Theophanes the Confessor, Chronography

at that time, the aforementioned Bardas, who had been caught by Theophilos in some improper act, when the customary procession was taking place, was beaten sixty blows with the *manglavion* near the Horologion. And there were 175 three sisters, Kalomaria, so called by a euphemistic name, and So- phia and Irene. But Sophia was given in marriage to Constan- tine Babutzikos, and Kalomaria to Arsaber, who was then a patrician and later a *magistros*, [and Irene] to the brother of Irene, the mother of Photius who later received the patriarchal throne; with whom she also bore two sons, both Stephen the *magistros* and Bardas his brother and *magistros*, the son-in-law of the patrician Constantine and *strategos* of Sicily, the son-in-law of Kontomytes (for from there the name Kontomytes was bestowed upon him), she preserved the kinship with the patriarch Photius; for these two *magistroi* happened to be his cousins. This mother of the aforementioned men, therefore, since she had lost her first husband through death, did not choose to see a second one die in vain, but living as a widow and being with her sister in the palace, dressed in a squalid and hum- ble garment, and indeed a black one, receiving the eparch's salary from her hand, not indeed the wall tax, but also taking with her the *noumeron*, on the first of the month she would go on foot through the *Scholae* to those held in the prisons of the Chalke, the Praetorium, and the Noumera, asking each one for what reason he was locked up and arranging matters, some by herself and others through a reminder to her sister, supplying to each of the prisoners no small blessing and alms. So much for matters concerning the women's quarters. 176 23 But Bardas was entirely in charge of and administering the affairs of the empire, and more than the others was loved as a relative of the empe- ror; for this reason he also received the dignity of *kouropalates*, as a sort of prize on account of his sister, and against the Ishmaelites and Amer, as has been said, they campaigned with Michael, as he was just passing from beardless youth to manhood, with all their force and might. So when they entered the land of the enemy, they were brought to a city called Samosata, which was teeming with force and strength, and they attempted to besiege it. But they were unaware that they were not raising a hand against Theodora, but against resourceful men. For when it was the third day of their siege, which was the first and lord of days, and they were about to perform the bloodless mystery so that they might partake of the holy mysteries, suddenly, whether they were performing it without guards, or whether out of inexperience they were contemptuous of the city, thinking that no one would dare raise a hand against the emperor of the Romans, at the very hour in which they were about to partake of the divine mysteries, men having leapt out from the city with arms from all sides, there was no Roman to be seen who did not take to flight. There Michael also, having with some difficulty mounted his horse, was seen fleeing, not fighting at the front; thus he barely saved himself, having left behind there the tents themselves and all the retinue that belonged to them. There they say that the aforementioned Karbeas distinguished himself, the one who built Tephrike, 177 and that he not only wrought great destruction of the common people, but also took captive the great generals, both the *tzangotoubos* Abesalom and Sion the pala- tine, and other subordinate generals and tourmarchs up to a hund- red. So the aforementioned generals were kept in prison after the rout of the wa- r; and indeed they gave considerable sums of money to Kar- beas, having sent for it from home, asking for their own ransom. When Karbeas received it in his hands, he immediately asked Sion if he was erotically disposed towards sexual matters and if his body had passionate movement; but when Sion denied it and said he suffered no such thing, he again asked the same things of Abesalom. But he, having detected his wickedness

τηνικαῦτα, καὶ Βάρδας ὁ δηλωθείς, ος καὶ παρὰ Θεοφίλου εις τι τῶν οὐ δεόντων καταληφθείς, τῆς συνήθους προελεύσεως ἱσταμένης, κατὰ τὸ ὡρολόγιον ἐτύφθη μαγγλάβια ἑξήκοντα. ἀδελφαὶ δὲ 175 τρεῖς, η τε εὐφήμῳ ουτω καλουμένη ὀνόματι Καλομαρία καὶ Σο- φία καὶ ἡ Εἰρήνη. ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν Σοφία εἰς κοίτην ἐδίδοτο Κωνσταν- τίνῳ τῷ κατὰ τὸν Βαβούτζικον, ἡ δὲ Καλομαρία ̓Αρσαβὴρ τῷ τηνικαῦτα μὲν πατρικίῳ επειτα δὲ καὶ μαγίστρῳ, [ἡ δὲ Εἰρήνη] τῷ Εἰρήνης τῆς μητρὸς τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν πατριαρχικὸν θρόνον ἀντιλαβομένου Φωτίου ἀδελφῷ· μεθ' ου  καὶ δύο τεκνώσασα παῖ- δας, Στέφανόν τε τὸν μάγιστρον καὶ Βάρδαν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφὸν καὶ μάγιστρον, τὸν τοῦ πατρικίου Κωνσταντίνου καὶ στρατηγοῦ Σικελίας, τὸν τοῦ Κοντομύτου γαμβρόν (ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Κοντομύτου ἐκληρώθη προσηγορία), τὴν συγγένειαν πρὸς τὸν πατριάρχην εσωζε Φώτιον· ἐξάδελφοι γὰρ οἱ δύο μάγιστροι ουτοι τούτου ἐτύγχανον. αυτη δὲ ουν ἡ μήτηρ τῶν εἰρημένων, ἐπεὶ τοῦ προτέρου ἀνδρὸς διὰ θανάτου ἡμάρτανεν, οὐχ ειλετο καὶ δεύτερον ἰδεῖν μάτην ἀποβιοῦντα, ζῶσα δὲ χήρα καὶ τῇ ἑαυ- τῆς συνοῦσα ἀδελφῇ κατὰ τὰ βασίλεια, αὐχμηρόν τινα καὶ τα- πεινὴν ἐστολισμένη στολήν, ετι δὲ μὴν καὶ μέλαιναν, τὸν υπαρχον ἀπολαμβάνουσα τῆς χειρός, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ τὸν τειχιώτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν νούμερον συνεπαγομένη, κατὰ νουμηνίαν ἀπῄει βάδην τε καὶ πεζῇ διὰ τῶν σχολῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τοῖς δεσμωτηρίοις κατεχο- μένους τῆς τε Χαλκῆς καὶ τοῦ Πραιτωρίου καὶ τῶν Νουμέρων, τίνος τε χάριν ἀποκέκλεισται ενα ἐρωτῶσα καθ' ενα καὶ διοικοῦσα τοὺς μὲν δι' ἑαυτῆς τοὺς δὲ διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφὴν ὑπομνή- σεως, ἑκάστῳ τῶν φρουρουμένων εὐλογίαν ἐπιχορηγοῦσα οὐ μι- κρὰν καὶ ἐλεημοσύνην. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν ουτω. 176 23 ̔Ο δὲ Βάρδας ην ολος τὰ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιτροπεύων καὶ διοικῶν, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν διαφερόντως ὡς συγγενὴς τοῦ βασι- λέως ἀγαπώμενος· ενθεν καὶ τὴν κουροπαλάτου, οιον αθλον ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδελφῇ, τιμὴν ἀναδέχεται, καὶ κατὰ τῶν ̓Ισμαηλιτῶν καὶ τοῦΑμερ, ωσπερ ειρηται, ἀντιστρατεύονται μετὰ τοῦ Μιχαήλ, αρτι τελοῦντος αὐτοῦ εἰς ανδρας ἐξ ἀγενείων, δυνάμει πάσῃ τε καὶ χειρί. ὡς δ' ουν τῆς τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπέβησαν γῆς, κατὰ πόλιν Σαμόσατα λεγομένην, δυνάμει τε βρίθουσαν καὶ ἰσχύϊ, αγονται, καὶ ταύτην ἐπεχείρουν πολιορκεῖν. ἀλλ' ἐλελήθεισαν οὐ κατὰ Θεοδώρας αιροντες χεῖρα, κατὰ δὲ πολυτρόπων ἀνδρῶν. ὡς μὲν γὰρ ην τρίτη τῆς ἐφεδρείας τούτοις ἡμέρα, ἡ πρώτη δὲ καὶ κυρία τῶν ἡμερῶν, εμελλον δὲ τὴν ἀναίμακτον μυσταγωγίαν ἐκπληροῦν ὡς αν τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων μετάσχοιεν, ἐξαίφνης, ειτ' ἀφυλά- κτως τελοῦντες αὐτά, ειτε καὶ καταφρονητικῶς εχοντες πρὸς τὴν πόλιν δι' ἀπειρίαν ὡς μὴ πρὸς βασιλέα ̔Ρωμαίων αραι τολμῶντος χεῖρα τινός, κατὰ τὴν ωραν ἐν ῃ  τῶν θείων εμελλον μετασχεῖν μυστηρίων, πάντοθεν μεθ' οπλων ἐκπεπηδηκότες τῆς πόλεως, οὐκ ην ἰδεῖν τὸν οστις ̔Ρωμαίων οὐκ ἐχρῆτο φυγῇ. ενθα καὶ ὁ Μιχαὴλ μόλις που τὸν ιππον ἀναβὰς φεύγων καθωρᾶτο, ἀλλ' οὐ προπολεμῶν· ουτω που μόγις ἐκσέσωστο, σκηνὰς αὐτὰς καὶ τὴν οση τούτοις θεραπεία προσῆν ἐκεῖ καταλελοιπώς. ενθα καὶ τὸν προμνημονευθέντα φασὶν ἀριστεῦσαι Καρβέαν τὸν τὴν Τεφρικὴν 177 οἰκοδομησάμενον, καὶ πολὺν οὐ μόνον τοῦ χυδαίου φθόρον λαοῦ κατεργάσασθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μεγάλων δὴ στρατηγῶν ζωγρείᾳ λαβεῖν τόν τε τζαγγότουβον τὸν ̓Αβεσαλὼμ καὶ Σηὼν τὸν παλατῖ- νον, καὶ ἑτέρους ὑποστρατήγους καὶ τουρμάρχας αχρι τῶν ἑκα- τόν. ἐτηροῦντο ουν οἱ δηλωθέντες στρατηγοὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ πολέ- μου παραδρομὴν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ· καὶ δὴ χρήματα ἱκανὰ τῷ Καρ- βέᾳ ἐδίδοσαν, οικοθεν μεταπεμψάμενοι, τὴν αὐτῶν ἀπολύτρωσιν ἐξαιτούμενοι. ὡς δ' ελαβεν ἐπὶ χεῖρας ὁ Καρβέας, ἠρώτα τὸν Σηὼν εὐθὺς εἰ πρὸς ἀφροδίσια εχοι ἐρωτικῶς καὶ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα κίνησιν εχοι τὴν ἐμπαθῆ· ὡς δ' ἀπηγόρευσεν ὁ Σηὼν καὶ πάσχειν τι τοιοῦτον ἀπέφησεν, ἠρώτα πάλιν τὰ ομοια τὸν ̓Αβεσαλώμ. ὁ δὲ τὴν αὐτοῦ φωράσας κακίαν