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will be told. But Leo, having routed and captured Apola saer, a distinguished man and relative of Chabdan, who had marched out against the Romans with an immense host, sent him to Constantinople, having killed some of the rest of the host in the clash of battle and taken the others alive. When he was brought to the capital, the emperor Constantine held a triumph and 2.331 having trodden on his neck, treated him kindly with honors and gifts. But Chabdan took captive Constantine, the other son of Phokas, and brought him to Halep; and having tried hard to convert him to his abominable religion, when he could not persuade him, he destroyed him with poisons. Greatly grieved by this news, Bardas cut down with the sword all the captive relatives of Chabdan whom he held. And because of this, the magistros Paul Monomachos, who had been sent to arrange the exchange, returned unsuccessful. Seized by unbearable anguish on account of his relatives, Chabdan marched against the Romans, taking with him also the ambassador sent to him by the emperor concerning peace, Niketas the patrikios Chalkoutzes, and he took captive many good men from among the bravest and most noble Romans. And since Niketas was secretly reporting to Phokas all of Chabdan’s plans and the routes by which he intended to make his return, Phokas set ambushes near a place that had a narrow and precipitous entrance; when Chabdan arrived there and was in the middle of the narrow pass, he was surrounded by the ambushers. For rising from the ambush, those stationed for this purpose rolled down huge rocks on them and shot all sorts of missiles at them. And Chalkoutzes, having prepared beforehand and having won over with gifts some of the Saracens to aid his escape, secretly fled with 2.332 all of his own people, while an untold number of the Hagarenes fell. But Chabdan, after slaughtering the prisoners he held, managed to escape the danger ingloriously and in disarray with a few men.

In the twelfth year of the reign of Constantine, and of the world 6464, on the 27th of the month of February, of the 14th indiction, Theophylaktos the patriarch ended his life, having been patriarch for 23 years and 25 days, being sixteen years old when he uncanonically took the helm of the church, the patriarch (woe is me) remaining under tutors for a time. And would that this had been so always; for he seemed to be dignified and moderate. But having now reached a more mature age and being left to live on his own, he neglected to do none of the most shameful and utterly forbidden things, putting up for sale the ranks of the church and the promotions of bishops, and doing other things that happened to be unfitting for true bishops, being mad for horses and busying himself with hunts and committing other unseemly acts, which to recount in detail would be not only unseemly but also unlawful. But it is right to mention one thing as proof of his uneducated mind. An uncontrollable passion for owning horses possessed him, and he is said to have acquired over two thousand, for whose care he was constantly concerned, not setting before them hay and barley, but pine nuts and figs from Thasos and pistachios, and also the richest of dates and raisins and dried figs, 2.333 mixing them with the most fragrant wine, and blending saffron and cinnamon and balsam and other spices with the aforementioned things, he would set this food before each of the horses. They say that once when he was celebrating the liturgy on the great Thursday of the divine supper, and was already reading the prayers of the mysteries, the deacon entrusted with the care of the horses approached and brought him the good news that his most famous mare had given birth, adding her name as well. And he, out of excessive joy, having completed the remainder of the divine liturgy in a haphazard way, arrives running at the Kosmidion, and having seen the newborn foal and having had his fill of the irrational spectacle

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λελέξεται· ὁ δὲ Λέων Ἀπολα σαὴρ ἐπίσημον ἄνδρα καὶ τοῦ Χαβδᾶν συγγενῆ, σὺν ἀπείρῳ πλή θει κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐξελθόντα τρεψάμενος καὶ κατασχὼν ἐν Κων σταντινουπόλει ἀπέστειλε, τοῦ ἄλλου πλήθους τὸ μὲν ἐν τῇ τοῦ πολέμου προσβολῇ κτείνας τὸ δὲ ζωγρήσας. ὃν ἀχθέντα πρὸς τὴν βασιλίδα ὁ βασιλεὺς Κωνσταντῖνος θρίαμβον ποιήσας καὶ 2.331 κατὰ τοῦ τραχήλου πατήσας τιμαῖς τε καὶ δωρεαῖς ἐφιλοφρονή σατο. Κωνσταντῖνον δὲ τὸν λοιπὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Φωκᾶ ζωγρίαν λαβὼν ὁ Χαβδᾶν καὶ εἰς τὸ Χάλεπ ἀγαγών, καὶ πολλὰ σπουδάσας εἰς τὴν μυσαρὰν αὐτοῦ θρησκείαν τοῦτον μεταγαγεῖν, ὡς οὐκ ἔπεισε, φαρμάκοις αὐτὸν διέφθειρε. τῇ ἀκοῇ δὲ ταύτῃ περιαλγὴς γενό μενος ὁ Βάρδας πάντας οὓς κατεῖχεν αἰχμαλώτους συγγενεῖς τοῦ Χαβδᾶν ξίφει κατέκοψε. καὶ παρὰ τοῦτο ὁ τὸ ἀλλάγιον πεμφθεὶς ποιήσασθαι Παῦλος μάγιστρος ὁ Μονομάχος ἄπρακτος ὑπέστρε ψεν. ἀσχέτῳ δὲ περιωδυνίᾳ ληφθεὶς ὁ Χαβδᾶν διὰ τοὺς αὐτοῦ συγγενεῖς ἐκστρατεύει κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, ἄγων μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν παρὰ βασιλέως πεμφθέντα ὡς αὐτὸν πρεσβευτὴν περὶ εἰρήνης, Νικήταν πατρίκιον τὸν Χαλκούτζην, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας τῶν ἀνδρειοτάτων καὶ γενναίων Ῥωμαίων ἐζώγρησε. τοῦ δὲ Νι κήτα λάθρα τῷ Φωκᾷ μηνύοντος πάντα τὰ βουλευόμενα τῷ Χαβδᾶν καὶ τὰς ὁδοὺς ὅθεν μέλλει ποιήσασθαι τὴν ὑποστροφήν, λό χους ὁ Φωκᾶς ἐγκαθίζει παρά τινα τόπον εἴσοδον ἔχοντα στενὴν καὶ κρημνώδη, ἐν ᾧ γενόμενος ὁ Χαβδᾶν, ἐπεὶ κατὰ μέσην ἐγένετο τὴν στενοχωρίαν, κυκλοῦται παρὰ τῶν λόχων. ἐξαναστάντες γὰρ τῆς ἐνέδρας οἱ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τεταγμένοι πέτρας τε ὑπερμεγέθεις κατ' αὐτῶν ἐκύλιον καὶ βέλη εἰς αὐτοὺς ἔπεμπον παντοδαπά. καὶ ὁ μὲν Χαλκούτζης προευτρεπισάμενος καὶ δώροις ὑποποιησάμενός τινας τῶν Σαρακηνῶν τῆς φυγῆς ὑπηρέτας, ἔλαθεν ἀποδρὰς μετὰ 2.332 πάντων αὐτοῦ τῶν οἰκείων, τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν δὲ πέπτωκε πλῆθος ἀμύθητον. ὁ δὲ Χαβδᾶν οὓς εἶχε δεσμίους ἀποσφάξας, σὺν ὀλίγοις ἀκλεῶς καὶ ἀτάκτως τὸν κίνδυνον ἴσχυσε διαφυγεῖν.

Ἔτει δὲ δωδεκάτῳ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου βασιλείας, τοῦ δὲ κόσμου #22υξδʹ, μηνὶ Φεβρουαρίῳ κζʹ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιδʹ, κατέλυσε τὸν βίον Θεοφύλακτος ὁ πατριάρχης, ἀρχιερατεύσας ἐπ' ἔτη κγʹ ἡμέρας κεʹ, ἑξκαίδεκα μὲν ἐτῶν ὢν ὅτε ἀκανονίστως τοὺς τῆς ἐκ κλησίας παρείληφεν οἴακας, ὑπὸ παιδαγωγοὺς (φεῦ μοι) ὁ ἀρχιε ρεὺς μέχρι τινὸς διατελέσας. καὶ εἴθε γε διὰ παντὸς τοῦτο ἦν· ἐδόκει γὰρ εἶναι σεμνὸς καὶ μέτριος. τῆς ἐντελεστέρας δὲ ἡλικίας ἀρξάμενος ἤδη καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν βιοῦν ἐαθεὶς οὐδὲν τῶν αἰσχίστων καὶ παντελῶς ἀπηγορευμένων πράττειν ἐνέλιπεν, ὠνίους προτιθεὶς τοὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας βαθμοὺς καὶ τὰς προβολὰς τῶν ἀρχιερέων, καὶ ἄλλα πράττων ὅσα τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἀπεοικότα ἐτύ γχανεν, ἱππομανῶν καὶ κυνηγεσίοις ἐνασχολούμενος καὶ λοιπὰς ἀπρεπεῖς διαπραττόμενος πράξεις, ἃς κατὰ μέρος διεξιέναι σὺν τῷ ἀπρεπεῖ καὶ ἀθέμιτον. μιᾶς δὲ δίκαιον ἐπιμνησθῆναι εἰς ἔν δειξιν τῆς ἀπαιδεύτου γνώμης αὐτοῦ. ἔρως αὐτὸν κατεῖχεν ἄσχε τος τῆς τῶν ἵππων κτήσεως, καὶ λέγεται ὑπὲρ δισχιλίους πορίσα σθαι, ὧν τῆς κομιδῆς διὰ παντὸς ἐφρόντιζεν, οὐ χόρτον αὐτοῖς παρατιθεὶς καὶ κριθάς, κώνων δὲ καρποὺς καὶ θάσια καὶ πιστά κια, ἔτι δὲ φοινίκων καὶ σταφίδων καὶ ἰσχάδων τὰ λιπαρώτερα, 2.333 εὐωδεστάτῳ οἴνῳ μιγνύς, καὶ κρόκον καὶ κιννάμωμον καὶ βάλσα μον καὶ ἕτερα ἀρώματα τοῖς ῥηθεῖσι συμφύρων, ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἵπ πων παρετίθει βρῶσιν. φασὶ δ' ὅτι λειτουργοῦντί ποτε αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην τοῦ θείου δείπνου πέμπτην ἡμέραν, καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἤδη τῶν μυστηρίων ἀναγινώσκοντι, ὁ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῶν ἵππων ἐπιτετραμμένος διάκονος ἐπιστὰς εὐαγγέλιον τούτῳ κεκόμι κεν, ὡς ἄρα τετοκυῖα εἴη ἡ ἐπισημοτάτη φορβάς, προσθεὶς καὶ τὸ ὄνομα. ὁ δ' ὑπὸ περιχαρείας τὸ τῆς θείας λειτουργίας ὑπό λοιπον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐκπληρώσας δρομαῖος ἀφικνεῖται πρὸς τὸ Κοσμί διον, καὶ τὸν τεχθέντα πῶλον ἑωρακὼς καὶ τοῦ ἀλόγου θεάματος ἐμφορηθεὶς