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and those easy to conquer and easy to capture, but also the most opportune and difficult to capture. There was a certain fortified place that kept its faith to the emperor, and against it he sends out his adopted son. But he, riding rashly and disorderly, thinking the place was bare of adversaries, falls into a certain ambush of Olbianus, and having his head cut off, he learned not to be reckless. The head of that wretch Olbianus sent to the emperor, and he in turn to Thomas, his father, as he was advancing with a roar and great boasting. Having received it, and not yielding in his spirit in any way, he crosses over to Thrace from the place they call Orkosion, having waited for an opportune night. The emperor Michael was concerned about this, and anticipating his crossing, he himself took back the cities, strengthened the soldiers, and fortified the weak places, even if he gained nothing from such diligence, since upon his return to the city and the crossing of Thomas, all of them renounced their allegiance to him and went over to the apostate, eager to march with him against the Queen of Cities. The emperor, having gathered an army as far as was possible 2.80 and assembled a force that seemed considerable, and having appointed generals over it, both the aforementioned Catacylas and Olbianus, sends it forth against the tyrant. He also took care of naval matters, as far as was possible. But like a torrent from high mountains the tyrant fell upon them and scattered both the land force and the naval force, and he instilled such panic in the emperor that he even stretched an iron chain from the acropolis to the town opposite, keeping the sea within impassable. There was a certain general in exile on the island of Skyros (this is one of the Cyclades), who happened to be the nephew of the emperor Leo; when the latter was assassinated, he had spoken out freely many times and reproached Michael to his face for the murder, and for this reason he was condemned to exile. Thomas, having made this man his associate, appoints him general of a certain land army of about ten thousand men; and having prepared the fleet and appointed another general over it, he sent them out as forerunners against the Queen of Cities, having judged it beneficial to make the assaults both by land and by sea. When this was done, and both the naval and infantry forces appeared at the same time in the gulf near Blachernae, since the extended iron chain was, as has been said, utterly unable to hold, assaults were made on the walls from all sides. After a short while Thomas also arrived, and the siege became active on all sides. But nothing worthy of mention was accomplished, since those inside defended themselves stoutly and 2.81 beat back the siege engines. For Thomas thought that as soon as he appeared before the Queen of Cities, the citizens would at the same time throw open the gates to him on account of their hatred for Michael, and for this reason he had sent Gregory ahead, as we said, and he himself followed after with all his forces, along with his adopted son Anastasius, who had just renounced the monastic life and inclined toward the secular one; but when none of his expectations were met, but rather he was assailed with insults by those inside, he then pitched a fortified camp at the place of Paulinus, where the sanctuary of the wonder-working Anargyroi is established, and having sent people as far as the Euxine Pontus and Hieron, he made an attempt on the small towns, to see if he might win them over and not have any enemy at his back. Having settled these matters, and having given himself some days for preparation, from a certain vantage point he saw Michael, who had fixed the war standard on the roof of the church of the Theotokos in Blachernae, and from there was both requesting and receiving strength against the enemy, and his son Theophilus, the entire circuit of the city with the patriarch and the company under him

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καὶ εὐ χείρωτα καὶ εὐάλωτα ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐπικαιρότατα καὶ δυσάλωτα. ἦν δέ τι χωρίον ἐρυμνὸν τὴν εἰς τὸν βασιλέα πίστιν τηροῦν, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ τὸν εἰσποίητον ἐκπέμπει υἱόν· ὁ δὲ θρασέως ἱππαζόμε νος καὶ ἀτάκτως τῷ οἴεσθαι γυμνὸν ἀντιπάλων εἶναι τὸ χωρίον λόχῳ δή τινι περιπίπτει τοῦ Ὀλβιανοῦ, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμη θεὶς ἔμαθε μὴ θρασύνεσθαι. τὴν μὲν κεφαλὴν τοῦ δειλαίου ἐκεί νου ἔπεμψε τῷ βασιλεῖ ὁ Ὀλβιανός, οὗτος δὲ πάλιν Θωμᾷ τῷ ἐκείνου πατρὶ μετὰ βρυάγματος βαίνοντι καὶ μεγαλαυχουμένῳ. ἥνπερ οὗτος δεξάμενος, καὶ κατὰ μηδὲν τοῦ φρονήματος ὑπενδούς, πρὸς τὴν Θρᾴκην ἀπὸ τοῦ χωρίου ὃ καλοῦσιν Ὁρκώσιον περαιοῦ ται, νύκτα κατατηρήσας συνοδικήν. ἔμελε δὲ περὶ τούτου τῷ βασιλεῖ Μιχαήλ, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου προλαβὼν περαίωσιν αὐτὸς τάς τε πόλεις ἀνελάμβανε καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐστήριζε καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τῶν χωρίων ὠχύρου, κἂν μηδὲν ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης σπουδῆς ἀπώ νατο, ἅμα τῇ ἐκείνου πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ὑποστροφῇ καὶ τῇ τοῦ Θωμᾶ περαιώσει πάντων τὴν ἐκείνου πίστιν ἀπαρνησαμένων καὶ προσκεχωρηκότων τῷ ἀποστάτῃ καὶ μετ' αὐτοῦ στρατεύεσθαι κατὰ τῆς βασιλίδος προθυμουμένων. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς κατὰ τὸ ἐγχωροῦν 2.80 στρατὸν ἀγηοχὼς καὶ δύναμιν τῷ δοκεῖν ἀξιόλογον συστησάμενος, στρατηγούς τε ἐπιστήσας αὐτῇ τόν τε ῥηθέντα Κατάκηλαν καὶ τὸν Ὀλβιανόν, ἐπαφίησι κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου. ἐπεμελεῖτο δὲ καὶ τῶν κατὰ θάλασσαν, ὡς ἀνυστὸν ἦν. ὥσπερ δέ τις χείμαρρος ἐξ ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων ὁ τύραννος ἐπελθὼν τήν τε κατὰ χέρσον δύναμιν καὶ τὴν κατὰ θάλασσαν διεσκέδασε, καὶ τοσαύτην ἐνέθηκε πτοίαν τῷ βασιλεῖ ὡς καὶ σιδηρᾶν ἅλυσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀκροπόλεως εἰς τὸ καταντικρὺ πολίχνιον ἀποτεῖναι, τὴν ἔσωθεν ἄβατον τηροῦσαν θάλασσαν. ἦν δέ τις στρατηγὸς ὑπερόριος ἐν Σκύρῳ τῇ νήσῳ (μία δὲ αὕτη τῶν Κυκλάδων), ἀδελφιδοῦς μὲν τυγχάνων Λέοντος τοῦ βασιλέως, τούτου δὲ ἀναιρεθέντος παρρησιασάμενος πολλάκις καὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ εἰς πρόσωπον ὀνειδίσας διὰ τὸν φόνον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν ὑπερορίαν κατακριθείς. τοῦτον προσεταιρισάμενος ὁ Θωμᾶς στρατεύματός τινος κατὰ γῆν ὡσεὶ χιλιάδων δέκα ἀνα δείκνυσι στρατηγόν· καὶ τὸν κατὰ θάλατταν δὲ στόλον εὐτρεπι σάμενος καὶ ἕτερον αὐτῷ ἐπιστήσας στρατηγόν, οἷόν τινας προ δρόμους ἐξέπεμψε κατὰ τῆς βασιλίδος, διά τε γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης ὠφέλιμον εἶναι κρίνας ποιεῖσθαι τὰς προσβολάς. οὗ γενομένου, καὶ κατὰ ταυτὸν ἀναφανέντων τῶν τε ναυτικῶν καὶ πεζικῶν δυνά μεων ἐν τῷ πρὸς Βλαχέρναις κόλπῳ, ἀντισχεῖν ὅλως μὴ δυνηθεί σης, ὡς εἴρηται, τῆς ἐκτεταμένης σιδηρᾶς ἁλύσεως, προσβολαὶ τοῖς τείχεσι πανταχόθεν ἐγίνοντο. ἐπῆλθε δὲ μετ' ὀλίγον καὶ ὁ Θωμᾶς, καὶ ἐνεργὸς πάντοθεν ἐγίνετο ἡ πολιορκία. οὐδὲν δὲ ὅ τι καὶ λόγου ἄξιον ἐπράττετο, τῶν ἔνδον εὐρώστως ἀμυνομένων καὶ 2.81 τὰς ἑλεπόλεις ἐκκρουομένων. ᾤετο μὲν γὰρ ὁ Θωμᾶς ἅμα τε ἐπι φανῆναι τῇ βασιλίδι καὶ ἅμα τοὺς πολίτας ἀναπετάσαι αὐτῷ τὰς πύλας διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸν Μιχαὴλ μῖσος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τόν τε Γρηγόριον, ὡς εἴπομεν, πρότερον ἔπεμψε, καὶ αὐτὸς πανσυδὶ μετὰ καὶ τοῦ υἱοθετηθέντος αὐτῷ Ἀναστασίου, ἄρτι τὸν μοναχικὸν ἀρνησαμένου βίον καὶ πρὸς τὸν κοσμικὸν ἀποκλίναντος, κατόπιν ἐπηκολούθησεν· ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν τῶν κατ' ἐλπίδας αὐτῷ ἀπήντησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕβρεσι μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν ἔνδον ἐπλύνετο, τότε μὲν παρεμ βολὴν ἐν τοῖς Παυλίνου, ἔνθα τὸ τῶν θαυματουργῶν Ἀναργύρων τέμενος ἵδρυται, ὀχυρὰν ἐπήξατο, λαὸν δὲ πεπομφὼς ἄχρι τοῦ Εὐξείνου πόντου καὶ τοῦ Ἱεροῦ ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν πολιχνίων, εἴ πως αὐτὰ προσαγάγοι καὶ μή τινα κατὰ νώτου ἔχοι ἐχθρόν. ταῦτα δὲ καταστησάμενος, καί τινας ἡμέρας εἰς παρασκευὴν δοὺς ἑαυτῷ, ὡς ἔκ τινος ἀπόπτου κατεῖδε τὸν μὲν Μιχαὴλ τὸ πολεμικὸν ση μεῖον ἐπὶ τοῦ στέγους τοῦ τῆς θεοτόκου τοῦ ἐν Βλαχέρναις πεπη γότα ναοῦ, κἀκεῖθεν τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἰσχὺν ἐξαιτούμενόν τε καὶ προσλαμβάνοντα, τὸν υἱὸν δὲ αὐτοῦ Θεόφιλον πάντα τὸν τῆς πόλεως περίβολον μετὰ τοῦ πατριάρχου καὶ τοῦ ὑπ' αὐτὸν τάγμα τος