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and being most orthodox, he splendidly adorned and brightened all the churches of the city with transparent veils and illuminations. But also to the monks in the mountains, both on Olympus 419 and on Kominas and on the so-called Golden Rock and on the mountain of Barachaios, he did not cease to send out annual stipends and to care for them and provide for them, and summoning to himself those renowned for their practice and contemplation, and reaping the blessings of their prayers. Not only that, but also to those who for God’s sake had confined themselves in cells and the narrowest of dwellings and to all the monasteries, he did not cease to supply the annual stipends which he had established. These few things out of many of his achievements and alms-givings we have recounted. 28 But John, his brother, along with other magnates of Symeon, conspired against Peter the Bulgarian; and when they were discovered, John was beaten and shut up in prison, while the rest were subjected to no ordinary punishments. When Peter made these things known to the Emperor Romanos, the emperor sent the monk John, who had been a raiktor, on the pretext of making an exchange of the captured prisoners, but in truth to seize John and bring him to Constantinople. And so it happened; for having boarded a ship with John from Mesembria, he came to the city. And not long after this one had cast off the monastic habit and sought a wife, the emperor gave him a house and very many estates and a wife from his own homeland, hailing from the Armeniakon theme, and he held a splendid wedding in the house of the Caesar, with Emperor Christopher and John the monk who had become raiktor acting as groomsmen. 420 29 But also Michael the monk, the brother of Peter himself, eager to seize the Bulgarian authority, revolted in a certain Bulgarian fortress; and to him flocked the Scythians who were disaffected with Peter’s rule. After his life's end, these men invaded the Roman lands, so that it came to pass that they advanced from Maketis through the Strymon towards Hellas and Nicopolis and plundered everything there. Nicopolis is named after the victory which Augustus Sebastos won against Antony and Cleopatra and subjected the rule of the Egyptians to the Romans. 30 In the month of March, on the second day, an ornament fell in the forum from those that were placed upon the columns standing there in a row, and it killed six men. There was also a great and terrible fire in the covered colonnade of the forum, near the church of the most holy Theotokos, so that both the candle-makers' shops and the furriers' shops of the forum were burned down as far as the Psicha. 31 Emperor Christopher died in the month of August, in the fourth indiction, his father having lamented and mourned for him greatly, more than the Egyptians, since he had already reached old age and his sons were still infants. And his remains were placed in the aforementioned monastery of his father. 421 32 And they deposed Patriarch Tryphon in the month of August of the third indiction, after he had completed the specified time; and going to his own monastery, he died, the church being vacant for one year and 5 months because of the immaturity of Theophylact, the son of Emperor Romanos; for he intended, as has already been said, to install him as patriarch. 33 But a certain Basil, a Macedonian impostor, calling himself Constantine Doukas, drew many along with him. This man, arrested by Elephantinos the tourmarch, who was from the Opsikion theme, was brought to Constantinople, and was deprived of one of his hands by Peter the prefect. Then, taking the opportunity, he again took possession of the Opsikion, and having fitted a bronze hand in place of the one that had been cut off and having fashioned an enormous sword, he went about, deceiving again many of the vagrants that he was Constantine the son of

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καὶ ὀρθοδοξότατος πάσας τὰς τῆς πόλεως ἐκκλη- σίας πέπλοις διαφανέσι καὶ φωταγωγίαις λαμπρῶς κατεκόσμει καὶ κατεφαίδρυνεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐν ορεσι μοναχοῖς, τῷ τε ̓Ολύμπῳ 419 καὶ τῷ Κομινᾷ καὶ τῇ Χρυσῇ κατονομαζομένῃ Πέτρᾳ καὶ τοῦ Βαραχαίου ορει, οὐ διέλιπεν ἐτησίως ῥόγας ἐξαποστέλλων καὶ φροντίζων τούτων καὶ προνοούμενος, καὶ τοὺς ὀνομαστοὺς ἐπὶ πράξει καὶ θεωρίᾳ μετακαλούμενος ὡς αὐτόν, καὶ τῶν εὐχῶν αὐ- τῶν τὰς εὐλογίας τρυγῶν. οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς διὰ θεὸν ἐγκλείστοις καὶ στενωτάτοις οἰκίσκοις καθείρξασι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς μοναστηρίοις τὰς ἐτησίους ῥόγας, ας διετύπωσεν, οὐ διέλιπεν ἐπιχορηγῶν. ταῦτα ὡς ἐκ πολλῶν ὀλίγα τῶν αὐτοῦ κατορθωμά- των καὶ ἐλεημοσυνῶν διεξήλθομεν. 28 Πέτρῳ δὲ τῷ Βουλγάρῳ ἐπέθετο ̓Ιωάννης ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ μετὰ καὶ ἑτέρων μεγιστάνων τοῦ Συμεών· καὶ φωραθέντων αὐτῶν ὁ μὲν ̓Ιωάννης τύπτεται καὶ ἐγκλείεται φυλακῇ, οἱ δὲ λοι- ποὶ τιμωρίαις οὐ ταῖς τυχούσαις ὑποβάλλονται. ταῦτα δὲ δῆλα Πέτρου ποιήσαντος τῷ βασιλεῖ ̔Ρωμανῷ, ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν μοναχὸν ̓Ιωάννην, ος ἐγεγόνει ῥαίκτωρ, προφάσει μὲν τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ ἀλλάγιον τῶν κρατουμένων αἰχμαλώτων, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ δὲ ̓Ιωάννην κατασχεῖν καὶ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἀγαγεῖν. ο δὴ καὶ γέγονεν· εἰσελθὼν γὰρ αμα ̓Ιωάννῃ εἰς πλοῖον ἀπὸ Μεσημ- βρίας ηλθεν ἐν τῇ πόλει. καὶ μετ' οὐ πολὺ τούτου τὸ μοναχικὸν σχῆμα ἀπορρίψαντος καὶ γυναῖκα ἐπιζητήσαντος, δέδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεὺς οικον καὶ κτήματα πάμπολλα καὶ γυναῖκα ἐκ τῆς ἑαυ- τοῦ πατρίδος τῆς τῶν ̓Αρμενιακῶν ὁρμωμένην, γάμον τε λαμπρὸν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Καίσαρος οἰκίᾳ πεποίηκεν, Χριστοφόρου βασιλέως καὶ ̓Ιωάννου μοναχοῦ τοῦ γεγονότος ῥαίκτορος παρανυμφευσάντων. 420 29 ̓Αλλὰ καὶ Μιχαὴλ μοναχός, αὐτὸς ὁ ἀδελφὸς Πέ- τρου, κατὰ σπουδῆς εχων τῆς Βουλγαρικῆς ἐξουσίας ἐπιλαβέσθαι, ἰδιοστασίασεν εν τινι Βουλγαρικῷ κάστρῳ· καὶ τούτῳ προσερρύη- σαν οἱ τῆς Πέτρου ἀρχῆς διεστηκότες Σκύθαι. ου μετὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν ἐπῆλθον ουτοι ταῖς ̔Ρωμαϊκαῖς χώραις, ωστε συμβῆναι τούτους ἀπὸ Μακέτιδος διὰ Στρυμόνος πρὸς ̔Ελλάδα καὶ τὴν Νικόπολιν προσχωρῆσαι καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖσε πάντα ληΐσασθαι. Νικόπολις δὲ ἐπωνόμασται κατὰ τὸ ἐπώνυμον τῆς νίκης, ην Αυ- γουστος Σεβαστὸς κατὰ ̓Αντωνίου καὶ Κλεοπάτρας εἰργάσατο καὶ τὴν Αἰγυπτίων ἀρχὴν τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις ὑπέκλινεν. 30 Μαρτίῳ δὲ μηνί, δευτέρᾳ ἡμέρᾳ, κοσμήτης επεσεν ἐν τῷ φόρῳ ἐκ τῶν ἐν τοῖς στιχηδὸν ἱσταμένοις ἐκεῖσε κίοσιν ἐπι- κειμένων, καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν ανδρας εξ. γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἐμπρησμὸς μέγας καὶ φοβερὸς εἰς τὸν τοῦ φόρου εμβολον, πλησίον τοῦ ναοῦ τῆς ὑπεραγίας θεοτόκου, ωστε κατακαῆναι τά τε κηροπωλεῖα καὶ τὰ γουνάρια τοῦ φόρου μέχρι τῶν Ψιχῶν. 31 ̓Ετελεύτησε δὲ Χριστοφόρος βασιλεὺς μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ ἰνδικτιῶνος τετάρτης, πολλὰ κοψαμένου καὶ θρηνήσαντος αὐτὸν τοῦ πατρός, μεῖζον η κατ' Αἰγυπτίους, ὡς ηδη εἰς γῆρας αὐτοῦ ἐληλακότος καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ ετι νηπίων οντων. καὶ ἐτέθη τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ῥηθείσῃ μονῇ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. 421 32 Κατήγαγον δὲ καὶ Τρύφωνα πατριάρχην Αὐγούστῳ μηνὶ ἰνδικτιῶνος τρίτης, τὸν ῥητὸν χρόνον τελέσαντα· καὶ ἀπελ- θὼν ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ μονῇ τελευτᾷ, χηρευσάσης ἐκκλησίας χρόνον ενα καὶ μῆνας εʹ διὰ τὸ τῆς ἡλικίας ἀτελὲς Θεοφυλάκτου υἱοῦ ̔Ρωμα- νοῦ βασιλέως· αὐτὸν γὰρ εμελλεν, ὡς ηδη ειρηται, πατριάρχην καθιστᾶν. 33 Βασίλειος δέ τις Μακεδὼν πλάνος Κωνσταντῖνον ∆οῦκα ἑαυτὸν ἐπιφημίσας πολλοὺς μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ συνεπήγετο. ουτος συσχεθεὶς ὑπὸ ̓Ελεφαντίνου τουρμάρχου, ἐκ τοῦ ̓Οψικίου οντος, ηχθη ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, καὶ ὑπὸ Πέτρου ὑπάρχου τῆς μιᾶς ἀλλοτριοῦται χειρός. ειτα καιροῦ λαβόμενος καταλαμ- βάνει πάλιν τὸ ̓Οψίκιον, καὶ χεῖρα χαλκῆν ἀντὶ τῆς κοπείσης προσαρμοσάμενος καὶ σπάθην ὑπερμεγέθη κατασκευάσας διήρ- χετο, πλανῶν αυθις τῶν ἀγυρτευόντων πολλοὺς ὡς ειη αὐτὸς Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ τοῦ