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they sank many ships with all hands, they laid many low, and they captured very many alive. The survivors, therefore, sail to the eastern part, to the place called Sgora. And then Bardas Phokas, the patrician, from the *strategoi*, was sent by land with cavalry and elite men to run alongside them. And indeed, when they had sent a considerable detachment to the parts of Bithynia in order to procure provisions and other necessities, the aforementioned Bardas Phokas, encountering such a detachment, dealt with them badly, routing and slaughtering them. And also the most intelligent and prudent John Kourkouas, the Domestic of the Schools, came down with the entire army of the East, and he destroyed many of their 425 stragglers, capturing them here and there, so that, constrained by fear of his attack, they stayed in the same place by their own ships and did not dare to wander anywhere. And these men committed many and very great evils before the Roman army came down. For they burned the whole so-called Stenon, and of the captives they took, some they crucified, others they impaled on the ground, and others they set up like targets and shot down with arrows. And as many of the sacerdotal clergy as they captured, they bound their hands behind their backs and drove iron nails through the middle of their heads. They also gave many holy churches over to fire. But with winter setting in and being short of provisions, and fearing both the approaching army of the Domestic of the Schools, Kourkouas, and the prudent, intelligent, and wise man himself, and the sea-battles and the war preparations of the patrician Theophanes, they decided to go home. And indeed, eager to escape the notice of the fleet, in the month of September of the fifteenth indiction, having set out by night to sail towards the Thracian parts, they were met by the aforementioned patrician Theophanes; for they did not escape his most vigilant and brave soul. Therefore, a second sea-battle was immediately joined, and the aforesaid man sank very many ships and killed many of them. But a few who were saved with their ships and fell upon the coast of Kyle escaped when night came on. But Theophanes the patrician, having returned with a 426 glorious victory and the greatest trophies, was received with honor and magnificence and was honored as *parakoimomenos*. 40 Since the aforementioned John, *magistros* and Domes- tic of the Schools, became excellent in matters of war, and raised many and great trophies, and extended the Roman borders, and sacked very many cities of the Hagarenes, and on account of the manifest virtue of the man, the emperor Romanos wished to take a daughter for his grandson Romanos, the son of his son Constantine. The daughter of Kourkouas, then, was Euphro- syne, and the son of Constantine was Romanos, who was castrated by Constantine Porphyrogennetos, and was honored as patrician and *praipositos*. But when the envy of the other emperors was stirred up against him on account of such a matter, he was removed from his office, having served as Domestic without a successor for twenty-two years and seven months. (41) Nevertheless, it is worthy to speak of his lineage and his upbringing and his profession and the nature of his soul and his body and his deeds, and how faithful and upright he appeared to our generation. This man was of the Armenian race, from Dokeia, a village of Darbidoun, from a father not of the obscure, the son of the very wealthy palatine John, Domestic of the Hikanatoi. It is also said that he was thoroughly educated in the sacred letters by Christopher, metropolitan of Gangra, his kinsman. And as the story is told, the prelate said, "This John will be for the redemption and relief of the Romans." For he conquered many and very many cities and castles and 427 lands and fortresses and places of the Hagarenes, and Romania double

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πολλὰ μὲν πλοῖα κατέδυσαν αυτανδρα, πολλοὺς δὲ κατέστρωσαν, πλείστους δὲ ζῶντας συνέλαβον. οἱ περιλειφθέντες ουν εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀνατολῆς μέρος εἰς τὰ Σγόρα λεγό- μενα καταπλέουσιν. ἀπεστάλη δὲ τότε καὶ Βάρδας πατρίκιος ἀπὸ στρατηγῶν ὁ Φωκᾶς διὰ γῆς μετὰ ἱππέων καὶ ἐκκρίτων ἀν- δρῶν τοῦ παρατρέχειν αὐτούς. καὶ δὴ τούτων σύνταγμα ἱκανὸν ἀποστειλάντων πρὸς τὰ τῆς Βιθυνίας μέρη ωστε τὰ πρὸς τροφὴν καὶ αλλην χρείαν πορίσασθαι, περιτυχὼν τῷ τοιούτῳ συντάγματι ὁ εἰρημένος Βάρδας ὁ Φωκᾶς κακῶς τούτους διέθηκεν, τρεψά- μενος καὶ κατασφάξας αὐτούς. κατῆλθε δὲ καὶ ὁ συνετώτατος καὶ ἐχέφρων ̓Ιωάννης ὁ δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν ὁ Κουρκούας μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ τῆς ̓Ανατολῆς στρατεύματος, καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων διέ- 425 φθειρεν ἀποσπάδας τῇδε κἀκεῖσε καταλαμβάνων, ωστε συστα- λέντας αὐτοὺς δέει τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐπιθέσεως μένειν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ παρὰ τὰ οἰκεῖα πλοῖα καὶ μηδαμοῦ παρεκτρέχειν κατατολμᾶν. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ μέγιστα κακὰ ουτοι διεπράξαντο πρὸ τοῦ τὸ ̔Ρωμαϊκὸν στράτευμα κατελθεῖν. τό τε γὰρ Στενὸν απαν λεγόμενον ἐνέπρη- σαν, καὶ ους συνελάμβανον αἰχμαλώτους, τοὺς μὲν ἐσταύρουν, τοὺς δὲ τῇ γῇ προσεπαττάλευον, τοὺς δὲ ωσπερ σκοποὺς ἱστάντες βέλεσι κατετόξευον. οσους δὲ τοῦ ἱερατικοῦ κλήρου κατελάμβα- νον, οπισθεν τὰς χεῖρας δεσμοῦντες ηλους σιδηροῦς κατὰ μέσης τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῶν κατεπήγνυον. πολλοὺς δὲ ἁγίους ναοὺς τῷ πυρὶ παρέδωκαν. χειμῶνος δὲ ἐνισταμένου καὶ τροφῶν ἀποροῦν- τες, τό τε ἐπελθὸν στράτευμα τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν τοῦ Κουρκούα καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἐχέφρονα καὶ νουνεχῆ ευβουλον δεδιότες, τάς τε ναυμαχίας καὶ τὰ ἐσχηματισμένα πολέμια τοῦ πατρικίου Θεοφάνους, ἐβουλεύσαντο τὰ οἰκεῖα καταλαβεῖν. καὶ δὴ λαθεῖν τὸν στόλον σπουδάζοντες, Σεπτεμβρίῳ μηνὶ ἰνδικτιῶνος πέμπτης καὶ δεκάτης νυκτὸς ἀντιπλεῦσαι ὡρμηκότες ἐπὶ τὰ Θρᾳκῷα μέρη, παρὰ τοῦ ῥηθέντος πατρικίου Θεοφάνους ὑπηντήθησαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ελαθον τὴν αὐτοῦ ἐγρηγορωτάτην καὶ γενναίαν ψυχήν. εὐθὺς ουν δευτέρα ναυμαχία συνάπτεται, καὶ πλεῖστα πλοῖα ἐβύθισεν καὶ πολλοὺς τούτων ἀπέκτεινεν ὁ εἰρημένος ἀνήρ. ὀλίγοι δὲ μετὰ πλοίων περισωθέντες καὶ ἐν τῇ τῆς Κύλης παραπεσόντες ἀκτῇ νυ- κτὸς ἐπελθούσης διέφυγον. Θεοφάνης δὲ ὁ πατρίκιος μετὰ νίκης 426 λαμπρᾶς καὶ μεγίστων ὑποστρέψας τροπαίων ἐντίμως καὶ μεγαλο- πρεπῶς ὑπεδέχθη καὶ παρακοιμώμενος ἐτιμήθη. 40 ̓Επειδὴ δὲ ὁ ῥηθεὶς ̓Ιωάννης μάγιστρος καὶ δομέστι- κος τῶν σχολῶν αριστος ἐγένετο εἰς τὰ πολέμια, καὶ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἀνέστησε τρόπαια, καὶ τὰ ̔Ρωμαϊκὰ ἐπέκτεινεν ορια, πλεί- στας τε πόλεις ἐπόρθησεν τῶν ̓Αγαρηνῶν, καὶ διὰ τὸ περιφανὲς τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀρετῆς, ἠβουλήθη ὁ βασιλεὺς ̔Ρωμανὸς εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ εκγονον ̔Ρωμανὸν τὸν ἐκ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ θυγατέρα ἀναλαβεῖν. ἡ ουν θυγάτηρ τοῦ Κουρκούα ην ἡ Εὐφρο- σύνη, ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου ην ̔Ρωμανὸς ὁ εὐνουχισθεὶς παρὰ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ Πορφυρογεννήτου, καὶ ἐτιμήθη πατρίκιος καὶ πραιπόσιτος. φθόνου δὲ αὐτῷ τῆς τοιαύτης ενεκεν ὑποθέσεως τῶν λοιπῶν βασιλέων κινηθέντος, παύει τῆς ἀρχῆς, εικοσι καὶ δύω χρόνους καὶ μῆνας ἑπτὰ δομέστικος ἀδιάδοχος τελέσας. (41) πλὴν ουν αξιον εἰπεῖν τό τε γένος καὶ τὴν ἀγωγὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ τὸ φύσει τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν, καὶ ὁποῖος πιστὸς καὶ ὀρθὸς ἀνεφάνη τῇ γενεᾷ ἡμῶν. ουτος ἐκ γένους τῶν ̓Αρμενιακῶν ην ἀπὸ ∆όκιαν χωρίου ∆αρβιδοῦν, πατρὸς μὲν τῶν οὐκ ἀσήμων, παλατίνου πάνυ πλου- σίου υἱοῦ ̓Ιωάννου δομεστίκου τῶν ἱκανάτων. λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα ἐκπεπαιδεῦσθαι παρὰ Χριστοφόρου μητροπολίτου Γαγγρῶν τοῦ συγγενοῦς αὐτοῦ. ὡς ᾳδεται δὲ ὁ λόγος, οτι εφη ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς "ουτος ὁ ̓Ιωάννης εἰς λύτρωσιν καὶ ανεσιν τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων γενήσεται." πολλὰς γὰρ καὶ πλείστας πόλεις καὶ κάστρα καὶ 427 χώρας καὶ καστέλλια καὶ τόπια τῶν ̓Αγαρηνῶν ἐχειρώσατο, καὶ τὴν ̔Ρωμανίαν διπλῆν