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-havened and well-wintered seaport and outer harbor), setting out from there, he proceeded on his way and besieged the coastal towns. At this very time, when the month of August was beginning, a comet star appeared, a divine and new thing, surpassing human reason. For nothing of the sort had been seen in these generations, nor had it happened before to appear for so many days. This star, rising from the northeast, and lifting up to its greatest height, towering like a cypress tree, then gently curving, inclined towards the south, blazing with immense fire, and sending forth far-shining and brilliant rays, appearing to men as a thing full of terror and dread. And appearing, as I said, from the beginning of the month of August, it made its appearance for eighty whole days, rising from the middle of the night, and being seen until broad daylight. And the emperor, having observed the unusual prodigy, asked those who were engaged in the 169 observation of celestial phenomena what this extraordinary thing might mean. But they, not as their art allowed them to infer, but according to the emperor’s wish, misinterpreted the appearance of the comet, promising that there would be for him victory over his enemies and length of days. And those who misinterpreted these things were Symeon, the Logothete and Magister, and Stephen, the proedros of Nicomedia, men who were more renowned among the wise men of that time. But the appearance of the comet did not signify these things, which the men suggested to the emperor to please him, but grievous rebellions, and invasions of nations, and civil strifes, and migrations of cities and lands, famines and plagues, and dreadful earthquakes, and almost the utter destruction of the Roman dominion, which things we have seen from the outcome of events. 7. For after the departure of the emperor John from the body, Bardas Magister, surnamed Skleros, suffering from a love of power and greed, and having resorted to deceit and having tricked the large and simple-minded crowd, planned a terrible rebellion against the rulers; for a period of four years he overran Asia, burning countries, and overthrowing cities, and the Roman force, which was drawn up in opposition to him in hostile battle-array, he routed and cruelly slaughtered; on the one hand, when it was led by the Patrician Peter and Stratopedarch, when the battle was joined in the plain of Lapara (this is on the border of the country of the Armenians), at which time the Patrician Peter himself, having been struck by a spear and thrown from his horse, breathed his last right on 170 the battle line, since a great many of his shield-bearers were slain with him; on the other hand, when it was led by Bardas Magister Phokas, who, having been girded with the rank of Domestic of the Schools by the rulers, drew up in battle against Skleros at Pagkaleia. This is a plain fit for cavalry, near Amorion. There indeed, in the midst of the battle, Phokas, having been struck on the head with a club, was both thrown from his horse and cast to the ground; and he would have been captured by the enemy and ingloriously perished, if he had not been overlooked by his foes as one of the many, they not having recognized him, and the coming of night saved him. But Skleros, elated and puffed up by such victories, was considered irresistible and invincible. From there he subdued by war Nicaea, and Abydos, and Attaleia, and made the Roman dominion of Asia his own; and he acquired a great many triremes, and ruling the sea he greatly harmed the merchants, and even the ruling city itself, not allowing the grain ships to sail up to it at

τὴν ἤπειρον ἐρυμνοῖς περιείληπται, ἐπὶ λόφου τινὸς ἀποτόμου διατείνουσα· κατὰ θάτερον δὲ μέρος θαλάσσῃ περικλύζεται, ἐπίνειον καὶ προκόλπιον προβαλλομένῃ εὔορμον καὶ εὐχείμερον), ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάρας, τὰς παραλίους πολίχνας ὁδῷ προβαίνων ἐξεπολιόρκει. κατὰ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν καιρὸν, Αὔγουστος δὲ μὴν ἦγεν ἀρχὴν, κομήτης ἐξεφάνη ἀστὴρ, χρῆμα θεῖόν τι καὶ καινὸν, λογισμὸν ὑπερβαῖνον ἀνθρώπινον. οὐδὲ γὰρ τοιοῦτόν τι κατὰ ταύτας ὤφθη τὰς γενεὰς, οὐδ' ἐπὶ τοσαύτας ἡμέρας ἐπιφαίνειν τὸ πρόσθεν συμβέβηκεν. οὗτος ἀπ' ἀνατολῆς βορειότερος ἀνίσχων, καὶ εἰς ὕψος ὅ,τι πλεῖστον αἰρόμενος, ὡς κυπάριττός τε ὑψούμενος, εἶτα ἠρέμα κυρτούμενος, πρὸς μεσημβρίαν ἀπένευεν, ἀπλέτῳ πυρὶ ἐκκαιόμενος, καὶ τηλαυγεῖς καὶ λαμπρὰς τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἐπαφιεὶς, πρᾶγμα δείματος καὶ φρίκης γέμον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁρώμενος. ἀπ' ἀρχῆς δὲ μηνὸς Αὐγούστου, ὡς ἔφην, φανεὶς, ἐφ' ὅλαις ἡμέραις ἐπεποίητο τὴν ἐπιτολὴν ὀγδοήκοντα, ἀπὸ μέσων ἀνίσχων νυκτῶν, καὶ μέχρι σταθηρᾶς ἡμέρας ὁρώμενος. βασιλεὺς δὲ, τὸ ἀσύνηθες τεράστιον κατιδὼν, τοὺς περὶ τὴν τῶν μετεώρων ἐσχολακότας ἠρώτα 169 παρατήρησιν, ὅ,τι δὴ καὶ βούλοιτο τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐξαίσιον. οἱ δὲ, οὐχ ὡς ἡ τέχνη παρεῖχε τεκμαίρεσθαι, τρὸς δὲ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως βούλημα, τὴν τοῦ κομήτου παρεξηγοῦντο ἐπιτολὴν, νίκην τε αὐτῷ κατ' ἐχθρῶν καὶ μακρότητα ἡμερῶν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι ἔσεσθαι. ἤστην δὲ οἱ ταῦτα παρεξηγούμενοι Συμεώνης τε, ὁ Λογοθέτης καὶ Μάγιστρος, καὶ ὁ τῆς Νικομηδείας πρόεδρος Στέφανος, ἄνδρες τῶν τότε σοφῶν ὄντες ἐλλογιμώτεροι. ἀλλ' οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἡ τοῦ κομήτου παρεδήλου ἐπιτολὴ, ἃ πρὸς χάριν οἱ ἄνδρες τῷ αὐτοκράτορι ὑπηγόρευον, ἀποστασίας δὲ χαλεπὰς, ἐθνῶν τε ἐπιδρομὰς, καὶ ἐμφυλίους στάσεις, καὶ μεταναστάσεις πόλεων καὶ χώρων, λιμοὺς καὶ λοιμοὺς, καὶ φρικώδεις σεισμοὺς, καὶ πανολεθρίαν σχεδὸν τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐπικρατείας, ἅπερ ἡμεῖς ἐκ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἐκβάσεως εἴδομεν. ζʹ. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος Ἰωάννου ἐκδημίαν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, Βάρδας Μάγιστρος, ὁ κατ' ἐπωνυμίαν Σκληρὸς, φιλαρχίαν καὶ ἀπληστίαν νοσῶν, ἀπάτῃ δὲ μετελθὼν καὶ φενακίσας τὸν πολὺν ὄχλον καὶ εὔκολον, ἀποστασίαν δεινὴν κατὰ τῶν κρατούντων ἐμελέτησεν· ἐπὶ τετραετῆ τε ἐνιαυτὸν τὴν Ἀσίαν κατέδραμε, χώρας πυρπολῶν, καὶ πόλεις καταστρεφόμενος, τήν τε Ῥωμαϊκὴν δύναμιν, ἐξ ἀντιπάλου παρατάξεως ἀντιτασσομένην αὑτῷ, τρεπόμενος καὶ κατακαίνων ὠμῶς· τοῦτο μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρικίου Πέτρου καὶ τρατοπεδάρχου δημαγωγουμένην, ὅτε κατὰ τὴν Λάπαραν τὸ πεδίον (μεθόριον δὲ τοῦτο τῆς χώρας τῶν Ἀρμενίων) ἡ μάχη συνεκροτεῖτο, ὁπηνίκα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Πατρίκιος Πέτρος, δορατίῳ βληθεὶς καὶ τοῦ ἵππου κατενεχθεὶς, παρ' αὐτὴν 170 ἐξέπνευσε τὴν παράταξιν, πλείστων ὅτι τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν συναναιρεθέντων αὐτῷ· τοῦτο δὲ ὑπὸ Βάρδα Μαγίστρου τοῦ Φωκᾶ, ὃς πρὸς τῶν κρατούντων τὸ τοῦ ∆ομεστίκου τῶν Σχολῶν ὑποζωσάμενος ἀξίωμα, ἀντίπαλος τῷ Σκληρῷ κατὰ τὴν Παγκάλειαν παρετάξατο. ἱππήλατον τοῦτο πεδίον, τῷ Ἀμωρίῳ προσέγγιον. ὅπου δὴ καὶ παρὰ τὸ μεταίχμιον ῥάβδῳ κατὰ τοῦ κρανίου πληγεὶς ὁ Φωκᾶς, τοῦ ἵππου τε κατενέχθη καὶ εἰς γῆν κατεβλήθη· καὶ κἂν ἥλω τῶν ἐναντίων καὶ ἀκλεῶς παραπώλετο, εἰ μὴ ὡς εἷς τῶν πολλῶν παρώφθη παρὰ τῶν δυσμενῶν, ἠγνοηκότων αὐτὸν, ἐπελθοῦσα δὲ ἡ νὺξ τοῦτον διέσωσεν. ὁ δὲ Σκληρὸς, ταῖς τοιαύταις νίκαις ἐπαρθείς τε καὶ φρενωθεὶς, ἀνυπόστατός τις καὶ ἀκαταγώνιστος ἐνομίζετο. ἐντεῦθεν τήν τε Νίκαιαν, καὶ Ἄβυδον, καὶ Ἀττάλειαν τῷ πολεμεῖν παρεστήσατο, καὶ τὴν τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπεποιήσατο Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἐπικράτειαν· καὶ πλείστας τριήρεις προσείληφε, καὶ θαλασσοκρατῶν μεγάλα τοὺς ἐμπόρους ἐσίνετο, καὶ αὐτὴν ἤδη τὴν βασιλεύουσαν, τὰς σιτηγοὺς φορτίδας οὐκ ἐῶν εἰς αὐτὴν ἀναπλέειν κατὰ