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to the patriarch. And there arose a certain report, on account of which the patriarch would not permit him to set foot on the holy pavement at all; for it was said that Nicephorus had become godfather to the children of Theophano at 500 holy baptism, and the patriarch demanded that he either divorce the empress or stay away from the holy rites. But he would not keep away from Theophano; for love for her still burned. He therefore communicated the problem to the bishops who were present and to the more learned men of the senate. They, attributing the canon concerning this to Copronymus, said that the legislation of such a man ought not to be considered valid, and they all gave him a written dispensation concerning this matter. But the patriarch still held to his own objection, until the emperor's father, Caesar Bardas, gave him sworn assurances that the emperor had not become godfather to Theophano's children, and Stylianus, the chief priest of the palace, who was said to have been the first to proclaim this rumor, swore before a synod that he had neither seen nor said anything to anyone about this. When these things had been done, the patriarch received Nicephorus. And as the Saracens in Sicily were exacting tribute from the Romans based on old treaties, this emperor did not think it tolerable that during his reign Romans should pay taxes to the Hagarenes; for which reason he sent Manuel the patrician against them, 501 an illegitimate son of his paternal uncle Leo, who, having become Domestic of the Schools under Romanus the Elder, had attempted a tyranny and had been blinded in his eyes. This Manuel, therefore, having landed in Sicily with a distinguished fleet, not only achieved nothing, but was also greatly defeated out of inexperience and youthful arrogance, or rather, recklessness. For both he himself perished and all the soldiery with him. And so things turned out in Sicily. But against Cilicia (and the Hagarenes were in control of this too), the emperor sent John Tzimiskes the magister, who had been appointed Domestic of the East. And he, arriving at Adana, both engaged with the Hagarenes in it and set up a trophy against them. And from that point on, fame proclaimed him greater than before in military matters. And Nicephorus, now completing the second year of his reign, went out himself against Cilicia with a heavy hand, taking Theophano with her children. And he left her before Cilicia at Drizion (this is a fortress), 502 but he himself attacked Cilicia and captured Anazarbus, Rhosus, and Adana (these are cities of the Cilicians), and indeed also several fortresses. But he decided not to attack Tarsus and Mopsuestia because of the winter, or because his love for Theophano was drawing him back to her; for he went away with her to Cappadocia. And from there, when spring had begun, he returned again to Cilicia, and he himself besieged Mopsuestia, but he set his brother Leo over Tarsus. And since Mopsuestia was divided in the middle by the Sarus river, the one part of it was taken under siege, and the Hagarenes in it withdrew to the remaining part, having set fire to what they had left behind; then the other part was also taken, and no one escaped from there. And those in Tarsus, learning of the sacking of Mopsuestia, called upon the emperor and handed over the city. And after three days had passed, a fleet from Egypt sailed out to help Tarsus, but it was not permitted to run ashore. Therefore it sailed away again. But having encountered violent gusts of wind and Roman triremes, the greater part of it was lost. And the emperor returned to 503 Constantinople, bringing the gates of Tarsus and Mopsuestia, made of bronze and showing precision of craftsmanship, which he, after embellishing them, fitted, some to the eastern wall near the acropolis, and others to the western wall. And giving to God as first-fruits, as it were, of his own campaign, the precious crosses, which the barbarians had taken, when Stypeiotes, being Domestic of the Schools and besieging Tarsus, through ill-counsel fell into misfortune, to the divine sanctuary of the

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τῷ πατριάρχῃ. ἐγένετο δέ τις καὶ λόγος, δι' ὃν οὐδ' ἐπιβῆναι αὐτὸν ὅλως τοῦ ἱεροῦ δαπέδου συνεχώρει ὁ πατριάρχης· ἐλέγετο γὰρ ἀνάδοχος γενέσθαι ὁ Νικηφόρος τῶν τῆς Θεοφανοῦς παίδων ἐκ τοῦ 500 ἁγίου βαπτίσματος, καὶ ἀπῄτει ὁ πατριάρχης ἢ διαζυγῆναι τῆς βασιλίσσης ἢ πόρρω εἶναι τῶν ἱερῶν. ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος τῆς Θεοφανοῦς οὐκ ἀπείχετο· ἔτι γὰρ ὁ ταύτης ἔρως ἐφλέγμαινε, κοινοῦται τοίνυν τοῖς παροῦσι τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ τοῖς τῆς γερουσίας λογιωτέροις τὸ ζήτημα. οἱ δὲ τὸν περὶ τούτου κανόνα τῷ Κοπρωνύμῳ ἐπιγραφόμενοι μὴ δεῖν ἔλεγον ἐνεργὸν λογίζεσθαι τοιοῦδε ἀνδρὸς νομοθέτημα, καὶ πάντες αὐτῷ ἔγγραφον παρέσχον τὴν περὶ τούτου συγχώρησιν. ὁ δέ γε πατριάρχης ἔτι τῆς οἰκείας ἐνστάσεως εἴχετο, μέχρις οὗ ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως πατὴρ ὁ Καῖσαρ Βάρδας ἐνόρκους αὐτῷ πίστεις παρέσχετο ὡς οὐ γέγονεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν τῆς Θεοφανοῦς παίδων ἀνάδοχος, καὶ ὁ πρωτοπαπᾶς δὲ τῶν βασιλείων Στυλιανός, ὃς ἐλέγετο πρῶτος κῆρυξ τῆς φήμης ταύτης γενέσθαι, ἐπὶ συνόδου μήτ' ἰδεῖν μήτ' εἰπεῖν περὶ τούτου πρός τινας ἐξωμόσατο. τούτων δὲ γενομένων ἐδέξατο τὸν Νικηφόρον ὁ πατριάρχης. Τῶν δ' ἐν Σικελίᾳ Σαρακηνῶν δασμὸν πραττόντων ἐκ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐκ παλαιῶν συνθηκῶν, ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος οὐκ ἀνασχετὸν ᾤετο αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντος τοῖς Ἀγαρηνοῖς Ῥωμαίους φορολογεῖσθαι· διὸ κατ' αὐτῶν ἐκπέμπει Μανουὴλ πατρίκιον, 501 νόθον ὄντα παῖδα τοῦ πατραδέλφου αὐτοῦ Λέοντος, ὃς δομέστικος γεγονὼς τῶν σχολῶν ἐπὶ Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ γέροντος τυραννίδι ἐπιχειρήσας ἐπηρώθη τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Μανουὴλ σὺν ναυτικῷ περιφανεῖ τῇ Σικελίᾳ προσορμισάμενος οὐ μόνον οὐδέν τι κατώρθωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ἐσφάλη ἐξ ἀπειρίας καὶ νεωτερικῆς ἀγερωχίας ἢ μᾶλλον ἀτασθαλίας· αὐτός τε γὰρ διώλετο καὶ ἅπαν τὸ σὺν αὐτῷ στρατιωτικόν. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ Σικελίαν συνεκύρησεν οὕτω. Κατὰ Κιλικίας δέ (καὶ ταύτης δὲ οἱ Ἀγαρηνοὶ ἐκράτουν) ἐκπέμπει ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰωάννην μάγιστρον τὸν Τζιμισκήν, τῆς ἀνατολῆς προκεχειρισμένον δομέστικον. ὁ δὲ πρὸς Ἄδαναν ἀφικόμενος τοῖς ἐν ταύτῃ τε συνεπλάκη Ἀγαρηνοῖς καὶ κατ' αὐτῶν ἐστήσατο τρόπαιον. κἀντεῦθεν μέγαν αὐτὸν ἢ πρότερον ἐν στρατηγίαις ἡ φήμη ἐκήρυττεν. Ἤδη δὲ δεύτερον ἐνιαυτὸν ἀνύων ὁ Νικηφόρος ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ αὐτὸς ἔξεισι κατὰ Κιλικίας μετὰ βαρείας χειρός, καὶ τὴν Θεοφανὼ μετὰ τῶν παίδων αὐτῆς ἐπαγόμενος. καὶ τὴν μὲν πρὸ τῆς Κιλικίας κατὰ τὸ ∆ριζίον (φρούριον δὲ τοῦτο) κατέλιπεν, 502 ἐκεῖνος δὲ τῇ Κιλικίᾳ προσβαλὼν αἱρεῖ τὴν Ἀνάβαρζαν Ῥωσόν τε καὶ Ἄδαναν (πόλεις δ' αὗται Κιλίκων), ἀλλὰ μέντοι καὶ φρούρια πλείονα. τῇ δέ γε Ταρσῷ καὶ τῇ Μόψου ἑστίᾳ οὐκ ἔκρινε προσβαλεῖν διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα ἢ τοῦ ἔρωτος αὐτὸν τῆς Θεοφανοῦς πρὸς ἐκείνην ἀνθέλκοντος· ἀπῄει γὰρ σὺν αὐτῇ πρὸς Καππαδοκίαν. κἀκεῖθεν τοῦ ἔαρος ἠργμένου εἰς Κιλικίαν ἀνθυπενόστησε, καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν Μόψου ἑστίαν ἐπολιόρκει, τῇ Ταρσῷ δὲ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐπέστησε Λέοντα. τῆς δὲ Μόψου ἑστίας μέσον ποταμῷ τῷ Σάρῳ διαιρουμένης, τὸ μὲν ἓν μέρος ταύτης ἑάλω πολιορκούμενον, οἱ δ' ἐν τούτῳ Ἀγαρηνοὶ πρὸς τὸ λοιπὸν μετεχώρησαν, τῷ καταλελειμμένῳ πῦρ ἐμβαλόντες· εἶτα καὶ τὸ ἕτερον ἑαλώκει, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐκεῖθεν διέδρα. τὴν δὲ τῆς Μόψου ἑστίας ἐκπόρθησιν οἱ ἐν τῇ Ταρσῷ μαθόντες τὸν βασιλέα ἐπεκαλέσαντο καὶ τὴν πόλιν παραδεδώκασιν. ἡμερῶν δὲ τριῶν διελθουσῶν στόλος ἐξ Αἰγύπτου τῇ Ταρσῷ βοηθήσων ἐξέπλευσε, προσοκεῖλαι δὲ τῇ χέρσῳ οὐ συγκεχώρητο· διὸ καὶ αὖθις ἀπέπλευσεν· ἀνέμων δὲ πνοαῖς βιαίαις περιπεπτωκὼς καὶ τριήρεσι Ῥωμαϊκαῖς ὁ πλείων ἀπώλετο. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐπανέζευξεν εἰς 503 τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν τὰς τῆς Ταρσοῦ πύλας καὶ τὰς τῆς Μόψου ἑστίας ἐπαγόμενος ἐκ χαλκοῦ πεποιημένας καὶ τέχνης δεικνυούσας ἀκρίβειαν, ἃς κἀκεῖνος ἐπικοσμήσας τὰς μὲν τῷ κατὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἑῴῳ τείχει προσήρμοσε, τὰς δὲ τῷ τείχει τῷ δυτικῷ. καὶ τῷ θεῷ δὲ ἀπαρχὰς οἷον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ στρατείας ἀποδιδοὺς τοὺς τιμίους σταυρούς, οὓς οἱ βάρβαροι ἔλαβον, ὁπηνίκα ὁ Στυππειώτης τῶν σχολῶν δομέστικος ὢν καὶ πολιορκῶν τὴν Ταρσὸν ἐκ κακοβουλίας δυστυχήματι περιέπεσε, τῷ θείῳ τεμένει τῆς