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was kept by the patriarch. And it was her concern how she might take this away. She therefore devises about this 686 a wicked and cunning plan and communicates this to one of the eunuchs around her and uses the servant as a kind of agent, suggesting to him what and what sort of things he should say to the patriarch. And he, approaching the high priest, says, "Know, O master, that the empress is in love with your nephew" (for he had a nephew Bardas, young and vigorous and overcome by carnal desires) and he added that "if you would consent to give back the sworn document to the empress and persuade her that no danger would threaten her from this, she would immediately marry your brother's son, and the imperial power will follow him." And when the patriarch was deceived by these words and gave himself over completely, it was demanded that he make a trial of the senate's counsel. And he, calling on each of these, said that affairs required a king who would take charge of them; "for if these matters are still to be administered by a woman alone and young boys, the rule of the Romans will surely be gone before long, not only the 687 distant parts and those bordering the enemy, but even those at our very gates." And in addition to this, he made a great denunciation of the oaths and the document, and he spoke ill of the dead emperor, as one who took no thought for the common good, but out of jealousy had demanded unlawful oaths and illegal documents. Having found most of them agreeing with these things, and if any spoke against it, persuading some with gifts, others with promises to vote with him, he sends the sworn document to the empress. She, having received this, carried out her plan, and marries Diogenes and is joined to him, and she communicates the deed to the elder of her sons and to the Caesar who was summoned to the palace and who partook of the wedding rites and tasted the nuptial cups; and Diogenes was proclaimed emperor, after the empress Eudocia had ruled with her sons for seven months and some days. But Romanos Diogenes, having become master of the Roman empire, had not turned out according to the hopes of Eudocia 688 who had made him emperor. For she, from a condemned man who already saw the executioner standing over him, not only having snatched him from manifest danger, but also having deemed him worthy of so great an office, thought she would have him compliant in all things and would herself rule over the ruler. But he, being otherwise arrogant and unenslaved, for a short time forced his character and submitted to the wishes of the Augusta and feigned his submission; then, not enduring the constraint, he quickly returned to his own manner and resented obedience and wished to assume the power for himself alone. And with affairs in the East being in a bad state, some being already despaired of, and others heading in that direction, he proclaims a campaign and pitches the royal tent in the eastern region opposite Byzantium, managing these two things, both to wall off the attack of the barbarians and to provide salvation as much as possible for his subjects and to procure some glory for himself and not to submit in all things to the empress, but to rule himself as an autocrat. Therefore, having set out from the palace in full armor, he crossed 689 to the east, leading neither a worthy army, and that which he did lead was worn out by a lack of arms and horses and necessities. For the army, having been neglected for a long time, as has been said, could not easily be restored all at once. Therefore, when soldiers in such a condition were gathered in the theme of the Anatolics, which is of Phrygia, the enemy, learning that the emperor himself was coming against them and was of such a sort as to readily risk himself for his subjects, warlike and his attack irresistible (for the barbarians did not know precisely how the army was situated), they were cautious and hesitated to fight hand-to-hand. Hence the sultan for his part directed his attack backward, and dividing the barbarian army into two parts he commanded the leaders to lead one toward upper, more southern Asia, and the other toward the more northern part.

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πατριάρχου τετήρητο. καὶ ἦν αὐτῇ μέλημα ὅπως τοῦτο ἀφέλοιτο. σκέπτεται τοίνυν περὶ τούτου 686 βουλὴν πονηράν τε καὶ βαθυγνώμονα καὶ ταύτην ἑνί τῳ τῶν περὶ αὐτὴν ἐκτομιῶν κοινοῦται καὶ οἷον προαγωγῷ τῷ θεράποντι κέχρηται, ὑποθεμένη ὁπόσα ἂν καὶ οἷα τῷ πατριάρχῃ προσομιλήσει. ὁ δὲ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ προσελθών "ἴσθι" φησίν "ὦ δέσποτα, ὡς ἐρῴη τοῦ ἀνεψιοῦ σου ἡ βασιλίς" (ἦν γὰρ ἀνεψιὸς αὐτῷ Βάρδας, νέος τε καὶ σφριγῶν καὶ ἀφροδισίων ἡττώμενος) καὶ προσεπῆγεν ὡς "εἰ σὺ ἐπινεύσειας τὸ τοῦ ὅρκου χειρόγραφον ἀποδοῦναι τῇ βασιλίσσῃ καὶ πεῖσαι μή τινα κίνδυνον ἐκ τούτου ἐπηρτῆσθαι αὐτῇ, αὐτίκα συνοικίσει μὲν ἑαυτῇ τὸν σὸν ἀδελφόπαιδα, καί οἱ τὸ κράτος ἕψεται τὸ βασίλειον." ὡς δὲ τούτοις ὁ πατριάρχης παραβουκοληθεὶς ὅλον ἐνέδωκεν ἑαυτόν, καὶ τῶν τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς ἀπῄτητο θέσθαι ἀπόπειραν. ὁ δὲ τούτων ἕκαστον προσκαλούμενος τὰ πράγματα ζητεῖν ἔλεγε βασιλέα τὸν τούτων ἀντιληψόμενον· "εἰ γὰρ ἔτι γυναικὶ μόνῃ καὶ παιδαρίοις ταῦτα διοικηθήσεται, οἰχήσεται πάντως οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν τῇ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίᾳ οὐ τὰ 687 πόρρω μόνον καὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀγχιτέρμονα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ἀγχίθυρα." καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις τῶν ὅρκων καὶ τοῦ ἐγγράφου πολλὴν ἐποιεῖτο καταδρομὴν καὶ τὸν τεθνεῶτα βασιλέα ἐκακηγόρει, ὡς μηδὲ τοῦ κοινῇ συμφέροντος θέμενον πρόνοιαν, ἀλλ' ἐκ ζηλοτυπίας ἐκθέσμους ὅρκους ἀπῃτηκότα καὶ παράνομα ἔγγραφα. τούτοις τοὺς πλείους συντιθεμένους ἐσχηκὼς ἐκεῖνος, εἰ δέ τινες καὶ ἀντέλεγον, τοὺς μὲν δώροις, τοὺς δ' ὑποσχέσεσι συμψήφους πείσας αὐτῷ γενέσθαι, στέλλει τῇ βασιλίσσῃ τὸ τῶν ὅρκων χειρόγραφον. ἡ δὲ τούτου λαβομένη εἰς ἔργον τὸ βούλευμα ἀπετέλεσε καὶ ἄγεται μὲν τὸν ∆ιογένη καὶ τούτῳ συζεύγνυται, κοινοῦται δὲ τὴν πρᾶξιν τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ τε τῶν υἱῶν καὶ τῷ Καίσαρι μετακληθέντι πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια καὶ μετασχόντι τῶν ὑμεναίων καὶ τῶν ἐπιγαμίων ἀπογευσαμένῳ κρατήρων· καὶ ὁ ∆ιογένης βασιλεὺς ἀνηγόρευτο, τῆς βασιλίδος Εὐδοκίας μετὰ τῶν υἱέων ἀρξάσης ἐπὶ μῆνας ἑπτὰ καὶ ἡμέρας τινάς. Ῥωμανὸς δὲ ὁ ∆ιογένης τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς γενόμενος ἐγκρατὴς οὐ κατὰ τὰς ἐλπίδας τῆς βασιλευσάσης αὐτὸν 688 Εὐδοκίας ἀποβεβήκει. ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ κατακρίτου καὶ ἤδη τὸν δήμιον ἐφεστηκότα ὁρῶντος αὐτῷ, οὐ μόνον κινδύνου προφανοῦς ἐξαρπάσασα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τηλικαύτης ἀρχῆς ἀξιώσασα ᾤετο ἐν πᾶσιν ἔχειν τοῦτον ὑπείκοντα καὶ αὐτὴ κατάρχειν τοῦ βασιλεύοντος. ὁ δὲ καὶ ἄλλως ὢν ἀλαζονικὸς καὶ ἀδούλωτος, ἐπ' ὀλίγον μὲν βιασάμενος τὸ ἦθος ὑπέπιπτέ τε ταῖς τῆς Αὐγούστης θελήσεσι καὶ ὑπεκρίνετο τὴν ὑπόπτωσιν· εἶτα μὴ στέγων τὴν βίαν ταχὺ πρὸς τὸν οἰκεῖον τρόπον ἐπανελήλυθε καὶ τὴν ὑπακοὴν ἐδυσχέραινε καὶ ἤθελεν αὐτὸς τὸ κράτος καθαρῶς ἀναδήσασθαι. Κακῶς δὲ τῶν ἑῴων διακειμένων, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἤδη ἀπεγνωσμένων, τῶν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸ χωρούντων, ἐκστρατείαν κηρύττει καὶ πήγνυσι τὴν σκηνὴν τὴν βασίλειον κατὰ τὸ τῆς ἑῴας τμῆμα τὸ τῇ Βυζαντίδι ἀντίπορθμον, δύο ταῦτα πραγματευόμενος, ἀποτειχίσαι τε τοῖς βαρβάροις τὴν ἔφοδον καὶ σωτηρίαν ὡς ἐνὸν πρυτανεῦσαι τῷ ὑπηκόῳ καὶ ἑαυτῷ γαυρίαμά τι περιποιήσασθαι καὶ μὴ πάντα ὑπείκειν τῇ βασιλίδι, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς αὐταρχεῖν. ἄρας οὖν ἐκ τῶν βασιλείων πανοπλίτης ἐπε689 ραιώθη πρὸς τὴν ἑῴαν, οὔτ' ἀξιόμαχον ἐπαγόμενος στράτευμα, καὶ ὃ ἐπήγετο, ἀπορίᾳ καὶ ὅπλων καὶ ἵππων καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων αὐτῷ ἐτετρύχωτο. ἐκ μακροῦ γὰρ κατολιγωρηθεῖσαν τὴν στρατιάν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἀθρόον ἀνακτηθῆναι οὐκ ἦν εὐχερές. ἀθροισθέντων οὖν τῶν οὕτως ἐχόντων στρατιωτῶν κατὰ τὸ θέμα τῶν ἀνατολικῶν, ὃ τῆς Φρυγίας ἐστίν, οἱ ἐναντίοι μαθόντες τὸν βασιλέα ἐπιέναι σφίσιν αὐτὸν καὶ τοιοῦτον εἶναι ὡς ἑτοίμως προκινδυνεύειν τῶν ὑπηκόων, ἀρήιόν τε καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν ἀνυπόστατον (τὰ γὰρ τῆς στρατιᾶς ὅπως διέκειτο οὐκ ἠκρίβουν οἱ βάρβαροι), εὐλαβῶς εἶχον καὶ ὤκνουν κατὰ συστάδην μαχέσασθαι. ἔνθεν τοι ὁ μὲν σουλτὰν εἰς τοὐπίσω πεποίητο τὴν ὁρμήν, δύο δὲ μοίρας τῆς βαρβαρικῆς διελὼν στρατιᾶς τὴν μὲν εἰς τὴν νοτιωτέραν Ἀσίαν τὴν ἄνω, τὴν δὲ πρὸς τὴν βορειοτέραν ὁρμῆσαι τοῖς προεστῶσιν