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Cosmas, how bravely he stands for the battle and fights alone against so great a multitude?" for he was recognized by the royal insignia. When evening came, they separated from one 1.727 another, and the barbarian, having become afraid, returned back during the night, but the emperor with his people hurried towards Sebasteia, and crossing the Halys, wintered there. And Chosroes, enraged, took the treasures of all the churches under the Persians, and compelled the Christians to have communion with the religion of Nestorius, in order to strike at the emperor. In the 10th year, Chosroes made a new army from foreigners and citizens and servants and every race. And choosing from these and handing them over to the general Sain, he also attached to them another 50 thousand from the phalanx of Sarbaros, whom he named "golden lances," and sent them against the emperor. He sent Sarbaros with the rest of his troops against Constantinople, so that, having made an agreement with the Huns from the west, whom they also call Avars, along with the Slavs and Gepids, they might march against the city and besiege it. But when the emperor learned this, he divided his army into three divisions, and sent some for the defense of the city, and handing others over to Theodore his brother, he ordered him to fight against Sain. And taking the third part himself, he proceeded to Lazica, and called the Turks of the east, whom they also name Khazars, to an alliance. And Sain, with the newly levied army, having found the emperor's brother Theodore, armed for war. And when God cooperated through the intercessions of the Theotokos, once battle was joined, hail was miraculously brought down upon the barbarians 1.728 and struck many of them, but the battle line of the Romans enjoyed calm. The Romans turn the Persians, and kill great multitudes. When Chosroes learned this, he was enraged against Sain, who, falling ill from great despair, died. Chosroes subjected his corpse to many tortures. But the Khazars, breaking through the Caspian Gates, invade Persia in the land of Androegas with their general Ziebel, who was second in rank to the Khagan; and in whatever places they passed through, they took the Persians captive and gave the villages and cities to fire. And the emperor, departing from Lazica, met with them. And Ziebel greeted the emperor and those with him with much love and joy. He also brought his son to the emperor for an alliance, and he himself returned to his own country. And the emperor, taking these men, proceeded against Chosroes. But Sarbaros attacked Chalcedon, and the Avars also from Thrace, approaching the city, wanted to take it, having made engines against it. And bringing a countless and innumerable multitude of hollowed-out boats from the Ister, they filled the bay of the Horn. But for ten days, having arrayed themselves against the city by land and by sea, by the power and cooperation of God and by the intercession of the undefiled Theotokos and ever-virgin, they were defeated, and having lost great multitudes on land and on sea, they returned with great shame. For such a thing happened to them. The 1.729 barbarians saw, as it was morning and the sun was rising, a majestic woman coming out from the gate of the Blachernae, with some eunuchs. And supposing it to be the empress, the wife of Heraclius, and that she was coming out to their ruler for the sake of peace because the emperor was not in the city, they made way for her, so that another group of people coming out might also become subject to them. Then when they saw that she had come out of the area of the moat and had not gone to their ruler, they pursued after her; and when they seemingly drew near her at the place called the Old Rock, she and those with her became invisible, but they, clashing with one another, filled the multitude with turmoil and slaughtered each other until evening. And when morning came

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Κοσμᾶ, πῶς θρασὺς πρὸς τὴν μάχην ἵσταται καὶ πρὸς τοσοῦτον πλῆθος μόνος ἀγωνίζεται;" ἐκ γὰρ τῶν βασιλικῶν παρασήμων ἐγνωρίζετο. καταλαβούσης δὲ τῆς ἑσπέρας ἀπ' ἀλ 1.727 λήλων διέστησαν, καὶ ὁ βάρβαρος φοβηθεὶς διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς εἰς τοὐπίσω ὑπέστρεψεν, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς Σεβάστειαν ὥρμησε, καὶ τὸν Ἅλυν περάσας ἐκεῖ παρεχείμασεν. ὁ δὲ Χοσρόης μανεὶς ἔλαβε τὰ κειμήλια πασῶν τῶν ὑπὸ Πέρσας ἐκκλησιῶν, καὶ ἠνάγκαζε τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς κοινωνῆσαι τῇ τοῦ Νεστορίου θρησκείᾳ, πρὸς τὸ πλῆξαι τὸν βασιλέα. Τῷ ιʹ ἔτει ὁ Χοσρόης νέαν ἐποιήσατο στρατιὰν ἀπό τε ξέ νων καὶ πολιτῶν καὶ οἰκετῶν καὶ παντὸς γένους. καὶ ἐκ τούτων ἐκλεξάμενος καὶ τῷ Σαῒν παραδοὺς στρατηγῷ, ἄλλας τε νʹ χιλιά δας ἐκ τῆς φάλαγγος τοῦ Σαρβάρου τούτοις συνῆψεν, οὓς καὶ χρυσολόχας ὠνόμασε, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπέστειλε. τὸν δὲ Σάρβαρον σὺν τοῖς λοιποῖς αὐτοῦ στρατεύμασι κατὰ Κωνσταντι νουπόλεως ἔπεμψεν, ὅπως τοῖς ἐκ δύσεως Οὕννοις, οὓς καὶ Ἄβα ρας καλοῦσι, μετὰ καὶ Σθλαβίνων καὶ Γηπέδων συμφωνήσας κατὰ τῆς πόλεως χωρήσωσι καὶ ταύτην πολιορκήσωσι. γνοὺς δὲ τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ στρατὸν εἰς τρεῖς διαιρέσεις ἐχώρισε, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἔπεμψεν εἰς φυλακὴν τῆς πόλεως, τοὺς δὲ παρα δοὺς Θεοδώρῳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τοῦ Σαῒν πολεμεῖν ἐκέ λευσε. τὸ δὲ τρίτον μέρος αὐτὸς λαβὼν ἐπὶ Λαζικὴν ἐχώρει, καὶ τοὺς Τούρκους τῆς ἑῴας, οὓς καὶ Χαζάρους ὀνομάζουσιν, εἰς συμμαχίαν ἐκάλει. ὁ δὲ Σαῒν σὺν τῷ νεολέκτῳ στρατῷ τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφὸν Θεόδωρον καταλαβὼν πρὸς πόλεμον ὡπλίσατο. τοῦ δὲ θεοῦ διὰ πρεσβειῶν τῆς θεοτόκου συνεργήσαντος, πολέμου κροτηθέντος χάλαζα παραδόξως κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων κατηνέχθη 1.728 καὶ πολλοὺς αὐτῶν ἐπάταξεν, ἡ δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων παράταξις γα λήνης ἀπήλαυσε. τρέπουσι δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς Πέρσας, καὶ ἀναι ροῦσι πλήθη πολλά. ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ Χοσρόης ὀργίζεται κατὰ τοῦ Σαΐν, ὃς ἐκ πολλῆς ἀθυμίας νόσῳ περιπεσὼν τελευτᾷ. τούτου τὸν νεκρὸν Χοσρόης πολλαῖς αἰκίαις ὑπέβαλεν. οἱ δὲ Χάζαροι διαρρήξαντες τὰς Κασπίας πύλας τῇ Περσίδι εἰσβάλλουσιν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τοῦ Ἀνδροηγᾶ σὺν τῷ στρατηγῷ αὐτῶν Ζεβεήλ, δευτέρῳ ὄντι τοῦ χαγάνου τῇ ἀξίᾳ· καὶ ἐν οἷς ἂν τόποις διέβαινον, τούς τε Πέρσας ᾐχμαλώτευον καὶ τὰς κώμας καὶ πόλεις πυρὶ παρεδίδουν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀπάρας ἀπὸ Λαζικῆς τούτοις συνήντησεν. ὁ δὲ Ζεβεὴλ μετὰ πολλῆς ἀγάπης καὶ χαρᾶς ἠσπάσατο τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ. προσήνεγκε δὲ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τῷ βασιλεῖ πρὸς συμμαχίαν, καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν χώραν. λαβὼν δὲ τούτους ὁ βασιλεὺς κατὰ Χοσρόου ἐχώρει. ὁ δὲ Σάρ βαρος τῇ Χαλκηδόνι προσβαλών, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ Ἄβαρες ἐκ τῆς Θρᾴκης τῇ πόλει πλησιάσαντες, ταύτην ἑλεῖν ἐβούλοντο, μηχανὰς κατ' αὐτῆς ποιήσαντες. πλῆθός τε ἄπειρον καὶ ἀριθμοῦ κρεῖττον ἐκ τοῦ Ἴστρου ἐνέγκαντες σκαφῶν γλυπτῶν τὸν κόλπον τοῦ Κέρα τος ἐπλήρωσαν. δέκα δὲ ἡμέρας τῇ πόλει παραταξάμενοι διά τε γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει καὶ συνεργίᾳ καὶ τῇ τῆς ἀχράντου θεοτόκου καὶ ἀειπαρθένου πρεσβείᾳ ἡττήθησαν, καὶ πλήθη πολλὰ ἀποβαλόντες ἔν τε γῇ καὶ θαλάσσῃ μετὰ μεγάλης αἰσχύνης ὑπέστρεψαν. τοιοῦτον γὰρ συνέβη αὐτοῖς. εἶδον οἱ 1.729 βάρβαροι πρωΐας οὔσης καὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνατέλλοντος ἀπὸ τῆς πόρ της τῶν Βλαχερνῶν ἐξελθοῦσαν γυναῖκα περιφανῆ, μετὰ καὶ εὐ νούχων τινῶν. ὑπολαβόντες δὲ τὴν βασίλισσαν εἶναι τὴν τοῦ Ἡρακλείου γυναῖκα, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα αὐτῶν ἐξέρχεσθαι εἰρήνης ἕνεκα διὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι τὸν βασιλέα ἐν τῇ πόλει, πάροδον αὐτῇ ἐποίησαν, ἵνα καὶ λαὸς ἕτερος ἐξελθὼν ὑποχείριος αὐτοῖς γένηται. εἶτα ὡς εἶδον αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ φοσσάτου περιοχὴν ἐξελ θοῦσαν καὶ μὴ ἀπελθοῦσαν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα αὐτῶν, διώκουσιν ὄπισθεν αὐτῆς· καὶ ὡς δῆθεν ἐπλησίασαν αὐτῇ κατὰ τόπον τῆς λεγομένης παλαιᾶς πέτρας, αὐτὴ μὲν καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῇ ἄφαντοι γεγόνασιν, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀλλήλοις συμπλακέντες θορύβου μεστὸν ποιοῦσι τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἀλλήλους κατασφάζουσιν ἕως ἑσπέρας. πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης