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and for a fourth, he was ordering all reliefs to be reassessed upwards. Fifth, that the hearth-tax 487 be demanded from the tenants of the pious houses—of the orphanage and of the hospices and homes for the aged and churches and imperial monasteries—from the first year of his tyranny, and that the better of the estates be taken into the imperial curatorship, but that their taxes be imposed upon the remaining estates and tenants of the same pious houses, so that the taxes of many were doubled, as their dwellings and lands were constricted. Sixth, that those who had suddenly recovered from poverty be investigated by the generals, and that money be demanded from them as if they were finders of treasures. Seventh, that those who twenty years before and up to the present had found a pithos or any vessel whatsoever, should themselves also be forced to pay money for it. Eighth, that the poor who, having inherited from grandfathers or fathers and divided the property, were to give it back to the treasury, from those same 20 years; and he ordered those who had bought slaves outside of Abydos to pay two nomismata each, and especially those in the Dodecanese. Ninth, that those dwelling on the seacoast, especially of Asia Minor, ship-owners who had never lived as farmers, be forced unwillingly to buy from the estates confiscated by him, so that they might be assessed by him. Tenth, having gathered the notable ship-owners in Constantinople, he gave them coin at four-keratia interest, each paying twelve pounds of gold, and the usual customs duties. These few things out of many have been recorded by me as in a summary, showing his resourcefulness for every kind of greed. For the terrible things shown concerning the empress to those in authority and the middling and the humble are beyond description, he tracking down some as to how they live at home, and suborning wicked servants to slander their masters, and at first pretending to be hesitant about what was said, but then confirming the slanders; and he did the same thing in the case of obscure men against notable men, deeming those who slandered well worthy of honors. And he ruined many of the inhabitants of the houses from the first to the third generation, in the hope that they would quickly fall into poverty and be inherited by him. And it is worthwhile to mention this too for the sake of seasoning or as an example. There was a certain candlemaker in the Forum who was not in need, thanks to his own labors. 488 Having summoned him, the all-devouring one says: "Place your hand upon my head, and swear to me how much gold you have." But he, declining for a little while, pretending to be unworthy, was forced by him to do this, and to declare that he had 100 pounds. And he ordered this to be brought at that very hour, saying: "What need have you of distraction? Lunch with me, and take 100 nomismata, and go on your way, being content." θʹ. γʹ. ιεʹ. ʹ. In this year Nikephoros intensified his schemes against the Christians: impious inspections over the purchases of all kinds of irrational beasts and of crops, unjust confiscations and fines of those in authority, loans at interest on ships, he who legislated for all not to lend at interest, and ten thousand other contrivances of evil, of which a detailed account is naturally burdensome to those seeking to learn matters in a summary. On the 1st of the month of October, the 3rd day, a certain obscure person in the habit of a monk, having drawn the sword of one of the soldiers, ran into the palace seeking to kill Nikephoros. And when two of the bystanders [running through] ran at him, they were terribly wounded by him. But having been seized and much tortured, he pretended to be possessed by a demon, slandering no one; and he secured him in the stocks along with those who suffer. And from this many took it as an omen of a great evil for both the rulers and their subjects, just as happened in the time of the impious Nestorius. And he was an ardent friend of the Manichaeans, who are now called Paulicians, and of the Athinganoi in Phrygia and Lycaonia, his near neighbors, rejoicing in their oracles and rites, in which also, whenever

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καὶ πρὸς τετάρτην, τοὺς κουφισμοὺς πάντας ἀναβιβάζεσθαι προσέταττεν. πέμπτην, τοὺς τῶν εὐαγῶν οἴκων παροίκους τοῦ τε ὀρφανοτροφείου καὶ τῶν ξενώνων καὶ γηροκομείων τε καὶ ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ μοναστηρίων βασιλικῶν 487 τὰ καπνικὰ ἀπαιτεῖσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου ἔτους τῆς αὐτοῦ τυραννίδος, τὰ δὲ κρείττονα τῶν κτημάτων εἰς τὴν βασιλικὴν κουρατορίαν αἴρεσθαι, τὰ μέντοι τέλη αὐτῶν ἐπιτίθεσθαι τοῖς ἐναπομείνασιν εἰς τοὺς αὐτοὺς εὐαγεῖς οἴκους κτήμασι καὶ παροίκοις, ὡς διπλοῦσθαι πολλῶν τὰ τέλη, τῶν οἰκήσεων στενουμένων αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν χωρίων. ἕκτην, σκοπεῖσθαι παρὰ τῶν στρατηγούντων τοὺς ἀθρόως ἐκ πτωχείας ἀνακτησαμένους, καὶ ἀπαιτεῖσθαι χρήματα ὡς εὑρετὰς θησαυρῶν. ἑβδόμην, τοὺς πρὸ κʹ χρόνων εὑρηκότας καὶ μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο πίθον ἢ σκεῦος ὁτιοῦν καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐξαργυρίζεσθαι. ὀγδόην, τοὺς ἐκ πάππων ἢ πατέρων κληρονομήσαντας διαιρεθέντας, ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν χρόνων κʹ ἐξαναδιδόναι τῷ δημοσίῳ, τοὺς πένητας· καὶ τοὺς ὠνησαμένους ἔξω τῆς Ἀβύδου σώματα οἰκετικά, ἀνὰ βʹ νομισμάτων τελέσαι προσέταξεν, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς κατὰ τὴν ∆ωδεκάνησον. ἐννάτην, τοὺς τὰς παραθαλασσίας οἰκοῦντας, μάλιστα τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀσίας, ναυκλήρους μηδέποτε γηπονικῶς ζήσαντας ἄκοντας ὠνεῖσθαι ἐκ τῶν καθαρπαγέντων αὐτῷ κτημάτων, ὡς ἂν ἐκτιμηθῶσι παρ' αὐτῷ. δεκάτην, τοὺς ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει ἐπισήμους ναυκλήρους συναγαγὼν δέδωκεν ἐπὶ τόκῳ τετρακεράτῳ τὸ νόμισμα ἀνὰ χρυσίου λιτρῶν δώδεκα τελοῦντας καὶ τὰ συνήθη κωμέρκια. ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ μικρά μοι ἐστηλογράφηται δηλοῦντι τὸ πρὸς πᾶν εἶδος πλεονεξίας αὐτοῦ πολυμήχανον. τὰ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν βασιλίδα τοῖς ἐν τέλει καὶ μέσοις καὶ εὐτελέσιν ἐνδειχθέντα δεινὰ πέρα συγγραφῆς, τοὺς μὲν ἀνιχνεύοντος ὅπως οἴκοι ζῶσιν, καὶ καθυποβάλλοντος τοῖς πονηροῖς τῶν οἰκετῶν διαβάλλειν τοὺς δεσπότας, καὶ ἐν ἀρχαῖς δῆθεν διστάζοντος ἐπὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις, ἔπειτα δὲ βεβαιοῦντος τὰς συκοφαντίας, τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ ἀσήμων κατ' ἐπισήμων ἔδρα τιμῶν ἀξιῶν τοὺς εὖ διαβάλλοντας· τῶν δὲ οἴκων πολλοὺς τῶν οἰκητόρων ἀπὸ πρώτης εἰς τρίτην γενεὰν ἐξανέστρεψεν, ἐλπίδι τοῦ τάχιστα τούτους ἐκπεσεῖν καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κληρονομηθῆναι. ἄξιον δέ τι καὶ ἡδύσματος ἢ παραδείγματος ἕνεκα μνησθῆναι καὶ τοῦτο. κηρουλλάριός τις ἦν ἐν τῷ Φόρῳ ἐκ πόνων ἰδίων ἀνενδεής. 488 τοῦτον μεταστειλάμενος ὁ παμφάγος φησίν· "θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς μου, καὶ ὄμοσόν μοι τὸ πόσος σοι χρυσός ἐστιν;" ὁ δὲ μικρὸν ὡς ἀνάξιος δῆθεν παραιτούμενος ἐβιάσθη τοῦτο παρ' αὐτοῦ ποιῆσαι, καὶ λίτρας ρʹ ἐξειπεῖν ἔχειν. καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ τὴν ὥραν προσέταξεν ἐνεχθῆναι φήσας· "σὺ τί χρείαν ἔχεις περισπασμοῦ; συναρίστησόν μοι, καὶ ἆρον νομίσματα ρʹ, καὶ πορεύου ἀρκούμενος." θʹ. γʹ. ιεʹ. ʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει Νικηφόρος τὰς κατὰ Χριστιανῶν ἐπινοίας ἐπέτεινεν, ἐποψίας ἀθέους ἐπ' ἀγορασμοῖς παντοίων ἀλόγων βοσκημάτων τε καὶ καρπῶν, ἀδίκους δημεύσεις τε καὶ ζημίας τῶν ἐν τέλει, τοκισμοὺς ἐν πλοίοις, ὁ πᾶσι νομοθετῶν τὸ μὴ τοκίζειν, καὶ ἄλλας μυρίας κακῶν ἐπινοίας, ὧν ἡ κατὰ μέρος ἱστορία φορτικὴ τοῖς ἐπιτετμημένα ζητοῦσι πέφυκε μανθάνειν τὰ πράγματα. τῇ δὲ αʹ τοῦ Ὀκτωβρίου μηνός, ἡμέρᾳ γʹ, σπασάμενός τις ἀφανὴς ἐν σχήματι μοναχοῦ ξίφος τινὸς τῶν στρατευομένων εἰσέδραμεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ Νικηφόρον ἀνελεῖν ζητῶν. τῶν δὲ περιεστώτων δύο [διατρεχόντων] ἐπιδραμόντων αὐτῷ, δεινῶς ἐπλήγησαν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. συλληφθεὶς δὲ καὶ πολλὰ τιμωρηθεὶς δαιμονᾷν προεφασίσατο, μηδένα συκοφαντήσας· ὁ δὲ τοῦτον ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ κατησφαλίσατο σὺν τοῖς πάσχουσιν. καὶ πολλοὶ ἐντεῦθεν οἰωνίσαντο μεγάλου κακοῦ σημεῖον εἶναι τοῦτο τοῖς τε κρατοῦσι καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ χεῖρα, καθάπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ δυσσεβοῦς Νεστορίου γέγονεν. τῶν δὲ Μανιχαίων, τῶν νῦν Παυλικιάνων καλουμένων, καὶ Ἀθιγγάνων τῶν κατὰ Φρυγίαν καὶ Λυκαονίαν, ἀγχιγειτόνων αὐτοῦ, φίλος ἦν διάπυρος, χρησμοῖς καὶ τελεταῖς αὐτῶν ἐπιχαίρων, ἐν οἷς καί, ὅταν