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of the Exakionitae, because of Aspar and Ardaburius, sending out decrees everywhere that they should not have churches or assemble. And in his reign it rained dust in Constantinople instead of rain, and the dust stood on the roof-tiles to a height of a palm's breadth; and everyone was trembling, making supplications and saying that it was fire and it was extinguished and dust was found because God showed his love for mankind. And in his reign a great fire occurred in Constantinople, such as never before; for it burned from sea to sea; and fearing for the palace, the emperor Leo went across to Saint Mamas, and he spent six months there in official progress; and he built there a small harbor and a portico, which he called the new portico; which is so called until now. And the same Leo in the time of his reign campaigned against Sinzerichus the Vandal, king of the Africans, in a terrible naval war; and he sent a great fleet and Basiliscus the patrician, the brother of Verina the Augusta, the wife of the same Leo. which Basiliscus, having received money from Zinzerichus, king of the Vandals, betrayed the ships 373 and the exarchs and the comites and the whole army, and alone with his own ship, that is a liburnian, he was the first to flee; but all the other ships and the army were lost, having been sunk in the sea. among whom also was Damonikos, a former dux, who became strategelates of the expedition, originating from the great city of the Antiochians, who, having acted bravely against the Africans and been isolated, was cut down and captured and thrown into the deep in full armor. And Basiliscus returned to Constantinople defeated. And in the reign of the same Leo, the emperor Anthemius was slain in Rome; for having come into enmity with his own son-in-law Ricimer the strategelates, fearing him as a Goth, the emperor Anthemius went to Saint Peter's as a suppliant, pretending to be sick. And when the emperor Leo learned of this, he sent to Rome the patrician Olybrius the Roman after his consulship, which he had given him together with Rusticius, for the purpose, he said, of making friends of the emperor Anthemius and his son-in-law Ricimer, as they were from the senate of Rome; and ordering him that "After Anthemius and Ricimer have become friends, depart from Rome and go to Zinzerichus the Vandal, the king of Africa, since you have free access to him, because he has the sister of your wife Placidia as daughter-in-law for his son, and 374 persuade him to become my friend." But the same emperor Leo suspected the same Olybrius, that he was supported by Zinzerichus and that he was of his party, and Leo was on his guard against him, lest if Zinzerichus should start a war against Leo, the same Olybrius might betray Constantinople to Zinzerichus, as a kinsman, and that the same Olybrius might reign in Constantinople. And after Olybrius journeyed to Rome, having left his wife Placidia and his daughter in Constantinople, the most divine emperor Leo wrote through a magistrianus to Anthemius, emperor of Rome, these things: "I killed Aspar and Ardaburius, so that no one might oppose me when I give orders; but you too, kill your son-in-law Ricimer, so that he may not give orders over you. Behold, I have also sent Olybrius the patrician to you; kill him too and reign, giving orders and not being given orders." And Ricimer had stationed at each gate of Rome and at the harbor a Gothic guard; and if anyone entered Rome, what he was carrying was searched. And when the magistrianus Modestus who had been sent from Leo to emperor Anthemius went and was searched, the imperial letters of Leo to Anthemius were taken and brought to Ricimer; and he showed them to Olybrius. And so Ricimer sent
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Ἐξακιονιτῶν διὰ Ἄσπαρα καὶ Ἀρδαβούριον, διατάξεις πανταχοῦκαταπέμψας μὴ ἔχειν αὐτοὺς ἐκκλησίας ἢ συνάγεσθαι. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἔβρεξεν ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει κονίαν ἀντὶ βροχῆς καὶ ἐπὶ παλαιστῇ ὕψους ἕστηκεν εἰς τοὺς κεράμους ἡ κονία· καὶ πάντες ἔτρεμον λιτανεύοντες καὶ λέγοντες ὅτι Πῦρ ἦν καὶ ἐσβέσθη καὶ εὑρέθη κονία τοῦ θεοῦ φιλανθρωπευσαμένου. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ βασιλείᾳ ἐμπρησμὸς μέγας ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει οἷος οὐδέποτε· ἐκαύθη γὰρ ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης· καὶ φοβηθεὶς τὸ παλάτιον ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Λέων πέραν εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Μάμαντα, καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ μῆνας ἓξ ἐν προκέσσῳ· καὶ ἔκτισεν ἐκεῖ λιμενάριον καὶ ἔμβολον, ὅνπερ ἐκάλεσε νέον ἔμβολον· ὅστις οὕτω καλεῖται ἕως τῆς νῦν. Ἐπεστράτευσε δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς Λέων ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας κατὰ Σινζηρίχου Οὐανδάλου, ῥηγὸς τῶν Ἄφρων, πόλεμον ναυμαχίας φοβερόν· καὶ ἔπεμψε στόλον μέγαν καὶ Βασιλίσκον τὸν πατρίκιον, τὸν ἀδελφὸν Βηρίνης τῆς Αὐγούστας, τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ αὐτοῦ Λέοντος. ὅστις Βασιλίσκος λαβὼν χρήματα παρὰ Ζινζηρίχου, ῥηγὸς τῶν Οὐανδάλων, καὶ προέδωκε τὰ πλοῖα 373 καὶ τοὺς ἐξάρχους καὶ τοὺς κόμητας καὶ τὸν στρατὸν πάντα, καὶ μόνος μετὰ τοῦ ἰδίου πλοίου, ἤτοι λιβέρνου, πρῶτος ἔφυγε· τὰ δ' ἄλλα πλοῖα πάντα καὶ ὁ στρατὸς ἀπώλετο ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ βυθισθέντα. ἐν οἷς καὶ ∆αμονικὸς ὁ ἀπὸ δουκῶν, γενόμενος στρατηλάτης ἐξπεδίτου, καταγόμενος ἐκ τῆς Ἀντιοχέων μεγάλης πόλεως, ἀνδραγαθήσας κατὰ τῶν Ἄφρων καὶ μονασθεὶς ἐμεσάσθη καὶ συνελήφθη καὶ ἐῤῥίφη εἰς τὸν βυθὸν ἔνοπλος. καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν ὁ Βασιλίσκος ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἡττηθείς. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ αὐτοῦ Λέοντος ἐσφάγη Ἀνθίμιος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν Ῥώμῃ· ἐν ἔχθρᾳ γὰρ γενόμενος τοῦ ἰδίου αὐτοῦ υἱοῦ γαμβροῦ Ῥεκίμερ τοῦ στρατηλάτου, φοβηθεὶς αὐτὸν ὡς Γότθον, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Πέτρον προσφεύγων ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀνθίμιος, φησίν, ὡς ἄῤῥωστος. καὶ γνοὺς Λέων ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔπεμψεν ἐν Ῥώμῃ τὸν πατρίκιον Ὀλύβριον τὸν Ῥωμαῖον μετὰτὴν ὑπατείαν αὐτοῦ, ἣν δέδωκεν ἅμα Ῥουστικίῳ, εἰς τό, φησί, ποιῆσαι φίλους τὸν βασιλέα Ἀνθίμιον καὶ τὸν γαμβρὸν αὐτοῦ Ῥεκίμερ, ὡς ὄντας ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου Ῥώμης· καὶ κελεύσας αὐτῷ ὅτι Μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι Ἀνθίμιον καὶ Ῥεκίμερ φίλους ἐκ τῆς Ῥώμης ἔξελθε καὶ ἄπελθε πρὸς Ζινζήριχον Οὐάνδαλον, τὸν ῥῆγα τῆς Ἀφρικῆς, ὡς ἔχων παῤῥησίαν πρὸς αὐτόν, διότι τὴν ἀδελφὴν τῆς σῆς γαμετῆς Πλακιδίας ἔχει νύμφην τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ 374 πεῖσον αὐτὸν φίλον μου γενέσθαι. ὑπελάμβανε δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς Λέων τὸν αὐτὸν Ὀλύβριον, ὅτι ἀντείχετο Ζινζηρίχου καὶ ὅτι τοῦ μέρους αὐτοῦ ὑπῆρχε, καὶ παρεφυλάττετο αὐτὸν ὁ Λέων, μὴ ἐὰν κινήσῃ κατὰ Λέοντος Ζινζήριχος πόλεμον, προδώσει ὁ αὐτὸς Ὀλύβριος Κωνσταντινούπολιν τῷ Ζινζηρίχῳ, ὡς συγγενής, καὶ ὅτι βασιλεύει ὁ αὐτὸς Ὀλύβριος ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει. καὶ μετὰ τὸ ὁδεῦσαι Ὀλύβριον ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην ἐάσαντα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα Πλακιδίαν καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἔγραψεν ὁ θειότατος θεῖος βασιλεὺς Λέων διὰ μαγιστριανοῦ Ἀνθιμίῳ, βασιλεῖ τῆς Ῥώμης, ταῦτα ὅτι Ἐγὼ ἐφόνευσα Ἄσπαρκαὶ Ἀρδαβούριον, ἵνα μηδείς μοι ἐναντιοῦται κελεύοντι· ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ φόνευσον τὸν γαμβρόν σου Ῥεκίμερ, ἵνα μὴ ἐπάνω σου κελεύῃ. ἰδοὺ ἀπέστειλά σοι καὶ Ὀλύβριον τὸν πατρίκιον· φόνευσον καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ βασίλευσον κελεύων καὶ μὴ κελευόμενος. ἦν δὲ ἀφορίσας ὁ Ῥεκίμερ εἰς ἑκάστην πόρταν Ῥώμης καὶ εἰς τὸν λιμένα βοήθειαν Γοτθικήν· καὶ εἴ τις εἰσήρχετο ἐν Ῥώμῃ, ἐρευνᾶτο τί ἐπεφέρετο. καὶ ἀπελθόντος τοῦ μαγιστριανοῦ Μοδέστου τοῦ πεμφθέντος ἀπὸ Λέοντος πρὸς Ἀνθίμιον βασιλέα καὶ ἐρευνηθέντος, ἐπήρθησαν αἱ σάκραι Λέοντος αἱ πρὸς Ἀνθίμιον καὶ εἰσηνέχθησαν τῷ Ῥεκίμερ· καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτὰς Ὀλυβρίῳ. καὶ λοιπὸν ἔπεμψεν ὁ Ῥεκίμερ