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They took away 1100 pounds of gold and 485 slaughtered many people together with the general and the commanders. For there were not a few taxatoi commanders from the other themes, and they all perished there. They also took the entire baggage train and returned. In the same year before the feast of Easter, Krum, the leader of the Bulgars, having arrayed his army against Serdica, took it by deceit and parley, slaughtering six thousand Roman troops, apart from the civilian population. Nikephoros, for his part, having ostensibly gone out against him on the third day of the week of the saving Passion, accomplished nothing of note, and when the commanders who had survived the slaughter asked for terms of safety, he disdained to grant them, and forced them to flee to the enemy, among whom was also Eumathios the spatharios, an expert in siege engines. And Nikephoros, in addition to his great disgrace, was eager to persuade the imperial city with sworn letters that he had celebrated the feast of Easter in the court of Krum. And wanting to rebuild the captured Serdica, but fearing the resisting multitudes, he suborned the generals and commanders to persuade the crowds to petition the emperor concerning the rebuilding. But they, understanding the drama to have been instigated by his malevolence, mutinied against him and their own commanders at the ninth hour, and falling upon them, they tore down their tents. And coming as far as the imperial tent, they assailed him with many insults and curses, swearing that they would no longer bear his immoderate avarice and malicious mind. But he, greatly terrified by the suddenness of the mutiny and rising from the table, first tried to calm the army through the patricians Nikephoros and Peter with oaths and persuasive words. But having paused for a short while, the wretched men occupied a certain hill, forgetting the matter at hand, shouting, "Lord have mercy," as if for some earthquake or drought. But he, ready for every evil deed, having deceived many of the commanders with secret gifts during the night, on the next day came himself into their midst and spoke to the crowds, assuring them with dreadful oaths about all prosperity and of his equal 486 affection for them as for his children. And immediately he reached the imperial city, having left Theodosios, a patrician and promoskrinion, surnamed Salibaras, to discover through one another who the mutineers were. And as the multitudes were returning, pretending that he would pay them their stipends, at Saint Mamas he punished most of them with floggings and tonsurings and exiles, and he transported the rest to Chrysopolis, having trampled on such great and terrible oaths. And on account of the disaster, they called the Crossing "the Fiery River." 8. 2. 14. 5. In this year, Nikephoros, after his godless campaigns, planning to humiliate the armies in every way, ordered Christians to be resettled from every theme to the Sklavinias, and for their properties to be sold. And the matter was no less than a captivity, with many blaspheming out of foolishness and asking for enemy raids, while others lamented over their ancestral tombs and called the dead blessed; and there were some who even used nooses for relief from their troubles. For they were unable to take their unwieldy possessions with them and saw the property acquired by the labors of their ancestors being destroyed; and utter helplessness possessed them all, the poor because of these things and what will be said next, and the prominent because they suffered with them and were unable to help, while expecting heavier disasters. These things began in the month of September, and were completed by holy Easter. A second hardship, along with this one: he ordered poor men to be enlisted and to be equipped by their fellow villagers, who were also to provide eighteen and a half nomismata each to the treasury, and the public taxes on the basis of collective responsibility. A third evil design: that all be inspected, and their taxes be increased, providing also for tax-receipts two keratia each;

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ἀφείλαντο χρυσίου λίτρας αρʹ καὶ 485 πολὺν λαὸν κατέσφαξαν σὺν τῷ στρατηγῷ καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν. ἦσαν γὰρ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν θεμάτων ταξάτοι ἄρχοντες οὐκ ὀλίγοι, καὶ πάντες ἐκεῖ ἀπώλοντο. ἔλαβον δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦλδον ὅλον καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν. τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει πρὸ τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ πάσχα Κροῦμμος, ὁ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἀρχηγός, παραταξάμενος κατὰ Σερδικῆς ταύτην παρέλαβε δόλῳ καὶ λόγῳ, στρατεύματα Ῥωμαϊκὰ κατασφάξας χιλιάδας ʹ χωρὶς ἰδιωτικοῦ πλήθους. Νικηφόρος δὲ δῆθεν κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐξελθὼν τῇ γʹ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἑβδομάδος τοῦ σωτηρίου πάθους ἀξιόλογον μὲν οὐδὲν πέπραχεν, τοῖς δὲ περισωθεῖσιν ἐκ τῆς σφαγῆς ἄρχουσιν αἰτοῦσι λόγον σωτηρίας ἀπαξιώσας δοῦναι, τοῖς ἐχθροῖς προσφυγεῖν ἐβιάσατο, ἐν οἷς ἦν καὶ Εὐμάθιος ὁ σπαθάριος μηχανικῆς ἔμπειρος. ὁ δὲ Νικηφόρος πρὸς τῇ πολλῇ ἀδοξίᾳ σάκραις ἐνόρκοις τὴν βασιλίδα πόλιν πείθειν ἐσπούδαξεν, ὅτι τὴν τοῦ πάσχα ἑορτὴν ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ τοῦ Κρούμμου ἑώρτασεν. τὴν δὲ παραληφθεῖσαν Σερδικὴν οἰκοδομεῖν βουλόμενος, ἀνθιστάμενα τὰ πλήθη φοβηθεὶς ὑποβάλλει διὰ τῶν στρατηγῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων πεῖσαι τοὺς ὄχλους αἰτήσασθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς. οἱ δὲ τὸ δρᾶμα κατανοήσαντες ὡς ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνου κακοπραγίας ὑποβεβλημένον στασιάζουσι κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἀρχόντων ὥρᾳ ʹ, καὶ ἐπελθόντες διαρρήσσουσι τὰς σκηνὰς αὐτῶν. ἐλθόντες δὲ ἕως τῆς βασιλικῆς ὕβρεσι πολλαῖς καὶ ἀραῖς αὐτὸν ἔβαλλον μηκέτι φέρειν τὴν ἄμετρον φιλαργυρίαν καὶ κακομήχανον αὐτοῦ γνώμην ἐξομνύμενοι. ὁ δὲ τῷ ἀθρόῳ τῆς στάσεως σφόδρα καταπτοηθεὶς καὶ ἀναστὰς τῆς τραπέζης, πρῶτον μὲν διὰ Νικηφόρου καὶ Πέτρου τῶν πατρικίων ὅρκοις καὶ πιθανολογίαις κατευνάζειν ἐπειρᾶτο τὸ στράτευμα. οἱ δὲ μικρὸν παυσάμενοι βουνόν τινα κατέλαβον οἱ τρισάθλιοι τῆς ἐν χερσὶν ἐπιλαθόμενοι πράξεως, τό, "κύριε ἐλέησον," ἀναβοῶντες ὡς ἐπί τινι σεισμῷ ἢ ἀνομβρία. ὁ δὲ πρὸς πᾶσαν κακουργίαν ἕτοιμος λαθραίαις δωρεαῖς διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐξαπατήσας τῇ ἐπαύριον αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ μέσος ἐλθὼν τοῖς ὄχλοις διελέχθη, περὶ πάσης εὐημερίας ὅρκοις φρικτοῖς αὐτοὺς διαβεβαιωσάμενος καὶ τὰ τῆς ἴσης 486 πρὸς τὰ τέκνα στοργῆς. καὶ παραυτίκα τὴν βασιλίδα καταλαμβάνει, Θεοδόσιον, πατρίκιον καὶ προμοσκρίνιον, τὸ ἐπίκλην Σαλιβαρᾶν, ἐάσας εἰς τὸ καταμαθεῖν δι' ἀλλήλων τοὺς στασιάσαντας. ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐπανέρχεσθαι τὰ πλήθη ῥογεύειν αὐτοὺς προσποιησάμενος, κατὰ τὸν ἅγιον Μάμαντα δαρμοῖς τε καὶ κουραῖς καὶ ἐξορίαις τοὺς πλείστους τιμωρησάμενος, εἰς Χρυσόπολιν τοὺς λοιποὺς διεβίβαζε καταπατήσας τοὺς τηλικούτους φοβεροὺς ὅρκους. οἱ δὲ διὰ τὴν συμφορὰν πύρινον ποταμὸν τὸ Πέραμα προσηγόρευσαν. ηʹ. βʹ. ιδʹ. εʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει Νικηφόρος μετὰ τὰς ἀθέους ὑπεξελεύσεις τὰ στρατεύματα πάντῃ ταπεινῶσαι σκεψάμενος Χριστιανοὺς ἀποικίσας ἐκ παντὸς θέματος ἐπὶ τὰς Σκλαυινίας γενέσθαι προσέταξεν, τὰς δὲ τούτων ὑποστάσεις πιπράσκεσθαι. καὶ ἦν αἰχμαλωσίας οὐκ ἔλαττον τὸ πρᾶγμα, πολλῶν ἐξ ἀνοίας βλασφημούντων καὶ ἐχθρῶν ἐφόδους αἰτούντων, ἑτέρων δὲ περὶ τοὺς γονικοὺς τάφους θρηνούντων καὶ τοὺς ἀποθανόντας μακαριζόντων· εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ ἀγχόναις ἐχρήσαντο πρὸς ἀπαλλαγὴν τῶν δεινῶν. τά τε γὰρ προσόντα δυσκίνητα συνεπιφέρεσθαι ἠδυνάτουν καὶ τὴν ἐκ γονικῶν πόνων κτηθεῖσαν ὕπαρξιν ὀλλυμένην ἑώρων· καὶ πᾶσα τοὺς πάντας εἶχεν ἀμηχανία, τῶν μὲν πενήτων ἐν τούτοις καὶ τοῖς ἑξῆς ῥηθησομένοις, τῶν δὲ ὑπερεχόντων συμπασχόντων αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴ δυναμένων βοηθῆσαι ἀπεκδεχομένων τε βαρυτέρας συμφοράς. ταῦτα ἤρχθη μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνός, πρὸς δὲ τὸ ἅγιον πάσχα πεπέρασται. δευτέραν σὺν ταύτῃ κάκωσιν, προσέταξε στρατεύεσθαι πτωχοὺς καὶ ἐξοπλίζεσθαι παρὰ τῶν ὁμοχώρων, παρέχοντας καὶ ἀνὰ ὀκτωκαίδεκα ἡμίσους νομισμάτων τῷ δημοσίῳ, καὶ ἀλληλεγγύως τὰ δημόσια. τρίτην κακόνοιαν, ἐποπτεύεσθαι πάντας, καὶ ἀναβιβάζεσθαι τὰ τούτων τέλη, παρέχοντας καὶ χαρτιατικῶν ἕνεκα ἀνὰ κερατίων βʹ·