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and murderer." And he explained to Philippicus the revelation of the dream. And on that night a star appeared in the sky, the one called a comet. On the following day, the *magistrianus* who had been sent to the holy fathers in the desert also arrived, bringing from them such a response, that "God, having accepted your repentance, saves your soul and numbers you and your entire household with the saints, but you fall from the empire with dishonor and danger." Hearing these things, Maurice greatly glorified God. So when the autumn season arrived, and the emperor Maurice ordered Peter to have the army spend the winter in the land of the Sclaveni, the Romans resisted, not consenting to do this both on account of the exhaustion of the horses and because they were carrying much plunder and because crowds of barbarians were spread throughout the land, and they planned a revolt. But the general, being indignant with the army, drove them to despair. Therefore, violent rains fell upon the army and great cold. And Peter was staying twenty miles away from the army. But Maurice was pressing Peter through letters to cross the Ister, and to draw the army's winter provisions from the land of the Sclaveni, so that he might not be compelled to provide public rations to the Romans. The general, summoning Guduin, said: "The emperor's commands to have the Romans winter in a foreign land are exceedingly burdensome to me; and to disobey is hard, but to obey is more terrible. Avarice begets nothing good, but has become the 287 mother of all evils. Suffering from this disease, the emperor becomes the cause of the greatest evils for the Romans." And summoning the taxiarchs of the army, he revealed to them the emperor's purpose. But they said the army would not accept this. The army, hearing this, revolted; and the distinguished officers fled from them and came to the general. But the troops, having assembled, put forward as exarch Phocas the centurion, and raising him on a shield, they acclaimed him exarch. And when Peter heard these things, he turned to flight and made everything clear to the emperor. But the emperor, hearing these difficult things, tried to hide them from the crowds. And on the second day, he held horse races, concealing the matters of the disaster. And the faction of the Greens shouted, saying: "Constantine and Domentziolus, O thrice-august master of the Romans, are troubling your own people, so that the Crooked one may rule, for the sins which we have. May God, who created all things, subdue for you every enemy and foe, both civil and foreign, without bloodshed." But the emperor declared to the factions: "Let not the disorder and insubordination of irrational soldiers disturb you at all." But the Blues said: "May God, who commanded you to be emperor, subdue for you everyone who wars against your empire. And if it is a Roman who is ungrateful to you, may He subdue him to your service without bloodshed." And the emperor, having armed these and calmed them with gentle words, ordered them with the demarchs to guard the walls of the city. And while the emperor's son Theodosius was hunting at Callicrateia along with Germanus, his father-in-law, the Romans sent letters to Theodosius, demanding to be ruled by him, or if not, to proclaim at least Germanus emperor; for they would no longer endure being ruled by Maurice. When Maurice learned this, he summoned his son to him; and he ordered Comentiolus to guard the walls. And he accused Germanus, along with his son Theodosius, of having been the cause of the disasters. And 288 as Germanus was defending himself, Maurice said: "O Germanus, there are two proofs of my suspicion: the letters from the army to you, and the army's sparing of the herd of horses that grazes for you in the suburbs. For they plundered everything, but they spared yours. Spare, Germanus, from prolonging the speech, nothing is sweeter than by the sword

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καὶ φονεύς." καὶ ἐξηγεῖτο τῷ Φιλιππικῷ τὴν τοῦ ὀνείρου ἀποκάλυψιν. τῇ δὲ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ ἐφάνη ἀστὴρ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ λεγόμενος κομήτης. τῇ δὲ ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἔφθασε καὶ ὁ ἀποσταλεὶς μαγιστριανὸς πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἁγίους πατέρας φέρων παρ' αὐτῶν ἀπόκρισιν τοιαύτην, ὅτι "ὁ θεὸς δεξάμενος τὴν μετάνοιάν σου σώζει τὴν ψυχήν σου καὶ μετὰ ἁγίων κατατάττει σε πανοικεί, τῆς δὲ βασιλείας μετὰ ἀτιμίας καὶ κινδύνου ἐκπίπτεις." ταῦτα ἀκούσας Μαυρίκιος ἐδόξασε μεγάλως τὸν θεόν. τῆς τοίνυν μετοπωρινῆς ὥρας καταλαβούσης, καὶ Μαυρικίου τοῦ βασιλέως κελεύσαντος τῷ Πέτρῳ ἐν τῇ τῶν Σκλαυινῶν χώρᾳ τὸν λαὸν παραχειμάσαι, ἀντέστησαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι μὴ καταδεχόμενοι τοῦτο ποιεῖν διά τε τὴν τῶν ἵππων ταπείνωσιν καὶ διὰ τὸ πολλὴν πραῖδαν ἐπιφέρεσθαι καὶ διὰ τὸ πλήθη βαρβάρων περικεχῦσθαι τῇ χώρᾳ, καὶ στάσιν ἐμελέτησαν. ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς διαγανακτῶν κατὰ τοῦ λαοῦ εἰς ἀπόνοιαν αὐτοὺς ἐνέβαλεν. ἐπιπίπτουσι τοίνυν ὑετοὶ λάβροι τῷ λαῷ καὶ ψῦχος πολύ. ὁ δὲ Πέτρος ἀπὸ εἴκοσι μιλίων τῆς στρατιᾶς τὴν διατριβὴν ἐποιεῖτο. Μαυρίκιος δὲ τῷ Πέτρῳ ἐπώχλει διὰ γραμμάτων περᾶσαι τὸν Ἴστρον, καὶ τὰς χειμερινὰς ἀποτροφὰς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκ τῆς τῶν Σκλαυινῶν χώρας ἀρύσασθαι, ὅπως μὴ δημοσίας σιτήσεις ἀναγκασθῇ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις παρασχέσθαι. ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς μεταστειλάμενος τὸν Γουδούην ἔφησεν· "λίαν μοι βαρύτατα τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως προστάγματα ἐπὶ ἀλλοτρίας γῆς χειμάσαι Ῥωμαίους· καὶ τὸ παρακοῦσαι χαλεπόν, καὶ τὸ ὑπακοῦσαι δεινότερον. οὐδὲν καλὸν τίκτει φιλαργυρία, μήτηρ δὲ 287 πάντων τῶν κακῶν καθέστηκεν. ταύτην νοσῶν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ τῶν μεγίστων κακῶν αἴτιος τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις γίνεται." μεταστειλάμενος δὲ τοὺς ταξιάρχας τοῦ λαοῦ τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως σκοπὸν αὐτοῖς παρεδήλωσεν. οἱ δὲ ἔφησαν τὸν λαὸν τοῦτο μὴ καταδέξασθαι. ὁ δὲ λαὸς τοῦτο ἀκούσας ἐστασίασεν· καὶ οἱ ἐπίσημοι ἄρχοντες φυγόντες ἐξ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν παρεγένοντο. τὰ δὲ πλήθη συναθροισθέντα προβάλλονται ἔξαρχον Φωκᾶν τὸν κένταρχον, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀσπίδος τοῦτον ὑψώσαντες εὐφήμησαν ἔξαρχον. καὶ ταῦτα ὁ Πέτρος ἀκηκοὼς εἰς φυγὴν ἐτράπη καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ πάντα κατάδηλα ἐποίησεν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὰ δυσχερῆ ταῦτα ἀκούσας κρύπτειν αὐτὰ τὰ πλήθη ἐπειρᾶτο. δευτέρα δὲ ἡμέρα, καὶ ἱππικὸν ἐπετέλεσε τὰ τῆς συμφορᾶς ἀποκρύπτων. ὁ δὲ δῆμος τῶν Πρασίνων ἔκραζε λέγων· "Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ ∆ομεντζίολος, δέσποτα Ῥωμαίων τρισαύγουστε, τῷ οἰκείῳ σου δήμῳ παρενοχλοῦσιν, ἵνα ὁ Κρούκης διοικήσῃ, εἰς ἃς ἔχομεν ἁμαρτίας. ὁ θεός, ὁ τὰ πάντα δημιουργήσας, ὑποτάξει σοι πάντα ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον ἐμφύλιόν τε καὶ ἀλλόφυλον χωρὶς αἱμάτων." ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοῖς δήμοις ἐδήλου· "μηδὲν ὑμᾶς ταράξῃ ἀλόγων στρατιωτῶν ἀκοσμία καὶ ἀταξία." οἱ δὲ Βένετοι εἶπον· "ὁ θεός, ὁ κελεύσας σε βασιλεύειν, ὑποτάξει σοι πάντα τὸν πολεμοῦντα τὴν βασιλείαν σου. εἰ δὲ Ῥωμαῖός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγνωμονῶν σε εἰς δουλείαν σου τοῦτον ὑποτάξει χωρὶς αἱμάτων." τούτους δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καθοπλίσας καὶ λόγοις ἠπίοις κατευνάσας σὺν τοῖς δημάρχοις φυλάττειν τὰ τείχη τῆς πόλεως προσέταξεν. τοῦ δὲ υἱοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως Θεοδοσίου ἅμα Γερμανοῦ, τοῦ πενθεροῦ αὐτοῦ, εἰς Καλλικράτειαν κυνηγετοῦντος, ἀποστέλλουσιν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι γράμματα πρὸς Θεοδόσιον ἀξιοῦντες ὑπ' αὐτοῦ βασιλεύεσθαι, εἰ δὲ μή, κἂν Γερμανὸν ἀναγορεῦσαι βασιλέα· μηδὲ γὰρ ἔτι ἀνέχεσθαι ὑπὸ Μαυρικίου βασιλεύεσθαι. ταῦτα ὁ Μαυρίκιος μαθὼν μεταστέλλεται τὸν υἱὸν πρὸς ἑαυτόν· Κομεντίολον δὲ τὰ τείχη φρουρεῖν προσέταττεν. τὸν δὲ Γερμανὸν σὺν τῷ υἱῷ Θεοδοσίῳ κατῃτιᾶτο τῶν συμφορῶν αἴτιον γεγονέναι. τοῦ 288 δὲ Γερμανοῦ ἀπολογουμένου, Μαυρίκιος ἔφη· "ὦ Γερμανέ, δύο εἰσὶ τεκμήρια τῆς ὑπονοίας μου· τά τε ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ πρός σε γράμματα, καὶ τοῦ φείδεσθαι τὸν λαὸν τῆς ἀγελαίας ἵππου τῆς νεμομένης σοι εἰς τὰ προάστεια. πάντα γὰρ διήρπασαν, καὶ τῶν σῶν ἐφείσαντο. φείδου, Γερμανέ, τοῦ μηκύνειν τὸν λόγον, οὐδὲν ἡδύτερον τοῦ διὰ ξίφους