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they draw near. But before dawn, while the sun had not yet completely passed the hemisphere under the earth, raising a strong paean and shouting together "the cross has conquered," they attack the enemies, while the rest shouted along from the mountain. Immediately, therefore, the barbarians, struck with terror by the unexpected event, and having no time either to form up or to see how large the attacking multitude was, nor being able to perceive any other means of safety for themselves on the spot, rushed to flight, while the emperor's persistent prayer thoroughly terrified them and drove them toward destruction. Therefore, as the Romans pursued and continuously called out for the generals and the regiments and the leader of the Scholae who were not present, just as had been commanded them, and as the fugitives were driven into greater fear and confusion, it happened that the pursuit lasted for thirty miles and the space between was strewn with countless corpses. (43) At that time, it is also said that the shameless and bold Chrysocheir, fleeing with a few of those around him, was being pursued by a certain Roman, who bore the nickname Poulades, who, having once been a prisoner of war at Tephrike, had become a familiar acquaintance of Chrysocheir because he possessed a certain wit and charm. Seeing him then pursuing with enthusiasm and zeal, the barbarian turned and said, "What evil, O wretched man, have I done to you, Poulades, that you pursue me so 275 maniacally, desiring to kill me?" But he answered briefly that "I am confident in God that I shall give you the reward for your kindnesses, patron, on this present day, and for this reason I pursue after you." So, as the one went forward as if his mind were deranged by God, desperate and cowardly, the other followed with boldness and youthful courage, the one being pursued encounters a deep ditch, which his horse was afraid and hesitant to leap over. And while Chrysocheir had his mind on this, Poulades strikes him with a lance in the side, and immediately, spinning from the pain, he fell from his horse. And one of those with him, whose surname was Diakonitzes, throwing himself from his own horse, thought the fallen master worthy of his care, and placing his head on his own knees, he lamented what had happened. In the meantime, others also come up to Poulades, and leaping from their horses they cut off Chrysocheir's head as he was already fainting and expiring, and they also count that Diakonitzes among the number of the other prisoners. Thus, when the enemies had been wondrously defeated and the Christian boast exalted, Chrysocheir's head is quickly sent to the emperor along with the messengers of joy. At that time he happened to be staying at the place called Petrion, where the convent for his own daughters' residence was. And when the head was brought, having been reminded of his own prayers, and stretching the eye of his mind with tears toward 276 the one who does the will of those who call upon him, he ordered a bow and arrows to be brought, and quickly drawing the bowstring, he shot three arrows from behind at the accursed head, and he did not miss a single one at all, thinking to offer this as a fitting consecration of the impious one to him, in place of the many myriads whom he had destroyed in the many years of his dominion. And so the affairs concerning Chrysocheir and the then-flourishing power of Tephrike received such an end by the cooperation of God, who was swayed by the many supplications of Basil the piously reigning emperor. 44 But when the renowned patriarch Ignatius had just completed his life in a holy and God-pleasing manner, and, with abundant grey hair and the surrounding bodyguard of virtues and the blessing of all, had exchanged the present life and passed on to the better one, he rightly restored the church again to the one who was formerly thought to be wrongly laying claim to it, and he established

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πλησιάζουσι. πρὸ τῆς εω δέ, ουπω τοῦ ἡλίου τὸ ὑπὸ γῆν τελείως παραλλάξαντος ἡμισφαίριον, βοῇ στιβαρᾷ παιανίσαντες καὶ τὸ "σταυρὸς νενίκηκε" συμβοήσαντες ἐπιτίθενται τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, συνεπαλαλαξάντων ἀπὸ τοῦ ορους καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν. εὐθὺς ουν τῷ ἀνελπίστῳ καταπλαγέντες οἱ βάρβα- ροι, καὶ μήτε συστῆναι μήτε τὸ ἐπιὸν πλῆθος οσον ἐστὶ λαβόντες καιρὸν κατιδεῖν, μήτ' αλλο τι σωτήριον ἑαυτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἰσχύσαντες συνιδεῖν, ωρμησαν πρὸς φυγήν, τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως τού- τους πάντως ἐπιμόνου ἐκδειματούσης εὐχῆς καὶ συνελαυνούσης πρὸς ολεθρον. τῶν ουν διωκόντων ῥωμαίων καὶ τοὺς μὴ συνόν- τας συνεχῶς ἐπιβοωμένων στρατηγοὺς καὶ τὰ τάγματα καὶ τὸν τῶν σχολῶν ἀφηγούμενον, καθάπερ αὐτοῖς συντέτακτο, καὶ τῶν φευ- γόντων εἰς πλείονα φόβον συνελαυνομένων καὶ ταραχήν, συνέβη μέχρι μιλίων τριάκοντα γενέσθαι τὴν δίωξιν καὶ τὸν μεταξὺ χῶρον ἀπείροις καταστρωθῆναι νεκροῖς. (43) οτε καὶ τὸν ἀναιδῆ καὶ θρασὺν ἐκεῖνον Χρυσόχειρα λέγεται, σὺν ὀλίγοις φεύγοντα τῶν περὶ αὐτόν, ἐπικαταδιώκειν ̔Ρωμαίων τινά, τὸ Πουλάδην παρω- νύμιον φέροντα, ον συνέβη ποτὲ κατὰ Τεφρικὴν γεγονότα αἰχμά- λωτον διὰ τὸ ἀστεϊσμοῦ μετέχειν καὶ χάριτος συνήθη καὶ γνώριμον χρηματίσαι Χρυσόχειρι. ον ἰδὼν ὁ βάρβαρος τότε μετ' ἐνθου- σιασμοῦ καὶ προθυμίας διώκοντα, ἐπιστραφεὶς "τί σοί" φησι "κακόν, ω αθλιε, διεπραξάμην, Πουλάδη, οτι με ουτω καταδιώ- 275 κεις μανιωδῶς, ἐπιθυμῶν ἀνελεῖν με;" ὁ δὲ συντόμως ἀντέφησεν οτι τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν σου, πάτρων, τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἀποδοῦναί σοι κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ἡμέραν πεποιθώς εἰμι ἐν θεῷ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κατα- διώκω ὀπίσω σου. ὡς ουν ὁ μὲν προῄει οια βεβλαμμένος τὰς φρένας ὑπὸ θεοῦ, ἀπεγνωσμένος τε καὶ δειλός, ὁ δὲ ἐφείπετο μετ' εὐτολμίας καὶ θάρσους νεανικοῦ, ἐντυγχάνει τάφρῳ βαθείᾳ ὁ διω- κόμενος, ην ὑπερπηδῆσαι ὁ ιππος ἐπεδειλία τε καὶ διώκλαζεν. καὶ εως περὶ ταύτην ὁ Χρυσόχειρ ειχε τὸν νοῦν, βάλλει τοῦτον ὁ Πουλάδης κοντῷ κατὰ τῆς πλευρᾶς, καὶ εὐθέως περιδινηθεὶς τῷ ἀλγήματι κατερρύη τοῦ ιππου. καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ τις, ῳ ∆ια- κονίτζης ην τὸ ἐπώνυμον, ἀπὸ τοῦ οἰκείου ιππου ῥίψας ἑαυτὸν ἐπι- μελείας ἠξίου τὸν πεσόντα δεσπότην, καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις γόνασι τὴν ἐκείνου κεφαλὴν ἐπιθεὶς τὸ συμβὰν ἀπωδύρετο. ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ προσγίνονται τῷ Πουλάδῃ καὶ ετεροι, καὶ καθαλλόμενοι τῶν ιπ- πων τὴν τοῦ Χρυσόχειρος ἀποτέμνουσι κεφαλὴν λειποψυχοῦντος ηδη καὶ ἐκλιμπάνοντος, συγκαταλέγουσι δὲ καὶ τὸν ∆ιακονίτζην ἐκεῖνον τῷ τῶν λοιπῶν δεσμίων ἀριθμῷ. ουτω δὲ παραδόξως καταπολεμηθέντων τῶν δυσμενῶν καὶ τοῦ Χριστιανικοῦ ὑψωθέν- τος καυχήματος, συντόμως μετὰ τῶν τῆς χαρᾶς ἀγγέλων προσα- ποστέλλεται βασιλεῖ ἡ τοῦ Χρυσόχειρος κεφαλή. ἐτύγχανε δὲ τηνικαῦτα διάγων κατὰ τὸ Πετρίον λεγόμενον, ενθα τὸ σεμνεῖον τῆς τῶν οἰκείων θυγατέρων διατριβῆς ἐχρημάτιζεν. καὶ τῆς κεφα- λῆς προσενεχθείσης τῶν οἰκείων ἀναμνησθεὶς προσευχῶν, καὶ πρὸς 276 τὸν ποιοῦντα τὸ θέλημα τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων αὐτὸν μετὰ δακρύων τὸν τῆς διανοίας ἐκτείνας ὀφθαλμόν, τόξον ἐνεχθῆναι καὶ βέλη προσέταξε, καὶ θᾶττον τὴν νευρὰν ἐντείνας τρία κατὰ τῆς παλα- μναίας κεφαλῆς ὀπισθοφανῶς ἀφῆκε βέλη, καὶ εἰς οὐδὲ εν ολως διήμαρτεν, ἐναγιασμόν τινα τοῦτον αξιον τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς προσαγα- γεῖν αὐτῷ οἰηθεὶς ἀντὶ τῶν πολλῶν μυριάδων, ας ἐν πολλοῖς τῆς ἐπικρατείας αὐτοῦ κατηνάλωσεν ετεσι. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὸν Χρυσόχειρα καὶ τὴν ἀνθοῦσαν τότε δύναμιν τῆς Τεφρικῆς τοιοῦ- τον τὸ τέλος ἐδέξατο συνεργείᾳ θεοῦ, ταῖς πολλαῖς ἱκεσίαις καμ- φθέντος Βασιλείου τοῦ εὐσεβῶς βασιλεύοντος. 44 Αρτι δὲ τοῦ ἀοιδίμου πατριάρχου ̓Ιγνατίου ὁσίως καὶ θεαρέστως τὸν βίον ἀνύσαντος, καὶ ὑπὸ πλουσίᾳ τῇ πολιᾷ καὶ τῇ κύκλῳ δορυφορίᾳ τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῷ παρὰ πάντων μακαρισμῷ τὴν παροῦσαν ἀλλαξαμένου ζωὴν καὶ διαβάντος πρὸς τὴν ἀμεί- νονα, ἀπέδωκεν αυθις τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καλῶς τῷ μὴ καλῶς ἀντι- ποιεῖσθαι τὸ πρότερον δόξαντι, καὶ κατέστησεν