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honors Zaoutzes as basileopator, having himself invented the name; for he was already having an affair with his daughter Zoe, after her husband Theodore, surnamed Gouniatzitzes, had been killed by poison. 8 And when the patriarch Stephen departed this life, Antony surnamed Kauleas is appointed patriarch in his place. 9 And news arrived that Symeon, the ruler of Bulgaria, intended to campaign against the Romans, having this pretext for the battle. The basileopator Zaoutzes had a eunuch slave; his name was Mousikos. This man became friends with commercial, gain-loving, and gold-loving men from Hellas, Staurakios and Kosmas; who, wishing to profit from the trade with the Bulgarians through the mediation of Mousikos, transferred it from the City to Thessalonica, improperly taxing the Bulgarians. And when the Bulgarians reported these things to Symeon, he himself made them known to the emperor Leo. But he considered it all as nonsense, being overcome by his partiality for Zaoutzes. So Symeon, enraged, took up arms against the Romans. And the emperor sends 358 Krenites against him, being a stratēlatēs, having armed him with a large army and commanders. And when an engagement took place in Macedonia, the Romans are defeated, and both Krenites himself and Kourtikes the Armenian and many others are slain. And since Symeon also captured Khazars from the bodyguard of the emperor Leo, he cut off their noses and sent them to the City to the shame of the Romans; upon seeing whom the emperor, filled with anger, sent out Niketas, called Skleros, to the Danube river with dromons, to give gifts to the Turks so that they would make war on Symeon. And having met with them and persuaded them to take up arms against Symeon, he took hostages from them and returned to the emperor. And the emperor decided to fight the Bulgarians by both land and sea. And by sea he sends Eustathios the droungarios, and by land the patrician Nikephoros Phokas, who had become domestic of the schools after the death of Andrew. When they had reached Bulgaria, the emperor sent the quaestor Konstantinakios to Symeon, still loving peace and wishing to make a truce with him; whom Symeon seized and locked up in a prison, suspecting that he had come to him with guile. So while Symeon was occupied with the army of Nikephoros, the Turks, having invaded, plundered the entire Bulgarian land. Symeon, having learned this, turned against the Turks. But they, having crossed over, join battle with the Bulgarians and 359 defeat them decisively, so that Symeon barely saved himself in Distra. Then the Turks asked the emperor to buy the Bulgarian prisoners; which he indeed did, sending out citizens for their purchase. But Symeon, through Eustathios the droungarios, implored the emperor for peace; to which the emperor yielded, and he sent out Leo Choirosphaktes to make it. And the domestic Nikephoros and the droungarios Eustathios were ordered to return with the army. But Symeon did not even deign to speak to Leo Choirosphaktes, but strangled him in prison. And having campaigned against the Turks, he slaughtered them all, as they were unable to receive help from the Romans. And returning, exulting in his victory, he said to Leo, "Unless I first receive all the Bulgarian captives, I will not make peace." The emperor therefore consented to return them. So the Bulgarian Theodore, a kinsman of Symeon, came with Leo and took them. 10 And while the domestic Nikephoros was exceedingly loved by the emperor, the basileopator Zaoutzes accused him as a usurper, wanting to make a marriage contract with him. But when he refused this, lest he ever give suspicion to the emperor Leo, becoming enraged at

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βασιλεοπάτορα τὸν Ζαούτζαν τιμᾷ, αὐτὸς καινουργήσας τὸ ονομα· ηδη γὰρ Ζωῇ τῇ αὐτοῦ θυγατρὶ συνεφιλιώθη, τοῦ ταύτης ἀνδρὸς Θεοδώρου, ῳ Γουνιατζίτζης ἐπώνυμον, ἀναιρεθέν- τος φαρμάκῳ. 8 Στεφάνου δὲ πατριάρχου τὸν βίον ἀπολιπόντος, ̓Αντώνιος ὁ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν Καυλέας πατριάρχης ἀντ' αὐτοῦ προχειρίζεται. 9 ̓Αγγελία δὲ κατέλαβεν ὡς ὁ αρχων Συμεὼν Βουλγαρίας βούλεται κατὰ ̔Ρωμαίων ἐκστρατεύσασθαι, πρόφασιν εχων τῆς μάχης ταύτην. εὐνοῦχον ειχε δοῦλον ὁ βασιλεοπάτωρ Ζαούτζας· Μουσικὸς ην ονομα τούτῳ. ουτος συνεφιλιώθη ἀνδράσιν ἐμπο- ρικοῖς καὶ φιλοκερδέσι καὶ φιλοχρύσοις, ἐξ ̔Ελλάδος ουσι, Σταυ- ρακίῳ τε καὶ Κοσμᾷ· οι τινες μεσιτείᾳ τοῦ Μουσικοῦ κερδαίνειν βουλόμενοι τὴν μετὰ Βουλγάρων πραγματείαν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐν Θεσ- σαλονίκῃ μετέστησαν, κακῶς κουμερκεύοντες τοὺς Βουλγάρους. τῶν δὲ Βουλγάρων ταῦτα τῷ Συμεὼν ἀναγγειλάντων, αὐτὸς δῆλα ταῦτα τῷ βασιλεῖ κατέστησε Λέοντι. ὁ δὲ πάντα ὡς λῆρον ἐλο- γίζετο, τῇ πρὸς Ζαούτζαν προσπαθείᾳ νικώμενος. μανεὶς ουν ὁ Συμεὼν ηρε κατὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων τὰ οπλα. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὸν 358 Κρηνίτην ἀποστέλλει κατ' αὐτοῦ στρατηλάτην οντα, λαῷ πολλῷ καὶ αρχουσι καθοπλίσας αὐτόν. συμβολῆς δὲ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ γενο- μένης ἡττῶνται ̔Ρωμαῖοι, καὶ κατασφάττεται αὐτός τε ὁ Κρηνί- της καὶ ὁ ̓Αρμένιος Κουρτίκης καὶ αλλοι πολλοί. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Χαζάρους κατέσχεν ὁ Συμεὼν τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑταιρείας τοῦ βασιλέως Λέοντος, τὰς αὐτῶν ῥῖνας ἀποτεμὼν εἰς αἰσχύνην τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀπέστειλεν· ους ἰδὼν ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ θυμοῦ πλησθείς, Νικήταν τὸν ὀνομαζόμενον Σκληρὸν ἐν τῷ ∆ανουβίῳ ποταμῷ μετὰ δρομώνων ἐξαπέστειλεν, δοῦναι δῶρα τοῖς Τούρκοις ωστε τὸν Συμεὼν καταπολεμῆσαι. ὁ δὲ τούτοις συντυχὼν καὶ πείσας κατὰ Συμεὼν οπλα αρασθαι, ὁμήρους λαβὼν παρ' αὐτῶν πρὸς βασιλέα ὑπέστρεψεν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς διά τε γῆς καὶ θαλάττης διέγνω τοὺς Βουλγάρους πολεμεῖν. καὶ διὰ μὲν θαλάσσης Εὐστάθιον δρουγ- γάριον ἀποστέλλει, διὰ γῆς δὲ πατρίκιον Νικηφόρον τὸν Φωκᾶν, δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ̓Ανδρέου γενόμενον. ων μέχρι Βουλγαρίας καταλαβόντων, ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν κυαίστωρα Κωνσταντινάκιν πρὸς Συμεὼν ἐξαπέστειλεν, ετι τὴν εἰρήνην στέρ- γων καὶ βουλόμενος σπείσασθαι πρὸς αὐτόν· ον Συμεὼν κατα- σχὼν ἐν φρουρᾷ κατακλείει, δόλῳ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὑποπτεύσας παρα- γενέσθαι. τοῦ Συμεὼν ουν ἐπὶ τὸ στράτευμα Νικηφόρου ἀσχο- λουμένου, οἱ Τοῦρκοι καταδραμόντες πᾶσαν τὴν Βουλγαρικὴν ἐληΐσαντο γῆν. ο Συμεὼν ἐκμαθὼν κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων ἐτράπετο. οἱ δὲ ἀντιπεράσαντες πόλεμον πρὸς Βουλγάρους συμβάλλουσι καὶ 359 νικῶσι τούτους κατὰ κράτος, ὡς μόλις τὸν Συμεὼν ἐν τῇ ∆ίστρᾳ περισωθῆναι. ᾐτήσαντο ουν οἱ Τοῦρκοι τὸν βασιλέα τοὺς Βουλ- γάρων αἰχμαλώτους ὠνήσασθαι· ο δὴ καὶ πεποίηκεν, τοὺς πολί- τας ἐξαποστείλας εἰς τὴν τούτων ἐξώνησιν. ὁ δὲ Συμεὼν δι' Εὐ- σταθίου δρουγγαρίου τὸν βασιλέα περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ἱκέτευεν· πρὸς ην ὑπεῖξεν ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ τὸν Χοιροσφάκτην Λέοντα πρὸς τὸ ταύτην ποιήσασθαι ἐξαπέστειλεν. ὁ δὲ δομέστικος Νικηφόρος καὶ ὁ δρουγγάριος Εὐστάθιος ὑποστρέψαι μετὰ λαοῦ ἐκελεύσθησαν. Λέοντα δὲ Χοιροσφάκτην οὐδὲ λόγου ἠξίωσεν ὁ Συμεών, ἀλλ' ἐν εἱρκτῇ ἐστραγγαλίσατο. ἐκστρατεύσας δὲ κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων πάντας κατέσφαξεν, μὴ δυνηθέντας παρὰ ̔Ρωμαίοις βοήθειαν δέξασθαι. ὑποστρέψας δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ γαυριῶν πρὸς τὸν Λέοντα εφη "εἰ μὴ πρότερον πᾶσαν τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν Βουλγάρων λάβω, εἰρήνην οὐ ποιῶ." ἐπένευσεν ουν ὁ βασιλεὺς ταύτην ἀποδοῦναι. ηλθεν ουν μετὰ Λέοντος ὁ Βούλγαρος Θεόδωρος, οἰκεῖος ων τῷ Συμεών, καὶ παρέλαβεν αὐτούς. 10 Τοῦ δὲ δομεστίκου Νικηφόρου πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξόχως ἀγαπωμένου, ὁ βασιλεοπάτωρ Ζαούτζας τοῦτον ὡς δυνά- στην προεβάλλετο, γαμικὸν μετ' αὐτοῦ ποιῆσαι συνάλλαγμα βου- λόμενος. τοῦ δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο ἀπαναινομένου, μήποτε δῷ ὑπόνοιαν τῷ βασιλεῖ Λέοντι, μανεὶς ἐπὶ