430

Tzimiskes. When this man came to the city of Adana, and found a multitude of chosen Agarenes gathered from all of Cilicia, he engaged them and routed them completely. The rest of the Agarenes were cut down by the law of war; but a part of the army, about five thousand in number, fled to a certain hill that was difficult to access and precipitous, dismounting from their horses on foot, and, confident in the favorable nature of the place, they vigorously defended themselves against their attackers. John surrounded them, and because he was not able to engage them with horses, he ordered the soldiers to dismount and went up with them on foot himself. And having overpowered them, he slaughtered them all, with no one having turned their back, so that their blood flowed like a river down the slope into the plain, and from this event the hill was called the hill of blood. This deed further exalted the name of John, and became the cause of the complete destruction of the Saracens. But Nikephoros, in the second year of his reign, in the month of July of the 7th indiction, marched out against Cilicia with a heavy army of Romans and their Iberian and Armenian allies, having with him his wife Theophano along with her children. He therefore left her outside of Cilicia in a certain fortress called Drizion, and he himself, entering Cilicia, subdued the cities of Anazarbus, Rhossos, and Adana, and not a few other fortresses. But he did not dare to proceed against Tarsus and Mopsuestia, as winter had already set in. And leaving a sufficient army there, he went out to winter in Cappadocia. At the beginning of spring, he again entered Cilicia, and dividing the armies in two, he left his brother Leo to besiege Tarsus, while he himself, taking the rest of the army, turned to Mopsuestia. And employing a vigorous siege, with famine also aiding him, he took one part of the city; for this city is cut in the middle by the Sarus river, so as to seem to be two cities. Therefore, when the one part, as has been said, was taken, the Saracens fled to the other, setting fire on all sides to the part that had been captured. But when the emperor employed a more violent siege, the other part was also taken, with no one escaping from there. But Leo, the emperor's brother, who was besieging Tarsus, having sent a part of the army for foraging and the collection of provisions with Monasteriotes as its commander, met with misfortune; for the Tarsians, coming out at night, so that no one was aware of their exit, fell upon the foragers who were scattered unguardedly, and destroyed not a few, among whom was Monasteriotes himself. But the Tarsians, having learned of the capture of Mopsuestia, and being pressed by the siege and by famine, sent an embassy to Leo, calling upon the emperor and begging to be kept unharmed by evils and to surrender their city. And he, allowing each to carry away a specified burden, seized all the other wealth of the city. Three days after the city was taken, a very great fleet from Egypt arrived to help Tarsus, being full of grain and the other necessities of life. But they were not permitted to approach the land nor to disembark by the soldiers who had been assigned by the emperor to guard the coast. And not having any use for what they had, they returned, encountering great shipwrecks both from the disorder of the winds and from the attack of the emperor's warships. And having ravaged and reduced to ashes the remaining cities of Cilicia, in the month of October of the ninth indiction he returned to Constantinople, having with him both the gates of Tarsus and those of Mopsuestia, which, having studded them on the outside with gold, he brought as a dedication to the capital city, setting up some at the acropolis, and others at the Golden Gate

430

Τζιμισκῆν. γενόμενος δ' οὗτος πρὸς πόλιν Ἄδαναν, καὶ πλῆθος καταλαβὼν ἐπιλέκτων Ἀγαρηνῶν συνειλεγμέ 2.361 νων ἐκ πάσης τῆς Κιλικίας, συμπλέκεται τούτῳ καὶ τρέπεται κατὰ κράτος. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν νόμῳ πολέμου κατεκό πησαν· μέρος δὲ τοῦ στρατοῦ ὡσεὶ πεντακισχίλιοι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὄντες φεύγουσιν εἴς τινα λόφον δύσβατον καὶ ἀπόκρημνον, πεζοὶ τοὺς ἵππους ἀποβάντες, καὶ τῇ τοῦ τόπου θαρρήσαντες εὐκαιρίᾳ εὐρώστως τοὺς ἐπιόντας ἠμύνοντο. οὓς καὶ περιστοιχίσας ὁ Ἰωάν νης, ὅτι μὴ μεθ' ἵππων οἷός τε ἦν αὐτοῖς συμβαλεῖν, πεζεῦσαι προστάξας τοὺς στρατιώτας ἄνεισι μετ' αὐτῶν πεζὸς καὶ αὐτός. καὶ καταγωνισάμενος πάντας ἀπέσφαξε, νῶτα μηδενὸς δεδωκότος, ὡς ῥεῦσαι διὰ τοῦ πρανοῦς εἰς τὸ πεδίον τὸ αἷμα ποταμηδόν, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ συμπτώματος κληθῆναι τὸν βουνὸν βουνὸν αἵμα τος. τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἐπὶ πλέον ἐξῆρε τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Ἰωάννου, καὶ τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς τελείας καταστροφῆς γέγονεν αἴτιον. Ὁ δὲ Νικηφόρος κατὰ τὸ δεύτερον ἔτος τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας, ἐν μηνὶ Ἰουλίῳ ἰνδικτιῶνος ζʹ, ἔξεισι κατὰ Κιλικίας σὺν βαρεῖ στρατῷ Ῥωμαίων καὶ συμμάχων Ἰβήρων καὶ Ἀρμενίων, ἔχων Θεοφανὼ τὴν γαμετὴν σὺν τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτῆς. ἐκείνην μὲν οὖν ἔξωθεν τῆς Κιλικίας ἔν τινι φρουρίῳ καταλιμπάνει, ∆ριζίῳ κα λουμένῳ, αὐτὸς δὲ εἰσελθὼν εἰς Κιλικίαν Ἀνάζαρβαν καὶ Ῥωσσὸν καὶ Ἄδαναν τὰς πόλεις καὶ ἕτερα οὐκ ὀλίγα φρούρια κατεστρέ ψατο. ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν Ταρσὸν καὶ τὴν Μόψου ἑστίαν ἀπελθεῖν οὐκ ἐθάρρησε, χειμῶνος ἤδη καταλαβόντος. καὶ στρατὸν τὸν ἀπο χρῶντα καταλιπὼν ἐκεῖσε ἔξεισιν ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ παραχειμάσων. ἦρος δὲ ἀρχομένου πάλιν εἰσῆλθεν ἐν Κιλικίᾳ, καὶ διχῇ διελὼν τὰ 2.362 στρατεύματα τὴν μὲν Ταρσὸν πολιορκεῖν ἀφῆκε Λέοντα τὸν ἀδελ φόν, αὐτὸς δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν ἀράμενος τῆς στρατιᾶς τῇ Μόψου ἑστίᾳ προσέσχεν. ἐνεργῷ δὲ χρησάμενος τῇ πολιορκίᾳ, ἔχων δὲ καὶ τὸν λιμὸν ἐπαρήγοντα, παραλαμβάνει τὸ ἓν μέρος τῆς πόλεως· τέμνεται γὰρ ἡ πόλις αὕτη μέσον τῷ Σάρῳ ποταμῷ, ὡς δοκεῖν δύο πόλεις εἶναι. τοῦ ἑνὸς οὖν, ὡς εἴρηται, μέρους ἁλόντος ἐπὶ τὸ ἕτερον οἱ Σαρακηνοὶ καταφεύγουσι, τὸ ἑαλωκὸς πανταχόθεν ὑφάψαντες. σφοδροτέρᾳ δὲ χρησαμένου τοῦ βασιλέως τῇ πολιορ κίᾳ ἑάλω καὶ τὸ ἕτερον μέρος, μηδενὸς ἐκεῖθεν διαφυγόντος. ὁ δὲ τὴν Ταρσὸν παρακαθήμενος Λέων ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀδελφός, ἐπὶ χορτολογίαν καὶ συλλογὴν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων μέρος ἀποστείλας τῆς στρατιᾶς ἔξαρχον ἐχούσης τὸν Μοναστηριώτην, ἠτύχησεν· ἀφυλάκτως γὰρ διασκεδασθέντας τοὺς προνομεύοντας νυκτὸς οἱ Ταρσεῖς ἐξελθόντες, ὡς μηδενὶ συναίσθησιν τῆς ἐξόδου παρεσχη κέναι, ἐπιτίθενται διεσπαρμένοις αὐτοῖς, καὶ οὐκ ὀλίγους διέ φθειραν, ἐν οἷς ἦν καὶ ὁ Μοναστηριώτης αὐτός. τὴν δὲ τῆς Μόψου ἑστίας ἅλωσιν οἱ Ταρσεῖς ἐγνωκότες, πιεζόμενοι δὲ τῇ πολιορκίᾳ καὶ τῷ λιμῷ, διεπρεσβεύσαντο πρὸς τὸν Λέοντα, ἐπι καλούμενοι τὸν βασιλέα καὶ λιπαροῦντες ἀπαθεῖς κακῶν φυλα χθῆναι καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν παραδεδωκέναι πόλιν. ὁ δὲ ῥητόν τι φορ τίον ἕκαστον ἀφεὶς ἀποφέρεσθαι, τὸν ἄλλον ἅπαντα πλοῦτον κατ έσχε τῆς πόλεως. μετὰ δὲ τρεῖς ἡμέρας τοῦ τὴν πόλιν ἁλῶναι 2.363 στόλος μέγιστος ἐξ Αἰγύπτου βοηθήσων τῇ Ταρσῷ παρεγένετο, 2.363 πλήρης ὑπάρχων σίτου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν πρὸς τὸ ζῆν ἀναγκαίων. οὐ συνεχωρήθη δὲ προσσχεῖν τῇ γῇ οὐδ' ἀποβῆναι παρὰ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ταχθέντων τὴν παραλίαν τηρεῖν στρατιωτῶν. καὶ μὴ ἔχοντες ὅ τι χρήσονται τοῖς παροῦσιν ὑπέστρεψαν, ναυαγίοις μεγάλοις περιπεσόντες ἀπό τε ἀνέμων ἀταξίας καὶ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως πολεμικῶν πλοίων. δῃώσας δὲ καὶ τεφρώσας καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς πόλεις τῆς Κιλικίας, τῷ Ὀκτωβρίῳ μηνὶ τῆς ἐννά της ἰνδικτιῶνος ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς Κωνσταντινούπολιν, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὰς τῆς Ταρσοῦ πύλας καὶ τὰς τῆς Μόψου ἑστίας, ἃς καὶ χρυσῷ καταστίξας ἔξωθεν ἀνάθημα τῇ βασιλίδι διεκόμισε, τὰς μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν στήσας, τὰς δὲ κατὰ τὸ τῆς χρυσῆς πόρτης