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waiting for their departure. Nevertheless, watching for an opportunity and giving a signal and casting off the stern-cables, they sailed away. But they did not escape the notice of the patrician and *protovestiarios* Theophanes, but he, learning of their withdrawal, immediately went to meet them, and a second naval battle occurred, and the Rus' were again routed. And some of their ships were consigned to the deep, and others iron and fire divided, and others were captured with their crews by the hands of the Romans; and a few, having escaped the necessity of war, returned to their own lands. In return for which the emperor, approving of the *protovestiarios*, appointed him *parakoimomenos*. But when envy was stirred up against the *domestikos* of the schools, John Kourkouas, by the other emperors (for the emperor Romanos wished to take Euphrosyne, the daughter of the *domestikos*, as a bride for his own grandson, Romanos, the son of his youngest 2.318 child Constantine), he was forced to remove him from his office, after he had directed the office of the *domestikos* without a successor for twenty-two years and seven months, and had, so to speak, overrun and subdued all of Syria. And whoever wishes to learn of his heroic deeds, let him seek the book composed by a certain Manuel, *protospatharios* and *krites* (for he wrote down this man's feats of courage in eight books), and from it he will know what sort of man he was in matters of war. In a similar manner to him, Theophilos his kinsman, the grandfather of John who later became emperor, dealt with the cities of the Saracens in Mesopotamia, having become *strategos* there and having humbled and completely annihilated the descendants of Hagar. And Romanos the patrician, son of the *domestikos* John, having been appointed *strategos*, both subdued many fortresses and was the cause of very great spoils for the Romans. And when John was removed from his office, Pantherios, a kinsman of the emperor Romanos, was appointed *domestikos* of the schools. And the emperor Romanos, propitiating God for the violation of his oaths, and repenting of the evil things he had covenanted, performed other good deeds also, which it is a task to recount, and he also paid off the debts of the city for both rich and poor, having given, as they say, nineteen *kentenaria*, and having burned the debt-bonds in the porphyry *omphalion* at the Chalke. He also gave the 2.319 rents of the city from the highest to the lowest. And the provisions he ordained to be made annually for the soul in the monastery of the Myrelaion, newly built by him, all know are performed to this day. And in the first indiction, when the Turks again made a raid against the Romans, the *parakoimomenos* Theophanes went out and made a treaty with them and, taking hostages, returned. And in the second indiction the emperor sent Paschalios, *protospatharios* and *strategos* of Langobardia, to Hugh, King of Francia, seeking his daughter to be wed to Romanos, the son of the *porphyrogennetos*; who, having been brought with much wealth, was joined to Romanos. She lived with him for five years and died. And there was also a violent wind in the month of December; and the so-called Demoi fell and smashed their bases beneath them and the so-called *stethea*. And when the city of Edessa was being besieged by the Roman forces, the Edessenes, being hard-pressed by the terrible conditions of the siege, sent an embassy to the emperor, asking that the army withdraw from the blockade, and they promised to give as ransom the holy image of Christ. The siege therefore having been lifted, the divine impression was given and brought to the capital city, the emperor receiving it with a splendid and fitting escort, as we have said before. 2.320 In these days a marvel came from Armenia to the reigning city, male children, conjoined, having come forth from one womb. And they were driven out of the city as a wicked omen. But under Constantine they entered again. And when it happened that one of them died, they tried to

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ἀπόπλουν φυλάττοντα. καιρὸν δ' ὅμως τηρήσαντες καὶ σύνθημα δόντες καὶ τὰ πρυμνήσια λύσαντες ἀπέπλεον. οὐκ ἔλαθον δὲ τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ πρωτοβεστιάριον Θεο φάνην, ἀλλὰ γνοὺς οὗτος τὴν αὐτῶν ἀναχώρησιν ὑπαντιάζει τούτοις εὐθύς, καὶ γίνεται ναυμαχία δευτέρα, καὶ τρέπονται πάλιν οἱ Ῥώς. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν σκαφῶν βυθῷ παρεδόθη, τὰ δὲ σίδηρος καὶ πῦρ ἐμερίσαντο, τὰ δὲ αὔτανδρα ὑπὸ ταῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων χερσὶν ἐγένοντο· ὀλίγα δὲ τὴν τοῦ πολέμου διαφυγόντα ἀνάγκην πρὸς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐχώρησαν. ἀνθ' ὧν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν πρωτοβεστιάριον ἀποδεξά μενος καὶ παρακοιμώμενον αὐτὸν προεβάλετο. Φθόνου δὲ κινηθέντος κατὰ τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ Κουρκούα παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων βασιλέων (ἐβούλετο γὰρ Ῥωμανὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς Εὐφροσύνην τὴν τοῦ δομεστίκου θυγατέρα νύμφην ἀγαγέσθαι τῷ οἰκείῳ ἐκγόνῳ Ῥωμανῷ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ ἐσχά 2.318 του παιδὸς αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντίνου) ἠναγκάσθη τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν παραλῦσαι, ἐπὶ δυσὶ καὶ εἴκοσι χρόνοις καὶ μησὶν ἑπτὰ ἀδιαδόχως τὴν τοῦ δομεστίκου ἀρχὴν ἰθύνοντα, καὶ πᾶσαν ὡς εἰπεῖν τὴν Συρίαν καταδραμόντα καὶ ταπεινώσαντα. ὅτῳ δὲ βουλητὸν τὰς ἐκείνου μαθεῖν ἀριστείας, ζητησάτω τὴν πονηθεῖσαν βίβλον παρά τινος Μανουὴλ πρωτοσπαθαρίου καὶ κριτοῦ (ἐν ὀκτὼ γὰρ βίβλοις ἐκεῖνος τὰ τούτου ἀνδραγαθήματα συνεγράψατο), καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς εἴσεται οἷος ἦν ὁ ἀνὴρ τὰ πολεμικά. Παραπλησίως τούτῳ καὶ Θεόφιλος ὁ τούτου ὁμαίμων, ὁ πάππος Ἰωάννου τοῦ μετὰ ταῦτα βασιλεύσαντος, τὰς ἐν Μεσο ποταμίᾳ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν πόλεις διέθετο, στρατηγὸς ἐν αὐτῇ γεγο νὼς καὶ ταπεινώσας καὶ τελέως ἀφανίσας τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Ἄγαρ. καὶ Ῥωμανὸς δὲ ὁ πατρίκιος, ὁ τοῦ δομεστίκου Ἰωάννου υἱός, στρατηγὸς καταστὰς πολλά τε φρούρια παρεστήσατο καὶ πλείστων λα φύρων αἴτιος ὑπῆρξε τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις. τοῦ Ἰωάννου δὲ παραλυθέντος τῆς ἀρχῆς, προβάλλεται δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν ὁ Παν θήριος, ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμανοῦ συγγενής. Ἱλασκόμενος δὲ τὸν θεὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς διὰ τὴν τῶν ὅρκων παράβασιν, καὶ μετανοῶν ἐφ' οἷς κακῶς παρεσπόνδησεν, ἐποίει μὲν καὶ ἄλλας εὐποιίας, ἃς καταλέγειν ἔργον, ἀπέτισε δὲ καὶ τὰ χρέα τῆς πόλεως ἀπό τε πλουσίων καὶ πενήτων, δεδωκώς, ὥς φασι, κεντηνάρια δέκα ἐννέα, τὰ δὲ γραμματεῖα κατακαύσας ἐν τῷ κατὰ τὴν Χαλκῆν πορφυρῷ ὀμφαλίῳ. δέδωκε δὲ καὶ τὰ 2.319 ἐνοίκια τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑψηλοτάτου καὶ μέχρι τοῦ ἐσχάτου. ἃ δὲ διετυπώσατο γίνεσθαι ψυχικὰ ἐπετείως ἐν τῇ νεονργηθείσῃ παρ' αὐτοῦ μονῇ τοῦ Μυρελαίου, ἴσασι πάντες μέχρι τοῦ νῦν τελούμενα. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν πρώτην ἰνδικτιῶνα τῶν Τούρκων πάλιν ἐπι δρομὴν ποιησαμένων κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, ὁ παρακοιμώμενος Θεοφά νης ἐξελθὼν ἐσπείσατο μετ' αὐτῶν καὶ λαβὼν ὁμήρους ὑπέστρεψε. δευτέρᾳ δὲ ἰνδικτιῶνι Πασχάλιον πρωτοσπαθάριον καὶ στρατηγὸν Λαγγοβαρδίας ἐξέπεμψεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸν ῥῆγα Φραγγίας Οὔγωνα, τὴν αὐτοῦ θυγατέρα ἐπιζητῶν νυμφευθῆναι τῷ τοῦ πορφυρογεννήτου υἱῷ Ῥωμανῷ· ἥτις καὶ ἀχθεῖσα μετὰ πλούτου πολλοῦ συνήφθη Ῥωμανῷ. συνεβίωσε δὲ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἔτη εʹ καὶ ἀπέθανε. ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ βίαιος ἄνεμος μηνὶ ∆εκεμβρίῳ· καὶ καταπεσόντες οἱ λεγόμενοι ∆ῆμοι συνέτριψαν τὰ κάτωθεν αὐτῶν βάθρα καὶ τὰ λεγόμενα στήθεα. Τῆς πόλεως δὲ Ἐδέσσης πολιορκουμένης παρὰ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν δυνάμεων, στενοχωρηθέντες οἱ Ἐδεσσηνοὶ τοῖς ἐκ τῆς πολιορ κίας δεινοῖς διεπρεσβεύσαντο πρὸς βασιλέα, αἰτούμενοι ἀπανα στῆναι τῆς προσεδρίας τὸν λαόν, καὶ ὑπισχνοῦντο ἀντίλυτρον δοῦναι τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἅγιον ἐκμαγεῖον. λυθείσης οὖν τῆς πο λιορκίας ἐδόθη τὸ θεῖον ἐκτύπωμα καὶ εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα ἤχθη, ὑποδεξαμένου τοῦτο τοῦ βασιλέως μετὰ λαμπρᾶς καὶ πρεπούσης δορυφορίας, καθὼς ἔμπροσθεν εἴπομεν. 2.320 Κατὰ ταύτας τὰς ἡμέρας ἐξ Ἀρμενίας ἐφοίτησε τέρας ἐν τῇ βασιλευούσῃ, παῖδες ἄρρενες συμφυεῖς ἐκ μιᾶς προελθόντες γα στρός. ἐξηλάθησαν δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὡς πονηρὸς οἰωνός. ἐπὶ δὲ Κωνσταντίνου πάλιν εἰσῆλθον. ἐπεὶ δὲ συνέβη τὸν ἕνα τελευτῆ σαι, ἐπειράθησαν οἱ