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persuading to despise imperial dignities and money. For the man was venerable to all because he had spent about 60 years in his cell and shone with many virtues. And when many officials and soldiers were accused of venerating icons, he handed them over to various punishments and most bitter tortures. And he demanded a universal oath from all those under his rule that no one should venerate an icon, after which he also made Constantine, the falsely-named patriarch, ascend the ambo and raise the precious and life-giving wood and swear that he was not one of those who venerate icons. And straightway he persuaded this man to become a layman instead of a monk, and to partake of meat and to listen to cithara players at the imperial table. But not long after, justice delivered this man over to the hands of the blood-stained one. And on the 21st of the month of June, of the 4th indiction, he moved against the Bulgars and sent to the Acheloos 2600 chelandia, having armed them from all the themes. And when these had moored on the coasts, and the north wind blew, almost all were wrecked, and many people were drowned, so that the emperor ordered drag-nets to be cast out and the dead to be collected and buried. And on the 17th of the month of July, he entered the City ingloriously. And on the 21st of the month of August of the same 4th indiction, he publicly exposed and dishonored the habit of the monks in the Hippodrome, having ordered each and every abbot to hold a woman by the hand and thus for them to pass through 438 the Hippodrome, being spat upon and insulted by all the people. Likewise also on the 25th of the same month, 19 distinguished officials were brought to the Hippodrome games and were paraded as having plotted evil things against the emperor, having been slandered not in truth, but because he envied them for being handsome and strong and praised by all, and some of them also for their piety and for going to the aforementioned recluse and celebrating his sufferings; whom he also killed, of whom the leaders are: Constantine the patrician and former logothete of the drome, whom he nicknamed Podopagouros, and his brother Strategios, spatharios and domestic of the Excubitors, and Antiochos, former logothete of the drome and strategos of Sicily, David the spatharios, son of Beser and comes of the Opsikion, Theophylaktos the Iconiate, protospatharios and strategos of Thrace, Christopher the spatharios, son of the patrician Himerios, Constantine the spatharios and imperial protostrator, son of the patrician Bardanes, Theophylaktos the kandidatos, son of Marinakes, and others: After publicly exposing these men in the Hippodrome and having them spat upon by all the people and their beards plucked out, he gave the sentence. And the two brothers, Constantine, I say, and Strategios, he beheaded in the Kynegion, with much lamentation arising for them among all the people; so that the emperor, upon learning this, became indignant, and flogged Prokopios the eparch and replaced him, as having permitted this. And all the rest he blinded and exiled, whom also, full of madness, he ordered to be beaten with 100 lashes of the ox-whip each year, sending messengers to the places where they were. And on the 30th of the same month of August, of the same 4th indiction, the ill-named one raged against his namesake and like-minded patriarch; and having found some clergy and monks and laymen who were his initiates and friends, he prepared them to say, that "we heard the patriarch speaking with Podopagouros against the emperor." And he sent them to him in the patri439archate, so that they might convict him. And while he was denying it, he made them swear on the precious wood, that "we heard these slanders from the patriarch." Therefore, on these grounds, he sent men and sealed up the patriarchate; and he exiled him to Hiereia and again to Prinkipo. Niketas, bishop of Constantinople, 14 years. 10. 12. 5. 1. In this

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καταφρονεῖν πείθοντα βασιλικῶν ἀξιωμάτων καὶ χρημάτων. αἰδέσιμος γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ πᾶσιν ὑπῆρχε διὰ τὸ περὶ ξʹ χρόνους ποιῆσαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐγκλείστρᾳ καὶ ἀρεταῖς πολλαῖς διαλάμπειν. πολλῶν τε ἀρχόντων καὶ στρατιωτῶν διαβληθέντων προσκυνεῖν εἰκόνας διαφόροις τιμωρίαις καὶ πικροτάταις αἰκίαις τούτους παρέδωκεν. ὅρκον δὲ καθολικὸν πάντας τοὺς ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν ἀπῄτησεν εἰκόνι μὴ προσκυνῆσαί τινα, μεθ' ὃν καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ψευδώνυμον πατριάρχην ἐπὶ ἄμβωνος ἀνελθεῖν καὶ ὑψῶσαι τὰ τίμια καὶ ζωοποιὰ ξύλα καὶ ὀμόσαι πεποίηκεν, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι τῶν προσκυνούντων τὰς εἰκόνας. καὶ τοῦτον παραυτὰ στεφανίτην ἀντὶ μοναχοῦ ἔπεισε γενέσθαι καὶ κρεῶν μεταλαμβάνειν καὶ κιθαρῳδῶν ἀνέχεσθαι ἐν τῇ βασιλικῇ τραπέζῃ. ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἡ δίκη τοῦτον ταῖς τοῦ μιαιφόνου παραδέδωκε χερσίν. τῇ δὲ καʹ τοῦ Ἰουνίου μηνὸς τῆς δʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐκίνησε κατὰ Βουλγάρων καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἐπὶ Ἀχελὸν βχʹ χελάνδια ἐξοπλίσας αὐτὰ ἐκ πάντων τῶν θεμάτων. τούτων δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἀκταῖς προσορμισθέντων, καὶ τοῦ βορρᾶ πνεύσαντος, συνετρίβησαν μικροῦ δεῖν ἅπαντα, καὶ ἐπνίγη λαὸς πολύς, ὥστε τὸν βασιλέα κελεῦσαι γρίπους ἐκτείνειν καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς ἀναλέγεσθαι καὶ θάπτειν. καὶ τῇ ιζʹ τοῦ Ἰουλίου μηνὸς εἰσῆλθεν ἀδόξως ἐν τῇ πόλει. καὶ τῇ καʹ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς τῆς αὐτῆς δʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐστηλίτευσε καὶ ἠτίμασε τὸ σχῆμα τῶν μοναχῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱπποδρομίου παρακελευσάμενος ἕνα ἕκαστον ἀββᾶν κρατεῖν γυναῖκα τῇ χειρὶ καὶ οὕτω παρελθεῖν αὐτοὺς 438 τὸ ἱπποδρόμιον ἐμπτυομένους καὶ ὑβριζομένους ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ. ὁμοίως καὶ τῇ κεʹ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς ἤχθησαν ἐπὶ ἱπποδρομίας ἐπίσημοι ἄρχοντες ιθʹ καὶ ἐπόμπευσαν ὡς κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως πονηρὰ βουλευσάμενοι, συκοφαντηθέντες οὐκ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἀλλὰ φθονῶν αὐτοῖς διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς εὐειδεῖς καὶ ῥωμαλέους καὶ παρὰ πάντων ἐπαινουμένους, τινὰς δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ δι' εὐλάβειαν καὶ ὡς εἰς τὸν προρρηθέντα ἔγκλειστον ἀπερχομένους, καὶ τὰ πάθη αὐτοῦ θριαμβεύοντας, οὓς καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν, ὧν εἰσιν οἱ πρωτεύοντες· Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ πατρίκιος καὶ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου γενόμενος, ὃν ἐπωνόμασε Ποδοπάγουρον, καὶ ὁ τούτου ἀδελφὸς Στρατήγιος σπαθάριος καὶ δομέστικος τῶν ἐκσκουβίτων, Ἀντίοχός τε λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου γεγονὼς καὶ στρατηγὸς Σικελίας, ∆αβὶδ σπαθάριος κατὰ τὸν Βησὴρ καὶ κόμης τοῦ Ὀψικίου, Θεοφύλακτος ὁ Ἰκονιάτης πρωτοσπαθάριος καὶ στρατηγὸς τῆς Θρᾴκης, Χριστοφόρος ὁ κατὰ τὸν πατρίκιον Ἱμέριον σπαθάριος, Κωνσταντῖνος σπαθάριος καὶ βασιλικὸς πρωτοστράτωρ, υἱὸς τοῦ πατρικίου Βαρδάνους, Θεοφύλακτος κανδιδάτος ὁ κατὰ τὸν Μαρινάκην, καὶ ἕτεροι· τούτους ἐπὶ τῆς ἱπποδρομίας στηλιτεύσας καὶ ὑπὸ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐμπτυσθῆναι καὶ ἀνασκαφῆναι ποιήσας ἔδωκεν ἀπόφασιν. καὶ τοὺς μὲν δύο ἀδελφοὺς Κωνσταντῖνον, φημί, καὶ Στρατήγιον ἐν τῷ Κυνηγίῳ ἀπεκεφάλισεν, πολλοῦ θρήνου γενομένου ἐπ' αὐτοῖς παντὶ τῷ λαῷ· ὥστε μαθόντα τοῦτο τὸν βασιλέα ἀγανακτῆσαι, καὶ τὸν ἔπαρχον Προκόπιον τύψαι καὶ διαδέξασθαι ὡς τοῦτο καταδεξάμενον. τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς πάντας τυφλώσας ἐξώρισεν, οὓς καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον ἔτος ἀποστέλλων ὁ ἀπονοίας ἀνάμεστος ἐν οἷς ὑπῆρχον τόποις ἀνὰ ρʹ βουνεύρων ἐκέλευσε τύπτεσθαι. τῇ δὲ λʹ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς τῆς αὐτῆς δʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐμάνη ὁ δυσώνυμος κατὰ τοῦ συνωνύμου αὐτοῦ καὶ σύμφρονος πατριάρχου· καὶ εὑρών τινας κληρικούς τε καὶ μοναχοὺς καὶ λαϊκοὺς μύστας αὐτοῦ καὶ φίλους παρεσκεύασεν εἰπεῖν αὐτούς, ὅτι "ἠκούσαμεν τοῦ πατριάρχου λαλοῦντος μετὰ τοῦ Ποδοπαγούρου κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως." καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ πατρι439 αρχείῳ, ἵνα ἐλέγξωσιν αὐτόν. ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐκεῖνον ἀρνεῖσθαι ἐποίησεν αὐτοὺς ὀμόσαι εἰς τὰ τίμια ξύλα, ὅτι "ἐκ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἠκούσαμεν τὰς λοιδορίας ταύτας." ἐν τούτοις οὖν ἀποστείλας ἐβούλλωσε τὸ πατριαρχεῖον· καὶ τοῦτον ἐξώρισεν ἐν τῇ Ἱερείᾳ καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῇ Πριγκίπῳ. Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐπίσκοπος Νικήτας ἔτη ιδʹ. ιʹ. ιβʹ. εʹ. αʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ