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The provincial commanders, who had been allotted to guard the wall near Blachernae, brought in Apsimar from there, and this after they had been entrusted with the keys of the gates of that wall under dreadful oaths. Therefore, having entered in this way, the men of the fleet plundered the houses of the citizens 235. But Apsimar cut off Leontius' nose and put him under guard, after he had reigned for three years; and as for the magistrates who had supported him, after beating them and depriving them of their property, he exiled them. And so Apsimar, or Tiberius, thus gained control of the empire, and immediately, having appointed his own brother Heraclius sole general of all the cavalry and infantry forces, he sends him to the east to oppose the Hagarenes. The Romans therefore overran Syria and arrived as far as Samosata, having plundered all the surrounding areas, and they killed very many of the Hagarenes, and taking very many captive and other untold booty, they instilled great fear in the Arabs. But Baanes, nicknamed Heptadaimon, betrayed the fourth Armenia to the Arabs. Then the rulers of Armenia, having rebelled against the Hagarenes, killed them, and sent word to Apsimar and again received the Romans into the 236 country. But Muḥammad, having come against them, has made Armenia again subject to the Hagarenes and burned the leaders of the Armenians alive. At that time the Hagarenes also campaigned against Cilicia; the emperor's kinsman Heraclius joined battle with them, put the greater number to the sword, and having taken the rest alive, sent them as prisoners to the emperor. But he exiled Philippicus, the son of the patrician Nicephorus, to Cephalonia, because in a dream it seemed that his head was overshadowed by an eagle. But Justinian, confined in Cherson, as has been said, was able to escape from there and go to the ruler of the Khazars, the Khagan; and having been received by him most honorably, he married his sister Theodora, and a little later, having departed from there, he stayed in another country with his wife. And Apsimar sent to the Khagan, promising to give him much money, if he would send him the 237 head of Justinian. And he agreed, and having sent two of his familiars, he secretly instructed them to kill Justinian; Theodora, having learned this through a slave, reports it to her husband. But he, having privately summoned those instructed to kill him, deprives each of them of life by strangling; and he sent Theodora to Khazaria, but he himself, having embarked on a fishing boat, sailed away, going to Tervel, the exarch of the Bulgars. And when a great storm overtook him while sailing, the small boat was in danger of sinking. And when those sailing with him advised him to vow to God that, if he should be saved and recover his rule, he would inflict no evil on those who had acted against him, he said, "If I spare any one of them, may I be drowned right here." Therefore, having been saved, and having gone to the ruler of the Bulgars and given him very many gifts, and moreover promising to give him others, if by him he should be restored to his ancestral empire, and promising to join his daughter in marriage to him, with him he reached the queen of cities with a heavy barbarian force, and having encamped 238 before the walls he made overtures to the citizens, speaking to them as they peered out from the wall. But they not only did not admit him, but also poured outrageous insults upon him. Therefore, at night, having slipped inside through the aqueduct, he came up into the city and became master of it. But Apsimar, having fled to Apollonias, was captured. Therefore, having given many gifts to the ruler of the Bulgars and having made treaties of peace with him, he arranged for him to depart. And when Apsimar and his brother Heraclius were brought to him, and Leontius as well, he hanged Heraclius along with many others on gallows beside the walls, but Apsimar and Leontius as prisoners

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ἐπαρχεωτῶν ἀρχόντων τὸ κατὰ Βλαχέρνας τεῖχος φυλάσσειν λαχόντες, ἐκεῖθεν εἰσήγαγον τὸν Ἀψίμαρον, καὶ ταῦτα μεθ' ὅρκων φρικτῶν τὰς κλεῖς ἐμπιστευθέντες τῶν τοῦ τείχους ἐκείνου πυλῶν. εἰσελθόντες οὖν οὕτως οἱ τοῦ στόλου τὰς οἰκίας τῶν πολιτῶν 235 ἐληίσαντο. ὁ δὲ Ἀψίμαρος τὸν μὲν Λεόντιον ἀφείλετο τῆς ῥινὸς καὶ ὑπὸ φυλακὴν ἐποιήσατο, βασιλεύσαντα ἔτη τρία, τοὺς δὲ αὐτῷ συναιρομένους ἐκ τῶν ἀρχόντων τυπτήσας καὶ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων στερήσας ὑπερορίους ἐποίησε. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Ἀψίμαρος ἢ Τιβέριος οὕτω τῆς βασιλείας ἐκράτησεν, αὐτίκα δὲ τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφὸν Ἡράκλειον πάντων τῶν ἱππικῶν καὶ πεζῶν στρατευμάτων στρατηγὸν μονώτατον προβαλόμενος στέλλει πρὸς ἕω τοῖς Ἀγαρηνοῖς ἀντιτάττεσθαι. κατέδραμον οὖν τὴν Συρίαν Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ μέχρι Σαμοσάτων ἀφίκοντο, τὰ πέριξ ἅπαντα προνομεύσαντες, καὶ πολλοὺς σφόδρα τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν διεχρήσαντο, καὶ δορυαλώτου ἑλόντες πλείστους καὶ λείαν ἄλλην ἀμύθητον φόβον μέγαν τοῖς Ἄραψιν ἐνεποίησαν. Βαάνης δέ, ᾧ Ἑπταδαίμων ἐπίκλησις, τὴν τετάρτην Ἀρμενίαν τοῖς Ἄραψι προύδωκεν. εἶτα οἱ ἄρχοντες Ἀρμενίας κατὰ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν στασιάσαντες ἐκείνους μὲν ἔκτειναν, πρὸς δὲ τὸν Ἀψίμαρον διεπέμψαντο καὶ Ῥωμαίους αὖθις εἰς τὴν 236 χώραν ἐδέξαντο. ἀλλ' ὁ Μοάμεδ κατ' αὐτῶν ἐπελθὼν ὑπὸ τοὺς Ἀγαρηνοὺς καὶ πάλιν τὴν Ἀρμενίαν πεποίηκε καὶ τοὺς τῶν Ἀρμενίων προέχοντας ζῶντας κατέκαυσε. τότε καὶ κατὰ τῆς Κιλικίας Ἀγαρηνοὶ ἐπεστράτευσαν, οἷς συμβαλὼν ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως ὁμαίμων Ἡράκλειος τοὺς μὲν πλείονας μαχαίρας ἔργον εἰργάσατο, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ζωγρήσας δεσμίους τῷ κρατοῦντι ἐξέπεμψε. Φιλιππικὸν δὲ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ πατρικίου Νικηφόρου βασιλειῶντα, ὅτι κατ' ὄναρ ἔδοξε τὴν αὐτοῦ κεφαλὴν σκιάζεσθαι ὑπὸ ἀετοῦ, εἰς Κεφαληνίαν ἐξώρισεν. Ἰουστινιανὸς δὲ ἐν Χερσῶνι, ὡς εἴρηται, περιορισθεὶς ἠδυνήθη διαδρᾶναι ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τῷ Χαζάρων ἀρχηγῷ Χαγάνῳ προσελθεῖν καὶ δεχθεὶς παρ' ἐκείνου φιλοτιμότατα τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτοῦ ἔγημε Θεοδώραν καὶ μετ' ὀλίγον ἐκεῖθεν ἀπελθὼν εἰς ἄλλην χώραν μετὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ διέτριβε γυναικός. καὶ ὁ Ἀψίμαρος διεπέμψατο πρὸς τὸν Χαγάνον, χρήματα δώσειν αὐτῷ πολλὰ ὑπισχνούμενος, εἰ στείλειεν αὐτῷ τὴν τοῦ Ἰουστινιανοῦ 237 κεφαλήν. καὶ ὃς συνέθετο καὶ δύο τινὰς τῶν ᾠκειωμένων αὐτῷ στείλας ἐν ἀπορρήτοις ἐνετείλατο τὸν Ἰουστινιανὸν ἀνελεῖν· ὃ διὰ δούλου μαθοῦσα ἡ Θεοδώρα τῷ ἀνδρὶ καταγγέλλει. ὁ δὲ τοὺς ἐνταλθέντας αὐτὸν ἀνελεῖν ἰδίᾳ προσκαλεσάμενος ἕκαστον ἀγχόνῃ στερίσκει τοῦ· ζῆν καὶ τὴν μὲν Θεοδώραν εἰς Χαζαρίαν ἐξέπεμψεν, αὐτὸς δὲ εἰς ἁλιάδα ἐμβεβηκὼς ἀπέπλευσε, πρὸς Τέρβελιν ἀπιὼν τὸν τῶν Βουλγάρων ἐξάρχοντα. κλύδωνος δὲ μεγάλου κατειληφότος αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ πλέειν, καταδῦναι τὸ πλοιάριον ἐκινδύνευε. τῶν δὲ συμπλεόντων ἐπαγγείλασθαι τῷ θεῷ συμβουλευόντων αὐτῷ, εἰ περισωθείη καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπολήψοιτο, μή τι κακὸν τοῖς κατ' αὐτοῦ γενομένοις ἐπενεγκεῖν, ἐκεῖνος "εἰ φείσομαι τούτων" ἔφη "τινός, αὐτίκα καταποντισθείην ὡδί." περισωθεὶς οὖν καὶ τῷ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἄρχοντι προσελθὼν καὶ πλεῖστα παρασχών, ἄλλα μέντοι καὶ παρέχειν ἐπαγγειλάμενος, εἰ παρ' αὐτοῦ καταχθείη πρὸς τὴν προγονικὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτῷ συζεῦξαι καθυποσχόμενος, σὺν ἐκείνῳ μετὰ βαρβαρικῆς βαρείας δυνάμεως τὴν ὑπερκειμένην κατειλήφει τῶν πόλεων καὶ πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν στρατοπε238 δευσάμενος ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν πολιτῶν, αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ τείχους προκύπτουσιν ὁμιλῶν. οἱ δὲ οὐ μόνον αὐτὸν οὐ προσίεντο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕβρεις αὐτοῦ κατέχεον πλημμελεῖς. νυκτὸς οὖν διὰ τοῦ ἀγωγοῦ εἰσδὺς ἐντὸς ἀνέδυ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ταύτης ἐγένετο ἐγκρατής. ὁ δὲ Ἀψίμαρος εἰς Ἀπολλωνιάδα φυγὼν κατελήφθη. Τῷ μὲν οὖν τῶν Βουλγάρων ἄρχοντι δῶρα πολλὰ παρασχὼν καὶ συνθήκας εἰρήνης μετ' αὐτοῦ ποιησάμενος ἀπελθεῖν αὐτὸν παρεσκεύασεν. τοῦ δὲ Ἀψιμάρου καὶ Ἡρακλείου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀχθέντων, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τοῦ Λεοντίου, τὸν μὲν Ἡράκλειον σὺν ἄλλοις πλείοσιν ἐν ξύλοις παρὰ τοῖς τείχεσιν ἀπῃώρησε, τὸν Ἀψίμαρον δέ γε καὶ τὸν Λεόντιον δεσμίους