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of three hundred, he killed all. And after parading Apsimar and Leontius bound through the city, when the hippodrome games took place they brought them bound and threw them at his feet. And after he had trodden on their necks until the conclusion 1.781 of the first palm-procession, the people cried out, "You shall tread upon the asp and the basilisk" and what follows. And sending them to the Kynegion, he beheaded them. And after blinding Kallinikos the patriarch, he exiled him to Rome. And in Constantinople, he appointed as patriarch Cyrus, who was an enclosed monk on the island of Amastris, as he had prophesied to him the restoration of his second reign. And he destroyed a countless number from both the civil and military registers. From this, a great fear gripped everyone. And he sent a fleet to bring his wife from Chazaria, and many souls were lost. And when the khagan heard this he declared to him, "O foolish man, was it not possible to get your wife with two or three ships, and not destroy so great a number? Or do you think you are taking her by war? Behold, a son has also been born to you, and send to get them." And sending, he brought Theodora and Tiberius his son, and he crowned them.

In the 3rd year Justinian broke the peace between the Romans and the Bulgars, and having crossed the cavalry themes into Thrace, and having equipped a fleet, he proceeded against Tervel, occupying Anchialus. And since the army was encamped unguarded, when the Bulgars saw it scattered in disorder, they attacked and caused much captivity and slaughter. And Justinian, fleeing with a few men into the fort, shut the gates for three days. And seeing the persistence of the Bulgars, after hamstringing his horses, he embarked on the ships by night and fled secretly and arrived in the city in shame. 1.782 And Justinian, remembering the plot against him by the Chersonites and Bosporians and others, sent every ship from small to great, ordering that all the inhabitants in those places be destroyed by the sword and that no one be left alive. And those who were sent, arriving, and with no one resisting them, killed everyone with the sword, sparing only the small infants to be kept for slavery. And they sent the leading men of Cherson, 42 of them with their families, to the emperor, and another seven they fastened to wooden spits and roasted over a fire, and others they threw into the sea. And when Justinian learned this, he was enraged at the saving of the infants. And as the fleet was sailing back to the city, the ship was imperiled. And the dead were counted, and 73 thousand were found. But as Justinian was rather pleased by this, he again sends another fleet, ordering them to plow everything and level it to the ground, and to slaughter everyone down to the one who pisses against a wall. Hearing this, the people of those forts secured themselves, and sent to the khagan in Chazaria to send people to guard them. And when Justinian's men arrived, the Chersonites killed their commanders inside the forts, and handed over the rest of their people to the 1.783 Chazars. And the people of Cherson and the other forts overthrew Justinian, and acclaimed as emperor the exile there, Bardanes, also called Philippikos. Learning this, Justinian sent another fleet with siege engines and rams. And when they had cast down the better towers of Cherson, the Chazars appeared and prevented them from the attempt, and Bardanes, having escaped, went to the khagan. And since the fleet had failed, and did not dare to return to Justinian because of his inhumanity and cruelty, they overthrew Justinian, acclaimed Bardanes as emperor, and asked the khagan

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τριακοσίων, πάντας ἀπέκτεινε. τὸν δὲ Ἀψί μαρον καὶ τὸν Λεόντιον πομπεύσας δεδεμένους ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἱππι κοῦ γενομένου ἤγαγον δεδεμένους καὶ ἔρριψαν εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐ τοῦ. πατήσαντος δὲ εἰς τοὺς τραχήλους αὐτῶν ἄχρις ἀπολύσεως 1.781 τοῦ πρώτου βαΐου ἐπεβόα ὁ δῆμος "ἐπὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασίλισκον ἐπιβήσῃ" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ ἀποστείλας αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ Κυνηγίῳ ἀπεκεφάλισε. Καλλίνικον δὲ τὸν πατριάρχην ἐκτυφλώσας ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ ἐξώρισεν. ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει δὲ Κῦρον τὸν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ Ἀμάστριδι ἔγκλειστον, ὡς προσημάναντα αὐτῷ τὴν τῆς δευτέρας βασιλείας ἀποκατάστασιν, πατριάρχην προεβάλετο. ἀναρίθμητον δὲ πλῆθος ἔκ τε τοῦ πολιτικοῦ καὶ τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ καταλόγου ἀπώλεσεν. ἐντεῦθεν φόβος μέγας συνεῖχε πάντας. ἀπέστειλε δὲ στόλον πρὸς τὸ ἀγαγεῖν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ Χαζαρίας, καὶ πολλὰ σύμψυχα ἀπώλοντο. ἀκούσας δὲ τοῦτο χαγάνος δηλοῖ αὐτῷ "ὦ ἀνόητε, οὐκ ἦν διὰ δύο ἢ τριῶν πλοίων λαβεῖν σου τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ μὴ ἀπολέσαι τοσοῦτον πλῆθος; ἢ δοκεῖς ὅτι καὶ ταύτην πολέμῳ λαμβάνεις; ἰδοὺ ἐτέχθη σοι καὶ υἱός, καὶ ἀπό στειλον λαβεῖν αὐτούς." καὶ ἀποστείλας ἤγαγε τὴν Θεοδώραν καὶ Τιβέριον τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔστεψεν αὐτούς.

Τῷ γʹ ἔτει Ἰουστινιανὸς τὴν μεταξὺ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Βουλγάρων εἰρήνην διέστρεψε, καὶ διαπεράσας τὰ καβαλλαρικὰ θέματα εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην, ἐξοπλίσας καὶ στόλον, κατὰ τοῦ Τέρβελι ἐχώ ρησε, καταλαβὼν τὴν Ἀγχίαλον. καὶ ἀφυλάκτως τοῦ στρατοῦ ἀπληκεύσαντος, ὡς εἶδον αὐτὸν οἱ Βούλγαροι ἀσυντάκτως δια σκορπιζόμενον, ἐπιρρίψαντες πολλὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν καὶ φόνον ἐποίησαν. ὁ δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς σὺν ὀλίγοις τισὶν ἐν τῷ κάστρῳ κατα φυγὼν ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἀπέκλεισε τὰς θύρας. θεασάμενος δὲ 1.782 τὴν τῶν Βουλγάρων ἐπιμονήν, τοὺς ἵππους αὐτοῦ νευροκοπήσας, διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς τοῖς πλοίοις ἐπιβὰς λαθραίως ἔφυγε καὶ μετ' αἰ σχύνης ἐν τῇ πόλει παρεγένετο. Ἰουστινιανὸς δὲ ἐπιμνησθεὶς τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ τῶν Χερσωνιτῶν καὶ Βοσποριανῶν καὶ λοιπῶν ἐπιβου λήν, πᾶσαν ναῦν ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλης ἀπέστειλε, προστάξας πάντας τοὺς οἰκοῦντας ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς τόποις ξίφει ὀλοθρεῦσαι καὶ μηδένα ζωογονίσαι. οἱ δὲ πεμφθέντες καταλαβόντες, καὶ μηδενὸς αὐτοῖς ἀντιστάντος, πάντας τῷ ξίφει ἀνεῖλον, τῶν μι κρῶν νηπίων μόνον φεισάμενοι ὡς πρὸς δουλείαν περιποιηθέντων. καὶ τοὺς μὲν πρωτεύοντας Χερσῶνος μβʹ ὄντας φαμιλικῶς πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἐξαπέστειλαν, ἑτέρους δὲ ἑπτὰ ξυλίναις σούβλαις προσαναρτήσαντες ἐπὶ πυρὸς ὤπτησαν, καὶ ἄλλους τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἐναπέρριψαν. μαθὼν δὲ ταῦτα Ἰουστινιανὸς ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν νηπίων σωτηρίᾳ ἐμάνη. τοῦ δὲ στόλου πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἀναπλέοντος τὸ πλοῖον ἐκινδύνευσεν. ἠριθμήθησαν δὲ οἱ ἀποθανόντες, καὶ εὑρέ θησαν χιλιάδες ογʹ. τοῦ δὲ Ἰουστινιανοῦ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τούτῳ χαρο ποιηθέντος, πάλιν ἕτερον ἐκπέμπει στόλον, ἀροτριᾶν ἅπαντα καὶ ἐκδαφίζειν κελεύσας, καὶ κατασφάζειν ἅπαντας ἕως οὐροῦντα πρὸς τοῖχον. ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες οἱ τῶν κάστρων ἐκείνων ἑαυτοὺς κατη σφαλίσαντο, καὶ πρὸς χαγάνον εἰς Χαζαρίαν ἔπεμψαν στεῖλαι λαὸν εἰς φυλακὴν αὐτῶν. καταλαβόντων δὲ τῶν τοῦ Ἰουστινια νοῦ ἐκεῖνοι τὰς μὲν κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν κρατήσαντες ἔσωθεν τῶν κά στρων ἀπέκτειναν οἱ Χερσωνῖται, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν λαὸν αὐτῶν τοῖς 1.783 Χαζάροις παρέδωκαν. οἱ δὲ τῆς Χερσῶνος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν κά στρων τὸν μὲν Ἰουστινιανὸν ἀνέσκαψαν, τὸν δὲ ἐκεῖσε ἐξόριστον Βαρδάνην τὸν καὶ Φιλιππικὸν βασιλέα εὐφήμησαν. ταῦτα μα θὼν Ἰουστινιανὸς ἕτερον στόλον ἀπέστειλε μετὰ τειχομαχικῶν ἐρ γαλείων καὶ κριῶν. καὶ ὡς τοὺς κρείττονας πύργους Χερσῶνος κατέβαλον, ἀναφανέντες οἱ Χάζαροι τούτους ἐκώλυσαν τοῦ ἐγχει ρήματος, ὁ Βαρδάνης δὲ ἐκφυγὼν πρὸς τὸν χαγάνον ᾤχετο. ἀπράκτου δὲ γεγονότος τοῦ στόλου, καὶ πρὸς Ἰουστινιανὸν μὴ τολμῶντος ἀνακάμψαι διὰ τὸ ἀπάνθρωπον ἐκείνου καὶ ὠμόν, τὸν μὲν Ἰουστινιανὸν ἀνέσκαψαν, τὸν δὲ Βαρδάνην βασιλέα εὐφή μησαν, τὸν δὲ χαγάνον ᾐτήσαντο