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he employed, both calling him king of the Bulgarians, and releasing all the captured Bulgarians freely and allowing them to go wherever they wished, saying that he had come not for the enslavement of the Bulgarians but rather for their freedom, and that he recognized only the Rus' as enemies and would treat them as belligerents. But the nobler of the Scythians, numbering eight thousand, having seized a certain stronghold within the royal palace of the city, remained unnoticed for some time, and they secretly seized and killed many of those who went there for reconnaissance or for plunder. When this became known to the emperor, a worthy army was sent against them. But those who were sent were reluctant, and were afraid 2.397 to attempt the siege, not because they feared the Rus', but because the place was strong and impregnable. And the emperor easily resolved this too, by taking up his arms and proceeding on foot in front of the others; for when the soldiers saw this, they all took up their arms and ran, each one eager to get ahead of the emperor, and with a shout and a battle-cry they attacked the fortress. And as the Rus' were eagerly withstanding the siege, they set fire to many parts of it, and so they overcame the defenders; for, unable to endure the force of the fire and the Roman hand, each one threw himself from the cliffs and tried to escape; and many were consumed by the fire, many perished by throwing themselves from the cliffs, and the sword and captivity befell the rest. And so the city was taken in this way, not holding out for two whole days; and having recovered this captured city, the emperor appointed a considerable garrison, and lavishly provided the necessities for life, and celebrated the feast of Saint Anastasia, and renamed the city Ioannoupolis after himself, and on the next day he set out on the march to Dorostolon, which is also called Dristra. But Sviatoslav, when he learned of the capture of Preslav, fell into confusion, as was likely, but he did not give up his high spirits, but encouraging those around him, and exhorting them to show themselves good men now more than ever, and having arranged other matters as he could, and having killed all the Bulgarians whom he held in suspicion, about 2.398 three hundred in number, he went out against the Romans. And the emperor, having taken the cities along the way and appointed generals over them, and having sacked many forts and towns and given them over to the soldiers for plunder, continued on his way. And when the scouts reported that some Scythians were coming, he sent out a select force. And having appointed Theodore from Misthia as leader of their company, he instructed him to go ahead of the army, to scout out the number of the enemy and give him intelligence, and if he should proceed, to test their strength by skirmishing; and he himself followed behind in formation with the whole army. So when those with Theodore came to grips with the enemy, they fell upon them impetuously. But the Rus', fearing an ambush, advanced no further, but with many wounded and some fallen, they turned aside and scattered into the nearby mountains and the deep and extensive wooded valleys there, and through the mountainous terrain they saved themselves back to Dristra. And these were seven thousand in number, while the Romans who engaged and routed them were three hundred in number. And the Scythians, having united with Sviatoslav, and having roused him from there with the whole army, encamped twelve miles from Dorostolon, numbering three hundred and thirty thousand, and eagerly and powerfully awaited the advancing emperor. But the Romans, exulting in their recent victories and awaiting the battle that was to decide everything, knowing that they would 2.399 have God as their ally, who is not wont to love those who start unjust wars but to always help the wronged, not only the more courageous, but now also the terrified and soft

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ἐχρήσατο, αὐτόν τε βασιλέα Βουλγάρων ἀποκαλῶν, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἁλισκομένους Βουλγάρους ἀνέτους ἀφιεὶς καὶ ἐλευθέ ρους ὅπῃ καὶ βούλοιντο ἀπιέναι, οὐκ ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ φάσκων Βουλ γάρων ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἐλευθερίᾳ μᾶλλον ἀφίξεσθαι, Ῥὼς δὲ μόνους γι νώσκειν ἐχθροὺς καὶ τούτοις χρῆσθαι ὡς πολεμίοις. Οἱ δὲ τῶν Σκυθῶν γενναιότεροι ὀχύρωμά τι κατειληφότες ἐντὸς τῶν τῆς πόλεως βασιλείων, ὀκτακισχίλιοι τὸν ἀριθμόν, ἐπί τινα χρόνον ἐλάνθανον, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν καθ' ἱστορίαν ἐκεῖσε γενομένων ἢ σκύλων ἁρπαγὴν ἀσυμφανῶς κρατοῦντες ἀπέκτεινον. οὗ γνωσθέντος τῷ βασιλεῖ στρατὸς ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐστέλλετο ἀξιόμα χος. ὀκνηρῶς δὲ εἶχον οἱ πεμπόμενοι, καὶ τῆς πολιορκίας ἐδει 2.397 λίων ἀποπειρᾶσθαι, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ τοὺς Ῥὼς ἐφοβοῦντο, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ὁ τόπος ὀχυρὸς ἦν καὶ ἀνάλωτος. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εὐχε ρῶς διελύσατο, τὰ ὅπλα λαβὼν καὶ πεζὸς ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἄλλων προπορευόμενος· τοῦτο γὰρ ἰδόντες οἱ στρατιῶται ἀθρόοι τὰ ὅπλα λαβόντες ἔθεον, ἕκαστος τὸν βασιλέα προλαβεῖν ἐπειγόμενοι, καὶ μετὰ βοῆς καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ τῷ φρουρίῳ προσβάλλουσιν. ἐκθύμως δὲ τῶν Ῥὼς ὑπομενόντων τὴν πολιορκίαν, πῦρ εἰς πολλὰ μέρη ὑφάψαντες, οὕτω τοὺς ἀνθισταμένους κατηγωνίσαντο· μὴ στέ γοντες γὰρ τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς δύναμιν καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν χεῖρα, ἕκα στος ἑαυτὸν κρημνίζοντες ἀπεδίδρασκον· καὶ πολλοὶ μὲν ἀνήλωντο τῷ πυρί, πολλοὶ δὲ κρημνιζόμενοι ἀπώλοντο, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς μάχαιρα καὶ αἰχμαλωσία διεδέξαντο. καὶ ἡ μὲν πόλις τοῦτον ἑάλω τὸν τρόπον, ἐν δυσὶν ὅλαις ἡμέραις μὴ ἀντισχοῦσα· ταύτην δ' ἁλοῦσαν ἀνακτησάμενος ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ φρουρὰν ἀξιόλογον ἐπι στήσας, καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὸ ζῆν ἐπιτήδεια δαψιλῶς παρασκευασάμε νος, καὶ τὴν τῆς ἁγίας Ἀναστασίας τελέσας ἑορτήν, καὶ ἐξ ἑαυ τοῦ Ἰωαννούπολιν μετονομάσας τὴν πόλιν, τῇ ἐπαύριον τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ ∆ορόστολον, ὃ καὶ ∆ρίστρα καλεῖται, εἴχετο πορείας. Ὁ δὲ Σφενδοσθλάβος τὴν τῆς Περσθλάβας πυθόμενος ἅλω σιν εἰς ταραχὴν ἐνέπεσεν, ὡς εἰκός, οὐ μήν γε καὶ τοῦ φρονήμα τος καθυφῆκεν, ἀλλὰ παραθαρρύνας τοὺς περὶ αὐτόν, καὶ νῦν μᾶλλον ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας ἀναφανῆναι παρακαλέσας, τἆλλά τε ὡς ἐνῆν καταστησάμενος, καὶ πάντας οὓς εἶχεν ἐν ὑποψίᾳ τῶν Βουλ 2.398 γάρων ἀμφὶ τοὺς τριακοσίους ὄντας τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀνελών, ἔξεισι κατὰ Ῥωμαίων. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὰς ἐν τῇ παρόδῳ πόλεις ἑλὼν καὶ στρατηγοὺς αὐταῖς ἐπιστήσας, πολλά τε φρούρια καὶ πολίσματα ἐκπορθήσας καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις εἰς ἁρπαγὴν δεδωκώς, εἴχετο τῆς ὁδοῦ. τῶν δὲ σκοπῶν ἥκειν φρασάντων Σκύθας τινάς, λαὸν ἐπίλεκτον ἐκπέμπει. Θεόδωρόν τε τὸν ἐκ Μισθείας αὐτῶν τῷ πλήθει ἀρχηγὸν ἐπιστήσας προηγεῖσθαι ἐπέσκηψε τοῦ στρατοῦ, κατασκοπεῖν τε τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐναντίων καὶ αὐτῷ διδόναι γνῶσιν, εἰ προχωροίη δέ, καὶ διάπειραν τῆς αὐτῶν ἰσχύος ἀκροβολισά μενον εἰληφέναι· αὐτὸς δὲ κατόπιν εἵπετο συντεταγμένος μετὰ πά σης τῆς στρατιᾶς. οἱ σὺν τῷ Θεοδώρῳ γοῦν ἐπείπερ εἰς χεῖρας ἦλθον τοῖς πολεμίοις, ἐμπίπτουσι τούτοις ῥαγδαῖοι. οἱ δὲ Ῥὼς ἐνέδραν εὐλαβηθέντες πρόσω μὲν οὐκέτι ἐχώρουν, πολλῶν δὲ πλη γέντων καί τινων δὲ πεσόντων ἐκκλίναντες ἐς τὰ πλησίον σκεδάν νυνται ὄρη καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖσε νάπας βαθείας καὶ ἀμφιλαφεῖς τυγχα νούσας, καὶ διὰ τῆς ὀρεινῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ∆ρίστραν ἐπανασώζονται. ἦσαν δὲ τὸ πλῆθος οὗτοι ἑπτακισχίλιοι, οἱ δὲ τούτοις συμπλακέν τες καὶ τρεψάμενοι Ῥωμαῖοι τὸν ἀριθμὸν τριακόσιοι. ἑνωθέντες δ' οἱ Σκύθαι τῷ Σφενδοσθλάβῳ, καὶ τοῦτον ἐκεῖθεν ἀναστήσαν τες μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στρατοῦ, πρὸ δώδεκα τοῦ ∆οροστόλου μι λίων αὐλίζονται, ἐς τριακοσίας καὶ τριάκοντα χιλιάδας ἀριθμού μενοι καὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἐπιόντα ἐκθύμως καὶ ῥωμαλέως ἐκδεχόμενοι. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι ταῖς ἐξ ὑπογύου νίκαις γαυρούμενοι καὶ τὴν τὰ πάντα κρῖναι μέλλουσαν μάχην προσδεχόμενοι, εἰδότες δ ὅτι καὶ 2.399 θεὸν συλλήπτορα ἕξουσιν, οὐ τοῖς ἀδίκων χειρῶν ἄρχουσι φιλοῦντα ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις διὰ παντὸς ἐπαρήγειν, οὐ μόνον οἱ εὐψυ χότεροι, ἤδη δὲ καὶ οἱ καταπλῆγες καὶ μαλακοὶ