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patriarch, surnamed Kauleas. And matters in the city were carried on thus, but Symeon, the ruler of the Bulgarians, eager to dissolve the treaties with the Romans, found such a pretext. There was a eunuch slave of the Basileopator called Mousikos. This man, having become friends with commercial and avaricious men, wanting them to profit, using his freedom of speech with Zaoutzes, immediately moved the market for wares imported from Bulgaria from the City to Thessalonica, and appointed the aforementioned merchants as tax collectors there, who mistreated the Bulgarians engaged in trade, exacting heavy customs duties. When the Bulgarians reported these things to Symeon, and he made them known to the emperor, since he, overcome by his affection for Zaoutzes, considered it all nonsense and deemed it worthy of no attention, Symeon became enraged, and besides, as has been said, was looking for a plausible pretext, and took up arms against the Romans. When the emperor heard this, he also armed himself in response, and having armed Prokopios Krenites, who held the office of stratelates, with a large force and commanders, and having given him also Kourtikios the Armenian, he sent him against Symeon. When the armies clashed in Macedonia, the Romans were defeated, and Krenites himself and Kourtikios the Armenian and many others were slaughtered, while Symeon cut off the noses of those captured from the emperor's hetaireia and sent them to the City to the shame of the Romans. Greatly grieved by such a 2.255 disaster and the insult from Symeon, the emperor sent Niketas, the patrikios surnamed Skleros, across the Ister to the Turks, who are called Hungarians, in order that they might cross the river and ravage Bulgaria in whatever way they could. He, having met with the Turks and persuaded them to take up arms against the Bulgarians, and having taken hostages, returned to the emperor. But indeed the emperor himself had decided to make war on the Bulgarians by both land and sea. So by sea he sent Eustathios the patrikios and droungarios, and by land the patrikios Nikephoros Phokas, having appointed him domestic of the schools after the death of Andrew. When they had reached Bulgaria, the emperor, still desiring peace, sent the quaestor Konstantinakios to Symeon; whom he seized and placed under guard, thinking that he had come to him deceitfully. While Symeon was occupied with the army around Phokas, the Turks, having crossed the river, plundered all of Bulgaria. When this was reported to Symeon, he left Phokas and turned against the Turks. And they themselves, being eager to engage with the Bulgarians, having crossed the Ister, attacked them and defeated them decisively, with Symeon barely escaping to Dorostolon, which is also called Drista. So the Turks, having been victorious, asked the emperor to buy the captives they had taken; to which he also consented and sent 2.256 citizens for their ransom. Therefore Symeon, having been crushed, besought the emperor for peace through the droungarios Eustathios; to which the emperor yielded, and he sent Leo Choirosphaktes to make the treaty, and the domestic of the schools, Phokas, and the droungarios were ordered to return with the army. But Symeon seized Leo Choirosphaktes when he came to him and put him in prison, not even deigning to speak to him. And having marched out with a heavy army against the Turks, since the emperor was unable to provide them with aid because of the sudden and unexpected nature of the attack, he both routed them and overran their entire country. Exulting in the victory and being insolent, he wrote to the emperor that he would not make peace before he got back the captives

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πατριάρχης, ὁ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν Καυλέας. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἐφέρετο οὕτως, Συμεὼν δ' ὁ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἄρχων τὰς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους σπονδὰς διαλύσασθαι σπεύδων πρόφασιν εὗρε τοιαύτην. δοῦλος ἦν εὐνοῦχος τῷ βασιλεοπάτορι Μουσικὸς κα λούμενος. οὗτος συμφιλιωθεὶς ἀνδράσιν ἐμπορικοῖς καὶ φιλοκερ δέσι, βουλόμενος κερδαίνειν αὐτούς, τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ζαουτζᾶν χρη σάμενος παρρησίᾳ τὰς ἐκ Βουλγαρίας εἰσαγομένας πραγματείας εἰς τὴν πόλιν εὐθέως μετέστησεν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην, καὶ τοὺς εἰρη μένους ἐμπόρους τελώνας ἐκεῖσε κατέστησεν, οἵτινες κακῶς διετί θεσαν τοὺς τὰς πραγματείας μετιόντας Βουλγάρους, βαρέα εἰσ πραττόμενοι τελωνήματα. τῶν δὲ Βυλγάρων ἀναγγειλάντων ταῦτα τῷ Συμεών, καὶ τούτου δῆλα τῷ βασιλεῖ καταστήσαντος, ἐπεὶ τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ζαουτζᾶν συμπαθείᾳ νικώμενος πάντα ὡς λῆρον ἡγήσατο καὶ οὐδεμιᾶς ἠξίωσεν ἐπιστροφῆς, μανεὶς ὁ Συμεών, καὶ ἄλλως, ὡς εἴρηται, πρόφασιν εὐπρόσωπον ζητῶν, αἴρει κατὰ Ῥωμαίων τὰ ὅπλα. ὅπερ ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνθοπλί ζεται, καὶ Προκόπιον τὸν Κρηνίτην τὴν τοῦ στρατηλάτου μετ ιόντα λειτουργίαν λαῷ πολλῷ καὶ ἄρχουσι καθοπλίσας, δούς τε αὐτῷ καὶ Κουρτίκιον τὸν Ἀρμένιον, ἐκπέμπει κατὰ τοῦ Συμεών. συρραγέντων δ' ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ τῶν στρατευμάτων ἡττῶνται Ῥω μαῖοι, καὶ κατασφάττονται αὐτός τε ὁ Κρηνίτης καὶ ὁ Κουρτί κιος Ἀρμένιος καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί, τῶν κατασχεθέντων ἀπὸ τῆς ἑταιρείας τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ Συμεὼν ἀποτεμόντος τὰς ῥῖνας καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐκπεπομφότος πρὸς αἰσχύνην Ῥωμαίων. τῷ τοιούτῳ δὲ 2.255 πάθει καὶ τῷ προπηλακισμῷ τοῦ Συμεὼν περιαλγὴς γενόμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς Νικήταν πατρίκιον τὸν τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν Σκληρὸν διὰ τοῦ Ἴστρου πρὸς Τούρκους τοὺς Οὔγγρους καλουμένους ἀπέστειλεν, ἐφ' ᾧ περαιώσασθαι τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ τὴν Βουλγαρίαν τὸν ἐνόντα τρόπον λυμήνασθαι. ὁ δὲ τοῖς Τούρκοις συμμίξας καὶ πείσας κατὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων ὅπλα κινεῖν, ὁμήρους τε λαβών, εἰς βασιλέα ὑπέστρεψεν. ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς διά τε γῆς καὶ θα λάττης ἐγνώκει Βουλγάροις πολεμεῖν. διὰ μὲν οὖν θαλάσσης Εὐστάθιον ἐκπέμπει τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ δρουγγάριον, διὰ δὲ γῆς τὸν πατρίκιον Νικηφόρον τὸν Φωκᾶν, προβαλόμενος αὐτὸν μετὰ τὸν Ἀνδρέου θάνατον δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν. ὧν μέχρι Βουλ γαρίας ἀφικομένων ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔτι τὴν εἰρήνην στέργων τὸν κοιαί στωρα Κωνσταντινάκιον ἐκπέμπει πρὸς Συμεών· ὃν οὗτος κατα σχὼν τίθησιν ἐν φρουρᾷ, δολίως πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι νομίσας. ἀσχολουμένου δὲ περὶ τὸ στράτευμα τὸ περὶ τὸν Φωκᾶν τοῦ Συ μεών, οἱ Τοῦρκοι περαιωθέντες τὸν ποταμὸν πᾶσαν τὴν Βουλ γαρίαν ἐληΐσαντο. ὅπερ ὡς ἠγγέλθη τῷ Συμεών, τὸν Φωκᾶν ἀφεὶς κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων ἐτράπετο. γλιχόμενοι δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ συμπλακῆναι Βουλγάροις, περαιωθέντες τὸν Ἴστρον τούτοις προσ βάλλουσι καὶ νικῶσι κατὰ κράτος, μόλις τοῦ Συμεὼν ἐν ∆ορο στόλῳ σωθέντος, ὃ καὶ ∆ρίστα καλεῖται. νικήσαντες οὖν οἱ Τοῦρκοι ᾐτήσαντο τὸν βασιλέα τοὺς κατασχεθέντας ὑπ' αὐτῶν αἰχμαλώτους ὠνήσασθαι· πρὸς ὃ καὶ κατανεύσας τοὺς πολίτας 2.256 ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς τὴν τούτων ἐξώνησιν. θραυσθεὶς οὖν ὁ Συμεὼν διὰ τοῦ δρουγγαρίου Εὐσταθίου τὸν βασιλέα ἱκέτευε περὶ τῆς εἰ ρήνης· πρὸς ἣν ὑπεῖξεν ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ τὸν Χοιροσφάκτην Λέοντα ἐπὶ τῷ ποιήσασθαι ἐξαπέστειλε τὰς σπονδάς, καὶ ὁ δομέ στικος τῶν σχολῶν ὁ Φωκᾶς καὶ ὁ δρουγγάριος ὑποστρέψαι μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐκελεύσθησαν. ὁ δὲ Συμεὼν ἀπελθόντα πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Χοιροσφάκτην Λέοντα ἐν εἱρκτῇ κατέσχε, μηδὲ λόγου αὐτὸν ἀξιώσας. ἐκστρατεύσας δὲ βαρεῖ στρατῷ κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων, μὴ δυνηθέντος τοῦ βασιλέως διὰ τὸ αἰφνίδιόν τε καὶ ἀπροσδόκητον βοήθειαν αὐτοῖς παρασχεῖν, αὐτούς τε ἐτρέψατο καὶ τὴν χώραν πᾶσαν κατέδραμε. γαυριῶν δ' ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ καὶ φρυαττόμενος ἔγραψε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μὴ πρότερον ποιῆσαι εἰρήνην πρὶν ἂν ἀπολήψεσθαι τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους