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slaughter. It is said that his son Theodosios, while going to Chosroes, was seized and brought to Phocas and put to death, along with the empress Constantina and her three daughters, and that they were buried in the church of St. Mamas, near the wall, which Pharasmanes, a eunuch who had been a chamberlain of Justinian, had built. These heroic elegies were inscribed on her tomb: 198 I, the thrice-wretched, daughter of Tiberius, one of two emperors, and wife of Maurice, the queen with many children, who in childbirth showed how good is also a numerous reign, lie here with my children and with our husband, because of the recklessness of the people and the madness of the army. I have endured much worse than Hecuba, than Jocasta, alas, alas, I am the living corpse of Niobe. Yes, yes, by my father! Why did they kill the newborns in vain, who knew nothing of the evil of men? Rome is no longer shaded by our leaves; for the root was broken by Thracian winds. Maurice died at the age of sixty-three, having reigned for twenty years. 199 When Phocas seized power, Narses revolted and occupied Edessa. By order of Phocas, Germanus fought against Narses, who was allied with Chosroes, and was defeated; and having been wounded, he died after some days. After this, Narses fled to the Holy City and, having received sworn pledges from the brother of Phocas, the magister Domentziolus, was sent to Phocas. But he, not at all respecting the oaths, handed him over to be burned. This Narses built the church of Saint Panteleemon and that of the holy martyrs Probus, Tarachus, and Andronicus, and the hospice there. He killed not only him, but also Peter, the brother of Maurice, and Germanus, the father-in-law of Theodosius the son of Maurice, and the daughter of Germanus and all the relatives of Maurice. Philippicus was tonsured a cleric and stayed in his monastery in Chrysopolis. Phocas also killed many others and punished them with harsh penalties. When Cyriacus the patriarch died, eleven years after he had been ordained, Thomas, the sakellarios and deacon of the great church, became patriarch. 200 However, many kinds of evils then befell the Romans. For in the east, the Persians brought Syria and Palestine and Phoenicia under their control. They overran Armenia and Cappadocia and Paphlagonia and Galatia and advanced as far as Chalcedon, plundering everything. In Europe, the Avars ravaged Thrace, and the Roman armies, which were in both sectors, were destroyed; and besides, there was great mortality of men and failure of crops and destruction of animals from very harsh winters. On top of all this, the avenging spirit Phocas, when the demes mocked him at a horse race, went mad and killed many, mutilated many, and even drowned some, and handed very many over to the prefect to punish them, who were imprisoned in the praetorium. The crowds, having gathered together, burned down the praetorium, and the prisoners escaped. The Jews, having revolted in Antioch against the Christians, 201 killed many of the Antiochenes and also Anastasius, the patriarch of the city, and they burned his corpse in the marketplace. Phocas sent men and killed some, mutilated others, and drove them out of the city. However, the patriarch Thomas, after presiding over the church for three years and two months, died, and Sergius, a deacon of the great church, was brought in to replace him. Phocas joined his daughter Domnentia in marriage to Priscus the stratelates, and after the wedding, while holding a hippodrome contest, he saw images of himself displayed along with those of Priscus and his wife Domnentia, and becoming enraged, he ordered the demarchs to be beheaded. But when the demes pleaded, he barely released them. For this reason, therefore, Priscus, fearing for his life and at the same time hating the tyranny of Phocas against everyone, sought to overthrow the tyrant. And since Phocas was a womanizer and a drunkard and cruel and bloodthirsty, he was hated by

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σφαγήν. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Θεοδόσιον ἀπιόντα πρὸς Χοσρόην κατασχεθῆναι καὶ ἀχθέντα πρὸς Φωκᾶν ἀναιρεθῆναι καὶ τὴν βασίλισσαν Κωνσταντῖναν καὶ τὰς τρεῖς θυγατέρας αὐτῆς, καὶ ταφῆναι ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου Μάμαντος, τῷ πλησίον τοῦ τείχους, ὃν ἔκτισε Φαρασμάνης ἐκτομίας, ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος γεγονὼς Ἰουστινιανοῦ. ἐπεγράφησαν δὲ τῷ τάφῳ αὐτῆς τὰ ἡρωελεγεῖα ταῦτα· 198 ἅδ' ἐγὼ ἡ τριτάλαινα καὶ ἀμφοτέρων βασιλήων Τιβερίου θυγάτηρ, Μαυρικίου δὲ δάμαρ, ἡ πολύπαις βασίλεια καὶ ᾗ δείξασα λοχείῃ ὡς ἀγαθὸν τελέθει καὶ πολυκοιρανίη, κεῖμαι σὺν τεκέεσσι καὶ ἡμετέρῳ παρακοίτῃ δήμου ἀτασθαλίῃ καὶ μανίῃ στρατιῆς. τῆς Ἑκάβης ἔτλην πολὺ χείρονα, τῆς Ἰοκάστης, αἲ αἲ τῆς Νιόβης ἔμπνοός εἰμι νέκυς. ναὶ ναὶ τὸν γενέτην· τί μάτην τὰ νεογνὰ ἔκτειναν ἀνθρώπων κακίης μηδὲν ἐπιστάμενα; ἁμετέροις πετάλοισι κατάσκιος οὐκέτι Ῥώμη· ῥίζα γὰρ ἐκλάσθη Θρηικίοις ἀνέμοις. ἔθανε δὲ Μαυρίκιος ἐτῶν ἑξήκοντα καὶ τριῶν, εἴκοσι βασιλεύσας ἐνιαυτούς. 199 Φωκᾶ δὲ κρατήσαντος ὁ Ναρσῆς ἀπεστάτησε καὶ κατέσχε τὴν Ἔδεσαν. προστάξει δὲ Φωκᾶ Γερμανὸς τῷ Ναρσῇ ἀντιμαχεσάμενος συμμαχουμένῳ παρὰ Χοσρόου ἡττήθη· καὶ πληγεὶς μεθ' ἡμέρας τέθνηκε. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα καταφυγὼν εἰς τὴν Ἱερὰν πόλιν Ναρσῆς καὶ παρὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ Φωκᾶ τοῦ μαγίστρου ∆ομεντζιόλου πίστεις ἐνόρκους λαβὼν πρὸς Φωκᾶν ἀπεστάλη. ὁ δὲ μηδὲν τοὺς ὅρκους ὑποσταλεὶς πυρὶ αὐτὸν παραδέδωκεν. οὗτος ὁ Ναρσῆς τὸν τοῦ ἁγίου Παντελεήμονος ναὸν ἐδομήσατο καὶ τὸν τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων Πρόβου, Ταράχου καὶ Ἀνδρονίκου, καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ ξενῶνα. οὐ τοῦτον δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Μαυρικίου Πέτρον ἀνεῖλε, καὶ Γερμανόν, τὸν πενθερὸν Θεοδοσίου τοῦ υἱοῦ Μαυρικίου, καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ Γερμανοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Μαυρικίου συγγένειαν. Φιλιππικὸς δὲ κείρεται κληρικὸς καὶ εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ μονὴν ἐν Χρυσοπόλει διέτριβε. καὶ ἄλλους δὲ πολλοὺς ἔκτεινεν ὁ Φωκᾶς καὶ ποιναῖς ἀπηνέσιν ἐκόλαζε. Κυριακοῦ δὲ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἐκλιπόντος μετὰ ἐνιαυτοὺς ἕνδεκα ἐξότου προεχειρίσθη, πατριάρχης ἐγένετο Θωμᾶς σακελλάριος καὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας 200 διάκονος. πολυειδῆ μέντοι τότε κακὰ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους κατέλαβεν. ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ ἑῴᾳ Πέρσαι τὴν Συρίαν καὶ Παλαιστίνην καὶ Φοινίκην ὑφ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐποιήσαντο. τὴν Ἀρμενίαν δὲ καὶ Καππαδοκίαν καὶ τὴν Παφλαγονίαν καὶ Γαλατίαν κατέδραμον καὶ μέχρι Χαλκηδόνος προήλθοσαν, ἅπαντα ληιζόμενοι. ἐν δὲ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ Ἄβαροι τὴν Θρᾴκην ἐδῄωσαν, καὶ τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ στρατόπεδα, ἃ ἐν ἀμφοτέροις ἦσαν τοῖς τμήμασι, διεφθάρησαν· καὶ ἄλλως δὲ πολλὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων θνῆσις ἐγένετο καὶ ἀφορία καρπῶν καὶ ζῴων φθορὰ ἐκ βαρυτάτων χειμώνων. ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ ὁ ἀλάστωρ Φωκᾶς ἐν ἵππων ἁμίλλῃ τῶν δήμων πρὸς αὐτόν τι ἀποσκωψάντων, ἐκμανεὶς πολλοὺς μὲν ἀνεῖλε, πολλοὺς δὲ ἠκρωτηρίασεν, ἐνίους μέντοι καὶ κατεπόντωσε, πλείστους δὲ καὶ τῷ ἐπάρχῳ παρέδωκεν, ἵνα κολάσῃ αὐτούς, οἳ ἐν τῷ πραιτωρίῳ καθείρχθησαν. οἱ δὲ ὄχλοι ὁμοῦ γενόμενοι ἐνέπρησαν τὸ πραιτώριον, καὶ οἱ καθειργμένοι διέφυγον. Ἑβραῖοι δὲ στασιάσαντες ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ κατὰ χριστιανῶν 201 ἀνεῖλον τῶν Ἀντιοχέων πολλοὺς καὶ αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν πατριάρχην τῆς πόλεως Ἀναστάσιον καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν αὐτοῦ κατέκαυσαν ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ. στείλας δὲ ὁ Φωκᾶς οὓς μὲν ἀνεῖλεν, οὓς δὲ ἠκρωτηρίασε καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐξεδίωξεν. ὁ μέντοι πατριάρχης Θωμᾶς ἐπὶ τρία ἔτη καὶ μῆνας δύο τῆς ἐκκλησίας προστὰς ἐτελεύτησε, καὶ ἀντεισήχθη Σέργιος, τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας διάκονος. Τὴν θυγατέρα δὲ ὁ Φωκᾶς ∆ομνεντίαν Πρίσκῳ τῷ στρατηλάτῃ συνέζευξε καὶ μετὰ τοὺς γάμους ἱππικὸν ἀγῶνα ἄγων ἐθεάσατο σὺν ταῖς αὐτοῦ εἰκόσι καὶ τοῦ Πρίσκου καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ γυναικὸς ∆ομνεντίας ἱσταμένας εἰκόνας, καὶ ἐκμανὴς γεγονὼς ἐκτμηθῆναι τοὺς δημάρχους ἐκέλευσε. δεηθέντων δὲ τῶν δήμων μόλις ἀφῆκεν αὐτούς. ἐκ ταύτης οὖν τῆς αἰτίας ὁ Πρίσκος δεδοικὼς περὶ τῇ ζωῇ, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὴν κατὰ πάντων τοῦ Φωκᾶ τυραννίδα μισῶν, ἐζήτει καταλῦσαι τὸν τύραννον. ὢν δὲ ὁ Φωκᾶς γυναικομανής τε καὶ μέθυσος καὶ ὠμὸς καὶ αἱμοχαρὴς ἐμισήθη παρὰ