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But when the fleet had failed and did not dare to return to the emperor, they deposed Justinian, and acclaimed Bardanes as emperor themselves. And they asked the Khagan that Philippicus be given to them. When the Khagan demanded from them a promise that he would not be betrayed by them and to receive him at the rate of one nomisma per man, they immediately gave these things and received Philippicus as emperor. But while the fleet was delayed, and no report came, Justinian guessed the reason, and taking with him the men of the Opsikion and a part of the Thrakesians, he went up to Sinope to find out what was happening in Cherson. And while he was watching the regions opposite, he sees the fleet sailing towards the city, and gnashing his teeth like a lion, he himself rushed towards the city. But since Philippicus arrived first and took control of the city, he himself went to Damatrys and encamped there with his men. And Philippicus immediately sends Maurus the patrician with John the spatharios, surnamed Strouthos, against Tiberius, and likewise Elias with a raiding party against Justinian to Damatrys, and another again against Barisbakourios who had taken to flight. And Maurus, together with the aforementioned Strouthos, went to Blachernae and found Tiberius holding with one hand the small column of the holy table of the altar of the Mother of God, and with the other the precious wood and amulets on his neck, and outside the sanctuary was seated Anastasia, his father's mother. Who, prostrating herself at the feet of Maurus, begged that her grandson Tiberius not be killed, as he had done nothing wrong. But while she was holding his feet and beseeching with tears, Strouthos entered the sanctuary and violently seized him; and taking the precious wood from him, he placed it on top of the table, but the amulets he attached to his own neck. And taking the boy to the upper side-gate of Kallinike and stripping him and stretching him on the doorpost like a sheep, they cut his throat, and they ordered him to be buried in the church of the holy unmercenaries, called Pauline's. And Barisbakourios, the protopatrician and comes of the Opsikion, having been captured, was also killed. But Elias, with the people accompanying him, went up to Damatrys and, entering into discussions with the army that was there and having given a promise of immunity to the people with Justinian, they all were divided and fled from Justinian, leaving him alone and going over to the side of Philippicus. Then the aforementioned Elias the spatharios, running up in a rage and seizing his neck, with the sword with which he was girt, cut off his head and sent it through Romanos the spatharios to Philippicus; and Philippicus, through the same spatharios, sent it to the western parts as far as Rome. But before he became emperor, in the monastery of Kallistratos there was a prophetic and heretical recluse, who said to Philippicus when he went up to him, "A kingdom is laid up for you." And he was disturbed, and the recluse says: "If God commands it, why do you speak against it? But I say this to you, that the sixth council was evil; if, therefore, you become emperor, reject it, and the kingdom will be strong and long-lasting for you." And he agreed with him with an oath to do this. When Leontius succeeded Justinian, Philippicus goes up to the recluse. And he says to him: "Do not be anxious, it is to happen." And when Apsimar also became emperor, he again went up to him, and again he said to him, "Do not be anxious, that awaits you." But when Philippicus confided in one of his friends, he informed Apsimar. And he, having flogged and tonsured him and put him in irons, exiled him to Kephalenia. But when Justinian became emperor, he recalled him again. And having become emperor, he held a false synod of bishops according to the word of the false abba and recluse and rejected

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ἀπράκτου δὲ τοῦ στόλου γεγονότος καὶ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ὑποστρέψαι μὴ τολμῶντος, τὸν μὲν Ἰουστινιανὸν ἀνέσκαψαν, τὸν δὲ Βαρδάνην ὡς βασιλέα καὶ αὐτοὶ εὐφήμησαν. ᾐτήσαντο δὲ τὸν Χαγάνον δοθῆναι αὐτοῖς τὸν Φιλιππικόν. τοῦ δὲ Χαγάνου λόγον αὐτοὺς ἀπαιτήσαντος τοῦ μὴ προδοθῆ380 ναι αὐτὸν ὑπ' αὐτῶν καὶ τοῦ κομίσασθαι αὐτὸν κατὰ ἄνδρα ἀνὰ νομίσματος ἑνός, οἱ δὲ παραχρῆμα ταῦτα δόντες παρέλαβον τὸν Φιλιππικὸν βασιλέα. ἐν δὲ τῷ χρονίζειν τὸν στόλον, ἀναφορᾶς τε μὴ ἐλθούσης, ἐστοχάσατο Ἰουστινιανὸς τὴν αἰτίαν, καὶ ἐπάρας σὺν αὐτῷ τοὺς τοῦ Ὀψικίου καὶ μέρος Θρᾳκησίων ἀνῆλθεν ἕως Σινώπης πρὸς τὸ διαγνῶναι τὰ ἐν Χερσῶνι. ἐν δὲ τῷ σκοπεύειν αὐτὸν τὰ περατικὰ μέρη ὁρᾷ τὸν στόλον ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀρμενίζοντα καὶ βρύξας ὡς λέων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ὥρμησεν. τοῦ δὲ Φιλιππικοῦ προλαβόντος καὶ τὴν πόλιν κρατήσαντος, αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τὸν ∆αματρῦν ἐλθὼν ἐν αὐτῷ σὺν τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἠπλήκευσεν. ὁ δὲ Φιλιππικὸς ἀποστέλλει εὐθέως κατὰ μὲν τοῦ Τιβερίου Μαῦρον τὸν πατρίκιον σὺν Ἰωάννῃ σπαθαρίῳ, τὸ ἐπίκλην Στρούθῳ, τὸν δὲ Ἡλίαν ὁμοίως μετὰ κούρσου κατὰ Ἰουστινιανοῦ εἰς τὸν ∆αματρῦν, καὶ ἕτερον πάλιν κατὰ τοῦ Βαρισβακουρίου φυγῇ χρησαμένου. καὶ ὁ μὲν Μαῦρος ἅμα τοῦ ῥηθέντος Στρούθου ἐν Βλαχέρναις πορευθεὶς εὗρε τὸν Τιβέριον κρατοῦντα τῇ μιᾷ χειρὶ τὸ κιονάκιον τῆς ἁγίας τραπέζης τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τῆς θεομήτορος, καὶ τῇ ἑτέρᾳ τὰ τίμια ξύλα καὶ ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ φυλακτά, ἔξωθεν δὲ τοῦ βήματος παρακαθεζομένην Ἀναστασίαν, τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ μητέρα. ἥ τις τοῖς ποσὶ τοῦ Μαύρου κυλινδουμένη ᾐτεῖτο μὴ ἀποκτανθῆναι τὸν αὐτῆς ἔγγονα Τιβέριον, ὡς μηδὲν ἄτοπον πράξαντα. αὐτῆς δὲ τοὺς πόδας τούτου κατεχούσης καὶ μετὰ δακρύων ἱκετευούσης, εἰσελθὼν ὁ Στροῦθος ἔνδον τοῦ βήματος βίᾳ ἀφήρπασεν αὐτόν· καὶ τὰ μὲν τίμια ξύλα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἄρας ἐπάνω τῆς τραπέζης ἐπέθηκεν, τὰ δὲ φυλακτὰ εἰς τὸν ἴδιον προσήρτησε τράχηλον. καὶ λαβόντες τὸν παῖδα ἐπὶ τῷ ἄνω τῶν Καλλινίκης παραπορτίῳ καὶ τοῦτον ἐκδύσαντες καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς φλιᾶς ἁπλώσαντες δίκην προβάτου αὐτὸν ἐλαρυγγοτόμησαν, καὶ τοῦτον ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῶν ἁγίων ἀναργύρων, τῷ λεγομένῳ Παυλίνης, ταφῆναι προσέταξαν. χειρωθεὶς δὲ καὶ Βαρισβακούριος, ὁ πρωτοπατρίκιος καὶ κόμης τοῦ Ὀψικίου, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνῃρέθη. ὁ δὲ Ἡλίας ἅμα τῷ συνόντι αὐτῷ λαῷ ἀνελθὼν ἐν τῷ ∆αματρῦ καὶ εἰς λόγους μετὰ τοῦ ἐκεῖσε ὄντος στρατοῦ ἐλθὼν λόγον τε ἀπαθείας τῷ συνόντι τῷ Ἰουστινιανῷ λαῷ δεδωκώς, διῃρέθησαν ἅπαντες καὶ ἀπέδρασαν 381 ἐκ τοῦ Ἰουστινιανοῦ, μόνον αὐτὸν καταλιπόντες καὶ τῷ μέρει τοῦ Φιλιππικοῦ προσρυέντες. τότε ὁ προλεχθεὶς Ἡλίας σπαθάριος θυμῷ ἐπιδραμὼν καὶ τὸν τούτου τράχηλον δραξάμενος τῷ παραμηρίῳ, ᾧ ἦν διεζωσμένος, ἀπέτεμε τὴν αὐτοῦ κάραν καὶ διὰ Ῥωμανοῦ σπαθαρίου πρὸς Φιλιππικὸν ἀπέστειλεν· ὁ δὲ Φιλιππικὸς διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ σπαθαρίου ταύτην ἐπὶ τὰ δυτικὰ μέρη ἕως Ῥώμης ἐξέπεμψεν. πρὸ δὲ τοῦ βασιλεῦσαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ μονῇ τῶν Καλλιστράτου ἔγκλειστος ἦν προορατικὸς καὶ αἱρετικός, ὅστις ἀνελθόντι τῷ Φιλιππικῷ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ὅτι "βασιλεία σοι κεῖται." ὁ δὲ ἐταράχθη, καὶ λέγει ὁ ἔγκλειστος· "εἰ ὁ θεὸς κελεύει, σὺ τί ἀντιλέγεις; τοῦτο δὲ λέγω σοι, ὅτι ἡ ἕκτη σύνοδος κακῶς ἐγένετο· ἐὰν οὖν βασιλεύσῃς, ταύτην ῥίψον, καὶ γενέσθαι σοι ἔχει ἡ βασιλεία κραταιὰ καὶ πολυχρόνιος." ὁ δὲ συνέθετο αὐτῷ μεθ' ὅρκου τοῦτο ποιεῖν. τοῦ δὲ Λεοντίου διαδεξαμένου τὸν Ἰουστινιανόν, ἀνέρχεται Φιλιππικὸς πρὸς τὸν ἔγκλειστον. ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· "μὴ σπουδάσῃς, γενέσθαι ἔχει." βασιλεύσαντος δὲ καὶ Ἀψιμάρου, πάλιν ἀνῆλθε πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ πάλιν εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ὅτι "μὴ σπουδάσῃς, ἐκεῖνο περιμένει σε." θαρρήσαντος δὲ Φιλιππικοῦ τινι τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ, ἐμήνυσε τῷ Ἀψιμάρῳ. ὁ δὲ δείρας καὶ κουρεύσας αὐτὸν καὶ σιδηρώσας ἐξώρισεν εἰς Κεφαληνίαν. βασιλεύσαντος δὲ Ἰουστινιανοῦ, πάλιν ἀνεκαλέσατο αὐτόν. καὶ βασιλεύσας ἐποίησε ψευδοσύνοδον ἐπισκόπων κατὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ ψευδαββᾶ καὶ ἐγκλείστου καὶ ἔρριψε