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from there punishing the emperor beforehand with the slaughter of his children; but Maurice, bearing the misfortune philosophically, called upon the God over all and frequently uttered: "You are just, Lord, and your judgments are righteous." Thus the death of the children became a funeral oration for the father, who had first demonstrated his virtue in the greatness of his calamity. For when the nurse secretly substituted one of the royal boys and offered her own for slaughter, Maurice did not accept it, but sought out his own; some say that when this one was slaughtered, milk flowed with the blood, so that all who saw it lamented terribly. Thus, then, the emperor, having become higher even than the laws of nature, departed this life. From that time, various and extraordinary misfortunes did not cease for the Roman empire. For both Chosroes, the king of the Persians, broke the peace, and the Avars destroyed Thrace, and both Roman armies were destroyed, so that when Heraclius became emperor and made a precise review of the army, out of the entire multitude that was found under the tyranny for Maurice with Phocas, he did not find more than two men. Thus those who had set up the tyrant were consumed under him. Year of the world 6095. Year of the divine incarnation 595. Of the Romans. Emperor Phocas, 7 years. 1st. King of the Persians, Chosroes, 39 years. 15th. Bishop of Constantinople, Cyriacus, 11 years. 9th. Bishop of Jerusalem, Isakius, 8 years. 3rd. Bishop of Alexandria, Eulogius, 27 years. 24th. Bishop of Antioch, Anastasius, 9 years. 3rd. In this year, in the month of November, of the 6th indiction, Phocas became emperor 291 the tyrant killed, as has been said before, Maurice along with his five male children; and he ordered their heads to be placed in the Campus of the tribunal for a number of days; and the people of the city would go out and look at them, until they began to stink. Peter, his brother, was also killed, and many others. A report holds that Theodosius, his son, had fled and was saved. Chosroes, the king of the Persians, magnified this rumor, lying in different ways at different times, saying that he had him with him and was pretending to provide for him, so that he might take over the Roman empire, but deceitfully hoping to seize the Roman empire, as he was convicted in many ways, especially by stirring up sudden wars and greatly harming Roman affairs. When Phocas sent an envoy to him, Bilios, he seized him and put him in prison, never to return to Roman territory, and he answered Phocas with dishonorable letters. The tyrant placed the empress Constantina together with her three daughters in a private house, called that of Leo. In the city of Alexandria, a certain calligrapher, a pious man, going home from an all-night vigil in the middle of the night, sees the statues pulled down from their pedestals and saying with a great voice that Maurice and his children were being killed, and all the events that had happened in Byzantium. In the morning the man went and related these things to the Augustalis; but he ordered him to make these things known to no one, and having written down the day, he awaited the outcome. And it was the ninth day, and a messenger arrived announcing the murder of Maurice. Then the Augustalis proclaimed before the people the prophecy of the demons. But Narses, who had become a general of the Romans, rose up against the tyrant and seized Edessa. Phocas therefore writes to Germanus the general to besiege Edessa. But Narses writes to Chosroes, the king of the Persians, to gather forces and 292 to set up war against the Romans. Phocas made his own brother Domentziolus magister, and Priscus count of the excubitors. 2nd. 16th. 10th. 4th. 25th. 4th. In this year, in the month of December, of the 7th indiction, Phocas came forth during the festivals, having thrown a great consulship. And Chosroes, the king of the Persians, having gathered a great force, sent it out against the Romans. And Germanus

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ἐντεῦθεν προκολάζων τὸν βασιλέα τῇ τῶν παίδων σφαγῇ· ὁ δὲ Μαυρίκιος φιλοσοφῶν τὸ δυστύχημα τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων ἐπεκαλεῖτο θεὸν καὶ πυκνῶς ἐφθέγγετο· "δίκαιος εἶ, κύριε, καὶ εὐθεῖς αἱ κρίσεις σου." γίνεται τοίνυν τῶν παίδων ὁ θάνατος τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιτάφιον προεπιδειξαμένου τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐν τῷ μεγέθει τῆς συμφορᾶς. τῆς γὰρ τιθηνῆς ὑποκλεψάσης ἕν τι τῶν βασιλικῶν μειρακίων καὶ πρὸς σφαγὴν τὸ ἑαυτῆς ἐπιδωσάσης, ὁ Μαυρίκιος οὐ κατεδέξατο, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἴδιον ἐπεζήτησεν· φασὶ δέ τινες, ὅτι, τούτου σφαγέντος, γάλα σὺν τῷ αἵματι ἔρρευσεν, ὥστε πάντας τοὺς ὁρῶντας θρηνῆσαι δεινῶς. οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ νόμων φύσεως ὑψηλότερος γεγονὼς ὑπαλλάττει τὸν βίον. οὐ διέλειπε δὲ τῇ Ῥωμαίων βασιλείᾳ ἐξ ἐκείνου καιροῦ δυστυχήματα ποικίλα τε καὶ ἐξαίσια. ὅ τε γὰρ Χοσρόης, ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεύς, τὴν εἰρήνην διέλυσεν, καὶ οἱ Ἄβαρεις τὴν Θρᾴκην διώλεσαν, καὶ ἄμφω τὰ στρατεύματα τῶν Ῥωμαίων διεφθάρησαν, ὥστε, ὁπηνίκα Ἡράκλειος ἐβασίλευσε καὶ ἐξέτασιν τοῦ ὁπλιτικοῦ ἐποιήσατο εἰς τὸ ἀκριβές, ἐκ πάσης τῆς πληθύος τῆς εὑρεθείσης ἐπὶ τῆς τυραννίδος Μαυρικίῳ μετὰ Φωκᾶ οὐχ εὗρε περαιτέρω δύο ἀνδρῶν. οὕτως οἱ τὸν τύραννον προστησάμενοι ἐπὶ αὐτοῦ ἀνηλώθησαν. Κόσμου ἔτη ϛϟεʹ. Τῆς θείας σαρκώσεως ἔτη φϟεʹ. Ῥωμαίων. βασιλεὺς Φωκᾶς ἔτη ζʹ. αʹ. Περσῶν βασιλεὺς Χοσρόης ἔτη λθʹ. ιεʹ. Κωνσταντ. ἐπίσκοπος Κυριακὸς ἔτη ιαʹ. θʹ. Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπίσκοπος Ἰσάκιος ἔτη ηʹ. γʹ. Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπος Εὐλόγιος ἔτη κζʹ. κδʹ. Ἀντιοχείας ἐπίσκοπος Ἀναστάσιος ἔτη θʹ. γʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει μηνὶ Νοεμβρίῳ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ϛʹ, βασιλεύσας Φωκᾶς 291 ὁ τύραννος ἀνεῖλεν, ὡς προλέλεκται, Μαυρίκιον σὺν πέντε παισὶν ἄρρεσιν· καὶ τὰς τούτων κεφαλὰς ἐκέλευσε τεθῆναι ἐν τῷ Κάμπῳ τοῦ τριβουναλίου ἡμέρας ἱκανάς· καὶ ἐξήρχοντο οἱ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἐθεώρουν αὐτάς, ἕως ἐπώζεσαν. ἀναιρεῖται δὲ καὶ Πέτρος, ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί. Θεοδόσιον δέ, τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, λόγος κρατεῖ πεφευγέναι καὶ σεσῶσθαι. ταύτην δὲ τὴν φήμην Χοσρόης, ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεύς, ηὔξησεν ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ψευδόμενος καὶ παρ' ἑαυτῷ τοῦτον ἔχειν λέγων καὶ προνοεῖν δῆθεν, ἵνα τὴν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείαν παραλάβῃ, δολερῶς δὲ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείας ἐλπίζων κρατῆσαι, ὡς ἠλέγχθη πολυτρόπως, μάλιστα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμους αἰφνιδίους κινῆσαι καὶ μεγάλως λυμήνασθαι τὰ Ῥωμαϊκά. τοῦ δὲ Φωκᾶ πρέσβιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποστείλαντος Βίλιον, τοῦτον ἐκράτησε καὶ εἰς φυλακὴν ἀπέθετο, μηκέτι εἰς τὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰ ὑποστρέψαι, γράμμασι δὲ ἀτίμοις τὸν Φωκᾶν ἀντημείβετο. Κωνσταντῖναν δὲ τὴν βασίλισσαν ἅμα ταῖς τρισὶ θυγατράσι ἐν οἰκίᾳ ἰδιωτικῇ, ἐπιλεγομένῃ τῶν Λέοντος, ὁ τύραννος κατέστησεν. Ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τῇ πόλει καλλιγράφος τις, ἀνὴρ εὐλαβής, ἐκ παννυχίδος οἴκαδε πορευόμενος μεσούσης νυκτὸς ὁρᾷ τοὺς ἀνδριάντας ἐκ τῶν βωμῶν καθελκυσθέντας καὶ μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ λέγοντας, ἀναιρεῖσθαι Μαυρίκιον καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ πραχθέντα συμπτώματα. πρωΐας δὲ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀνὴρ τῷ αὐγουσταλίῳ ταῦτα διηγήσατο· ὁ δὲ παρήγγειλεν αὐτῷ μηδενὶ ταῦτα κατάδηλα ποιῆσαι, ἀπογραψάμενος δὲ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκαραδόκει τὴν ἔκβασιν. ἐνάτη δὲ ἡμέρα, καὶ ἄγγελος κατέλαβε μηνύων τὴν Μαυρικίου ἀναίρεσιν. τότε ὁ αὐγουστάλιος τὴν τῶν δαιμόνων πρόρρησιν ἐπὶ λαοῦ ἐθριάμβευσεν. Ναρσῆς δέ, ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων γενόμενος στρατηγός, κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου ἀντῆρε καὶ τὴν Ἔδεσαν ἐκράτησεν. γράφει τοίνυν Φωκᾶς Γερμανῷ τῷ στρατηγῷ πολιορκῆσαι τὴν Ἔδεσαν. ὁ δὲ Ναρσῆς γράφει πρὸς Χοσρόην, τὸν βασιλέα Περσῶν, ἀθροῖσαι δυνάμεις καὶ 292 κατὰ Ῥωμαίων συστήσασθαι πόλεμον. ἐποίησε δὲ Φωκᾶς τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφὸν ∆ομεντζίολον μάγιστρον, καὶ τὸν Πρίσκον κόμητα ἐκσκουβιτόρων. βʹ. ιϛʹ. ιʹ. δʹ. κεʹ. δʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει μηνὶ ∆εκεμβρίῳ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ζʹ, προῆλθε Φωκᾶς ἐν ταῖς ἑορταῖς ῥίψας ὑπατείαν πολλήν. Χοσρόης δέ, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Περσῶν, συναθροίσας δύναμιν πολλὴν κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐξαπέστειλεν. ὁ δὲ Γερμανὸς