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306 Apostyppes, fighting with the Thracians and Macedonians on the right wing, was prevailing over the enemy and causing great slaughter, while Prokopios, arrayed with the Sklavenoi and westerners on the other wing, was being hard pressed by the adversaries. But when no help was sent from his fellow-general to the struggling part because of their preceding rivalry, the section with Prokopios was completely routed, and he himself was slain during the pursuit, when his horse fell with him. When that battle had reached such an end, Leo, wishing to achieve some other brilliant feat, so as to overshadow the event that resulted from the strife, took his own army and included those who had been saved from the flight of the men under Prokopios' command, and he attacked the fortress of Taranto, still held by the Hagarenes, and took it by storm, and enslaved all the people within it; from these spoils he allowed the soldiery to profit sufficiently and brought abundant plunder to the emperor. But the emperor did not look upon these things with pleasure, nor did he reward Leo as a hero, but since upon investigation he found that the fellow-general had perished in the very engagement of the war because of the rivalry that had occurred, he both relieved him of his command and sent him into exile at his own house, which was near Kotyaeion. 67 Such were the fortunes that Apostyppes 307 experienced after these events. For the protostrator Baianos and Chamaretos the koubikoularios and first among his closest associates conspired against him, and they composed a document against their own master for the emperor, in which it was declared that the death of the protovestiarios Prokopios had occurred by their master's will, and a charge of sacrilege and certain other grave and difficult matters. Chamaretos took this document and, entering the imperial city, delivered it to the emperor. But when the sons of Apostyppes, Bardas and David, learned this, they laid hands on Baianos, mercilessly cutting him down with their swords. And on account of such an audacious act and their fear of the emperor, they set out to flee to Syria with their father. Hearing this, the emperor with great haste sent Bartzapedon the manglabites to seize them and bring them to him. He overtook them near Cappadocia, as they were journeying swiftly on the road to Syria. When he therefore tried to seize them according to the imperial command, and they resisted and defended themselves with all their strength, it happened that in such a skirmish and conflict the two sons of Apostyppes were slain, and he himself was taken and brought in chains to the emperor, who was at that time at the imperial residence in Hiereia; he, having been subjected by imperial command to the judgment of Manuel the magistros, had one of his eyes put out, and was deprived of one of his hands both because of the 308 evidence against him and because of his attempt to flee to the enemy, and for the rest of his life grew old in exile in Mesembria. And so the affairs of Apostyppes, who was not a good man in any case, came to such an end. 68 While affairs in the west were being managed for the emperor by his subordinate generals, the Arabs from the south, having recovered their breath, thinking it was a time for inactivity, leisure, and indolence, took courage, and they resolved to take up naval matters again, and so, having built ships in Egypt and in the coastal cities of Syria, they intended to campaign against the land and sea tributary to the Romans. But deciding it was necessary first to observe the emperor's affairs by means of spies, they sent out a man to observe everything and report back to them, using Roman dress and language. But the emperor, ever vigilant in his concerns for the common good and preparing what was necessary in advance, since not even the ships being built in Syria escaped his notice,

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306 τὸν μὲν ̓Αποστύππην μετὰ τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τε καὶ Μακεδόνων κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν μέρος ἀγωνιζόμενον κρατεῖν τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολὺν φό- νον ἐργάζεσθαι, τὸν δὲ Προκόπιον μετὰ τῶν Σκλαβηνῶν τε καὶ δυτικῶν κατὰ τὸ ετερον μέρος ἀντιταττόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων πιέζεσθαι. μὴ πεμφθείσης δὲ παρὰ τοῦ συστρατηγοῦ βοηθείας πρὸς τὸ πονοῦν διὰ τὴν προηγησαμένην φιλονεικίαν, ἐτράπη καθα- ρῶς τὸ κατὰ τὸν Προκόπιον μέρος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐσφάγη κατὰ τὴν δίωξιν, τοῦ ιππου συμπεσόντος αὐτῷ. τοιοῦτον δὲ τέ- λος τῆς μάχης ἐκείνης λαβούσης, θέλων τι καὶ ετερον λαμπρὸν ὁ Λέων ἐργάσασθαι, ὡς αν τὸ ἐκ τῆς εριδος συσκιάσῃ συμβάν, τό τε οἰκεῖον στράτευμα λαβὼν καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς διασωθέντας τῶν ταττομένων ὑπὸ τὸν Προκόπιον συμπεριλαβὼν τὸ κάστρον κατεπολέμησε Τάραντος, ετι κατεχόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ̓Αγαρηνῶν, καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ κράτος ειλε, καὶ πάντα τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ λαὸν ἐξην- δραποδίσατο· ἐξ ων τό τε στρατιωτικὸν ἀποχρώντως ὠφεληθῆναι συνεχώρησε καὶ βασιλεῖ συχνὰ προσήγαγε λάφυρα. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπεῖδε τούτοις ἡδέως ὁ βασιλεύς, οὐδὲ ὡς ἀριστέα τὸν Λέοντα ἀντημείψατο, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ διερευνώμενος ευρισκεν ἐκ τῆς συμπεσού- σης φιλονεικίας κατ' αὐτὴν τοῦ πολέμου συμβολὴν ἀπολωλέναι τὸν ὁμοστράτηγον, τῆς τε ἀρχῆς παρέλυσε καὶ ἐξόριστον ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ οικῳ ἀπέστειλε πλησίον Κοτυαείου τυγχάνοντι. 67 Τοιαύταις δὲ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα τύχαις ὁ ̓Αποστύππης 307 ἐχρήσατο. συμφρονήσαντες γὰρ κατ' αὐτοῦ ο τε πρωτοστράτωρ Βαϊάνος καὶ Χαμάρετος ὁ κουβικουλάριος καὶ πρῶτος τῶν οἰκειο- τάτων αὐτῷ γραφὴν κατὰ τοῦ ἰδίου δεσπότου πρὸς βασιλέα συνέ- θεσαν, δι' ης ἐδηλοῦτο καὶ ὁ τοῦ πρωτοβεστιαρίου Προκοπίου θάνατος γνώμῃ τοῦ κυρίου αὐτῶν γεγονὼς καὶ καθοσιώσεως εγ- κλημα καὶ αλλα τινὰ βαρέα καὶ δυσχερῆ. ην ὁ Χαμάρετος λα- βὼν καὶ πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν εἰσελθὼν τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπιδέδωκεν. μαθόντες δὲ τοῦτο οἱ τοῦ ̓Αποστύππη υἱοί, ο τε Βάρδας καὶ ὁ ∆αβίδ, αὐτόχειρες τοῦ Βαϊάνου καθίστανται, τοῖς ξίφεσιν αὐτὸν ἀνηλεῶς κατακόψαντες. διὰ δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον τόλμημα καὶ τὸ ἐκ βασιλέως δέος ωρμησαν μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς πρὸς Συρίαν φυγεῖν. ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς σὺν τάχει πολλῷ Βαρτζαπέδονα τὸν μαγκλαβίτην ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸ κατασχεῖν αὐτοὺς καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγαγεῖν. ους ηδη πρὸς Καππαδοκίαν κατέλαβε, τὴν πρὸς Συ- ρίαν ὁδὸν συντόνως ἐλαύνοντας. πειραθεὶς ουν αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὸ πρόσταγμα τὸ βασιλικὸν κατασχεῖν, ἐκείνων δὲ ἀντιστάντων καὶ ἀμυνομένων εἰς δύναμιν, συνέβη κατὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἁψιμαχίαν καὶ στάσιν σφαγῆναι τοὺς δύο τοῦ ̓Αποστύππη υἱούς, αὐτὸν δὲ ληφθῆναι καὶ δέσμιον ἀχθῆναι πρὸς βασιλέα κατὰ τὰς ἐν ̔Ιερείᾳ βασιλικὰς οἰκίας τὸ τηνικαῦτα τυγχάνοντα· ος τῇ κρίσει Μανουὴλ τοῦ μαγίστρου βασιλικῇ κελεύσει ὑποπεσὼν καὶ τὸν ενα τῶν ὀφθαλ- μῶν ἐκκοπείς, ἀφαιρεθεὶς δὲ καὶ τῶν χειρῶν τὴν μίαν διά τε τὴν 308 ενδειξιν τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ διὰ τὴν πεῖραν τῆς πρὸς τοὺς πολε- μίους φυγῆς, τὸ λοιπὸν ἐν Μεσημβρίᾳ ἐξόριστος κατεγήρασε. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὸν ̓Αποστύππην, οὐδὲ αλλως οντα χρηστόν, τοιοῦτον τέλος ἐδέξατο. 68 ̓Εν οσῳ δὲ τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν διὰ τῶν ὑποστρατή- γων τῷ βασιλεῖ κατεπράττετο, οἱ ἐκ μεσημβρίας ἀναπνεύσαντες Αραβες ἀργεῖν τε καὶ σχολάζειν καὶ ῥαθυμοῦν νομίσαντες ἀνεθάρρησαν, καὶ τῶν κατὰ θάλασσαν ἀνθάπτεσθαι πραγμάτων πάλιν διέγνωσαν, καὶ δὴ κατά τε τὴν Αιγυπτον καὶ τὰς ἐν Συρίᾳ παρα- θαλασσίους πόλεις ναῦς τεκτηνάμενοι κατὰ τῆς ὑποφόρου ̔Ρω- μαίοις γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης ἐκστρατεῦσαι διενοοῦντο. κρίναντες δὲ δεῖν διὰ κατασκόπων πρότερον τὰ βασιλέως πράγματα κατιδεῖν, τὸν ἐποψόμενον εκαστα καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀπαγγελοῦντα, ̔Ρωμαϊκῇ στολῇ καὶ γλώσσῃ χρώμενον, ἐξαπέστειλαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ταῖς περὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ φροντίσιν ἀεὶ ἀγρυπνῶν καὶ τὰ δέοντα προπαρα- σκευαζόμενος, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ τὰ ἐν Συρίᾳ ναυπηγούμενα πλοῖα τοῦ- τον διέλαθε,