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having gathered many forces, was coming against the Romans; and when the war was joined, the Romans turn the barbarians, and the Romans carried off this most remarkable victory of all. But Priscus, having drawn up four thousand men, ordered them to cross the Tissus river and to spy out the movements of the barbarians. But the barbarians, knowing nothing of what had happened, were feasting together, celebrating a festival. The Romans, secretly falling upon them, work a very great slaughter; for they killed thirty thousand Gepaedes and other barbarians; and taking a very great number of captives, they returned to Priscus. But the Chagan, having gathered forces again, comes to the Ister; and having joined battle, the barbarians are defeated and are drowned in the streams of the river. And many Sclaveni perish along with them. And they took alive three thousand Avars, eight hundred Sclaveni, three thousand two hundred Gepaedes, and two thousand barbarians. But the Chagan sent envoys to Maurice the emperor, trying to recover those taken alive. But Maurice, not yet having learned of the glorious victory of the Romans, writes to Priscus to return to the Chagan the Avars only. But Comentiolus, having with difficulty recovered from his illness, goes out to Novae, seeking guides to lead him out by the road of Trajan the emperor. But a certain old man who knew it said that it was difficult and impassable for many years 283 and as it was winter, possessing high mountains and snows. But Comentiolus, not being persuaded by the words of the old man, goes by this road. And as an extraordinary chill and great frost occurred, many of the Romans perish and most of the beasts of burden. And with difficulty he arrived at Philippopolis. And when the Romans had wintered there, Comentiolus comes to Byzantium. In the same year, a certain man, clothed in the monastic habit and shining in asceticism, having drawn a little sword, ran with sword in hand from the Forum to the Chalke and foretold that the emperor with all his family would die by the slaughter of the sword. Likewise also Herodianus publicly announced to Maurice the things that would happen to him. And while the emperor was processing barefoot at night with the whole city, as he was passing in the district of Carpianus, some of the crowd rioted and threw stones at the emperor, so that with difficulty the emperor, with Theodosius his son, was saved and fulfilled his vow at Blachernae. And the demes, finding a man who resembled Maurice and putting on him a black military cloak and weaving a crown of garlic and setting him on a donkey, mocked him, saying: "He has found the heifer tender, and like the young cockerel he has jumped on her and made children like pine-cones; and no one dares to speak, but he has muzzled everyone; my holy one, holy, terrible, and mighty one, give it to him on the skull, that he may not be haughty; and I will bring you the great ox as a vow." And the emperor, seizing many of these, punished them. Year of the world 6094. Year of the divine incarnation 594. Emperor of the Romans, Maurice, 20 years. 20. Emperor of the Persians, Chosroes, 39 years. 14. Bishop of Constantinople, Cyriacus, 11 years. 8. Bishop of Jerusalem, Isacius, 8 years. 2. Bishop of Alexandria, Eulogius, 27 years. 23. Bishop of Antioch, Anastasius, 9 years. 2. In this year, in the month of November, in the 5th indiction, the emperor Mau284rice joined Theodosius his son in marriage to the daughter of Germanus the patrician, with Cyriacus, the patriarch of Constantinople, crowning them. And in the month of January, on the 11th, Domitianus, the bishop of Melitene, the kinsman of the emperor, died and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles by Cyriacus the patriarch and was honored with funeral orations by the whole senate. And the emperor appointed Peter, his own brother, as general of Thrace again and sent him out. For he had heard that near the Cataracts had been gathered the forces of the

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συναθροίσας δυνάμεις πολλὰς κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐπήρχετο· πολέμου δὲ κροτηθέντος, τρέπουσιν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς βαρβάρους, καὶ πασῶν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπισημοτέραν ταύτην ἀπηνέγκαντο τὴν νίκην. ὁ δὲ Πρίσκος τέσσαρας χιλιάδας συντάξας τὸν Τίσσον ποταμὸν περᾶσαι ἐκέλευσε καὶ κατασκοπῆσαι τὰ τῶν βαρβάρων κινήματα. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι μηδὲν τῶν γεγονότων ἐγνωκότες ἑορτὴν ἐπιτελοῦντες συνεποσίαζον. τούτοις οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι κρυπτῶς ἐπιπεσόντες μέγιστον φόνον ἀπεργάζονται· τριάκοντα γὰρ χιλιάδας Γηπαίδων καὶ ἑτέρων βαρβάρων ἀπέκτειναν· καὶ πλείστην αἰχμαλωσίαν λαβόντες πρὸς τὸν Πρίσκον ὑπέστρεψαν. ὁ δὲ Χαγάνος πάλιν δυνάμεις συναθροίσας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἴστρον παραγίνεται· καὶ συμβαλόντες πόλεμον ἡττῶνται οἱ βάρβαροι καὶ εἰς τὰ ῥεῖθρα τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀποπνίγονται. συναπόλλυνται δὲ τούτοις καὶ Σκλαυινοὶ πολλοί. ζῶντας δὲ ἐκράτησαν Ἀβάρους μὲν τρισχιλίους, Σκλαυινοὺς δὲ ὀκτακοσίους καὶ Γήπαιδας τρισχιλίους διακοσίους καὶ βαρβάρους δισχιλίους. ὁ δὲ Χαγάνος εἰς Μαυρίκιον τὸν βασιλέα πρέσβεις ἀπέστειλεν ἀναλαβεῖν τοὺς ζωγρηθέντας πειρώμενος. ὁ δὲ Μαυρίκιος μήπω μαθὼν τὴν περιφανῆ τῶν Ῥωμαίων νίκην γράφει τῷ Πρίσκῳ ἀποδοῦναι τῷ Χαγάνῳ τοὺς Ἀβάρους καὶ μόνον. ὁ δὲ Κομεντίολος μόλις τῆς νόσου διαγενόμενος ἐξέρχεται εἰς Νόβας ζητῶν ὁδηγοὺς τοῦ ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτὸν τὴν ὁδὸν Τραϊανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως. γέρων δέ τις ταύτην ἐπιστάμενος ἔφασκε δυσχερῆ ταύτην εἶναι καὶ ἀδιόδευτον ἀπὸ ἐτῶν 283 πολλῶν καὶ χειμῶνος ὄντος, ὑψηλὰ ὄρη καὶ χιόνας κεκτημένην. ὁ δὲ Κομεντίολος μὴ πεισθεὶς τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ γέροντος ἀπέρχεται διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ ταύτης. ψύχους δὲ γεγονότος ἐξαισίου καὶ μεγάλου κρύους, διαφθείρονται πολλοὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν νωτοφόρων ζώων τὰ πλεῖστα. καὶ μόλις ἐπὶ τὴν Φιλιππούπολιν ἀφίκετο. κἀκεῖσε τῶν Ῥωμαίων παραχειμασάντων, ὁ Κομεντίολος εἰς Βυζάντιον ἔρχεται. Τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει ἀνήρ τις τὸ μοναχικὸν σχῆμα περιβεβλημένος καὶ ἐν ἀσκήσει διαλάμπων, σπαθίον γυμνώσας ἀπὸ τοῦ φόρου μέχρι τῆς Χαλκῆς ξιφήρης διαδραμὼν τὸν αὐτοκράτορα τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας τεθνήξεσθαι προηγόρευσεν. ὁμοίως καὶ Ἡρωδιανὸς Μαυρικίῳ εἰς τὸ φανερὸν προανήγγειλε τὰ τούτῳ συμβησόμενα. τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως νυκτὶ ἀνυποδήτου λιτανεύοντος μετὰ πάσης τῆς πόλεως, παρερχομένου ἐν τοῖς Καρπιανοῦ, στασιάζουσιν ἐκ τοῦ πλήθους τινὲς καὶ λίθους κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἔβαλλον, ὥστε μόλις τὸν βασιλέα σὺν Θεοδοσίῳ, τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, διασωθῆναι καὶ τὴν εὐχὴν πληρῶσαι ἐν Βλαχέρναις. οἱ δὲ δῆμοι εὑρόντες ἄνδρα προσομοιοῦντα Μαυρικίῳ καὶ βαλόντες αὐτῷ σαγίον μαῦρον καὶ ἀπὸ σκόρδων πλέξαντες στέφανον καὶ εἰς ὄνον τοῦτον καθίσαντες διέπαιζον λέγοντες· "εὕρηκε τὴν δαμαλίδα ἁπαλήν, καὶ ὡς τὸ καινὸν ἀλεκτόριν ταύτῃ πεπήδηκεν καὶ ἐποίησε παιδία ὡς τὰ ξυλοκούκουδα· καὶ οὐδεὶς τολμᾷ λαλῆσαι, ἀλλ' ὅλους ἐφίμωσεν· ἅγιέ μου, ἅγιε φοβερὲ καὶ δυνατέ, δὸς αὐτῷ κατὰ κρανίου, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρεται· κἀγώ σοι τὸν βοῦν τὸν μέγαν προσαγάγω εἰς εὐχήν." πολλοὺς δὲ τούτων πιάσας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐτιμωρήσατο. Κόσμου ἔτη ϛϟδʹ. Τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως ἔτη φϟδʹ. Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς Μαυρίκιος ἔτη κʹ. κʹ. Περσῶν βασιλεὺς Χοσρόης ἔτη λθʹ. ιδʹ. Κωνσταντ. ἐπίσκοπος Κυριακὸς ἔτη ιαʹ. ηʹ. Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπίσκοπος Ἰσάκιος ἔτη ηʹ. βʹ. Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπος Εὐλόγιος ἔτη κζʹ. κγʹ. Ἀντιοχείας ἐπίσκοπος Ἀναστάσιος ἔτη θʹ. βʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει μηνὶ Νοεμβρίῳ, ἰνδικτιῶνος εʹ, ὁ βασιλεὺς Μαυ284 ρίκιος Θεοδόσιον, τὸν αὐτοῦ υἱόν, συνῆψε πρὸς γάμον τῇ θυγατρὶ Γερμανοῦ τοῦ πατρικίου, στεφανώσαντος αὐτοὺς Κυριακοῦ, τοῦ πατριάρχου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. τῷ δὲ Ἰαννουαρίῳ μηνὶ ιαʹ ∆ομετιανός, ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Μελιτηνῆς, ὁ συγγενὴς τοῦ βασιλέως, τέθνηκε καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις ὑπὸ Κυριακοῦ τοῦ πατριάρχου καὶ πάσης τῆς συγκλήτου τιμηθεὶς ἐπιτάφια. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Πέτρον, τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφόν, στρατηγὸν πάλιν τῆς Θρᾴκης χειροτονήσας ἀπέστειλεν. ἠκηκόει γὰρ περὶ τοὺς Καταράκτας ἀθροισθῆναι τὰ τῶν