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of such a cause. For not a few of the rowers, having grown cowardly at the danger, were secretly fleeing in small groups. By their desertion, the general was deprived of the necessary speed; for he did not prudently judge it right, when his ships were emptied, to attack the enemies. He reported what had happened to the emperor by express courier. And he, faster than words could say, captured the deserters and imposed a punishment for the intimidation of the rest, for appearance's sake, ordering thirty men by number to be taken by night from the Saracens held in the praetorium, to alter their faces with soot, to lead them into the hippodrome, to flog them with whips and to send them away in disgrace to the Peloponnesus as if they were the instigators of the 2.230 flight, and there to be executed from where they had indeed fled. This was indeed done, and the 30 Saracens were impaled as if they were the deserters. And a great fear came upon the entire Roman fleet, and they put away all cowardice and luxury, and they urged their leader to move swiftly against the enemy. Meanwhile, he himself, having filled up the deficit of the force from the soldiers of the Peloponnesus, and having taken the local general as his collaborator, prepared for an attack. And while the Saracens were already becoming arrogant and condemning the Roman fleet for great cowardice on account of its previous inactivity, and were coming out of their own ships with great impunity and plundering whatever they came across, suddenly the admiral of the Romans appeared near them, and giving the signal, he attacked the enemy unexpectedly in the night. And having no opportunity either to form up or to turn to their defence, they were ingloriously slaughtered, and the ships were given over to the fire along with their crews. And the ships that were captured unharmed, the general Nasar gave to God as a kind of votive offering, dedicating them to the church at Methone. The emperor praised him for what he had done and ordered him to proceed further. Therefore, since the army was zealous on account of its previous successes, he crossed over to Sicily, and attacking the cities there, as many as were tributary to the Carthaginians, he ravaged and subdued them, and he captured very many merchant ships, whose cargo was many other valuable things and especially an abundance of oil. They say 2.231 that oil became so cheap then that a litra was sold for an obol. And the same fleet, having crossed over also to the parts of Italy and having united with the Roman cavalry forces there, which Prokopios the protovestiarios of the emperor and Leo the patrikios, commander of the Thracians and Macedonians, whom they called ‘from Stypeion’, were leading, performed praiseworthy deeds; for having encountered the fleet that had come out again from Africa at the island of the Stelai, he defeated it, and the forts held by the Hagarenes in both Calabria and Langobardia, with few exceptions, he liberated from the barbarian hand and restored to Roman authority. And Nasar and the Roman fleet with him were blessed with such trophies from God, and with much plunder and victorious crowns he returned to the imperial city; but the infantry forces in Langobardia did not entirely escape envious nemesis, but although they performed manly and brilliant deeds, it happened that the greater general was lost out of a strife and contention that fell upon the contest itself. For since Leo had been at odds with Prokopios about something, and battle had been joined with the enemy before they were reconciled, it happened that the man from Stypeion, fighting with the Thracians and Macedonians on the right wing, was prevailing over the enemy and inflicting great slaughter on the Saracens, 2.232 but on the other wing Prokopios, arrayed with the Slavs and western troops, was being pressed by the opponents. And since no help was sent by the general to the one in trouble because of the preceding contention, the wing under Prokopios gave way to a rout, and he himself was slain heroically

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τοιαύτης αἰτίας· τῶν γὰρ ἐρετῶν οὐκ ὀλίγοι πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον ἀποδειλιάσαντες κατ' ὀλίγους λαθραίως ἀπέφευγον. ὧν τῇ λει ποταξίᾳ τὸ προσῆκον τάχος ἀφῃρέθη ὁ στρατηγός· οὐ γὰρ ἔκρινε δέον ἐμφρόνως κεκενωμένων αὐτοῦ τῶν σκαφῶν ἐπελθεῖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς. μηνύει δὲ τὸ συμβὰν ταχυδρομίᾳ τῷ βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ καὶ λόγου θᾶττον τοὺς λειποτάκτας ἐζώγρησε καὶ ποινὴν εἰς ἐκφό βησιν τῶν λοιπῶν τῷ δοκεῖν ἐπιτίθησι, κελεύσας νυκτὸς ἄνδρας τριάκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ πραιτωρίῳ κατεχομένων Σαρακηνῶν ἀφελέσθαι, τούτων τε ἀσβόλῃ τὰ πρόσωπα ἀλλοιῶσαι, κἀν τῷ ἱπποδρόμῳ τε ἀγαγεῖν, διὰ μαστίγων τε ἐπεξελθεῖν καὶ ἀτίμως ἐκπεμφθῆναι εἰς Πελοπόννησον ὡς τάχα πρωτουργοὺς τῆς 2.230 φυγῆς, κἀκεῖσε ἀναιρεθῆναι ὅθεν δὴ καὶ πεφεύγασιν. ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονε, καὶ ἀνεσκολοπίσθησαν οἱ λʹ Σαρακηνοὶ ὡς δῆθεν οἱ λει ποτάκται. καὶ φόβος ἐγένετο μέγας εἰς πάντα τὸν Ῥωμαϊκὸν στόλον, καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν ἀπέθεντο καὶ τρυφήν, καὶ ἄγειν ταχέως πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους παρεκάλουν τὸν ἡγεμόνα. ἐν τούτοις δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ λεῖπον τῆς στρατείας ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκ Πελοποννήσου στρατιωτῶν ἀναπληρώσας, καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν τοῦ τόπου συνεργὸν προσλαβόμενος, πρὸς ἐπίθεσιν εὐτρεπίζεται. τῶν δὲ Σαρακηνῶν κατωφρυωμένων ἤδη καὶ πολλὴν δειλίαν καταγνόντων τοῦ Ῥωμαϊ κοῦ στόλου διὰ τὴν πρόσθεν ἀργίαν, καὶ ἐπ' ἀδείας πολλῆς ἐξερ χομένων ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων νεῶν καὶ τὰ προσπίπτοντα ληϊζομένων, ἐξαίφνης πλησίον αὐτῶν ἐφάνη ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ναύαρχος, καὶ σύνθημα δοὺς ἐπιτίθεται τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπροόπτως ἐν τῇ νυκτί. καὶ μήτε συστῆναι μήτε πρὸς ἀλκὴν τραπῆναι σχόντες καιρὸν ἀκλεῶς ἀπεσφάττοντο, καὶ αἱ νῆες πυρὶ μετὰ τῶν ἐπιβατῶν παρ εδίδοντο. τὰς δὲ ληφθείσας ἀσινεῖς ὥσπερ ἀνάθεμά τι ὁ στρατη γὸς Νάσαρ δίδωσι τῷ θεῷ, τῇ κατὰ Μεθώνην ἐκκλησίᾳ αὐτὰς ἀποχαρισάμενος. ὃν ἐπὶ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ἐπαινέσας ὁ βασιλεὺς προσωτέρω χωρεῖν ἐκελεύετο. ἐπὶ τοῖς προτέροις οὖν προτερή μασι προθύμου τοῦ στρατοῦ τυγχάνοντος, διαπεραιοῦται πρὸς Σικελίαν, καὶ τὰς ἐνταῦθα πόλεις, ὅσαι τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις ὑπῆρ χον ὑπόφοροι, ἐπιὼν ἐπόρθει καὶ κατεστρέφετο, καὶ φορτηγῶν νεῶν παμπολλῶν ἐκράτησεν, ὧν ὁ φόρτος ἄλλα τε ἦν πολλὰ τῶν τιμιωτέρων καὶ δὴ καὶ ἔλαιον δαψιλές. ἐς τοσοῦτον δέ φασιν 2.231 εὔωνον τότε γενέσθαι τὸ ἔλαιον ὥστε ὀβολοῦ τὴν λίτραν πιπρά σκεσθαι. Περαιωθεὶς δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς Ἰταλίας μέρη ὁ αὐτὸς στό λος, καὶ ταῖς ἐκεῖσε ἱππικαῖς Ῥωμαϊκαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἑνωθείς, ὧν Προκόπιος ἡγεῖτο ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως πρωτοβεστιάριος καὶ Λέων πα τρίκιος ὁ Θρᾳκῶν καὶ Μακεδόνων ἀρχηγέτης, ὃν ἀπὸ Στυπείου ἐκάλουν, ἀξιέπαινα ἔργα εἰργάσατο· τόν τε γὰρ ἐξ Ἀφρικῆς πάλιν ἐξελθόντα στόλον ἐν τῇ νήσῳ ταῖς Στήλαις συγκυρήσας κατεπολέ μησε, καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν κατεχόμενα φρούρια ἔν τε Καλαβρίᾳ καὶ Λαγγοβαρδίᾳ πλὴν ὀλίγων τῆς βαρβαρικῆς χειρὸς ἠλευθέρωσε καὶ τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ἐπανεσώσατο. καὶ ὁ μὲν Νάσαρ καὶ ὁ μετ' αὐτοῦ Ῥωμαϊκὸς στόλος τοιούτων τροπαίων ηὐμοίρησεν ἐκ θεοῦ, καὶ μετὰ πολλῶν λαφύρων καὶ νικητικῶν στεφάνων ἐπανῆλθε πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια· αἱ δὲ κατὰ Λαγγοβαρδίαν πεζικαὶ δυνάμεις οὐ πάντῃ τὴν βάσκανον διέφυγον νέμεσιν, ἀλλ' ἔργα μὲν ἀνδρικὰ καὶ λαμπρὰ διεπράξαντο, ἐξ ἔριδος δὲ καὶ φιλο νεικίας κατ' αὐτὸν συμπεσούσης τὸν ἀγῶνα ἀπολωλέναι συνέβη τὸν μείζονα στρατηγόν. τοῦ γὰρ Λέοντος κατά τι διενεχθέντος πρὸς τὸν Προκόπιον, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ διαλλαγῆναι συμβολῆς γενο μένης πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθρούς, συνέβη τὸν μὲν ἀπὸ Στυπείου μετὰ τῶν Θρᾳκῶν καὶ Μακεδόνων κατὰ τὸ δεξιὸν μέρος ἀγωνιζόμενον κρατεῖν τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολὺν φόνον ἐργάζεσθαι τῶν Σαρακηνῶν, 2.232 κατὰ θάτερον δὲ τὸν Προκόπιον ἀντιταττόμενον μετὰ τῶν Σθλα βίνων καὶ δυτικῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐναντίων πιέζεσθαι. μὴ πεμφθείσης δὲ παρὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ βοηθείας τῷ πονοῦντι διὰ τὴν προηγησα μένην φιλονεικίαν, ἐνέκλινε πρὸς τροπὴν τὸ κατὰ τὸν Προκόπιον μέρος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ἀπεσφάγη ἡρωϊκῶς