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for 7 days in the imperial bedchamber, deceitfully weeping, since he also naturally had womanish tears, which are by nature present in many of the wicked and hypocritical. But he did not escape the notice of the 481 many. But in the month of August, having set out against the Arabs, he met them at Crasus in Phrygia and having fought was defeated; and having lost many men, he himself was almost about to be captured, if some of the bravest commanders had not been able, with difficulty, to rescue him from the danger.

3. 20. 9. 21. In this year, when a revolt occurred in Persia, the leader of the Arabs went down to make peace with them. And Nicephorus, having found an opportunity, built Ancyra of Galatia and Thebasa and Andrasus. He also sent a raiding party into Syria, and having accomplished nothing, they returned, but rather the opposite, having also lost many men.

Bishop of Constantinople, Nicephorus, 9 years.

4. 21. 10. 1. In this year, on the 18th of the month of February, in the 14th indiction, Tarasius, the most holy patriarch of Constantinople, died gloriously, and his remains were carried out to the Strait of the Pontus and buried in the monastery founded by him on the 4th day of the first week of the fasts. And on the 12th of the month of April, on the great Sunday of Pascha, Nicephorus, the most holy patriarch, was ordained from the rank of asekretis by the vote of all the people and the priests, and also of the emperors. But Plato and Theodore, the abbots of the monastery of Stoudios, did not consent to the ordination of Nicephorus, but even strongly opposed it, plotting a schism, having the ostensibly reasonable cause that it was not proper for one to be raised suddenly from the laity to the episcopate. And when the emperor Nicephorus wished to expel them from the city, he was thwarted, as some advised that the patriarch's ordination would not be praiseworthy upon the rejection of the aforementioned men and upon the dissolution of so great a monastery, with some 700 monks arrayed under Theodore. And the matter was not foreign to the church nor recently invented, but many others from the laity also became bishops, ministering to God worthily of the rank.

482 In the same year Aaron, the leader of the Arabs, campaigned against Roman territory with a heavy force of 300,000 from the Black-robed ones and Syria and Palestine and Libya. And having come to Tyana he built a house of his blasphemy. And having besieged, he took both the fortress of Heracles, which was very strongly fortified, and Thebasa and Malakopea and Sideropalus and Andrasus. And he sent a raiding party of 60,000, and it went down as far as Ancyra, and having scouted it, returned. But the emperor Nicephorus, seized by fear and helplessness, went out himself in despair, showing the noble signs of his wretchedness; and having made many obeisances, he sent to Aaron the metropolitan of Synada and Peter, the abbot of Goulaios, and Gregory, the oikonomos of Amastris, asking that there be peace; and after they had discussed much, they agreed on peace, on the condition that 30,000 nomismata be paid to them annually and three nomismata as poll-tax for the emperor himself, and three for his son. And having received these, Aaron was pleased and rejoiced, having received these things as more than ten thousand talents, as though he had subjected the empire of the Romans. And they agreed also that the captured fortresses not be rebuilt. But when the Arabs had withdrawn, he immediately rebuilt the same fortresses and fortified them. And when Aaron learned this, sending again he took Thebasa, and sending a fleet to Cyprus he both destroyed the churches and deported the Cypriots, and having done much damage, he broke the peace.

5. 22. 11. 2. In this year Nicephorus campaigned against the Bulgars and having occupied Adrianople, becoming aware of a revolt being plotted against him by the imperial men and the tagmata, he returned having accomplished nothing, except only defending himself against his countrymen, subjecting many to floggings and exiles and confiscations.

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ἡμέρας ζʹ ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ κοιτῶνος δολίως κλαυθμυριζόμενον, ἐπεὶ καὶ φυσικῶς αὐτῷ γυναικώδη προσῆσαν δάκρυα, ἃ τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν φαύλων καὶ ψευδοχρήστοις προσεῖναι πέφυκεν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔλαθε τοὺς 481 πολλούς. τῷ δὲ Αὐγούστῳ μηνὶ ἐξελθὼν κατὰ Ἀράβων συνήντησεν αὐτοῖς εἰς Κρασὸν τῆς Φρυγίας καὶ πολεμήσας ἡττᾶται· καὶ πολλοὺς ἀποβαλὼν μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς κρατεῖσθαι ἤμελλεν, εἰ μὴ τῶν ἀρχόντων τινὲς ἀνδρειότατοι τοῦτον μόλις τῆς ἀνάγκης περισώσασθαι ἴσχυσαν. γʹ. κʹ. θʹ. καʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει στάσεως γενομένης κατὰ τὴν Περσικήν, κατῆλθεν ὁ τῶν Ἀράβων ἀρχηγὸς εἰρηνοποιήσων αὐτούς. Νικηφόρος δὲ ἄδειαν εὑρὼν ἔκτισε τὴν Ἄγκυραν Γαλατίας καὶ τὴν Θήβασαν καὶ τὴν Ἀνδρασόν. ἀπέστειλε δὲ καὶ ἐν Συρίᾳ κοῦρσον, καὶ μηδὲν ἀνύσαντες ὑπέστρεψαν, τοὐναντίον δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ πολλοὺς ἀποβαλόντες. Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐπίσκοπος Νικηφόρος ἔτη θʹ. δʹ. καʹ. ιʹ. αʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει, μηνὶ Φεβρουαρίῳ ιηʹ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιδʹ, Ταράσιος, ὁ ἁγιώτατος πατριάρχης Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ἐνδόξως ἀπεβίω, καὶ ἐξεκομίσθη τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Στενῷ τοῦ Πόντου καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῷ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθέντι μοναστηρίῳ τῇ δʹ τῆς αʹ ἑβδομάδος τῶν νηστειῶν. καὶ τῇ ιβʹ τοῦ Ἀπριλλίου μηνός, τῇ μεγάλῃ κυριακῇ τοῦ πάσχα, ἐχειροτονήθη Νικηφόρος, ὁ ἁγιώτατος πατριάρχης, ἀπὸ ἀσηκρητῶν ψήφῳ παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τῶν ἱερέων, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῶν βασιλέων. Πλάτων δὲ καὶ Θεόδωρος, ἡγούμενοι τῆς μονῆς τῶν Στουδίου, οὐ συνευδόκησαν τῇ χειροτονίᾳ Νικηφόρου, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν ἀντετάχθησαν σχίσμα μελετήσαντες, αἰτίαν δῆθεν εὔλογον ἔχοντες τὸ μὴ δεῖν ἀπὸ λαϊκῶν ἀθρόως εἰς ἐπισκοπὴν ἀνατρέχειν. οὓς ὁ βασιλεὺς Νικηφόρος τῆς πόλεως ἀπελάσαι βουληθεὶς ἀνετράπη, συμβουλευόντων τινῶν οὐκ ἐπαινετὴν ἔσεσθαι τὴν τοῦ πατριάρχου χειροτονίαν ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν προειρημένων ἀποχειροτονίᾳ καὶ ἐπὶ καταλύσει τηλικαύτης μονῆς, ψʹ που μοναστῶν ὑπὸ Θεοδώρῳ τεταγμένων. καὶ οὐκ ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα ξένον τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ προσφάτως ἐπινοηθέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὶ ἄλλοι ἀπὸ λαϊκῶν ἐπεσκόπησαν ἀξίως τῆς ἀξίας τῷ θεῷ ἱερατεύσαντες. 482 Τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει ἐπεστράτευσεν Ἀαρών, ὁ τῶν Ἀράβων ἀρχηγός, τὴν Ῥωμανίαν ἐν δυνάμει βαρείᾳ ἀπό τε Μαυροφόρων καὶ Συρίας καὶ Παλαιστίνης καὶ Λιβύης χιλιάδων τʹ. καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς Τύανα ᾠκοδόμησεν οἶκον τῆς βλασφημίας αὐτοῦ. καὶ πολιορκήσας παρέλαβε τό τε Ἡρακλέως κάστρον ὀχυρώτατον πάνυ ὑπάρχον καὶ τὴν Θήβασαν καὶ τὴν Μαλακοπέαν καὶ τὴν Σιδηρόπαλον καὶ τὴν Ἀνδρασόν. ἀπέστειλε δὲ κοῦρσον χιλιάδας ξʹ, καὶ κατῆλθεν ἕως Ἀγκύρας, καὶ ἱστορήσας ταύτην ὑπέστρεψεν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Νικηφόρος φόβῳ καὶ ἀμηχανίᾳ συσχεθεὶς ἐξῆλθε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἀπογνώσει, τὰ γενναῖα τῆς ταλαιπωρίας ἐπιδεικνύμενος· καὶ πολλὰ τρόπαια ποιήσας ἀπέστειλε πρὸς Ἀαρὼν τὸν μητροπολίτην Συνάδων καὶ Πέτρον, τὸν ἡγούμενον τοῦ Γουλαίου, καὶ Γρηγόριον, τὸν οἰκονόμον Ἀμάστρης, αἰτῶν εἰρήνην γενέσθαι· καὶ πολλὰ διαλεχθέντων αὐτῶν ἐστοίχησαν τὴν εἰρήνην, ἵνα τὸ κατ' ἔτος τελῆται αὐτοῖς ἀνὰ λʹ χιλιάδων νομίσματα καὶ τρία νομίσματα κεφαλιτιῶν αὐτοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ τρία τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. ἃ καὶ δεξάμενος Ἀαρὼν ἥσθη καὶ ἠγαλλιάσατο ὑπὲρ μυρίων ταλάντων ταῦτα δεξάμενος, ὡς ὑποτάξας τὴν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείαν. ἐστοίχησαν δὲ καὶ τὰ παραληφθέντα κάστρα μὴ κτισθῆναι. ὑποστρεψάντων δὲ τῶν Ἀράβων, ἔκτισεν εὐθέως τὰ αὐτὰ κάστρα καὶ κατωχύρωσεν. καὶ τοῦτο μαθὼν Ἀαρών, ἀποστείλας πάλιν ἔλαβε τὴν Θήβασαν, καὶ πέμψας στόλον εἰς Κύπρον τάς τε ἐκκλησίας κατέστρεψε καὶ τοὺς Κυπρίους μετέστησε καὶ πολλὴν ἅλωσιν ποιήσας τὴν εἰρήνην διέστρεψεν. εʹ. κβʹ. ιαʹ. βʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ἐπεστράτευσε Νικηφόρος κατὰ Βουλγάρων καὶ καταλαβὼν τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν, στάσεως μελετωμένης κατ' αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τῶν βασιλικῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῶν ταγμάτων αἰσθόμενος, ὑπέστρεψεν ἄπρακτος μηδὲν ἀνύσας, ἢ μόνον τοὺς ὁμοφύλους ἀμυνόμενος δαρμοῖς τε καὶ ἐξορίαις καὶ δημεύσεσι πολλοὺς ὑποβαλών.