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The former was said to be the one from whom such a rumor had spread; coming before the synod and the senate 2.353 he swore under oath that he had neither seen nor told anyone that Bardas or Nikephoros had become a godfather. But Polyeuctus, although knowing that Stylianos was clearly perjuring himself, pardoned the crime of the spiritual relationship, and he who had formerly insisted on imposing a penance for a second marriage also let this great sin pass. And Nikephoros, in the first year of his reign, sent out against the Saracens in Sicily the patrician Manuel, the illegitimate son of his paternal uncle Leo, who had been Domestic of the Schools and had been blinded under Romanos the elder, giving him an army and a formidable fleet; for it seemed to him a disgrace that, while he was ruling, the Roman empire was paying tribute to the Saracens. But it is necessary to recount briefly what this tribute-payment to the Saracens was, and whence it took its beginning. For when the city of Syracuse was captured by the Saracens in Africa in the time of Basil the Macedonian, it happened that the whole island was seized by them and its cities were razed, with Palermo alone being preserved, from which, setting out as from a base of operations, the Hagarenes acquired the land on the opposite side. And from there, crossing over, they ravaged the islands as far as the Peloponnese, and were expected to appear at any moment. And Emperor Basil, being at a loss and seeking a worthy servant for such a service, chose the patrician 2.354 Nikephoros, Domestic of the Schools, who bore the surname of Phokas from one of his ancestors who had distinguished himself. This Nikephoros was the grandfather of the emperor Nikephoros, a man both noble and prudent, pious towards God and just towards men. This man, having crossed over to Italy with an army, within a short time drove the Saracens from Italy and forced them to keep the peace in Sicily. It is said that the Italians built a church to this man for the indelible memory of his virtue, not only on account of their freedom but also for another deed worthy of narration.

For the Romans, when they were about to return home with their general, having seized many of the Italians, were hastening to transport them as slaves to the other side; when this became known, Nikephoros said nothing at all nor gave any hint before arriving at Brundisium (for from there they were about to cross over to Illyria), and when they got there, he himself embarked each of the soldiers on the ships and prepared them to cross, and thus he allowed the natives to inhabit their own land without fear. Italy therefore remained at peace until the times of Constantine Porphyrogennetos and his mother; but in their time the Saracens, stirred up again, were overrunning Italy with no one to stop them. The rulers, therefore, seeing that they were not able to hold out against both the eastern Saracens and the western ones, especially since the Bulgarians had already broken the 2.355 truce, decided to make a treaty with the Saracens in Sicily. An agreement was therefore made through Eustathios, the strategos of Calabria, who was one of the imperial chamberlains, on the condition that an annual tribute of 22,000 pieces of gold be given to the Saracens. When the treaty was made, they appointed John the patrician, surnamed Mouzalon, as strategos of Calabria, who, ruling the natives oppressively, was slaughtered by them, they having gone over to Landulf, the king of Lombardy, at the time when Romanos the elder had just taken up the scepters of the Romans. By him it was considered expedient that soldiers be sent with ships to recover the part that had broken away from the whole. And Cosmas, a patrician from Thessalonica, was sent in addition, being an acquaintance of Landulf. And this man, having crossed over into Italy and met with Landulf, advised him to keep his hands off the land of the Romans and to be reconciled with the emperor and instead of

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πρώτου ἐλέγετο ἡ τοιαύτη φήμη διαδραμεῖν, ἐνώπιον ἐλθὼν τῆς συνόδου καὶ τῆς συγκλήτου 2.353 ἐξωμόσατο μήτ' ἰδεῖν μήτε πρός τινας ἀνειπεῖν ὡς ἄρα Βάρδας ἢ Νικηφόρος ἀνάδοχος γένοιτο. ὁ δὲ Πολύευκτος καίπερ φανερῶς ἐπιορκοῦντα εἰδὼς τὸν Στυλιανόν, τὸ τῆς συντεκνίας συγκεχώρηκεν ἔγκλημα, καὶ ὁ πάλαι ἐνιστάμενος δευτερογαμίας ἐπιτίμιον ἐπι θεῖναι καὶ τὸ μέγα τοῦτο παρῆκεν ἁμάρτημα. Νικηφόρος δὲ τῷ πρώτῳ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἔτει ἐκπέμπει κατὰ τῶν ἐν Σικελίᾳ Σαρακηνῶν τὸν πατρίκιον Μανουὴλ καὶ νό θον υἱὸν πατραδέλφου αὐτοῦ Λέοντος, τοῦ χρηματίσαντος δομε στίκου τῶν σχολῶν καὶ ἐπὶ Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ γέροντος τυφλωθέντος, στρατὸν αὐτῷ δοὺς καὶ στόλον ἀξιόμαχον· ἀδοξίαν γὰρ ἐδόκει προστρίβεσθαι ἑαυτῷ, εἰ τούτου κρατοῦντος ἡ Ῥωμαίων βασιλεία δασμοφορεῖ τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς. ἀλλ' ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν ἐπιδραμόν τας τίς ἡ πρὸς τοὺς Σαρακηνοὺς δασμοφορία, καὶ ὅθεν εἴληφε τὴν ἀρχήν. τῆς πόλεως γὰρ τῶν Συρακουσῶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Ἀφρικῇ Σαρακηνῶν ἁλούσης ἐπὶ τῶν χρόνων Βασιλείου τοῦ Μακεδόνος, καὶ τὴν ὅλην συνέβη νῆσον ὑπ' αὐτῶν κατασχεθῆναι καὶ τὰς αὐ τῆς πόλεις κατασκαφῆναι, τῆς Πανόρμου μόνης περιποιηθείσης, ἐξ ἧς ὡς ἔκ τινος ὁρμητηρίου ὁρμώμενοι οἱ Ἀγαρηνοὶ τὴν ἀντιπέ ραθεν γῆν ἐπεκτήσαντο. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ διαπορθμευόμενοι τὰς νήσους ἐδῄουν ἄχρι Πελοποννήσου, καὶ ὅσον οὔπω προσδόκιμοι παραστή σεσθαι ἦσαν. ἀμηχανῶν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς Βασίλειος, καὶ ἄξιον ὑπηρέτην ἀναζητῶν τῆς τοιαύτης ὑπηρεσίας, τὸν πατρίκιον ἔκρινε 2.354 Νικηφόρον καὶ δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν, ἐπωνυμίαν φέροντα τοῦ Φωκᾶ, ἀπό τινος τῶν προγόνων αὐτοῦ ἀριστεύσαντος. πάππος ὁ Νικηφόρος ἦν τοῦ βασιλέως Νικηφόρου, ἀνὴρ γενναῖός τε καὶ συνετός, τὰ πρὸς θεόν τε εὐσεβὴς καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους δίκαιος. οὗτος μετά τινος στρατοῦ εἰς Ἰταλίαν περαιωθεὶς ἐντὸς ὀλίγου τοὺς Σαρακηνοὺς τῆς Ἰταλίας ἀπήλασε καὶ ἐν Σικελίᾳ ἡσυχάζειν ἠνάγκασε. τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ ναὸν λέγεται δομήσασθαι τοὺς Ἰτα λοὺς εἰς μνήμην ἄληστον τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀρετῆς, οὐ διὰ τὴν ἐλευθε ρίαν μόνην ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' ἕτερον ἔργον ἀξιαφήγητον.

Οἱ γὰρ Ῥω μαῖοι ἐν τῷ μέλλειν οἴκαδε ὑποστρέφειν μετὰ τοῦ σφῶν στρατη γοῦ πολλοὺς τῶν Ἰταλῶν κατασχόντες ἔσπευδον δούλους εἰς τὴν περαίαν διαβιβάσαι· οὗ γνωσθέντος μηδὲν ὅλως εἰπὼν ὁ Νικη φόρος μηδ' ὑπόνοιάν τινα δεδωκὼς πρὸ τοῦ ἐν Βρεντεσίῳ γενέσθαι (ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ἔμελλον πρὸς τὴν Ἰλλυρίδα διαπερᾶν), ὡς ἐκεῖσε ἐγένοντο, αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἕκαστον τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἐμβιβάζων τοῖς πλοίοις περᾶν παρεσκεύαζε, καὶ οὕτω τοὺς ἐγχωρίους εἴασε τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν ἀδεῶς κατοικεῖν. διετέλεσεν οὖν εἰρηνεύουσα ἡ Ἰταλία μέχρι τῶν χρόνων τοῦ πορφυρογεννήτου Κωνσταντίνου καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ μητρός· ἐπ' ἐκείνων δὲ πάλιν κινηθέντες οἱ Σαρα κηνοὶ μηδενὸς κωλύοντος τὴν Ἰταλίαν κατέτρεχον. συνιδόντες οὖν οἱ κρατοῦντες ὡς οὐχ οἷοί τέ εἰσι πρός τε τοὺς ἑῴους Σαρακηνοὺς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἑσπερίους ἀντέχειν, ἤδη καὶ τῶν Βουλγάρων τὰς 2.355 σπονδὰς λελυκότων, σπείσασθαι ἐγνώκεισαν μετὰ τῶν ἐν Σικελίᾳ Σαρακηνῶν. ἐγένοντο οὖν σύμφωνα δι' Εὐσταθίου τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Καλαβρίας, ἑνὸς ὄντος τῶν βασιλικῶν θαλαμηπόλων, ἐφ' ᾧ δασμὸν ἐτήσιον δίδοσθαι τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς χρυσίου χιλιάδας κβʹ. γενομένων δὲ τῶν σπονδῶν Ἰωάννην πατρίκιον τὸν ἐπίκλην Μου ζάλωνα στρατηγὸν τῆς Καλαβρίας προὐβάλοντο, ὃς φορτικῶς κατάρχων τῶν ἐγχωρίων ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀπεσφάγη, προσχωρησάντων τῷ ῥηγὶ Λογγιβαρδίας ∆ανδούλφῳ, Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ γέροντος ἄρτι τὰ σκῆπτρα κατέχοντος Ῥωμαίων. ὑφ' οὗ συμφέρον ἐνομίσθη στρατιώτας πεμφθῆναι μετὰ νεῶν, τὸ ἀπορραγὲν τῆς ὁλότητος μέρος ἐπανασώσασθαι. προσεπέμφθη δὲ Κοσμᾶς πατρίκιος Θεσ σαλονικεύς, γνώριμος ὢν τῷ ∆ανδούλφῳ. καὶ περαιωθεὶς οὗτος εἰς Ἰταλίαν καὶ τῷ ∆ανδούλφῳ συμμίξας παρῄνει ἀποσχέσθαι τῆς χώρας Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ συμφιλιωθῆναι καὶ ἀντὶ