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he burned to ashes with liquid fire. And as many as were left, having crossed over towards the east, encountered the patrician Bardas Phokas, commanding a military contingent, who, capturing many leaving the ships for the collection of necessities, killed them. But also the Domestikos of the Schools Kourkouas, encountering others disembarking from the ships in search of provisions, both took them captive and put them to the sword. And so, having suffered badly both by sea and by land, they no longer set out from their ships. And when their food had completely failed them, they resolved to return to their own lands and already began their departure. But again the triremes attacked them, and twice the barbarians were defeated in naval battle, so that very few of their ships escaped and returned to their own people, becoming messengers to them of the disaster. And the Rhos, having suffered more badly than they had inflicted, desisted from their attack against the Romans. And the Agarenes also, through the Domestikos of the Schools John Kourkouas and his brother Theophilos (Theophilos being the grandfather 478 of the John who later held the imperial power), were both defeated many times and humbled, and were deprived of not a few of the cities which they held. But the emperor Romanos, having seemed perhaps to come to a realization of his perjury and the violation of the agreements which he had made with the emperor Constantine, hastened through good deeds to propitiate God. And he made distributions and other such things, and in addition to these, after paying what was owed by those in the city to their creditors, he released the debtors from the burden of their debt, and taking the bonds in the middle of the agora, he consumed them with fire; and the debts were calculated at nineteen centenaria. He also provided for the rents of those living as tenants throughout the great city. These things, then, benefited the debtors, but for Romanos, I think they profited little or nothing, both because the things being given happened to be another's (for they were public funds) and because, having seized the empire and holding it and enjoying it and depriving the one to whom it belonged, he allotted to himself all the good fortune of the empire, but from his good deeds he apportioned a small drop, doing something like one who, if 479 having driven off his neighbor's ox and having sacrificed it, distributed the feet to the poor, but feasted on the whole body himself. But these things are according to human judgment; but if one were to look to the divine goodness, perhaps he would not say these things were without effect. While he was holding the scepters, the image-not-made-by-hands of the savior Christ, the divine hand-towel, was brought to the preeminent of cities. For until then Edessa held this; but it was in danger of being captured by the besieging Romans; in order, then, for the Edessenes to escape the sack, they offered the divine image as a ransom for it. At that time there also arrived from Armenia a pair of conjoined youths, and when one of them died, the connection was severed by physicians; but this did not help the survivor at all, and after surviving his brother for a short time, he too expired. 480 How, then, Romanos usurped the empire which in no way belonged to him and deemed his own sons worthy of imperial honor and title, and how he deemed himself and his sons worthy of the first places, but placed the legitimate successor to the empire, Constantine, last of all, having demoted him, has already been related by me. But the account now comes to add what follows and to show that even if providence perhaps pursues wrongdoers rather slowly, measuring out for them a time for repentance, yet it does pursue with a slow foot those who do not abstain from evil and exacts justice. So Romanos was completing his twenty-sixth year as sole ruler; but Constantine, in order to recover the empire for himself, was constantly turning it over in his mind, and so that he might accomplish his desire, through others he incited the sons against their father, or rather the one, Stephen. For Constantine, being of a more stable mind, did not accept the attack. But he, having won over others as well, attacked his father and having seized him

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ὑγρῷ πυρὶ ἀπετέφρωσεν. ὅσα δέ γε περιελέλειπτο πρὸς ἕω περαιωθέντα, τῷ πατρικίῳ Βάρδᾳ ἐνέκυρσε τῷ Φωκᾷ, στρατιωτικοῦ στρατηγοῦντι συντάγματος, ὃς πρὸς συλλογὴν τῶν ἀναγκαίων πολλοὺς ἐξιόντας τῶν πλοίων καταλαμβάνων ἀνῄρει. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν ὁ Κουρκούας ἑτέροις ἐντυγχάνων κατὰ ζήτησιν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐκβαίνουσι τῶν νηῶν καὶ ἐζώγρει καὶ μαχαίρας ἔργον ἐτίθετο. οὕτω δὲ καὶ διὰ θαλάσσης καὶ διὰ γῆς παθόντες κακῶς οὐκέτι τῶν πλοίων ἐξώρμουν. ὡς δὲ τὰ πρὸς τροφὴν αὐτοῖς παντάπασιν ἐπιλέλοιπεν, ἐπανελθεῖν ἐς τὰ οἰκεῖα διανενόηνται καὶ ἤδη τοῦ ἔκπλου κατήρξαντο. ἀλλ' αὖθις αὐτοῖς αἱ τριήρεις ἐπέθεντο, καὶ δὶς οἱ βάρβαροι κατεναυμαχήθησαν, ὡς ὀλίγας πάνυ τῶν σφετέρων νηῶν ἐκφυγεῖν καὶ ἀνθυπονοστῆσαι πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους, ἀγγέλους γενομένους ἐκείνοις τῆς συμφορᾶς. καὶ οἱ μὲν Ῥῶς παθόντες πλέον κακῶς ἢ δεδρακότες τῆς κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἀπέσχοντο ἐπιθέσεως. Καὶ οἱ Ἀγαρηνοὶ δὲ διὰ τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ Κουρκούα καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Θεοφίλου (πάππος δὲ 478 ὁ Θεόφιλος τοῦ μετέπειτα τῆς βασιλείας κρατήσαντος Ἰωάννου) ἥττηντό τε πολλάκις καὶ τεταπείνωντο καὶ πόλεις οὐκ ἐλαχίστας ὧν κατεῖχον ἀφῄρηντο. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς εἰς συναίσθησιν τάχα δόξας ἐλθεῖν τῆς ἐπιορκίας καὶ τῆς τῶν συνθηκῶν παραβάσεως, ἃς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Κωνσταντῖνον πεποίητο, δι' εὐποιιῶν ἔσπευδεν ἐξιλεώσασθαι τὸν θεόν. καὶ διαδόσεις μὲν καὶ ἀλλοίας ἐτίθετο, ἐπὶ δὲ ταύταις καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει χρεωστούμενα τοῖς δανεισταῖς ἀποδοὺς τοὺς ὀφειλέτας ἀπέλυσε τοῦ βάρους τῆς ὀφειλῆς, καὶ τὰ γραμματεῖα λαβὼν ἐν μέσῃ τῇ ἀγορᾷ πυρὶ κατῃθάλωσεν· εἰς ἐννεακαίδεκα δὲ κεντηνάρια τὰ τῶν ὀφειλῶν ἠριθμήθησαν. παρέσχε καὶ τὰ ἐνοίκια τῶν κατὰ τὴν μεγαλόπολιν οἰκούντων μισθωτικῶς. τοὺς μὲν οὖν ὀφειλέτας ὠφέλουν ταῦτα, τῷ δέ γε Ῥωμανῷ μικρὸν ἢ οὐδὲν οἶμαι λυσιτελεῖν, ὅτι τε ἀλλότρια ἐτύγχανον τὰ διδόμενα (δημόσια γάρ) καὶ ὅτι τὴν βασιλείαν ἁρπάσας καὶ ταύτην κατέχων καὶ ἀπολαύων αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν ᾧ προσῆκε ταύτης ἀποστερῶν ἑαυτῷ μὲν ἀπεκλήρου τῆς βασιλικῆς εὐκληρίας τὰ ξύμπαντα, ταῖς δ' εὐποιίαις ῥανίδα μικρὰν ἀπεμέριζε, τοιοῦτόν τι πράττων οἷον ἄν τις, εἰ 479 βοῦν ἀπελάσας τοῦ γείτονος καὶ καταθύσας αὐτὸν τοὺς μὲν πόδας ἄκρους διένειμε πένησι, τὸ σῶμα δ' ὅλον αὐτὸς ἐθοινήσατο. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα κατ' ἀνθρωπίνην κρίσιν· εἰ δέ τις πρὸς τὴν θείαν ἀποβλέψειεν ἀγαθότητα, οὐδὲ ταῦτ' ἂν ἴσως εἴποι ἀσυντελῆ. Τούτου τῶν σκήπτρων κρατοῦντος καὶ τὸ ἀχειρότευκτον ἐκτύπωμα τοῦ σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ τὸ θεῖον χειρόμακτρον ἐκομίσθη πρὸς τὴν προκαθημένην τῶν πόλεων. εἶχε μὲν γὰρ τέως τοῦτο ἡ Ἔδεσα· ἡ δὲ ἁλῶναι παρὰ Ῥωμαίων πολιορκούντων αὐτὴν ἐκινδύνευεν· ἵν' οὖν φύγοιεν οἱ Ἐδεσηνοὶ τὴν ἐκπόρθησιν, λύτρον ταύτης τὸ θεῖον παρέσχον ἐκτύπωμα. ἀφίκετο δὲ τότε καὶ ἐξ Ἀρμενίας μειρακίσκων δυὰς συμφυῶν, τοῦ ἑνὸς δὲ θανόντος ἐτμήθη ἡ συμφυΐα παρ' ἰατρῶν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τὸν περίλοιπον ὤνησε, μικρὸν δ' ἐπιβιώσας τῷ ἀδελφῷ κἀκεῖνος ἐξέπνευσεν. 480 Ὅπως μὲν οὖν μηδὲν αὐτῷ προσήκουσαν τὴν βασιλείαν ὁ Ῥωμανὸς ἐσφετερίσατο καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ παῖδας τῆς βασιλικῆς ἠξίωσε τιμῆς τε καὶ κλήσεως καὶ ὅπως ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς παῖδας τῶν πρωτείων ἠξίωσε, τὸν δ' ἐγγενῆ τῆς βασιλείας διάδοχον Κωνσταντῖνον πολλοστὸν ἔθετο πάντων ὑποβιβάσας, ἤδη μοι προϊστόρηται. ἥκει δὲ νῦν ὁ λόγος προσθήσων καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς καὶ δείξων ὡς κἂν βραδύτερον ἴσως μέτεισι τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἡ πρόνοια, μετανοίας αὐτοῖς ἐπιμετροῦσα καιρόν, ἀλλά γε τοῦ κακοῦ μὴ ἀπεχομένους μέτεισι σχολαίῳ ποδὶ καὶ δίκας εἰσπράττεται. ἤνυε μὲν οὖν ὁ Ῥωμανὸς αὐταρχῶν εἰκοστὸν καὶ ἕκτον ἐνιαυτόν· ὁ δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος, ὅπως ἑαυτῷ τὴν βασιλείαν ἐπανασώσηται, διὰ παντὸς ἔστρεφε κατὰ νοῦν, καὶ ἵνα τὸ ἐφετὸν αὐτῷ διαπράξηται, δι' ἑτέρων ἐπεγείρει τῷ πατρὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς ἢ μᾶλλον τὸν ἕνα τὸν Στέφανον. ὁ γὰρ Κωνσταντῖνος σταθηροτέρας τυγχάνων φρενὸς τὴν προσβολὴν οὐ προσήκατο. ὁ δὲ προσεταιρισάμενος καὶ ἄλλους ἐπέθετο τῷ πατρὶ καὶ κατασχὼν