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by secretly using gifts and promises, he managed to get the measure of one of the towers to the west of Antioch, called Kala. And with this, having constructed ladders reaching to the top of the tower, and having watched for a moonless and rainy night, he secretly placed the ladders against the tower. And having ascended with three hundred of his men, he slaughtered the guards of the tower, and also of the one neighboring it; and having seized these two towers with the three hundred men, he immediately sends a messenger to the commander-in-chief, announcing that he should hasten and come with the whole army, as the city had already been taken. But Peter, upon receiving the messages, hesitated and held back, fearing the indignation from the emperor, lest he should suffer some harm as a transgressor of his commands. But as Bourtzes insisted and sent one messenger after another, urging his arrival, and assuring him that he could not hold out much longer against the siege (for indeed the Antiochenes, having learned of the seizure of the towers, were flocking together from all sides and were hastening to besiege the towers, and loosing all 2.367 kinds of missiles and various engines they were setting fire, and were doing whatever else needed to be done by those in danger of perishing with their wives and children, and of losing a city pre-eminent among all the cities in the east) but the commander-in-chief, alarmed lest through his disobedience the Roman state should suffer the loss of so many and such great men who were perishing, and of so great a city, unwillingly and not wanting to, hastened and arrived with the whole army, finding Bourtzes and his men utterly exhausted; for they had been besieged for three days and nights. When the Antiochenes recognized his assault, they lost heart and relaxed their efforts. And Bourtzes, seizing the opportunity, went down to the gate, and having cut the bar of the lock with his sword, he opens the gates and brings Peter in with the entire army. And thus the great and famous Antioch was taken. When Nikephoros learned of this, although he ought to have rejoiced at the capture of so great a city and entrusted his affairs to God, he on the contrary was grieved in his soul and held the commander-in-chief at fault, and as for Bourtzes, not only did he not approve of his zeal and courage nor give him rewards worthy of his valor, but also, having heaped insults on him, he relieved him of his command and ordered him to remain at home. This reason and the other things that are about to be said made Nikephoros hated and detestable to all. For in the first place, when his rebellion began, although the soldiers with him committed countless offenses, he imposed no 2.368 check, saying, "It is not at all surprising if in so great a multitude of people some act disorderly;" and again, upon entering the city, although many, both prominent and private citizens, had been robbed, he exacted no vengeance, but he overlooked the outrageous deeds, delighting in the outrages with which those given to disorder treated the citizens badly, and this to those who had cooperated with him in no small way for his assumption of the empire. Then also, continually going out on campaign, he terribly afflicted his subjects, not only with additions to taxes and other contributions of all kinds but also with unbearable plunderings, in addition to what has been said, having also cut off a certain part of the donatives provided to the senatorial council because, as he said, of the lack of money in the wars, and in addition having completely cut off the stipends ordained by certain pious emperors to be provided to pious houses and churches, and having set forth a law that churches should not be enlarged with immovable property, wrongly asserting that the funds for the poor were being badly spent by the bishops and that the number of soldiers was being diminished, and, what was most grievous of all, also setting forth a law, which even some bishops among the turncoats and flatterers signed, stipulating not without his consent and

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ὑποκλέψας δώροις καὶ ὑποσχέσεσιν ἴσχυσε λαβεῖν τὸ μέτρον ἑνὸς τῶν πρὸς δύσιν τῆς Ἀντιοχείας πύργων Κάλα τοὔνομα. καὶ μετὰ τούτου τεκτηνάμενος κλίμακας πρὸς τὸ ἄκρον ἐξικνουμένας τοῦ πύργου, νύκτα τε ἀφεγγῆ ἐπιτηρήσας καὶ ἔπομβρον, ἔλαθε τὰς κλίμακας προσερείσας τῷ πύργῳ. καὶ ἀναβὰς μετὰ τριακοσίων τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν τοὺς μὲν φύλακας ἀπο σφάττει τοῦ πύργου, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ γειτονοῦντος αὐτῷ· καὶ μετὰ τῶν τριακοσίων τοὺς δύο τούτους πύργους κατεσχηκὼς ἄγγελον εὐθέως ἐκπέμπει πρὸς τὸν στρατοπεδάρχην, μηνύων ἐπιταχῦναι καὶ ἐλθεῖν μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στρατοῦ ὡς τῆς πόλεως ἤδη κατα σχεθείσης. ὁ δὲ Πέτρος τὰς ἀγγελίας δεξάμενος ὤκνει καὶ ἀνε δύετο, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ βασιλέως δεδοικὼς ἀγανάκτησιν, μή τι καὶ κακὸν ἀπολαύσῃ ὡς παραβάτης τῶν αὐτοῦ προσταγμάτων. ἐγκει μένου δὲ τοῦ Βούρτζη καὶ ἄλλον ἐπ' ἄλλῳ πέμποντος ἄγγελον καὶ τὴν ἔλευσιν ἐπιταχύνοντος, καὶ πληροφοροῦντος ὡς ἐπὶ πλέον ἀντέχειν οὐ δύναται πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν (καὶ γὰρ δὴ μαθόντες οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς τὴν τῶν πύργων κατάσχεσιν συνέρρεον πανταχόθεν καὶ ἐκπολιορκεῖν τοὺς πύργους ἠπείγοντο, βέλη δ' ἀφέντες παν 2.367 τοδαπὰ καὶ μηχανὰς ποικίλας τὸ πῦρ ὑφῆπτον, καὶ ἄλλα ἐποίουν ὁπόσα ποιεῖν ἔδει τοὺς κινδυνεύοντας σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ἀπο λωλέναι, ἀποβαλεῖν δὲ καὶ πόλιν πασῶν ὑπερκειμένην τῶν ἀνὰ τὴν ἕω πόλεων) πτοηθεὶς δ' ὁ στρατοπεδάρχης μὴ τοσούτων ἀπο λωλότων καὶ τηλικούτων ἀνδρῶν διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου ἀπείθειαν καὶ πόλεως τηλικαύτης ὑποστῇ ζημίαν ἡ πολιτεία Ῥωμαίων, ἄκων καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος καταταχήσας παρεγένετο σὺν παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ, εὑρὼν τοὺς περὶ τὸν Βούρτζην λίαν ἀπειρηκότας· ἐπὶ τρισὶ γὰρ νυχθημέροις ἦσαν πολιορκούμενοι. οὗ τὴν ἔφοδον ἐγνωκότες οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς παρελύθησαν τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ τῆς συντονίας ἐνέδωκαν. ἀδείας δὲ λαβόμενος ὁ Βούρτζης κάτεισι πρὸς τὴν πύλην, καὶ σπάθῃ τὸν μοχλὸν τῆς κλειδὸς διατεμὼν ἀνοίγνυσι τὰς πύλας, καὶ τὸν Πέτρον εἰσάγει σὺν παντὶ τῷ στρατεύματι. καὶ οὕτω παρ ελήφθη ἡ μεγάλη καὶ περιφανὴς Ἀντιόχεια. ὅπερ πυθόμενος ὁ Νικηφόρος, εὐφρανθῆναι δέον ἐπὶ ἁλώσει τηλικαύτης πόλεως καὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐπιτρέψαι θεῷ, ὁ δὲ τοὐναντίον ἤλγησε τὴν ψυχὴν τὸν στρατοπεδάρχην τε ἐν αἰτίαις εἶχε, καὶ τὸν Βούρτζην οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀπεδέξατο τῆς προθυμίας καὶ τῆς ἀνδρίας καὶ γέρα παρέσχεν ἐπάξια τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀνδραγαθίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕβρεσι πλύνας παρέλυσε τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ οἴκοι μένειν ἐπέταξεν. Αὕτη ἡ αἰτία καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τὰ ῥηθήσεσθαι μέλλοντα μιση τὸν τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ βδελυκτὸν τὸν Νικηφόρον εἰργάσαντο. πρῶτον μὲν γάρ, ὅτε τὴν ἀρχὴν τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐκινήθη, μυρίαις πλημ μελείαις χρωμένων τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ στρατιωτῶν ἐπιστροφὴν οὐκ 2.368 ἐτίθει, λέγων "οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν εἰ ἐν τοσούτῳ πλήθει λαοῦ ἀτα κτοῦσί τινες·" καὶ αὖθις εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν πόλιν πολλῶν καὶ δια φανῶν καὶ ἰδιωτῶν ἁρπαγέντων οὐδεμίαν ἐκδίκησιν ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλὰ παρεβλέπετο τὰς ἀτόπους πράξεις, ἐνευωχούμενος ταῖς ἀσελγείαις, αἷς οἱ ἀτακτοῦντες προσκείμενοι κακῶς τοὺς πολίτας διετίθουν, καὶ ταῦτα συνεργήσαντας αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἀνάληψιν οὐ μικρῶς. εἶτα καὶ πρὸς ταξείδιον συνεχῶς ἐξιὼν δει νῶς ἐκάκου τὸ ὑπὸ χεῖρα οὐ μόνον προσθήκαις συντελειῶν καὶ ἄλ λαις συνεισφοραῖς παντοίων εἰδῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ λεηλασίαις ἀνυποστά τοις, πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐκκόψας καὶ μέρος τι τῶν παρεχομένων τῇ συγκλήτῳ βουλῇ φιλοτιμημάτων διὰ τό, ὡς ἔλεγε, σπανίζειν χρημάτων ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὰς παρέχεσθαι τυπω θείσας δόσεις πρὸς εὐαγεῖς οἴκους καὶ ἐκκλησίας παρά τινων εὐσεβῶν βασιλέων τέλεον ἐκκόψας, καὶ νόμον ἐκθέμενος μὴ τὰς ἐκ κλησίας ἀκινήτοις πλατύνεσθαι, κακῶς φάσκων ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπισκό πων δαπανᾶσθαι τὰ πτωχικὰ χρήματα καὶ τοὺς στρατευομένους ὀλιγοῦσθαι, καὶ τὸ δὴ πάντων χαλεπώτερον, καὶ νόμον ἐκθέμε νος, ἐν ᾧ καί τινες ἐπίσκοποι τῶν εὐριπίστων καὶ κολάκων ὑπέ γραψαν, διοριζόμενον μὴ ἄνευ τῆς αὐτοῦ γνώμης καὶ