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you have spoken the truth. For I know clearly from what fortune I raised you, and how I deemed you worthy of greater things than were fitting. And when the emperor, out of anger, had locked you in prison on account of your inherent wickedness and the depravity of your ways, I myself, by my intercession, brought you out and restored you to your former fortune. And not once, but many times later, when the emperor wished you to be punished worthily for your villainy, I myself interceded, dissolving his anger, and deemed you worthy of many and great goods. And many times, both while the emperor was alive, and after his death when you had given offense, things which I do not think even you have forgotten, I took no account of these offenses, using you like some beast of burden, only for carrying loads, while disregarding any other ill-temper it might have. But that you were destined to fall into such 2.481 absurdity, this alone I did not clearly know. For I thought that you would not even spare your own flesh for my sake, when the time called, remembering the number and the greatness of my benefactions. But you, instead of these things, have done the very opposite, and having won over wicked and perverse-minded men with deceitful and elaborate speeches and having deluded them with promises of the greatest things, you have stirred up this war no less against the Romans in common than against me; whom you have rewarded most deservedly for both their stupidity and your own faithlessness towards friends, condemning all to darkness, just as they deserved. So, as you said, I know you best of all; but you, it seems to me, have utterly failed to know me. For if you knew who I was, you would not have been so ungrateful; but since, among other things, you advise me to return home, I think that on account of our old friendship I will obey you and not stop until I am inside the house. But for one who is emperor of the Romans by the command of God, no other house is more fitting than the Roman dominion, which I shall show all haste to enter completely, as you yourself, being one of my friends, advise. And having much regretted that I caused you, an old man, to endure so much toil and come to Heracleia, I have decided that you must rest from your labors, and on the fourth day I myself will come to you, and if it seems better to you to fight it out 2.482 after having enjoyed a long rest, I will not hesitate to grant you this favor either.” Such things the emperor wrote in reply; and on the fourth day from then he came to Heracleia and waited for a considerable time standing before the gates; but since no one came out against him, having marched for the rest of the day, he camped for the night by a river called Halmyros, between Selybria and Heracleia. And on the next day they encamped by the place called Daphnidion, where the emperor remained by the camp with a few of the Romans; but the rest of the army, with the Persian force, overran all the country around Byzantium as far as the Propontis and ravaged it exceedingly. For the barbarians both killed and enslaved very many, and people fleeing to the sea and crowding into the boats in greater numbers than they were able to carry, especially as they were in disarray from the confusion, were drowned as the boats overturned. And all manner of destruction occurred during that raid; for the barbarian force drove off a great number of cattle and human captives, and burned most of the villages. And the chief cause of so great a destruction was the megas doux. For having boasted much and puffed himself up when he marched out of Byzantium, and having commanded everyone to be of good courage, saying that none of the enemy would stand against him but that upon his appearance he would utterly destroy them all, when things turned out contrary to what he had promised, and he became confined within the walls at Heracleia 2.483, although he was able to take the proper precautions for the country by announcing the raid, he did none of the necessary things, as if afraid he might be suspected of having been defeated by the enemy; and through such folly he became the cause of great disasters for many. But he, while considering his own return to Byzantium to be necessary, was suspicious of the mainland, as

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ἐφθέγξω τἀληθές. οἶδα γὰρ σαφῶς, ἐξ οἵας τύχης ἀνειλόμην, καὶ ὡς ἠξίωσα μειζόνων, ἢ προσῆκε. βασιλέως δὲ διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν μοχθηρίαν καὶ τῶν τρόπων τὴν φαυλότητα δεσμωτηρίῳ κατακλείσαντος πρὸς ὀργὴν, αὐτὸς ἐξήγαγον παραιτησάμενος καὶ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν τύχην ἐπανήγαγον. καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις ὕστερον βουλομένου τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς πονηρίας κολάζεσθαι ἀξίως, αὐτὸς παρῃτούμην διαλύων τὴν ὀργὴν καὶ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἠξίουν ἀγαθῶν. καὶ πολλάκις καὶ βασιλέως περιόντος, καὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν προσκεκρουκότος, ὧν οὐδὲ σὲ οἴομαι ἐπιλελῆσθαι, οὐδένα τῶν προσκρούσεων λόγον ἐποιούμην, οἷόν τινι ζώῳ τῶν ἀχθοφόρων, πρὸς μὲν τὸ ἀχθοφορεῖν κεχρημένος μόνον, τῶν δ' ἄλλων εἴ τι πρόσεστι δυστροπίας ἀμελῶν. ὅτι δὲ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἔμελλες ἀτο 2.481 πίας ἐκπεσεῖσθαι, τοῦτο μόνον σαφῶς οὐκ ᾔδειν. ᾤμην γάρ σε οὐδὲ σαρκῶν φείσεσθαι, καιροῦ καλοῦντος, ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, τὸ πλῆθος μεμνημένον καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν. σὺ δ' ἀντὶ τούτων ἐχρήσω τοῖς ἐναντιωτάτοις, καὶ μοχθηροὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὰς γνώμας διεστραμμένους ἀπατηλοῖς καὶ περιέργοις λόγοις ὑπελθὼν καὶ ταῖς τῶν μεγίστων ἐπαγγελίαις ἐξαπατήσας, τουτονὶ τὸν πόλεμον οὐδὲν ἧττον κοινῇ κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, ἢ κατ' ἐμοῦ κεκίνηκας· οὓς ἀξιώτατα ἠμείψω τῆς τε ἐκείνων ἀβελτηρίας καὶ τῆς σοὶ προσούσης πρὸς τοὺς φίλους ἀπιστίας ζόφον πάντων καταψηφισάμενος, ὥσπερ ἦσαν ἄξιοι. σὲ μὲν οὖν, ὥσπερ ἔφης, πάντων μάλιστα ἐγὼ γινώσκω· σὺ δ' ἐμὲ πάνυ μοι δοκεῖς ἠγνοηκέναι. εἰ γὰρ ὅστις ᾔδεις ἐγὼ, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἠγνωμόνεις· ἐπεὶ δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ οἴκαδε παραινεῖς ἐπανελθεῖν, δοκῶ μοι διὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φιλίαν σοὶ πεισθήσεσθαι καὶ μὴ πρὶν παύσεσθαι πρὶν ἐντὸς γενέσθαι τῆς οἰκίας. Ῥωμαίων δὲ ὄντι βασιλεῖ κελεύσματι θεοῦ οὐδεμία μᾶλλον ἑτέρα, ἢ ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονία οἰκία πρεπωδεστέρα, ἣν εἰσελθεῖν πᾶσαν ἐπιδείξομαι σπουδὴν, ᾗ αὐτὸς τῶν φίλων ὢν παραινεῖς. πολλὰ δὲ μεταμεληθεὶς, ὅτι σε ὄντα γέροντα παρεσκεύακα τοσοῦτον πόνον ὑπομεῖναι καὶ πρὸς Ἡράκλειαν ἐλθεῖν, ἔγνων δεῖν σε τῶν πόνων ἀναπαύειν, καὶ εἰς τετάρτην ἡμέραν αὐτὸς ἀφίξομαι πρὸς σὲ, καὶ εἴ σοι βέλτιον δοκεῖ δια 2.482 γωνίσασθαι πολλῆς ἀναπαύλης ἀπολαύσαντι, οὐδὲ ταύτην σοι τὴν χάριν ἀποκνήσω καταθεῖναι.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ἀντέγραφε καὶ βασιλεύς· μετὰ δὲ τετάρτην ἐξ ἐκείνης ἦλθεν εἰς Ἡράκλειαν καὶ περιέμεινε πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἑστὼς ἐφ' ἱκανόν· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἀντεπεξῄει, τὸ λοιπὸν ὁδεύσας τῆς ἡμέρας, ηὐλίσατο τὴν νύκτα παρὰ ποταμὸν προσαγορευόμενον Ἁλμυρὸν, μεταξὺ Σηλυβρίας καὶ Ἡρακλείας. εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν δὲ ἐστρατοπέδευσαν παρὰ τὸ ∆αφνίδιον λεγόμενον, ἔνθα βασιλεὺς μὲν ἔμεινε παρὰ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἅμα ὀλίγοις τῶν Ῥωμαίων· ἡ λοιπὴ δὲ στρατιὰ μετὰ τῆς Περσικῆς τὰ περὶ Βυζάντιον κατέδραμον πάντα ἄχρι Προποντίδος καὶ ἐκάκωσαν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα. ἀπέκτεινάν τε γὰρ οἱ βάρβαροι πλείστους καὶ ἠνδραποδίσαντο, φεύγοντές τε πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πλείους ἐμπίπτοντες ἐν τοῖς λέμβοις, ἢ ὅσους φέρειν ἦσαν δυνατοὶ, ἄλλως τε καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θορύβου ἀτακτοῦντες, ἀπεπνίγοντο ἀνατρεπόμενοι. καὶ παντοῖος ἦν ὁ ὄλεθρος κατὰ τὴν ἔφοδον ἐκείνην· βοσκημάτων τε γὰρ ἤλασαν πλῆθος οὐκ ὀλίγον καὶ ἀνθρώπους αἰχμαλώτους τὸ βαρβαρικὸν, καὶ τὰς πλείστας τῶν κωμῶν ἐνέπρησαν. αἰτία δὲ μάλιστα τῆς τοσαύτης φθορᾶς ἐγένετο ὁ μέγας δούξ. πολλὰ γὰρ μεγαλαυχήσας καὶ φυσήσας ὅτε ἐξήλαυνε Βυζαντίου, καὶ θαῤῥεῖν κελεύσας, ὡς οὐδεὶς ἀντιστήσεται τῶν πολεμίων, ἀλλὰ πάντας ἄρδην ἐπιφανεὶς διαφθερεῖ, ἐπεὶ ἐναντίως, ἢ αὐτὸς ἐπηγγέλλετο, ἀπέβαινε, καὶ τειχήρης κατὰ τὴν Ἡράκλειαν 2.483 ἐγένετο, καίτοι δυνάμενος τὴν προσήκουσαν περὶ τὴν χώραν πρόνοιαν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἔφοδον ἀπαγγέλλων, ὁ δ' οὐδὲν ἐποίει τῶν δεόντων, ὥσπερ δεδοικὼς μὴ τῶν πολεμίων ἥττων γεγονέναι ὑποπτεύοιτο· καὶ διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἄνοιαν πολλοῖς αἴτιος ἐγένετο μεγάλων συμφορῶν. ἐκεῖνος δὲ τὴν μὲν εἰς Βυζάντιον αὐτοῦ ἐπάνοδον νομίζων ἀναγκαίαν εἶναι, ὑποπτεύων δὲ τὴν ἤπειρον, ὡς