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from the camp of the enemies, showed them the granaries 544 were not even half-empty and through them he declared to Scleros: 544 not to fear a siege from famine. "But if," he said, "you give me assurances with which I am willing to be allowed to depart, I will withdraw from the city for you, being on your side." Scleros heard these things with great joy and gave him assurances, and that man, having taken the greater part of the city and the soldiers with him, goes out of the city and departs for the great city; and Scleros enters into Nicaea and then realized he had been outgeneraled. But the parakoimomenos, as Scleros departed from there and approached the ruling city of cities, was at a loss. Having therefore changed his mind, he recalled Bardas Phocas from exile and, having bound him with dreadful oaths and most accursed imprecations that he would never attack the empire nor conspire against the emperors, he places the man in command of the remaining forces, having both honored him as magistros and provided him lavish funds and entrusted to him the battle against Scleros. Phocas therefore departs. But Scleros, having learned this, then knew he was to fight against a worthy antagonist, and having set out he departed and engages with Phocas near Amorion, and a battle of the armies takes place, and the forces of Scleros were gain545ing the upper hand, and those around Phocas turned their backs. And thus the events of this battle transpired. But on the next day the commanders of the armies themselves chose to fight one another and to undertake the contest for everything. They therefore came at one another; and Scleros was first to strike Phocas, as some say, with a mace on the head, but as others say, he raised his sword against him, but as he leaned to the other side and dodged the blow, the tip of the sword managed to cut off the ear of Phocas' horse. But Phocas struck Scleros back on the head with a mace, and the one who was struck, dizzy, fell upon the horse's neck; whom his men, seeing him in a bad way and stained with the blood from the wound, surrounded and held and led to a spring, both to revive the fainting man with water and to wash off the flowing blood, and having dismounted him from the horse they did the aforesaid things. Meanwhile, Scleros' horse, having escaped its holder and bolted, galloped without a rider through the camp, its mane wet with blood; seeing it, the ar546mies of Scleros (for the horse was famous, called Aigyptios) and thinking their own leader had fallen, rushed uncontrollably to flight. But Phocas, having understood what was happening, pursued the fleeing men, having encouraged his own, and many were slain by the enemy, and many were captured, but more were killed by being trampled by one another. Thereupon Scleros, at a complete loss, flees with those who remained to Chosroes the Babylonian. And having learned this, the emperor sent to Chosroes, requesting that he not receive the one who had become a usurper against his own master, lest he set a bad precedent against himself. And the one who was sent also brought to Scleros and those with him documents confirmed by the imperial hand, granting them amnesty for what they had done, if they would desist from their undertaking and submit to the emperor. When the Babylonian learned of these imperial letters to Scleros and those with him, he imprisons the man fulfilling the embassy and Scleros and the soldiers with him. There, then, at that time the revolt ended for Scleros. 547 And when Antony the patriarch had renounced the priesthood, which he had held for six years, and after a short time died, the church was widowed of an archbishop for four and a half years, then Nicholas Chrysoberges was appointed. But the affairs of the Bulgarians were stirred up again; for when the death of Tzimiskes was announced, they entrust their rule to four brothers, David, Moses, Aaron and Samuel, who

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ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τῶν ἐναντίων, αὐτοῖς τοὺς σιτῶνας 544 οὐδ' ἡμιδεεῖς ὄντας ὑπέδειξε καὶ δι' αὐτῶν ἐδήλωσε τῷ Σκληρῷ· 544 μὴ δεδιέναι τὴν πολιορκίαν τὴν ἐκ λιμοῦ. "εἰ δέ μοι" ἔφη "πίστεις δοίης μεθ' ὧν βούλομαι παραχωρῆσαί μοι ἀπελθεῖν, ὑπεκστήσομαί σοι τῆς πόλεως τὰ σὰ φρονῶν." περιχαρῶς τούτων ἤκουσεν ὁ Σκληρὸς καὶ πίστεις αὐτῷ παρέσχε, κἀκεῖνος τούς τε πλείους τῆς πόλεως καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ στρατιώτας παρειληφὼς τῆς πόλεως ἔξεισι καὶ πρὸς τὴν μεγαλόπολιν ἄπεισι· καὶ ὁ Σκληρὸς εἴσεισιν εἰς τὴν Νίκαιαν καὶ τότε ἔγνω καταστρατηγηθείς. ὁ δέ γε παρακοιμώμενος, τοῦ Σκληροῦ ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάραντος καὶ τῇ βασιλευούσῃ τῶν πόλεων πλησιάζοντος, ἀμηχανῶν ἦν. γνωσιμαχήσας οὖν τὸν Φωκᾶν Βάρδαν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερορίας ἀνεκαλέσατο καὶ ὅρκοις αὐτὸν φρικώδεσιν ἐνδησάμενος καὶ παλαμναιοτάταις ἀραῖς μὴ ἄν ποτε τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἐπιθέσθαι μηδὲ κατὰ τῶν βασιλευόντων βουλεύσασθαι, ταῖς περιλοίποις δυνάμεσι τὸν ἄνδρα ἐφίστησι, μάγιστρόν τε τιμήσας καὶ χρήματα δαψιλῆ παρασχόμενος καὶ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Σκληροῦ μάχην αὐτῷ ἀναθέμενος. ἄπεισιν οὖν ὁ Φωκᾶς. ὁ Σκληρὸς δὲ τοῦτο μαθὼν τότ' ἔγνω μαχέσασθαι πρὸς ἀνταγωνιστὴν ἀξιόμαχον καὶ ἄρας ἀπῄει καὶ περὶ τὸ Ἀμόριον συμπλέκεται τῷ Φωκᾷ, καὶ γίνεται μάχη τῶν στρατευμάτων, καὶ ἦσαν ὑπερ545 τεροῦντες οἱ τοῦ Σκληροῦ, οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Φωκᾶν τὰ νῶτα ἐτρέψαντο. καὶ οὕτω τὰ τῆς μάχης ταύτης συμβέβηκε. τῇ δ' ἑξῆς οἱ τῶν στρατευμάτων ἐξάρχοντες αὐτοὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους μαχέσασθαι εἵλοντο καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ παντὸς ἀναδέξασθαι. ἐπῆλθον οὖν ἀλλῆλοις· καὶ πρῶτος ἔφθη παίσας τὸν Φωκᾶν ὁ Σκληρός, ὡς μὲν ἔνιοι λέγουσι, κορύνῃ κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς, ὡς δ' ἕτεροι, ξίφος ἐπανετείνετο κατ' αὐτοῦ, τοῦ δὲ κλιθέντος πρὸς θάτερον μέρος καὶ τὴν πληγὴν ἐκκλίναντος, ἔφθασε τὸ τοῦ ξίφους ἄκρον τὸ οὖς ἐκτεμεῖν τοῦ ἵππου τοῦ τοῦ Φωκᾶ. ὁ δέ γε Φωκᾶς ἀντέπληξε τὸν Σκληρὸν κορύνῃ κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς, καὶ ὁ πληγεὶς σκοτοδινιάσας τῷ τοῦ ἵππου τραχήλῳ ἐπέπεσεν· ὃν οἱ περὶ αὐτὸν κακῶς ἔχοντα θεασάμενοι καὶ τῷ ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς αἵματι πεφυρμένον, περιστάντες συνέσχον καὶ ἐπήγαγον εἰς πηγήν, ἀνακτησόμενοί τε λειποψυχοῦντα τὸν ἄνδρα τῷ ὕδατι καὶ τὸ καταρρεῦσαν τοῦ αἵματος ἀπορρύψοντες, καὶ τοῦ ἵππου ἐκεῖνον ἀποβιβάσαντες ἐποίουν τὰ εἰρημένα. ἐν τούτῳ δ' ὁ ἵππος ὁ τοῦ Σκληροῦ τὸν κατέχοντα ἐκφυγὼν καὶ ἀποσκιρτήσας ἐπιβάτου χωρὶς ἐκρόαινεν ἀνὰ τὸ στρατόπεδον αἵματι τὴν χαίτην διάβροχος· ὃν ἰδόντα τὰ τοῦ Σκληροῦ στρα546 τεύματα (ἐπίσημος γὰρ ἦν ὁ ἵππος, κεκλημένος Αἰγύπτιος) καὶ οἰηθέντα πεσεῖν τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἡγεμόνα, ἀκρατῶς ὡρμήκεσαν πρὸς φυγήν. κατανοήσας δὲ τὸ γινόμενον ὁ Φωκᾶς ἔπεισι τοῖς φεύγουσι τοὺς οἰκείους παραθαρρύνας, καὶ πολλοὶ μὲν ἀνῄρηντο ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντιπολέμων, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἡλίσκοντο, πλείους δ' ὑπ' ἀλλήλων ἐκτείνοντο συμπατούμενοι. ἐντεῦθεν ὁ Σκληρὸς ἐξαπορηθεὶς μετὰ τῶν περιλειφθέντων καταφεύγει πρὸς Χοσρόην τὸν Βαβυλώνιον. Καὶ τοῦτο μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔπεμψε πρὸς Χοσρόην, ἀξιῶν μὴ προσδέξασθαι τὸν τυραννήσαντα κατὰ τοῦ οἰκείου δεσπότου γενόμενον, ἵνα μὴ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ὑπόδειγμα δοίη οὐκ ἀγαθόν. ἔφερε δ' ὁ πεμφθεὶς καὶ πρὸς τὸν Σκληρὸν καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ ἔγγραφα τῇ βασιλικῇ βεβαιωθέντα χειρί, ἀμνηστίαν αὐτοῖς τῶν πεπραγμένων βραβεύοντα, εἰ ἀποσταῖεν τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑποκύψαιεν. ταῦτα τὰ πρὸς τὸν Σκληρὸν καὶ τοὺς μετ' ἐκείνου βασίλεια γράμματα ὡς ἔγνω ὁ Βαβυλώνιος, αὐτόν τε τὸν τὴν πρεσβείαν πληροῦντα καὶ τὸν Σκληρὸν καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ στρατιώτας καθείργνυσιν. ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὖν τότε τὰ τῆς ἀποστασίας ἔληξε τῷ Σκληρῷ. 547 Ἀντωνίου δὲ τοῦ πατριάρχου τὴν ἱερωσύνην ἀπειπαμένου, ἣν ἐπὶ ἔτη ἤνυσεν ἕξ, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν τελευτήσαντος τέσσαρσι πρὸς τὸ ἥμισυ ἐνιαυτοῖς ἀρχιερέως ἡ ἐκκλησία ἐχήρευεν, εἶτα ὁ Χρυσοβέργης Νικόλαος προκεχείριστο. Τὰ δὲ Βουλγάρων αὖθις κεκίνητο· ὡς γὰρ ἡ τοῦ Τζιμισκῆ κατήγγελτο τελευτή, τέσσαρσιν ἀδελφοῖς ἀνατιθέασι τὴν σφετέραν ἀρχήν, ∆αβίδ, Μωυσῇ, Ἀαρών τε καὶ Σαμουήλ, οἳ