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
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, the Scythians, not bearing the charge of the cavalry phalanx, and being encircled by the Magister Bardas, whose surname was Skleros (for he with the multitude following him made the encirclement), turned to flight, and being trampled all the way to the rampart, fell ingloriously. And Svyatoslav himself nearly was taken, having become bloodless and struck by missiles, had not the coming of night saved him. And it is said that in this battle fifteen thousand five hundred Scythians were killed, and twenty thousand shields were taken, and very many swords. And of the Romans, three hundred and fifty were killed, and many were wounded. But such a victory did the Romans win in this contest. But Svyatoslav, throughout the whole night being heavy-hearted at the slaughter of his own army, was distressed and writhed with rage. But being no longer strong enough to prevail against an invincible host, he decided, it being the task of a prudent general, when caught in dreadful straits, not to succumb to sorrows, but to try by every means to save those under him. And indeed at dawn, having sent ambassadors to the emperor John, he asked for pledges for treaties, on the condition that the Tauroscythians would hand over Dorostolon to the Romans, and release the prisoners, and withdraw from Moesia, and return to their own fatherland; and that the Romans would grant them their departure by sea, and not 156 attack them while underway with fire-bearing ships (for they were exceptionally afraid of the Median fire, which was able to burn even stones to ash); and in addition to these things to supply provisions, and to consider them friends, when sent to Byzantium for trade, as had been the custom from of old. 11. And the emperor, gladly accepting such terms of reconciliation (for he honored peace especially above battle; for he knew that the one saved the people, while the other on the contrary destroyed them), concluded the agreements and the truces, and gave grain, measuring out two medimnoi for each man. And they say that the men who received the grain were twenty-two thousand, who out of the sixty thousand of the Russian army had then escaped destruction; for the Roman spear had struck down thirty-eight thousand. After the truce had been settled, Svyatoslav requested to come together with the emperor for a parley. And he, without any hesitation, having armed himself in all-golden panoply, arrived on horseback beside the bank of the Ister, bringing with him a squadron of ten thousand armed horsemen bearing gold. And Svyatoslav came, sailing along the river in a certain Scythian boat, grasping the oar and rowing with the others, as one of the rest. And in appearance he was of this sort: of moderate height, neither raised to an undue tallness, nor contracted to shortness; with thick eyebrows, having grey-blue eyes, a snub nose, 157 shaven of his beard, but on his upper lip wearing thick and long-hanging hair excessively. And his head was completely shaven; but on one side of it hung a lock of hair, signifying the nobility of his lineage; well-built in the neck, broad in the chest, and in his other bodily form very well-proportioned; and he appeared somewhat sullen and wild. And from one of his ears hung a golden earring, adorned with two pearls, with a carbuncle stone between them. His garment was white, differing in no way from the others except for
συνεπεραίνετο. ιʹ. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ, τῷ προπορευομένῳ θείῳ ἀνδρὶ ἐφεπόμενοι, 155 τοῖς ἐναντίοις συμπλέκονται, καὶ καρτερᾶς μάχης
συστάσης, οὐκ ἐνεγκόντες τὴν τῆς ἱππικῆς φάλαγγος οἱ Σκύθαι ῥοπὴν, κυκλωθέντες τε πρὸς τοῦ Μαγίστρου Βάρδα, ᾧ Σκληρὸς ἡ ἐπίκλησις
(ἐκεῖνος γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ συνεπομένου πλήθους τὴν κύκλωσιν ἐποιήσατο), εἰς φυγὴν ἔκλιναν, καὶ μέχρι τοῦ περιβόλου συμπατούμενοι,
ἀκλεῶς ἔπιπτον. μικροῦ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σφενδοσθλάβος ἐλήφθη, ἔξαιμος γεγονὼς καὶ καταβελὴς, εἰ μὴ ἡ νὺξ ἐπελθοῦσα τοῦτον διέσωσεν.
λέγεται δὲ παρὰ ταύτην τὴν μάχην πέντε καὶ δέκα χιλιάδας πρὸς τοῖς πεντακοσίοις ἀναιρεθῆναι Σκυθῶν, ληφθῆναι δὲ δισμυρίαν
ἀσπίδα, καὶ ξίφη πάμπολλα. Ῥωμαίων δὲ τριακοσίους ἀποκτανθῆναι πρὸς τοῖς πεντήκοντα, τρωθῆναι δὲ συχνούς. ἀλλὰ τοιαύτην μὲν
Ῥωμαῖοι τὴν νίκην παρὰ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἠνέγκαντο τουτονί. ὁ δὲ Σφενδοσθλάβος, παρ' ὅλην τὴν νύκτα βαρυθυμῶν ἐπὶ τῇ κατακοπῇ τῆς
ἑαυτοῦ στρατιᾶς, ἤσχαλλε μὲν καὶ ἐσφάδαζε τῷ θυμῷ. μὴ ἐξισχύων δ' ἔτι πρὸς ἀκαταγώνιστον ἀνύττειν πανστρατιὰν, ἔγνω, στρατηγοῦ
νοῦν ἔχοντος ἔργον εἶναι, ἐν ἀμηχάνοις καταληφθέντα δεινοῖς, μὴ καταπίπτειν τοῖς λυπηροῖς, παντὶ δὲ τρόπῳ διασώζειν πειρᾶσθαι
τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτόν. καὶ δῆτα παρὰ τὴν ἕω πρέσβεις ὡς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα Ἰωάννην στείλας, πίστεις ᾔτει ξυμβάσεων, ἐπὶ τῷ, Ταυροσκύθας
μὲν τό, τε ∆ορύστολον ἐγχειρίσαι Ῥωμαίοις, καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἀπολύσαι, καὶ Μυσίας ἀφέξεσθαι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν σφῶν ἀναζεῦξαι
πατρίδα· Ῥωμαίους δὲ παραχωρῆσαι αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀπόπλου, καὶ μὴ 156 ἐναγομένοις ἐπιτεθήσεσθαι μετὰ τῶν πυρφόρων νεῶν (ἐκτόπως
γὰρ ἐδεδίεσαν τὸ Μηδικὸν πῦρ, δυνάμενον καὶ τοὺς λίθους ἀποτεφροῦν)· ἐπισιτισμόν τε πρὸς τούτοις ἐπιχορηγῆσαι, καὶ φίλους
ἡγεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς, κατ' ἐμπορίαν πρὸς τὸ Βυζάντιον στελλομένους, καθάπερ ἀνέκαθεν ἔθιμον ἦν. ιαʹ. Βασιλεὺς δὲ, τὰς τοιαύτας
ἄσμενος διαλλαγὰς προσδεξάμενος (εἰρήνην γὰρ διαφερόντως τῆς μάχης ἐτίμα· τὴν μὲν γὰρ ᾔδει τοὺς λαοὺς διασώζουσαν, τὴν δὲ
τοὔμπαλιν διαφθείρουσαν), τάς τε ξυνθήκας ἐτέλει καὶ τὰς σπονδὰς, καὶ σῖτον ἐδίδου, ἑκάστῳ ἀνδρὶ μετρῶν ἀνὰ μεδίμνων δύο.
εἶναι δὲ τοὺς εἰληφότας τὸν σῖτόν φασιν ἄνδρας δισμυρίους πρὸς τοῖς δισχιλίοις, οἳ ἐκ τῶν ἑξήκοντα χιλιάδων τῆς Ῥωσικῆς στρατιᾶς
τότε τὸν ὄλεθρον ἔφυγον· τὰς γὰρ τριάκοντα καὶ ὀκτὼ χιλιάδας ἡ Ῥωμαϊκὴ αἰχμὴ κατηκόντισε. μετὰ δὲ τὸ προβῆναι τὰς σπονδὰς,
εἰς ὁμιλίαν ὁ Σφενδοσθλάβος τῷ βασιλεῖ συνελθεῖν ἐξαιτεῖ. ὁ δὲ, μηδὲν ἀναδὺς, διαχρύσῳ πανοπλίᾳ καθοπλισθεὶς, ἔφιππος παρὰ
τὴν ὄχθην τοῦ Ἴστρου ἀφίκετο, μυρίανδρον ἴλην χρυσοφορούντων ἐνόπλων ἱππέων συνεπαγόμενος. καὶ ὁ Σφενδοσθλάβος δὲ ἧκεν ἐπί
τινος Σκυθικοῦ ἀκατίου παραπλέων τὸν ποταμὸν, τῆς κώπης ἡμμένος καὶ σὺν τοῖς ἑτέροις ἐρέττων, ὡς εἷς τῶν λοιπῶν. τὴν δὲ ἰδέαν
τοιόσδε τις ἦν· τὴν ἡλικίαν μεμετρημένος, οὔτε εἰς ὕψος παρὰ τοῦ εἰκότος ἠρμένος, οὔτε εἰς βραχύτητα συστελλόμενος· δασεῖς
τὰς ὀφρῦς, γλαυκοὺς ἔχων τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, τὴν ῥῖνα σιμὸς, 157 ἐψιλωμένος τὸν πώγωνα, τῷ ἄνωθεν χείλει δασείαις καὶ εἰς μῆκος
καθειμέναις θριξὶ κομῶν περιττῶς. τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν πάνυ ἐψίλωτο· παρὰ δὲ θάτερον μέρος αὐτῆς βόστρυχος ἀπῃώρητο, τὴν τοῦ γένους
ἐμφαίνων εὐγένειαν· εὐπαγὴς τὸν αὐχένα, τὰ στέρνα εὐρὺς, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην διάπλασιν εὖ μάλα διηρθρωμένος· σκυθρωπὸς δέ τις καὶ
θηριώδης ἐδείκνυτο. θατέρῳ δὲ τῶν ὤτων χρύσειον ἐξῆπτο ἐνώτιον, δυσὶ μαργάροις κεκοσμημένον, ἄνθρακος λίθου αὐτοῖς μεσιτεύοντος.
ἐσθὴς τούτῳ λευκὴ, οὐδέν τι τῶν ἑτέρων ὑπαλλάττουσα ἢ
