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

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, numbering sixty thousand men, drew up in battle against the Romans. But while the emperor was making his approach towards them rather slowly, some of the more reckless, incited by a rash boldness, broke away from the Rus phalanx, lay in ambush, and indeed attacked and killed some of the scouts from their hiding place. When the emperor caught sight of their bodies thrown beside the path, he reined in his horse, and lamenting the loss of his countrymen, 140 he ordered a search for those who had done this. And when the foot-companions had swiftly scoured the woods and thickets, and had captured those warriors, and had brought them bound into the sight of the emperor, he commanded that they be cut down with the sword on the spot. And they, without any delay, cut them all to pieces with their swords. As the armies had just come together in the area before Dorystolon, which they were also accustomed to call Dristra, the Tauro-Scythians, having packed their phalanxes with spears and shields, and having formed them like a tower, awaited the enemy at the battle line. But the emperor drew up the Romans opposite them, and stationed the iron-clad cavalry on the other wing, and posted the archers and slingers behind, and having ordered them to shoot frequently, he led the phalanx forward. 10. And when the armies clashed hand-to-hand with each other, and the battle raged fiercely, the contest was for a time evenly balanced between both sides in the first engagements. For the Rus, considering it a terrible and dreadful thing if, having a reputation among the neighboring nations for always prevailing over their adversaries in battles, they should now be shamefully defeated by the Romans and lose it, fought with all their might. But for the Romans, a certain sense of shame and indignation entered them, if, having subdued every opponent with their arms and their own valor, they should now depart, defeated by a nation of foot soldiers that knew nothing at all of riding horses, as if they were untrained in the deeds of battle, and 141 so much glory would be gone for them in an instant. So the armies, cherishing such thoughts among themselves, fought on courageously; and the Rus, led by their innate savagery and rage, rushed with force against the Romans, as if possessed and roaring; but the Romans advanced against them with experience and tactical skill. And many fell on both sides, and until late evening victory seemed to hang in the balance, as the battle shifted back and forth. But as the morning star was already descending towards the west, the emperor hurled the cavalry against them with all his might, and shouting for them, being Romans, to show their valor in their deeds, he bolstered the spirits of the men. For they charged with extraordinary force, and the trumpeters sounded the battle-cry, and a simultaneous shout was raised by the Romans. But the Scythians, unable to withstand their momentum, turned to flight and were pushed back to the wall, having lost many of their own in this battle. And the Romans, having sung the songs of victory, held the emperor in acclamations; and he then showed favor to them with distributions of offices and handshakes at feasts, and made them more eager for the battles. 142 THE HISTORY OF LEO THE DEACON 9.

τὴν δ' ἄλλην πληθὺν πεδήσας συνέκλεισεν ἐν εἱρκταῖς. αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν τῶν Ταυροσκυθῶν πανοπλίαν συναγαγὼν, εἰς ἑξήκοντα χιλιάδας συναγομένην ἀνδρῶν, Ῥωμαίοις ἀντετάξατο. ἐν ᾧ δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς σχολαιότερον τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπεποίητο ἄφιξιν, τινὲς παραβόλῳ τόλμῃ παρακροτούμενοι τῶν θρασυτέρων, τῆς Ῥωσικῆς ἀποῤῥαγέντες φάλαγγος, ἐς λόχον ἐκάθιζον, καὶ δὴ τῶν προδρόμων τινὰς ἐκ τοῦ ἀφανοῦς ἐπελάσαντες ἔκτειναν. ὧν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐῤῥιμμένα παρὰ τὴν ἀταρπιτὸν τὰ πτώματα κατιδὼν, τῷ ῥυτῆρι τὸν ἵππον ἐπισχὼν, σχετλιάσας τε τὴν τῶν ὁμοεθνῶν ἀπώλειαν, 140 ἀνιχνεύειν τοὺς τοῦτο δεδρακότας ἐκέλευε. τῶν δὲ πεζεταίρων τοὺς δρυμοὺς καὶ τὰς λόχμας καταδραμόντων σπουδῇ, καὶ τοὺς πελάτας ἐκείνους συνειληφότων, εἰς ὄψιν τε πεπεδημένους παραγαγόντων τῷ βασιλεῖ, αὐθωρὸν κατασπαθίζειν τούτους προσέταττεν. οἱ δὲ, μηδὲν μελλήσαντες, ξίφεσιν ἄρδην ἐμέλισαν ἅπαντας. ἄρτι δὲ τῶν στρατευμάτων ἐς τὸν πρὸ τοῦ ∆ορυστόλου χῶρον συνελθόντων, ὃ καὶ ∆ρίστραν κικλήσκειν εἰώθεσαν, Ταυροσκύθαι μὲν ἔγχεσι καὶ θυρεοῖς τὰς φάλαγγας πυκνώσαντες, καὶ οἷον πυργώσαντες, τοὺς δυσμενεῖς παρὰ τὸ μεταίχμιον ἔμενον. Ῥωμαίους δὲ κατὰ μέτωπον ἀντιτάξας ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ τοὺς πανσιδήρους ἱππότας κατὰ θάτερον κέρας παραστησάμενος, τούς τε τοξότας καὶ σφενδονήτας ἐξόπισθεν ἐπιστήσας, καὶ θαμινὰ βάλλειν ἐγκελευσάμενος, ἐπῆγε τὴν φάλαγγα. ιʹ. Τῶν δὲ στρατοπέδων εἰς χεῖρας ἀλλήλοις συναραχθέντων, καὶ σφοδρᾶς τῆς μάχης καταῤῥαγείσης, ἰσοπαλὴς παρὰ τὰς πρώτας προσβολὰς ὁ ἀγὼν τέως ἐν ἀμφοτέροις ἐγίνετο. Ῥῶς μὲν γὰρ δεινόν που καὶ σχέτλιον τιθέμενοι, εἰ δόξαν παρὰ τῶν προσοίκων ἐθνῶν ἔχοντες, ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ἀεὶ τῶν ἀντιπάλων κρατεῖν, νῦν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων αἰσχρῶς ἡττηθέντες ταύτης ἐκπέσοιεν, ἐκθύμως διηγωνίζοντο. Ῥωμαίοις δὲ αἰδώς τις εἰσῄει καὶ νέμεσις, εἰ τὸ ἀντίξουν ἅπαν ὅπλοις καὶ τῇ σφῶν ἀρετῇ καταστρεφόμενοι, νῦν ἀπέλθοιεν, παρὰ πεζομαχοῦντος ἔθνους, ἱππάζεσθαι μηδόλως εἰδότος, καταγωνισθέντες, ὥς τινες ἔργων μάχης ἀνάσκητοι, καὶ 141 τοσοῦτον αὑτοῖς ἐν ἀκαρεῖ κλέος οἰχήσεται. τὰς τοιαύτας δὴ δόξας παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ἐντρέφοντα τὰ στρατεύματα θαῤῥαλέως διηγωνίζοντο· καὶ Ῥῶς μὲν τῇ συντρόφῳ θηριωδίᾳ καὶ τῷ θυμῷ στρατηγούμενοι, μετὰ ῥύμης κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐφήλλοντο, οἷον ἐνθουσιῶντες καὶ βρυχώμενοι· Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ μετ' ἐμπειρίας καὶ τεχνικῆς ἐπιστήμης αὐτοῖς ἀντεπῄεσαν. καὶ συχνοὶ παρ' ἀμφοτέρων ἔπιπτον τῶν μερῶν, καὶ μέχρι μὲν δείλης βαθείας ἀμφιτάλαντος ἡ νίκη ἐδόκει, τῇδε κἀκεῖσε μεταφερομένης τῆς μάχης. ἤδη δὲ τοῦ φωσφόρου καταφερομένου πρὸς δυσμὰς, τὴν ἵππον ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ κράτος αὐτοῖς ἐπιῤῥάξας, ἐμβοήσας τε, Ῥωμαίους ὄντας ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων τὴν σφῶν ἀρετὴν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐπέῤῥωσε τὰ φρονήματα. ἐπέβρισαν γὰρ ἐκτόπῳ φορᾷ, καὶ οἱ σαλπιγκταὶ τὸ ἐνυάλιον ἐπηλάλαξαν, καὶ βοή τις ἀθρόα παρὰ Ῥωμαίων ἤρθη. Σκύθαι δὲ, τὴν τούτων οὐκ ἐνεγκόντες ῥοπὴν, ἐς φυγὴν ἔκλιναν καὶ πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος συνώσθησαν, πολλοὺς τῶν σφετέρων παρὰ ταύτην ἀποβαλόντες τὴν μάχην. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ, τὰ ἐπινίκια παιωνίσαντες, ἐν εὐφημίαις εἶχον τὸν αὐτοκράτορα· ὁ δὲ ἀξιωμάτων τότε διανομαῖς καὶ δεξιώσεσιν ἑστιάσεων ἐφιλοφρονεῖτο τούτους, καὶ προθυμοτέρους ἐπὶ τὰς μάχας εἰργάζετο. 142 ΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ ∆ΙΑΚΟΝΟΥ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ Θ.