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
before; until fire-bearing ships were secretly sent out from Byzantium by those in power. which Bardas Parsakoutenos the Magistros was leading, and having suddenly anchored at Abydos, he both burned the triremes of the tyrant, and showered the phalanx of soldiers with javelins, and seized the fortress. And again Phokas, having gathered a very large band of soldiers around himself, attacks Skleros, and having routed him, prepared him to flee to the Hagarenes in Ekbatana. 8. Then again when the pirate band of the conspirators of Bardas Skleros was completely scattered, the emperor Basil, having recovered his forces, hurried against the Mysians. For their arrogance and harshness, breathing murder, was harming the Roman dominion, and was plundering the Macedonian lands unsparingly, destroying everyone of military age. For this reason, moved more hotly than was proper rather than more prudently, he hastened to subdue it at the first shout. But he missed his hopes through the malice of fortune. For when, having traversed the narrow and precipitous paths, he arrived at Sardica, which Scythian custom calls Tralitza, there he pitched the camp's rampart, and having besieged it, he guarded it for twenty days. But he could accomplish nothing, as the army, through the bad management of the generals, had sunk into idleness and sloth. Therefore, first the Mysians, having ambushed those going out of the camp for fodder and grass, wrought a great slaughter, and led away a multitude of pack animals and horses. Then, when the city-takers and the other engines, through the inexperience of those who brought them up to the walls, accomplished nothing, and were set on fire by the enemy; and since a lack of necessities also afflicted the army, the collected provisions having already been consumed, because they gorged themselves on them not sparingly but to satiety, having packed up along with the army, he went towards Byzantium. And having travelled all day, he encamped in a certain thicket 172, and rested the multitude. And before the first watch of the night was completed, suddenly an enormous star, shooting from the eastern part of the camp and illuminating the tents with immense light, fell on the western part, right beside the trench, and being divided into many sparks, it was extinguished. The fall of the star signified the subsequent destruction of the army. For wherever such a thing has happened to occur, it signified the utter destruction of what lay beneath. A clear proof of this is the star that fell upon the Trojan multitude, when Pandaros shot his arrow at Menelaos; for there, on that very day, the Trojan phalanx was shut up in ignoble flight by the Achaeans. And in the Roman wars one might find, going through the history, that such a thing often happened, and the army was destroyed, where the apparition struck. And we ourselves saw such a thing fall upon the hearth of the proedros Basil; and before much time had passed, that he departed from life, and his possessions were given over to plunder and booty. But let this be enough about the apparition of the star; then, on the following day, the army was passing through a certain woody and cavernous ravine; and having barely passed through it, it came upon torrent-swept and steep places; in which the Mysians, having attacked the Romans, destroyed a very great multitude of men, and seized both the imperial authority and the wealth, and plundered all the baggage of the army. Then indeed I myself, the one tragedizing 173 these things, was present there, unfortunately accompanying the ruler and serving in the liturgy of a deacon. And my steps almost faltered, and of a Scythian sword
τὸ πρότερον· ἕως οὗ ἐκ Βυζαντίου πυρφόροι νῆες πρὸς τῶν κρατούντων λαθραίως ἐξαπεστάλησαν. ἃς Βάρδας Μάγιστρος ὁ Παρσακουτηνὸς
ἄγων, αἰφνίδιον τῇ Ἀβύδῳ προσορμισθεὶς, τάς τε τριήρεις τοῦ τυράννου κατέφλεξε, καὶ τὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν κατηκόντισε φάλαγγα,
καὶ τὸ φρούριον εἴληφεν. αὖθις δὲ ὁ Φωκᾶς, χεῖρα περὶ αὑτὸν πλείστην στρατιωτῶν ἠθροικὼς, τῷ Σκληρῷ ἐπιτίθεται, καὶ τοῦτον
τρεψάμενος ἐν Ἐκβατάνοις πρὸς τοὺς Ἀγαρηνοὺς φυγεῖν παρεσκεύασεν. ηʹ. Εἶτ' αὖθις ἐπεὶ τὸ λῃστρικὸν τῶν συνωμοτῶν τοῦ Σκληροῦ
Βάρδα τελέως ἐσκίδνατο, τὰς δυνάμεις ἀνειληφὼς ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ Βασίλειος ἠπείγετο κατὰ τῶν Μυσῶν. ἡ γὰρ ἐκείνων αὐθάδεια καὶ
ἀπήνεια, φονικὸν περιπνέουσα, τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἐσίνετο ἐπικράτειαν, καὶ τὰ τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀφειδῶς ἐληΐζετο, ἡβηδὸν ἅπαντας διαφθείρουσα.
τῷ τοι καὶ θερμότερον ἤπερ ἔδει μᾶλλον κινηθεὶς ἢ προμηθέστερον, αὐτοβοεὶ καθελεῖν ταύτην ἠπείγετο. ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἐπηρείᾳ
τύχης ἡμάρτανεν. ἐπεὶ γὰρ τὰς ἐστενωμένας καὶ κρημνώδεις ἀτραποὺς διοδεύσας, κατὰ τὴν Σαρδικὴν ἐπεχωρίασεν, ἣν καὶ Τράλιτζαν
ἡ Σκυθικὴ συνήθεια κέκληκεν, ἐνταῦθα τὸν τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἐπήξατο χάρακα, καὶ αὐτὴν παρακαθισάμενος, ἐφ' ἡμέραις εἴκοσιν ἐφρούρει.
ἀλλ' οὐδὲν εἶχεν ἀνύσειν, τῇ κακοπραγίᾳ τῶν στρατηγῶν ἐς ῥᾳστώνην καὶ νωθείαν ἀποκλινάσης τῆς στρατιᾶς. τοίνυν πρότερον μὲν
τοὺς ἐπὶ χιλὸν καὶ χορτάσματα τοῦ χάρακος ἐξιόντας ἐνεδρεύσαντες οἱ Μυσοὶ, πολὺν φόνον εἰργάσαντο, καὶ πλῆθος ὑποζυγίων καὶ
ἵππων ἀπήγαγον. ἔπειτα τῶν ἑλεπόλεων καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν μηχανημάτων ἀπειρίᾳ τῶν προσαγηοχότων ταῦτα τοῖς τείχεσιν ἀπρακτησάντων,
καὶ πυρποληθέντων παρὰ τῶν δυσμενῶν· ἐπεὶ καὶ σπάνις τῶν ἀναγκαίων κατεῖχε τὴν στρατιὰν, τῶν συμπεφορημένων ἐπισιτισμῶν ἤδη
ἀναλωθέντων, τῷ μὴ πεφεισμένως ἀλλ' ἄδην κατεμφορεῖσθαι αὐτῶν, ἐνσκευασάμενος συνάμα τῇ στρατιᾷ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον ᾔει.
πανημέριος δὲ διοδεύσας, ἐπί τινα λόχμην 172 διεσκηνίσατο, καὶ τὴν πληθὺν διανέπαυε. μήπω δὲ τῆς πρώτης φυλακῆς τῆς νυκτὸς
συμπεραιωθείσης, ἐξαίφνης ἀστὴρ παμμεγέθης ἐκ τοῦ ἑῴου μέρους τοῦ χάρακος ὁρμηθεὶς καὶ τὰς σκηνὰς περιλάμψας ἀπλέτῳ φωτὶ,
ἐπὶ τὸ ἑσπέριον μέρος παρ' αὐτὴν τὴν ταφρείαν καταπεσὼν, καὶ εἰς σπινθῆρας συχνοὺς διαιρεθεὶς, ἀπεσβέσθη. τὴν αὖθις δὲ τοῦ
στρατοῦ παρεδήλου διαφθορὰν ἡ τοῦ ἀστέρος καταφορά. ἔνθα γὰρ τοιουτότροπόν τι γενέσθαι συμβέβηκε, τοῦ ὑποκειμένου πανολεθρίαν
ἐσήμηνε. τεκμήριον τοῦτο σαφὲς ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς Τρωϊκῆς πληθύος κατενεχθεὶς ἀστὴρ, ὁπηνίκα Πάνδαρος τῷ Μενελάῳ ἐπετοξάζετο· ἐκεῖ
γὰρ αὐθημερὸν ἡ Τρωϊκὴ φάλαγξ πρὸς τῶν Ἀχαιῶν εἰς φυγὴν ἀγεννῆ συνεκλείετο. καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν δὲ πολέμων εὕροι τις ἂν,
τὴν ἱστορίαν μετιὼν, τὸ τοιοῦτον πολλάκις συμβὰν, καὶ τὸ στράτευμα διαφθαρὲν, ἵνα τὸ φάσμα ἐπέσκηψεν. εἴδομεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ προέδρου Βασιλείου ἑστίας τοιοῦτόν τι κατενεχθέν· καὶ μήπω καιροῦ συχνοῦ διαῤῥεύσαντος ἐκεῖνόν τε τοῦ βίου ὑπαπελθόντα,
καὶ εἰς διαρπαγὴν καὶ προνομὴν ἐκδοθέντα τὰ αὐτῷ διαφέροντα. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τῆς τοῦ ἀστέρος φαντασίας ὧδέ πη ἐχέτω· τότε δὲ,
κατὰ τὴν ὑστεραίαν, διά τινος ὑλώδους καὶ σηραγγώδους αὐλῶνος διῄει τὸ στράτευμα· ἐκεῖνον δὲ μόλις παραδραμὸν, χαραδρώδεις
καὶ ἀνάντεις κατελάμβανε χώρους· ἐν οἷς οἱ Μυσοὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἐπιθέμενοι πλεῖστον ὅτι πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν διέφθειραν, καὶ τήν τε βασίλειον
ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον εἰλήφεσαν, καὶ τὴν ἀποσκευὴν τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐλαφυραγώγησαν ἅπασαν. τότε δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ταῦτα ἐκ 173 τραγῳδῶν
ἐκεῖσε παρήμην, τῷ κρατοῦντι δυστυχῶς συνεπόμενος καὶ τῇ τοῦ διακόνου λειτουργίᾳ ὑπηρετούμενος. καὶ κᾂν ἐξεχύθη μου παρὰ μικρὸν
τὰ διαβήματα, καὶ μαχαίρας Σκυθικῆς
