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we were amazed. But he, being otherwise a lover of truth, for belief of the things being said, added also an oath, marveling at the same time both at the effective and inescapable nature of providence.

κʹ. Concerning the emperor's attack against the fortress of Galata. So then the ruler, having gathered his forces, which were many and varied, attacked Galata, he himself, having pitched his tent a good way off, sat on high ground, observing what was happening, and at the same time trying to be conspicuous to the enemy for their consternation, and from all sides streamed in like torrents those about to fight, and indeed being as far as outside of bowshot and 173 having themselves also pitched their tents, they were ready to attack. And straightway they made attacks, having been divided; and in some places having also set up siege-engines they made an attempt on the wall. The host was greater than was fitting for a war against such a fortress; for in addition to the others, being many and strong in battle, archers also from the regions of Nicaea there, at the command of the emperor, were gathered and, shooting with good aim, did not even allow those within to peer out, but they were met frequently, shot in the face, if they should appear anywhere. But the Italians, new ones each day in succession, crossing over in fishing boats, dashing through the gate by the sea, pushed themselves in and, having fortified the interior for a walkway with large timbers, stoutly defended themselves from the wall, from which it happened that many of those outside fell, being shot from an unseen place; for standing on sure feet, fresh men just appearing in succession both easily drew their customary missile-throwing weapons and, being sheltered by the battlements, shot their darts through the openings. But those outside excelled with siege engines, shooting with stone-throwing machines, against which, having gathered vine branches from vineyards and having thickened the suffering parts, they held out against the volleys. And they, going down to the porticoes, had safety for their heads from the vine branches, and from there, using the holes for sighting, defended themselves as they could. And the one side was encouraged by numbers and strength with experience, and at the same time by the fact that they were fighting under the emperor's eye, but the Italians by their zeal and good sense, and also by taking turns to face danger day by day, having been impelled from home. Sallies, then, were not safe for them—for they were too much overcome by the numbers of those outside—but being held together by a daring fed by fear, they held out day by day. And the struggle for both was, for the one side, to take it by force, as together with the fortress they would have the city, and for the other, to hold out, as of necessity the city would be lost along with the fortress. But the battle, as they fought a protracted fight, resulted for those around the emperor in manifest shame at so great a host fighting for so long and not overcoming a fortress, which had nothing imposing about it and was guarded by a few men, and for the Italians in a point of honor that they, being few, caused so many not to prevail, 175 so as not even to dare to sally forth, and at the same time to seem to be defeating the emperor himself and all his force gathered together at the same time. At that time, then, with many being shot from the wall and falling daily by very large arrow-shooting mangonels, so that they were mockingly pitied, not wanting to shoot, but to send back the man who came within bowshot on account of the nearness, so that, as they said, he might be saved for his wife, and at the same time a rumor having spread, that many other strong men had arrived from a mission, being exceedingly vexed, as it were, both because of the futility of the effort and after the loss of the fallen, even if he should incur ridicule for having accomplished nothing, he decided to end the war, but not by treaty, so that he might leave for himself a plausible excuse, as if he would attack again with good hopes.

καʹ. Concerning the corpse of the Emperor Basil the Bulgar-slayer. Then, some of the emperor's household, having gone out for a relaxing pastime, came upon the monastery of the Theologian at Hebdomon, which preserved only the name, not the form, of a monastery; and entering the church there, this too being in ruins and being a shelter for cattle,

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ἐθαυμάζομεν. Ἐκεῖνος δέ, καὶ ἄλλως φιλαλήθης ὤν, εἰς πίστιν τῶν λεγομένων προσετίθει καὶ ὅρκον, θαυμάζων ἅμα καὶ τὸ τῆς προνοίας δραστικόν τε καὶ ἄφυκτον.

κʹ. Περὶ τῆς κατὰ τοῦ Γαλατᾶ φρουρίου τοῦ βασιλέως προσβολῆς. Ὡς γοῦν ὁ κρατῶν, τὰς δυνάμεις συναγαγών, πολλὰς οὔσας καὶ διαφό ρους, τῷ Γαλατᾷ προσέβαλεν, αὐτὸς μέν, ἐφ' ἱκανὸν μακρόθεν σκηνοποιησά μενος, ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ καθῆστο, προσορῶν τὰ δρώμενα, ἅμα δὲ καὶ πειρώμενος εὐσύνοπτος εἶναι τοῖς ἐναντίοις πρὸς ἔκπληξιν, συνέρρεον δὲ πανταχόθεν δίκην ῥυάκων οἱ πολεμεῖν μέλλοντες, καὶ δὴ ὅσον ἐξωτέρω βέλους εἶναι καὶ 173 αὐτοὶ σκηνοποιησάμενοι, ἕτοιμοι προσβαλεῖν ἦσαν. Εὐθέως δὲ προσβολὰς ἐποιοῦντο μερισθέντες· ἔστι δ' οὗ καὶ τειχομαχικὰ στήσαντες ἐπειρῶντο τοῦ τείχους. Πλῆθος δ' ἦν μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ πόλεμον τοιούτου φρουρίου· πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις, πολλοῖς γε οὖσι καὶ ἰσχυροῖς μάχεσθαι, καὶ ἄνδρες τοξόται ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Νίκαιαν μερῶν ἐκεῖσε, προστάττοντος βασιλέως, συνήχθησαν καί, εὔσκοπα βάλλοντες, οὐδὲ παρακύπτειν τοὺς ἐντὸς εἴων, ἀλλ' ἀπήντων συχνῶς τοξαζόμενοι κατὰ στόμα, εἴ που φανεῖεν. Ἰταλοὶ δ' ἐκ διαδοχῆς καθ' ἡμέραν νέοι ταῖς ἁλιάσι διαπεραιούμενοι, διὰ τῆς πρὸς θαλάσσῃ πύλης διεκπαιόμενοι, ἑαυτοὺς εἰσώθουν καί, ξύλοις μεγάλοις τὸ ἐντὸς εἰς περίπατον κρατυνάμενοι, καρτερῶς ἀπημύνοντο τοῦ τείχους, ἐξ ὧν συνέβαινε συχνοὺς καταπίπτειν τῶν ἔξω, ἐξ ἀφανοῦς βαλλομένους· ποσὶ γὰρ ἀσφαλέσιν ἑστῶτες, ἀκμῆτες ἄνδρες ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἄρτι φανέντες ἐνέτεινόν τε ῥᾳδίως τὰ σφίσι συνήθη γε ἰοβόλα σκεύη καί, σκεπόμενοι ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι, δι' ὀπῶν κατη κόντιζον. Οἱ ἔξω δὲ ταῖς τειχομαχίαις περιῆσαν, πετροβόλοις βάλλοντες μηχανήμασι, πρὸς ἅ, κληματίδας ξυμφορήσαντες ἐξ ἀμπέλων καὶ τὰ πονοῦντα τῶν μερῶν πυκάσαντες, ταῖς βολαῖς ἀντεῖχον. Αὐτοὶ δέ, προσκαταβαίνοντες ταῖς στοαῖς, τὸ ἀσφαλὲς μὲν κατὰ κεφαλῆς ἐκ τῶν κληματίδων εἶχον, ἐκεῖθεν δέ, κατὰ διοπτείαν ταῖς ὀπαῖς χρώμενοι, ὡς εἶχον ἠμύνοντο. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλῆθος καὶ ἰσχὺς μετ' ἐμπειρίας παρεκρότει, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τό, ἐφορῶντος τοῦ βασιλέως, μάχεσθαι, Ἰταλοὺς δὲ τὸ σπουδαῖόν τε καὶ εὐσύνετον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐκ διαδοχῆς εἰς ἡμέραν προκινδυνεύειν, οἴκοθεν ὡρμημένους. Ἐκδρομαὶ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀσφαλεῖς σφίσιν ἦσαντῷ γὰρ πλήθει καὶ λίαν ἡττῶντο τῶν ἔξω, τόλμῃ δὲ τρεφομένῃ δέει συγκροτούμενοι, ὁσημέραι διεκαρτέρουν. Ἀγὼν δ' ἦν ἀμφοτέροις, τοῖς μὲν κατὰ κράτος ἑλεῖν, ὡς ἅμα τῷ φρουρίῳ τὴν πόλιν ἕξουσιν, τοῖς δ' ἀντέχειν, ὡς συναπολλυμένης ἐξ ἀνάγκης τῷ φρουρίῳ τῆς πόλεως. Κατήντα δ' ἡ μάχη σφίσι διαχρονίζουσι μαχομένοις τοῖς μὲν περὶ τὸν βασιλέα εἰς αἰδῶ προφανῆ τοῦ μὴ περιγενέσθαι φρουρίου ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον μαχομένους τόσον πλῆθος, οὐδὲν σεμνὸν ἔχοντος καί τισιν ὀλίγοις διαφυλαττομένου, τοῖς δ' Ἰταλοῖς εἰς φιλοτιμίαν τοῦ τόσους μὴ περιγενέσθαι παρασκευάσαι, αὐτοὺς ὀλίγους ὄντας, 175 ὡς μηδὲ τολμᾶν ἐξιέναι, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοῦ αὐτὸν βασιλέα δόξαι νικᾶν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ συνελθοῦσαν ἅμα. Τότε γοῦν πολλῶν καθ' ἡμέραν ἐκ τοῦ τείχους βαλλομένων τε καὶ πιπτόντων ἰοβόλοις μεγίστοις μαγγάνοις, ὥστε καὶ οἰκτίζοντο κατειρωνευόμενοι, μὴ θέλοντες βάλλειν, ἀλλ' ἀποπέμπειν τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ βέλους ἰόντα διὰ τὴν ἐγγύτητα, ὡς τῇ γυναικί, ὡς ἔλεγον, διασῴζοιτο, καὶ ἅμα φήμης διαχεθείσης, ὡς ἐξ ἀπο στολῆς ἐπέστησαν ἄλλοι πλεῖστοι καὶ ἰσχυροί, ὑπερπαθήσας οἷον διά τε τὸ τοῦ κόπου κενὸν καὶ μετὰ τὴν τῶν πεσόντων ἀποβολήν, εἰ καὶ γέλωτα ὤφλει μηδὲν καταπράξας, ἔγνω καταλύειν τὸν πόλεμον, πλὴν οὐ κατὰ συνθήκας, ἵν' ἑαυτῷ ἀπολογίαν εὐπρεπῆ καταλείψοι, ὡς καὶ πάλιν κατ' ἀγαθὰς ἐλπίδας ἐπιθησόμενος.

καʹ. Περὶ τοῦ νεκροῦ τοῦ βασιλέως Βασιλείου τοῦ Βουλγαροκτόνου. Τότε δέ τινες τῶν οἰκείων τῷ βασιλεῖ, κατ' ἄνεσιν διατριβῆς ἐξελθόντες, ἐπέστησαν τῇ κατὰ τὸ Ἕβδομον τοῦ Θεολόγου μονῇ, ὄνομα μόνον, οὐ σχῆμα σῳζούσῃ μονῆς· καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖσε ναὸν εἰσελθόντες, ἠρειμμένον καὶ τοῦτον καὶ εἰς θρεμμάτων ἔπαυλιν ὄντα,