὲ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ κλήρου συνελάμβανον, ὄπισθεν τὰς χεῖρας δεσμοῦντες ἥλους σιδηροῦς κατὰ μέσης τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν κατεπήγνυον· πολλούς τε ἁγίους ναοὺς τῷ πυρὶ παραδεδώκασι. χειμῶνος δὲ ἤδη ἐνισταμένου, καὶ τροφῆς ἀποροῦντες, τό τε ἐπελθὸν στράτευμα δεδιότες τάς τε ναυμαχοῦντας τριήρεις, ἐβου λεύσαντο τὰ οἰκεῖα καταλαβεῖν. καὶ δὴ λαθεῖν τὸν στόλον σπου δάζοντες, Σεπτεμβρίῳ μηνί, ιεʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἀντιπλεῦσαι ὡρμη κότες ἐπὶ τὰ Θρᾳκῷα μέρη παρὰ Θεοφάνους πατρικίου ὑπηντή θησαν· οὐ γὰρ ἔλαθον τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐγρηγορωτάτην καὶ γενναίαν ψυχήν. εὐθὺς οὖν δευτέρα ναυμαχία συνάπτεται, καὶ πλεῖστα πλοῖα ἐπόντωσεν καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων ἀπέκτεινεν ὁ εἰρημένος ἀνήρ. ὀλίγοι δὲ μετὰ τῶν πλοίων περισωθέντες καὶ ἐν τῇ τῆς Κοίλης περιπεσόντες ἀκτῇ νυκτὸς ἐπελθούσης ἔφυγον. Θεοφάνης δὲ ὁ πατρίκιος μετὰ νίκης λαμπρᾶς καὶ τῶν μεγίστων ὑπέστρεψεν τρο παίων, καὶ ἐντίμως καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ὑπεδέχθη καὶ παρακοιμώ μενος ἐτιμήθη. 52. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ ῥηθεὶς Ἰωάννης μάγιστρος ὁ Κροκόας ἄριστός τις ἐγένετο τὰ πολεμικά, πολλά τε καὶ μεγάλα ἀνέστησε τρό παια, καὶ τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ ἐπλάτυνεν ὅρια, πλείστας τε πόλεις ἐπόρ θησεν τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν· διὰ δὲ τὸ περιφανὲς τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀρε τῆς ἠβουλήθη ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔγγονον Ῥω 917 μανόν, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, τὴν τούτου θυγατέρα ἀναλαβεῖν. φθόνου δὲ αὐτῷ τῆς τοιαύτης ἕνεκεν ὑπο θέσεως παρὰ τῶν λοιπῶν βασιλέων κινηθέντος ἐκπίπτει τῆς ἀρχῆς, δομέστικος δὲ ἀντικαθίσταται ὁ πατρίκιος Πανθήριος, συγγενὴς ὢν τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμανοῦ. 53. Ἰνδικτιῶνος αʹ, Ἀπριλλίῳ μηνί, ἐπῆλθον πάλιν οἱ Τοῦρκοι μετὰ πλείστης δυνάμεως. ὁ δὲ πατρίκιος Θεοφάνης ὁ παρακοιμώμενος ἐξελθὼν σπονδὰς εἰρηνικὰς ἐποίησε μετ' αὐτῶν, ὁμήρους τῶν ἐμφανῶν ἀναλαβόμενος· ἐξ οὗ καὶ συνέβη ἐπὶ χρό νοις εʹ τὴν εἰρήνην διαφυλαχθῆναι. 54. ∆ευτέρας δὲ ἰνδικτιῶνος ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς Πασχά λιον πρωτοσπαθάριον καὶ στρατηγὸν Λογγιβαρδίας πρὸς τὸν ῥῆγα Φραγγίας Οὔγουνα ἐξαπέστειλε, τὴν αὐτοῦ θυγατέρα ἐπιζητῶν εἰς νύμφην Ῥωμανῷ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ γαμβροῦ αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντίνου· ἣν καὶ ἀναλαβὼν ὁ εἰρημένος Πασχάλιος μετὰ πλούτου πολλοῦ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀνήγαγεν. γέγονε δὲ ὁ γάμος Σεπτεμβρίῳ μηνὶ ἰνδικτιῶ νος γʹ. ζήσασα ἔτη εʹ ἐτελεύτησεν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς αὐτοκρα τορίας Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ αὐτῆς πενθεροῦ. 55. Ἀνέμου δὲ βιαίου σφόδρα καταπνεύσαντος ∆εκεμ 918 βρίῳ μηνί, οἱ λεγόμενοι ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ δῆμοι κατέπεσον, οἳ ἀπεναν τίας τοῦ βασιλικοῦ θρόνου ἐτύγχανον, καὶ συνέτριψαν τά τε ὑπο κάτωθεν αὐτῶν βάθρα καὶ τὰ στηθέα λεγόμενα. χρόνου δὲ περι κυκλεύσαντος τῷ αὐτῷ μηνὶ τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ παλατίου κατήγαγον. 56. Τῆς δὲ πόλεως Ἐδέσης, ἐν ᾗ τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τίμιον ἐκμαγεῖον ἀπέκειτο, παρὰ τοῦ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ