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and to set up a trench for the encampment, nor having accomplished anything else that the reasoned and prudent foresight of generals provides for, they plan to steal the victory, and they attack him at night, unprepared and unsuspecting, using a stratagem, which appeared wise, given their difficulty and circumstance. For being few in number after the previous defeat and easily counted, in their helplessness they resorted to cunning out of necessity, and having gathered many horses and tied dry hides to the horses' tails, at a single command they release them against many parts of the Roman camp. Then they themselves also, from different places, having beaten their drums, leaped into the middle of the palisade with drawn swords. Panic and confusion therefore having fallen upon the Roman army, and horses 288 and men being thrown into confusion together and falling over one another, it happened that the barbarians prevailed and wrought infinite slaughter, with most of them being ingloriously trampled and suffocated by their own. Thus having conquered unexpectedly and beyond hope, those of Ishmael, and having cut the sinews of Roman rule, sang a paean with the sound of drums and barbaric shouts. Such was the end of the foolish strategy that envy awarded against the Romans, and such a trophy did the envious Nemesis set up against the previously fortunate Romans. But matters toward the rising sun were thus during the times of the pious reign of Basil, (52) and I come now to narrate the affairs toward the setting sun. For consistent with the other things, the affairs in the west also having been greatly neglected during the reign of Michael, and almost all of Italy, as much as had been assigned to our New Rome, and most of Sicily having been conquered by the neighboring power of the Carthaginians and made tributary to the barbarians, moreover indeed also the Scythians situated in Pannonia and Dalmatia and those beyond these, I mean the Croats and Serbs and Zachlumoi and Terbouniotes and Kanalites and Diocletians and Rentanoi, having rebelled against the long-standing dominion of the Romans, had become autonomous and self-ruling, being ruled only by their own rulers. And most of them, showing their further apostasy, also 289 alienated themselves from holy baptism, so that they might have no pledge of friendship and servitude toward the Romans. 53 Thus, as matters in the west stood and were in such anarchy and disorder, the Agarenes from Carthage also took advantage of the opportunity and attacked, and having appointed as leaders Soldanos and Sambas and Kalphous, whom they believed to differ greatly from their countrymen in malice and military experience, they sent a fleet of thirty-six warships against Dalmatia, by which various cities of the Dalmatians were captured, such as Boutoma and Rosa and the lower Dekatora. And as matters were proceeding according to the enemies' plan, they came also against the metropolis of the whole nation, which is called Raousion, and they besieged it for a considerable time. But they were not able to take it readily, because those within fought eagerly, running for their lives, as the saying goes. As, therefore, those in Raousion suffered for some time and were driven to the last extremities, being hard pressed by necessity, they send ambassadors to the emperor, although almost not unaware that the ruler was occupied with other matters, begging him to have pity and to help those who were in danger of soon becoming subject to the deniers of Christ. And the ambassadors having not yet reached the capital, but still lingering on the journey, the worthless 290 emperor departed from mankind, and upon Basil, the watchful and sober guardian of the common good, the affairs of the imperial authority devolved; who

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καὶ τάφρον προβαλέσθαι τῆς στρατοπεδείας, μήτ' αλλο τι τῶν α τὸ λελογισμένον τῶν στρατηγῶν καὶ εμφρον προδιοικονο- μεῖται καταπραξάμενον, κλέψαι τὴν νίκην βουλεύονται, καὶ ἀπα- ρασκεύῳ καὶ ἀμερίμνῳ ἐπιτίθενται αὐτῷ ἐν νυκτί, στρατηγήματι χρησάμενοι πρὸς τὴν ἀπορίαν αὐτῶν καὶ περίστασιν, ὡς ἐφάνη, σοφῷ. ὀλίγοι γάρ τινες οντες ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας ηττης καὶ εὐα- ρίθμητοι τῇ ἀπορίᾳ πρὸς πανουργίαν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐχώρησαν, καὶ ιππους συναγαγόντες συχνοὺς καὶ βύρσας ξηρὰς ἐξάψαντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἱππείων οὐρῶν ὑφ' εν παράγγελμα κατὰ πολλὰ τοῦ ̔Ρωμαϊ- κοῦ στρατοπέδου ἐπαφιᾶσι μέρη. ειτα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπὸ διαφόρων τόπων, τοῖς τυμπάνοις ἐπιδουπήσαντες, ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ χάρακος γυμνοῖς τοῖς ξίφεσιν εἰσεπήδησαν. πτοίας ουν καὶ ταραχῆς ἐμπε- σούσης τῷ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων στρατεύματι, καὶ συνταραχθέντων ιπ- 288 πων ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀνδρῶν καὶ ἀλλήλοις περιπιπτόντων, συνέβη τοὺς βαρβάρους κρατῆσαι καὶ φόνον απειρον ἀπεργάσασθαι, τῶν πλεί- στων δυσκλεῶς συμπατουμένων καὶ συμπνιγομένων ὑφ' ἑαυτῶν. ουτω δὲ παραδόξως καὶ παρ' ἐλπίδα κρατήσαντες οἱ ἐξ ̓Ισμαήλ, καὶ τὰ νεῦρα τῆς ̔Ρωμαϊκῆς ἀρχῆς κατακόψαντες, τυμπάνων βοαῖς καὶ βαρβαρικοῖς ἀλαλαγμοῖς ἐπαιάνιζον. τοιοῦτον τὸ τέλος τῆς ἀνοήτου στρατηγίας ὁ φθόνος κατὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐβράβευσε, καὶ τοιοῦτον ἡ βάσκανος Νέμεσις κατὰ τῶν εὐτυχησάντων πρότερον ̔Ρωμαίων τὸ τρόπαιον εστησεν. ̓Αλλὰ τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ηλιον ουτως ειχε κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τῆς εὐσεβοῦς βασιλείας Βασιλείου, (52) τὰ δὲ πρὸς δυόμενον ερχομαι διηγήσασθαι. ἀκολούθως γὰρ τοῖς λοιποῖς καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν πραγμάτων ἐπὶ πλέον ἀμεληθέντων ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Μιχαήλ, καὶ πάσης σχεδὸν ̓Ιταλίας, οση τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς νέᾳ ̔Ρώμῃ προαφώριστο, καὶ τῶν πλείστων τῆς Σικελίας ὑπὸ τῆς γειτονούσης τῶν Καρχηδονίων δυνάμεως καταπολεμηθείσης καὶ ὑποφόρου τοῖς βαρβάροις γεγενημένης, ετι γε μὴν καὶ τῶν ἐν Παννονίᾳ καὶ ∆αλματίᾳ καὶ τῶν ἐπέκεινα τούτων διακειμένων Σκυθῶν, Κρωβάτοι φημὶ καὶ Σέρβλοι καὶ Ζαχλουμοὶ Τερβου- νιῶταί τε καὶ Καναλῖται καὶ ∆ιοκλητιανοὶ καὶ ̔Ρεντανοί, τῆς ἀνέ- καθεν τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐπικρατείας ἀφηνιάσαντες αὐτόνομοί τε καὶ αὐτοδέσποτοι καθεστήκεισαν, ὑπὸ ἰδίων ἀρχόντων μόνον ἀρχό- μενοι. οἱ πλεῖστοι δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ πλέον ἀπόστασιν ἐνδεικνύμενοι καὶ 289 τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος ἑαυτοὺς ἠλλοτρίωσαν, ὡς αν μηδὲν ἐνέχυ- ρον τῆς πρὸς ̔Ρωμαίους φιλίας καὶ δουλώσεως εχοιεν. 53 Ουτως ουν τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐχόντων καὶ ἐν τοιαύταις οντων ἀναρχίαις καὶ ἀταξίαις, συνεπέθεντο μετὰ τοῦ καιροῦ καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ Καρχηδόνος ̓Αγαρηνοί, καὶ αρχοντας ἐπιστή- σαντες τόν τε Σολδάνον καὶ Σάμβαν καὶ τὸν Καλφούς, ους ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ πολεμικῇ ἐμπειρίᾳ κατὰ πολὺ διαφέρειν τῶν ὁμοφύλων ἐπίστευον, εξ καὶ τριάκοντα πλοίων πολεμικῶν κατὰ ∆αλματίας στόλον ἀπέστειλαν, ὑφ' ου διάφοροι πόλεις ἑάλωσαν ∆αλματῶν, οιον η τε Βούτομα καὶ ̔Ρῶσα καὶ τὰ κάτω ∆εκάτορα. προχω- ρούντων δὲ κατὰ νοῦν τῶν πραγμάτων τοῖς πολεμίοις, ηλθον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ολου εθνους μητρόπολιν, η ̔Ραούσιον λέγεται, καὶ ταύτην ἐπὶ χρόνον ἐπολιόρκουν ἱκανόν. ἑλεῖν δὲ ἐξ ἑτοίμου οὐκ εσθενον διὰ τὸ ἐκθύμως τοὺς ενδοθεν ἀγωνίζεσθαι ὡς ὑπὲρ ψυ- χῆς, τὸ λεγόμενον, θέοντας. ὡς ουν ἐπὶ χρόνον οἱ ἐν ̔Ραουσίῳ ἐταλαιπώρουν καὶ εἰς ἐσχάτας συνηλαύνοντο ἀπορίας, πέμπουσι πρέσβεις ὡς βασιλέα ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης στενοχωρούμενοι, καίτοι σχεδὸν οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντες ὡς εἰς αλλα μᾶλλον ὁ κρατῶν ἀπησχόληται, ἐλεῆσαι παρακαλοῦντες καὶ ἐπαμῦναι τοῖς οσον ουπω κυνδυνεύου- σιν ὑποχειρίοις γενέσθαι τῶν ἀρνητῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. ουπω δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων καταλαβόντων τὴν βασιλεύουσαν, ἀλλ' ετι χρονο- τριβούντων περὶ τὴν ανοδον, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων μὲν ὁ φαῦλος γίνεται 290 βασιλεύς, ἐπὶ δὲ τὸν ἐγρηγορότα καὶ νήφοντα τῶν κοινῶν φρον- τιστὴν Βασίλειον τὰ τῆς αὐτοκράτορος ἐξουσίας περιίσταται πρά- γματα· ος