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They depose the relatives of Alexander, John the rector, Gabrilopoulos, Basilitzes and the rest. And Zoe Augusta also appoints Dominic as Hetaeriarch, who seemed energetic and devoted to her commands, by whose advice the patriarch is deposed from the palace. And the magistros John Eladas also retired voluntarily, seized by a sickness from which he also died. But Constantine the parakoimomenos, wishing to bring all the reins of the empire under himself and to have no one hindering him, slanders the Hetaeriarch to the Augusta as one usurping the empire for his own brother; persuaded by his words, she honors him as a patrikios, and when he had gone down, as was the custom, to receive a prayer, she ordered him to remain at home. And in his place are appointed John Garidas as Hetaeriarch, and Damian, a newly-appeared eunuch, as droungarios of the Vigla. While Symeon was harrying and plundering the parts of Thrace, and the Augusta was taking thought with those in authority how they might stop his raids, John Bogas promised, if he were honored 2.284 as a patrikios, to lead the Pechenegs against him, and having obtained his request, he takes gifts and departs for Patzinakia. And having made a treaty and having taken hostages, he returns to the City, with the Pechenegs having agreed to cross the Ister and to make war on the Bulgarians. And then there also defected Ashot, a renowned man, being the son of the archon of archons. And this man was said to take an iron rod by the ends with both hands and to break it around and bend it by the force of his hands, the resistance of the iron yielding to the strength of his hands; whom the mistress, having received kindly, caused to return home again. While Symeon was besieging Adrianople for a good number of days and accomplishing nothing, a certain Pankratoukas, an Armenian by race and one of those assigned to guard the city, enticed by gold, betrayed it to Symeon. But after a little while, the patrikios Basil epi tou kanikleiou and Niketas Eladikos were sent by the Augusta, and with much gold and money they recovered it again. In this year, Damian, the emir of Tyre, with warships and a great force, made an incursion against the Romans, and having seized Strobilos, he vigorously besieged it. And he would have sacked it, if he had not fallen sick and died, with the Saracens returning empty-handed. But Zoe the queen, not bearing the continuous raids of Symeon, and wishing to check them, decided with the senate that it was necessary to make a truce with the Saracens, 2.285 and to transfer all the army in the east to the west, and with both the eastern and the western armies united, to wage war against the Bulgarians and utterly to destroy them. This was decided, and the patrikios John Radeknos and Michael Toxaras, having been sent to Syria, made a truce with the Saracens. And indeed the queen, having been relieved of the concern for them, having ordered the customary distribution of the roga to the armies, and entrusting these to Leo Phokas the magistros, who was domestic of the scholae, she permitted to set out against the Bulgarians. And with all the themata and tagmata having been gathered at Diabasis (Diabasis is a large plain, suitable for receiving an army), the protopapas of the palace, having been sent with the precious woods, prepared for everyone, after venerating them, to swear an oath to die together with one another. And when the oath was taken, they set out with the whole army against the Bulgarians. And the leaders were, of the tagma of the excubitors, John Grapson, a warlike man and one who had often performed bravely in battles, and of the Hikanatoi, Olbianos Maroules, a proven man. And Romanos and Leo, the sons of Argyros, and Bardas Phokas were leading other tagmata. And with them was also Melias the magistros with the Armenians and many other strategoi

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καταβιβάζουσι τοὺς οἰκείους Ἀλεξάνδρου, Ἰωάννην τὸν ῥαίκτωρα, τὸν Γαβριηλόπουλον, τὸν Βασιλίτζην καὶ τοὺς λοιπούς. προβάλλεται δὲ καὶ Ζωὴ Αὐγοῦστα ∆ομίνικον ἑταιρειάρχην δραστήριον δοκοῦντα καὶ τοῖς αὐτῆς προσκείμενον προστάγμασιν, οὗ τῇ συμβουλῇ καταβιβάζε ται ὁ πατριάρχης τοῦ παλατίου. καὶ ὁ μάγιστρος δὲ Ἰωάννης ὁ Ἐλαδᾶς κατῆλθεν ἑκουσίως, νόσῳ ληφθείς, δι' ἧς καὶ ἀπεβίω. Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ὁ παρακοιμώμενος ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἀγαγεῖν τὴν ἅπα σαν τῆς βασιλείας ἡνίαν βουλόμενος καὶ μηδένα ἔχειν τὸν ἐμποδί ζοντα, διαβάλλει τὸν ἑταιρειάρχην εἰς τὴν Αὐγοῦσταν ὡς σφετερι ζόμενον τὴν βασιλείαν εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφόν· οὗ τοῖς λόγοις πεισθεῖσα πατρίκιον αὐτὸν τιμᾷ, καὶ κατελθόντα ὡς ἔθος λαβεῖν εὐχὴν οἴκοι μένειν προσέταξε. προχειρίζεται δὲ ἀντ' αὐτοῦ Ἰωάν νην τὸν Γαριδᾶν ἑταιρειάρχην, καὶ ∆αμιανὸν εὐνοῦχον ἀρτιφανῆ τῆς βίγλας δρουγγάριον. Ἄγοντος δὲ καὶ φέροντος τοῦ Συμεὼν τὰ Θρᾳκῷα μέρη, καὶ τῆς Αὐγούστης φροντιζούσης μετὰ τῶν ἐν τέλει ὅπως αὐτοῦ παύ σωσι τὰς ἐπιδρομάς, Ἰωάννης ὁ Βογᾶς ὑπέσχετο πατρίκιος τιμη 2.284 θεὶς ἀγαγεῖν κατ' αὐτοῦ Πατζινάκους, καὶ τυχὼν τῆς αἰτήσεως, δῶρα λαβὼν ἄπεισιν εἰς Πατζινακίαν. καὶ σπεισάμενος καὶ ὁμή ρους εἰληφὼς ἐπάνεισιν ἐν τῇ πόλει, συνθεμένων τῶν Πατζινάκων τὸν Ἴστρον περαιώσασθαι καὶ Βουλγάροις πολεμεῖν. ηὐτομόλησε δὲ τότε καὶ Ἀσώτης ἀνὴρ ὀνομαστός, υἱὸς ὢν τοῦ ἄρχοντος τῶν ἀρχόν των. ἐλέγετο δὲ οὗτος ῥάβδον σιδηρᾶν ἀμφοτέραις χερσὶ τῶν ἄκρων λαμβάνων περικλᾶν τῇ τῶν χειρῶν βίᾳ καὶ κάμπτειν, τῆς ἀντιτύ που τοῦ σιδήρου βίας ὑπεικούσης τῇ τῶν χειρῶν ἰσχύϊ· ὃν φιλο φρόνως ἡ δέσποινα δεξαμένη οἴκαδε πάλιν ὑπονοστῆσαι πεποίηκε. πολιορκοῦντος δὲ τοῦ Συμεὼν τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν ἐφ' ἡμέρας ἱκα νὰς καὶ μηδὲν ἀνύοντος, Παγκρατούκας τις γένος ὢν Ἀρμένιος καὶ εἷς τῶν φυλάττειν τεταγμένων τὴν πόλιν, χρυσίῳ δελεασθεὶς προύδωκεν αὐτὴν τῷ Συμεών. μετ' ὀλίγον δὲ ἀπεστάλη παρὰ τῆς Αὐγούστης ὁ πατρίκιος Βασίλειος ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κανικλείου καὶ Νικήτας Ἐλαδικός, καὶ χρυσίῳ καὶ χρήμασι πλείστοις πάλιν αὐτὴν ἀνεκτήσαντο. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει καὶ ∆αμιανὸς ὁ τῆς Τύρου ἀμηρᾶς μετὰ πολεμικῶν πλοίων καὶ δυνάμεως πολλῆς εἰσβολὴν ἐποιήσατο κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, καὶ τὴν Στρόβηλον καταλαβὼν ἐνεργῶς αὐτὴν ἐπολιόρ κει. καὶ ἐξεπόρθησεν ἄν, εἰ μὴ νοσήσας ἀπεβίω, διὰ κενῆς τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ὑποστρεψάντων. μὴ φέρουσα δὲ Ζωὴ ἡ βασιλὶς τὰς τοῦ Συμεὼν συνεχεῖς ἐπιδρομάς, καὶ βουλομένη ταύτας ἀνακόψαι, δέον ἐγνώκει μετὰ τῆς συγκλήτου εἶναι σπείσασθαι τοῖς Σαρακη 2.285 νοῖς, καὶ πάντα τὸν ἐν τῇ ἑῴᾳ στρατὸν διαπερᾶσαι πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν, καὶ ἑνωθέντων τῶν τε ἑῴων καὶ τῶν δυτικῶν στρατευ μάτων πόλεμον συστήσασθαι κατὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων, καὶ τελέως ἀφανίσαι αὐτούς. ἔδοξε τοῦτο, καὶ πεμφθεὶς εἰς Συρίαν Ἰωάν νης πατρίκιος ὁ Ῥαδηκνὸς καὶ Μιχαὴλ ὁ Τοξαρᾶς ἐσπείσαντο τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς. καὶ δὴ τῆς ἀπ' αὐτῶν ἀπαλλαγεῖσα φροντίδος ἡ βασιλίς, τὴν συνήθη διανομὴν τῆς ῥόγας κελεύσασα γενέσθαι τῶν στρατευμάτων, Λέοντί τε μαγίστρῳ τῷ Φωκᾷ ταῦτα παραδοῦσα, δομεστίκῳ τῶν σχολῶν τυγχάνοντι, ἀπᾶραι κατὰ Βουλγάρων ἐπέ τρεψεν. ἀθροισθέντων δὲ πάντων τῶν θεμάτων καὶ τῶν ταγμά των κατὰ τὴν ∆ιάβασιν (πεδίον δὲ ἡ ∆ιάβασις μέγα καὶ πρὸς ὑπο δοχὴν στρατοῦ ἐπιτήδειον) ἀποσταλεὶς ὁ πρωτοπαπᾶς τοῦ παλα τίου μετὰ τῶν τιμίων ξύλων παρεσκεύασε προσκυνήσαντας πάν τας ἐπομόσασθαι συναποθνήσκειν ἀλλήλοις. καὶ τοῦ ὅρκου τελεσθέντος πανστρατὶ κατὰ Βουλγάρων ἐξώρμησαν. ἦρχον δὲ τοῦ μὲν τάγματος ἐξκουβίτων Ἰωάννης ὁ Γράψων, ἀνὴρ πολεμικὸς καὶ πολλάκις ἐν μάχαις ἀνδραγαθήσας, τοῦ δὲ ἱκανάτου Ὀλβια νὸς ὁ Μαρούλης, ἀνὴρ δεδοκιμασμένος. καὶ Ῥωμανὸς καὶ Λέων οἱ τοῦ Ἀργυροῦ παῖδες καὶ Βάρδας ὁ Φωκᾶς ἑτέρων ταγμάτων ἐξῆρχον. συνῆν δὲ τούτοις καὶ Μελίας ὁ μάγιστρος μετὰ τῶν Ἀρμενίων καὶ ἄλλοι πλεῖστοι στρατηγοὶ