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John 522 to resettle the Manichaeans from the east to the western regions, as they were corrupting many with their abominable heresy. Fulfilling his petition, he transferred the race of the Manichaeans to Philippopolis. But the patriarch Polyeuctus, having survived for thirty-five days after the proclamation of Tzimiskes, departed this life, and the monk Basil the Scamandrenos was brought in his place to the patriarchal throne of the queen of cities. But the sons of Hagar, not considering it tolerable to be deprived of the cities of which they had already been stripped, gathered from all quarters, and having made treaties concerning a military alliance and assigned their command to the Carthaginians, they marched out against Antioch in Daphne and began to besiege it. And while those in the city were resisting them quite strongly, the gathering of the nations was reported to the emperor. And he ordered the strategos of Mesopotamia to aid the besieged; and when battle was joined against the Hagarenes, the barbarians, although being many times more numerous than the Romans, were routed and scattered. But the Rus, having subjugated the nation of the Bulgarians and their country and the leaders of the nation, both Boris 523 and Romanos, no longer remembered their homes, but wished to remain right there, holding the country. And Kalokyros was also inciting them to this; "For if I am proclaimed emperor of the Romans by you," he said, "I will both cede to you the country of the Bulgarians and I will establish with you an everlasting peace and I will provide what was promised many times over." But they, charmed by the excellence of the lands and made vain by the words of Kalokyros, were not persuaded by the emperor when he wrote that he would fulfill everything promised to them by Nikephoros, and they spoke to the ambassadors rather arrogantly. For this reason he was compelled to take up arms against them, and having appointed a commander over the Roman forces, whom he named stratelates, Bardas Skleros the magistros, who was the brother of his already deceased wife, he ordered him to advance against the Rus. And so he departed; but the barbarians, learning of this, and their leader Sviatoslav, having armed the Bulgarians and taken as allies the Scythians, who are called Pechenegs, and the Turks inhabiting Pannonia, and having assembled an army numbering 524 three hundred thousand, were plundering all of Thrace. Therefore Skleros, not daring to engage them and fight in close combat (for the military force with him was a small fraction of their multitude), defeated the barbarians by strategic methods. And first, having set ambushes and having attacked the Pechenegs alone and cleverly leading them around into the ambushes, some he killed, and others he took alive; then, having engaged the others as well, for a certain time the battle was evenly balanced for him; but when a certain one of the Scythians, who seemed to be noble both in bulk of body and stature of soul and to surpass all of his countrymen, seeing Skleros on horseback going through the ranks under his command and rousing them to valor, charged against him and brought down his sword upon the man's head; but because of the strength and smoothness of the helmet, it did not touch him. Skleros in turn struck the Scythian on the head, and the downward blow of the sword was so effective that the barbarian was cut in two and his parts fell from the horse in two halves. But the barbarians, astonished at the deed, fell into cowardice and were immediately turned to flight, and the 525 Romans, pursuing them from behind, killed many and took many prisoners. The coming of night stopped Skleros and his men from the pursuit; meanwhile, as many as were left were wounded. And so matters concerning the Rus were at this point. But Bardas Phokas, the son of Leo, having fled from Amaseia, where he had been exiled, had seized Caesarea of the Cappadocians, after winning over many associates, and had attempted a usurpation, putting on himself the imperial insignia. and his father Leo along with his other son Nikephoros

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Ἰω522 άννην τοὺς Μανιχαίους ἐκ τῆς ἑῴας μετοικίσαι πρὸς τὰ ἑσπέρια, πολλοὺς τῇ αὐτῶν μυσαρᾷ αἱρέσει διαφθείροντας. οὗ τὴν ἀξίωσιν πληρῶν εἰς Φιλιππούπολιν μετήγαγε τὸ γένος τῶν Μανιχαίων. ὁ δὲ πατριάρχης Πολύευκτος τῇ τοῦ Τζιμισκῆ ἀναρρήσει τριάκοντα καὶ πέντε ἡμέρας ἐπιβιοὺς τὸν βίον μετήλλαξε, καὶ ἀντεισήχθη εἰς τὸν ἀρχιερατικὸν θρόνον τῆς βασιλευούσης τῶν πόλεων ὁ μοναχὸς Βασίλειος ὁ Σκαμανδρηνός. Οἱ δ' ἐκ τῆς Ἄγαρ, μὴ ἀνεκτὸν ἡγούμενοι στερεῖσθαι τῶν πόλεων ἃς ἤδη ἀφῄρηντο, συνελέγησαν πανταχόθεν καὶ συνθήκας περὶ ὁμαιχμίας πεποιηκότες καὶ τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις τὴν σφῶν ἡγεμονίαν προσνείμαντες ἐξεστράτευσαν κατὰ τῆς ἐν ∆άφνῃ Ἀντιοχείας καὶ ταύτην ἐπολιόρκουν. τῶν δ' ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀνθισταμένων αὐτοῖς κραταιότερον ἠγγέλθη τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἡ συνέλευσις. ὁ δὲ κελεύει τῷ στρατηγῷ Μεσοποταμίας ἐπικουρῆσαι τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις· καὶ πολέμου πρὸς τοὺς Ἀγαρηνοὺς συρραγέντος οἱ βάρβαροι, καίτοι πολλαπλάσιοι πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ὄντες, τρέπονταί τε καὶ σκίδνανται. οἱ δέ γε Ῥῶς τὸ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἔθνος καὶ τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ὑφ' ἑαυτοὺς ποιησάμενοι καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τοῦ ἔθνους τὸν Βορίσην 523 τε καὶ τὸν Ῥωμανὸν οὐκέτι τῶν οἴκοι ἐμέμνηντο, ἀλλ' ἤθελον αὐτοῦ που μένειν τὴν χώραν κατέχοντες. πρὸς τοῦτο δ' αὐτοὺς καὶ ὁ Καλοκυρὸς ἀνηρέθιζεν· "εἰ γὰρ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων ἀναρρηθήσομαι παρ' ὑμῶν," ἔλεγε "τῆς τε τῶν Βουλγάρων χώρας παραχωρήσω ὑμῖν καὶ διαθήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰρήνην διαιωνίζουσαν καὶ τὰ ὑπεσχημένα παρέξω κατὰ τὸ πολλαπλάσιον." οἱ δὲ τῇ τε τῶν χωρῶν ἀρετῇ θελχθέντες καὶ τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ Καλοκυροῦ χαυνωθέντες οὔτε τῷ βασιλεῖ πάντα ποιήσειν ἐπιτελῆ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Νικηφόρου σφίσιν ὑπεσχημένα ἐπείθοντο γράφοντι καὶ τοῖς πρέσβεσιν ὡμίλησαν ἀλαζονικώτερον. ἐντεῦθεν ἄρασθαι κατ' αὐτῶν ὅπλα ἠνάγκαστο καὶ ταῖς Ῥωμαϊκαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐπιστήσας στρατάρχην, ὃν στρατηλάτην ὠνόμασε, Βάρδαν μάγιστρον τὸν Σκληρόν, τῆς ἤδη θανούσης αὐτοῦ γαμετῆς αὐτάδελφον ὄντα, ὁρμῆσαί οἱ κατὰ τῶν Ῥῶς ἐνετείλατο. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀπῄει· οἱ βάρβαροι δὲ τοῦτο μαθόντες καὶ ὁ τούτων ἔξαρχος ὁ Σφενδοσθλάβος, τούς τε Βουλγάρους ὁπλίσαντες καὶ συμμάχους προσειληφότες Σκύθας, οἳ Πατζινάκαι κικλήσκονται, καὶ τοὺς τὴν Πανονίαν οἰκοῦντας Τούρκους καὶ στρατιὰν εἰς 524 τριάκοντα μυριάδας ἀριθμουμένην συστησάμενοι τὴν Θρᾴκην ἅπασαν ἐληίζοντο. τούτοις οὖν μὴ θαρρῶν ὁ Σκληρὸς συμμίξαι καὶ κατὰ συστάδην μαχέσασθαι (πολλοστὸν γὰρ ἦν πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος ἐκείνων τὸ μετ' αὐτοῦ στρατιωτικόν) στρατηγικαῖς μεθόδοις τοὺς βαρβάρους κατηγωνίσατο. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν λόχους καθίσας καὶ μόνοις τοῖς Πατζινάκαις ἐπελθὼν καὶ εὐφυῶς αὐτοὺς περιαγαγὼν εἰς τοὺς λόχους, τοὺς μὲν ἀνεῖλε, τοὺς δ' εἷλε ζῶντας· εἶτα καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις συμμίξαντι μέχρι μέν τινος ἰσόρροπος ἦν ἡ μάχη αὐτῷ· ὡς δέ τις τῶν Σκυθῶν καὶ ὄγκῳ σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς παραστήματι γενναῖος εἶναι δοκῶν καὶ τῶν ὁμογενῶν ἁπάντων ὑπερτερεῖν, ὁρῶν τὸν Σκληρὸν ἔφιππον διιόντα τὰς ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν τάξεις καὶ ταύτας εἰς ἀλκὴν διεγείροντα, ὥρμησε κατ' ἐκείνου καὶ κατήνεγκε τὸ ξίφος κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ ἀνδρός· τὸ δὲ τῇ τοῦ κράνους ἰσχύϊ καὶ τῇ λειότητι οὐχ ἥψατο αὐτοῦ. ὁ Σκληρὸς αὖθις κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸν Σκύθην ἀντέπληξε, καὶ ἡ τοῦ ξίφους καταφορὰ εἰς τοσοῦτον γέγονεν ἐνεργὸς ὡς διχῇ τμηθῆναι τὸν βάρβαρον καὶ ἡμίτομα τοῦ ἵππου τὰ μέρη αὐτοῦ ἐκπεσεῖν. οἱ βάρβαροι δὲ τὸ ἔργον ἐκπλαγέντες εἰς δειλίαν ἐνέπεσον καὶ εἰς φυγὴν αὐτίκα ἐτράπησαν, οἷς οἱ 525 Ῥωμαῖοι κατόπιν ἐλαύνοντες πολλοὺς μὲν ἀνῄρουν, πολλοὺς δ' ἐζώγρουν. ἔπαυσε τῆς διώξεως τοὺς περὶ τὸν Σκληρὸν ἐπελθοῦσα ἡ νύξ· τέως δὲ καὶ ὅσοι περιελείφθησαν τραυματίαι ἦσαν. Καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τοὺς Ῥῶς ἐν τούτοις ἦσαν. Βάρδας δὲ ὁ Φωκᾶς ὁ τοῦ Λέοντος παῖς ἐξ Ἀμασείας φυγών, ἐν ᾗ περιώριστο, τὴν τῶν Καππαδοκῶν κατειλήφει Καισάρειαν, πολλοὺς προσεταιρισάμενος, καὶ τυραννίδι ἐπικεχείρηκεν, ἑαυτῷ περιθέμενος τὰ τῆς βασιλείας παράσημα. καὶ ὁ πατὴρ δὲ τούτου ὁ Λέων σὺν τῷ ἑτέρῳ υἱῷ τῷ Νικηφόρῳ