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six folles. And there was great lamentation both in the country and the city as these were collected without compassion. Therefore, the emperor, having received envoys from the monks in Jerusalem, and from Timothy of Gaza, a man wise in all things, who had composed a tragedy concerning this matter, abolished these. And at the same time and with conspicuous generosity, the emperor abolished the tax of many talents and utterly destructive, called the four-yearly chrysargyron, and in the Hippodrome, in front of everyone, he burned with fire the records of such a tax. And while political matters were thus generously corrected, in matters contributing to the glory of God, he became harsh and inexorable; for in his second year, he took his confession from Euthymius by force.
In the 5th year, he captured the tyrants through John the Scythian. And to Euthymius the bishop, who was his enemy on account of the faith, he declared, "Your great prayers have blackened your friends." He deposes this man and sends him into exile. And he appoints Mace 1.628 donius bishop of Constantinople. But he, ill-advised by Anastasius, signed the Henoticon of Zeno. In the 8th year, Macedonius, by the will of the emperor, hastened to unite the monasteries of the capital city, which had been separated on account of the Henoticon of Zeno. And gathering together the visiting bishops, he confirmed in writing the things well decreed in Chalcedon. But Theuderic the Afer, having an orthodox deacon, very much loved by him, who changed to Arianism to please Theuderic who was an Arian, cut off his head with a sword, saying, "If you did not keep faith with God, how will you keep it with me?" In the 10th and 11th year, there was again an incursion of Saracens in both Phoenicia and Syria, and the Bulgars are overrunning Illyricum and Thrace. In the 12th year, Anastasius makes a treaty with Arethas, and for the rest, all Palestine and Arabia and Phoenicia enjoyed much tranquility and peace. And in Neocaesarea, when an earthquake was about to happen, a soldier who was traveling saw two soldiers coming towards him, and another one behind crying out, "Guard the house in which the tomb of Gregory is." And when the earthquake happened, the greater part of the city fell, except for the church of Saint Gregory. In the thirteenth year, Kavadh the king of the Persians, having marched out on campaign, sacks the city of Amida. 1.629 In the 14th year, many wars took place with Kavadh. In this year, when a horse race took place, a riot of the two factions occurred, and many died from both sides; among whom was also the son of the emperor, whom he had by a concubine. Therefore, the emperor, being greatly grieved, punished many. In this year he melted down many bronze works which Constantine the Great had set up, and he made his own statue, and set it up on the column of Taurus; for the first one standing there, of Theodosius the Great, had fallen from the earthquake and was shattered. At that time also a certain alchemist, being clever in the arts of alchemy at deceiving the eye with tricks, was showing to silversmiths and others hands and feet of statues and other golden items, saying he had found a treasure, and having deceived many, he brought them to poverty. Therefore, when a report about him arose, he was arrested and brought to Anastasius. And he offered to him a horse's bridle all of gold with pearls; which the emperor took and said, "Truly you, even if you have deceived all, you will not deceive me." And he exiled him to some fortress, where he also died. In the 10th year, being relieved of the wars, he hastened to pervert Macedonius the patriarch from the orthodox faith. But many of the bishops, to please Anastasius, opposed the council in Chalcedon. And a certain Manichaean painter, a Syro-Persian from Cyzicus, Anastasius brought in the guise of a presbyter, who dared to paint things foreign to the ecclesiastical holy icons, and spectral 1.630 in the palace by the will of the emperor, who delighted in Manichaean things; whence also a great sedition of the people arose. And a certain Ascholius the
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φόλλεις ἕξ. καὶ ἦν ὀδυρμὸς πολὺς ἔν τε χώρᾳ καὶ πόλει τούτων εἰσπραττομένων ἀσυμπαθῶς. πρέσβεις τοίνυν δεξάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις μοναχῶν, καὶ Τι μοθέου τοῦ Γαζαίου ἀνδρὸς τὰ πάντα σοφοῦ τραγῳδίαν ποιήσαν τος ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοιούτου, ταῦτα ἐξέκοψε. κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρό νον καὶ περίβλεπτον φιλοτιμίαν τῆς πολυταλάντου καὶ πανώλου εἰσφορᾶς τοῦ καλουμένου τετραετηρικοῦ χρυσαργύρου κατέλυσεν ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ πυρὶ ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρόμῳ ἐναντίον πάντων κατέ καυσε τὰ τῆς τοιᾶσδε συντελείας κατάγραφα. καὶ τὰ μὲν πολι τικὰ φιλοτίμως οὕτως ἐπηνωρθοῦτο, εἰς δὲ τὰ εἰς τὴν τοῦ θείου δόξαν συντείνοντα δριμὺς καὶ ἀδυσώπητος γέγονε· τῷ γὰρ δευ τέρῳ ἔτει αὐτοῦ μετὰ βίας τὴν ὁμολογίαν αὐτοῦ παρὰ Εὐθυμίου ἔλαβε.
Τῷ εʹ ἔτει τοὺς τυράννους διὰ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Σκήθους παρ έλαβεν. Εὐθυμίῳ δὲ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ἐχθρῷ αὐτοῦ ὄντι διὰ τὴν πίστιν, ἐδήλωσεν "αἱ εὐχαί σου αἱ μεγάλαι τοὺς φίλους σου ἠσβό λωσαν." τοῦτόν τε καθαιρεῖ καὶ εἰς ἐξορίαν παραπέμπει. Μακε 1.628 δόνιον δὲ προχειρίζεται ἐπίσκοπον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως. ὁ δὲ κακῶς πεισθεὶς τῷ Ἀναστασίῳ ὑπέγραψε τῷ ἑνωτικῷ Ζήνωνος. Τῷ ηʹ ἔτει Μακεδόνιος γνώμῃ τοῦ βασιλέως ἑνῶσαι τὰ μο ναστήρια τῆς βασιλίδος ἔσπευδεν, ἀποσχισθέντα διὰ τὸ ἑνωτικὸν Ζήνωνος. καὶ τοὺς ἐνδημοῦντας ἐπισκόπους συναγαγὼν τὰ ἐν Χαλκηδόνι καλῶς δογματισθέντα ἐγγράφως ἐβεβαίωσε. Θευδέ ριχος δὲ ὁ Ἄφρος διάκονον ἔχων ὀρθόδοξον, πάνυ ἀγαπώμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, μεταθέμενον δὲ εἰς ἀρειανισμὸν χαριζόμενον Θευδε ρίχῳ ἀρειανίζοντι, ἀπέτεμε ξίφει, εἰπών "εἰ τῷ θεῷ τὴν πίστιν οὐκ ἐφύλαξας, ἐμοὶ πῶς φυλάξεις;" Τῷ ιʹ καὶ ιαʹ ἔτει γέγονε πάλιν Σαρακηνῶν ἐπιδρομὴ ἔν τε Φοινίκῃ καὶ Συρίᾳ, καὶ οἱ Βούλγαροι τῷ Ἰλλυρικῷ καὶ τῇ Θρᾴκῃ ἐπιτρέχουσι. Τῷ ιβʹ ἔτει σπένδεται πρὸς Ἀρέθαν Ἀναστάσιος, καὶ λοιπὸν πᾶσα ἡ Παλαιστίνη καὶ Ἀρραβία καὶ Φοινίκη πολλῆς γαλήνης καὶ εἰρήνης ἀπήλαυον. ἐν Νεοκαισαρείᾳ δὲ μέλλοντος γίνεσθαι σεισμοῦ στρατιώτης ὁδεύων εἶδε δύο στρατιώτας ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἰόντας, καὶ ὄπισθεν ἄλλον κράξαντα "φυλάξατε τὸν οἶκον ἐν ᾧ ἡ θήκη Γρηγορίου ἐστί." γενομένου δὲ τοῦ σεισμοῦ τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος τῆς πόλεως ἐπτώθη, πλὴν τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου. Τῷ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει Καβάδης ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς ἐκ στρατεύσας Ἄμιδα τὴν πόλιν πορθεῖ. 1.629 Τῷ ιδʹ ἔτει πολλοὶ πόλεμοι μετὰ Καβάδῃ γεγόνασι. τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ἱππικοῦ γενομένου ἀταξία γέγονε τῶν δύο μερῶν, καὶ πολλοὶ ἀπέθανον ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων· ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ βασιλέως, ὃν εἶχεν ἀπὸ παλλακῆς. σφόδρα οὖν λυπηθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλοὺς ἐτιμωρήσατο. τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ἐχώνευσε πολλὰ χαλκουργήματα ἐξ ὧν ἔστησεν ὁ μέγας Κωνσταντῖνος, καὶ ἐποίησε τὴν ἰδίαν στήλην, καὶ ἔστησεν εἰς κίονα τοῦ Ταύρου· ἡ γὰρ πρώτη ἑστῶσα Θεοδο σίου τοῦ μεγάλου ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τοῦ σεισμοῦ καὶ συνετρίβη. τότε καὶ ἀνήρ τις χειμευτής, ἐκ τῶν τῆς χείμης τεχνῶν εὐφυὴς ὢν ταῖς ἀπάταις ὀφθαλμοπλανῆσαι, ὑπεδείκνυεν ἀργυροπράταις καὶ ἑτέ ροις χεῖρας καὶ πόδας ἀνδριάντων καὶ ἕτερα εἴδη χρυσᾶ, λέγων θησαυρὸν εὑρηκέναι, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀπατήσας εἰς πενίαν ἤνεγκε. φήμης οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ γενομένης κρατηθεὶς ἤχθη τῷ Ἀναστασίῳ. ὁ δὲ προσήνεγκεν αὐτῷ χαλινὸν ἵππου ὁλόχρυσον διὰ μαργαριτῶν· ὃν λαβὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔφη "ὄντως σύ, εἰ καὶ πάντας ἠπάτησας, ἐμὲ οὐκ ἀπατήσεις." καὶ ἐξώρισεν αὐτὸν εἴς τι φρούριον, ἔνθα καὶ τελευτᾷ. Τῷ ιʹ ἔτει ἀνεθεὶς τῶν πολέμων Μακεδόνιον τὸν πατριάρ χην διαστρέψαι τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως ἔσπευδε. πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν ἐπι σκόπων Ἀναστασίῳ χαριζόμενοι τῇ ἐν Χαλκηδόνι συνόδῳ ἀντέπι πτον. Μανιχαῖον δέ τινα ζωγράφον Συροπέρσην ἀπὸ Κυζίκου Ἀναστάσιος ἤγαγεν ἐν σχήματι πρεσβυτέρου, ὃς ἀλλότρια τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ἁγίων εἰκόνων ἐτόλμησε γράψας καὶ φασματώδη 1.630 ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ γνώμῃ τοῦ βασιλέως, χαίροντι τοῖς Μανιχαϊκοῖς· ὅθεν καὶ στάσις τοῦ λαοῦ γέγονε μεγάλη. Ἀσχόλιον δέ τινα ὁ