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songs, they come to Byzantium. But when one of the conspirators made the plot known to Leo the drungarius of the fleet, who had been entrusted with the guard of the palace along with Basil the raiktor, he sends out a sufficient force for the seizure of the kouropalates and his son. When they learned this, they fled for refuge to the great church; but having been dragged from there, they were sent away to the island of Prote, and there their eyes were gouged out. And at that time another event appeared, as it were, worthy of narration. A small plaque of Proconnesian stone was found carelessly thrown down in a certain garden of one of the senators, having depicted on its surface the forms of two people, one of a man and the other of a woman; and on the face of the plaque was written an inscription running something like this: "Many years to John and Theodora, the Christ-loving." This brought some to amazement, how present events were very clearly foretold; but others thought the matter was not free from contrivance and sorcery, supposing that the master of the garden was, through this device, summoning the imperial 2.405 favor toward himself. But whether the truth is this way or that, I cannot say. And the Scythians, being pressed by famine within, and battered by the siege engines without, and especially in that place which the magistros John, the son of Romanos Kourkouas, had been ordered to guard (for the stone-throwing engine there was vexing those within not a little), separating out some of their most valiant hoplites mixed with light-armed troops, they send them against this engine, to see if they could somehow destroy it. Kourkouas, learning of this, taking the best men he had around him, came to the rescue with all speed. But having gotten into the midst of the Scythians, his horse was struck with a javelin and fell with him, and he was killed, hacked to pieces. But the Romans, rushing up and engaging with the Rus', both kept the engine unharmed and, having pushed back the Scythians, shut them up in the city. And when the month of July arrived, and it was the twentieth day, the Rus' came out in full force and, engaging with the Romans, they fought, having a certain man, most distinguished among the Scythians, Ikmor by name, who was honored after the slain Sphaggelos, who was held in the highest esteem among them neither by blood relation nor by affinity, but was respected by all on account of his valor alone, encouraging them and spurring them on to the contests. Seeing this man, Anemas, son of the king of the Cretans, Kouroupas, being one of the imperial 2.406 bodyguards, fighting courageously himself and urging and rousing the others to do so and throwing the ranks of the Romans into confusion, neither daunted by the man's size nor shrinking from his strength, but seized with a heartfelt ardor and spurring his horse this way and that, with an irresistible rush, drawing the sword hanging at his thigh, he charged at the Scythian, and strikes him with the blade on the left shoulder by the collarbone, and cuts off his neck, so that it happened that the head, severed along with the right arm, fell to the ground. And so the Scythian lay fallen, while Anemas returned unharmed to the camp. A mingled cry was raised at this deed, with the Romans shouting in triumph at the victory, while the Scythians cried out indistinctly and gave way in their stand. And when the Romans pressed on, they turned to flight, and ingloriously saved themselves inside the city. And many fell on this day, both being trampled by one another because of the narrow space and being slaughtered by the Romans upon being overtaken. And Sviatoslav himself would almost have been captured, had not nightfall rescued him. And those who escaped the danger, having gotten within the enclosure, raised a great wail over the death of Ikmor. And those despoiling the fallen of the barbarians

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ᾠδὰς ἐπὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον ἔρχονται. ἑνὸς δὲ τῶν συνιστόρων δῆλον θεμένου τὸ ἔργον Λέοντι τῷ δρουγ γαρίῳ τοῦ στόλου, τὴν φυλακὴν ἐπιτετραμμένῳ τῶν βασιλείων σὺν Βασιλείῳ τῷ ῥαίκτωρι, ὁ δὲ δύναμιν ἀξιόχρεων ἐπὶ κατα σχέσει τοῦ κουροπαλάτου καὶ τοῦ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ ἐκπέμπει. ὅπερ οὗτοι μαθόντες εἰς τὴν μεγάλην καταφεύγουσιν ἐκκλησίαν· ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ἀποσπασθέντες εἰς τὴν Πρώτην νῆσον ἐξαπεστάλησαν, κἀκεῖσε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξωρύχθησαν. Ἐφάνη δὲ καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ καὶ ἄλλο τι ὡς οἷον ἄξιον εἶναι διηγήσεως. πινάκιον ἐκ λίθου Προικοννησίας ἐπὶ παραδεί σου τινὸς τῶν συγκλητικῶν εὑρέθη ἀμελῶς ἐρριμμένον, εἰκονισμέ νας ἔχον δύο ἀνθρώπων μορφὰς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπιφανείας, μίαν μὲν ἀνδρὸς ἑτέραν δὲ γυναικός· ἐν δὲ τῷ μετώπῳ τῆς πινακίδος ἦν γεγραμμένον ἐπίγραμμα ᾧδέ πῃ διεξιὸν "Ἰωάννου καὶ Θεοδώρας τῶν φιλοχρίστων πολλὰ τὰ ἔτη." ὅπερ τινὰς μὲν εἰς ἔκπληξιν ἦγεν, ὅπως τὰ ἐνεστῶτα μάλα προεδηλοῦτο σαφῶς· τινὲς δὲ μὴ ἀπηλλάχθαι τὸ πρᾶγμα σκευωρίας καὶ μαγγανείας ἐνόμιζον, τὸν τοῦ παραδείσου δεσπότην διὰ τῆσδε τῆς μηχανῆς τὴν βασιλικὴν 2.405 πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐκκαλεῖσθαι οἰηθέντες προσπάθειαν. εἴτε δὲ οὕτως ἔχει εἴτε ἐκείνως ἡ ἀλήθεια, φράζειν οὐκ ἔχω. Οἱ δὲ Σκύθαι ἔνδοθεν τῷ λιμῷ πιεζόμενοι, ἐκτὸς ὑπὸ τῶν τειχομαχικῶν ὀργάνων κακούμενοι, καὶ κατ' ἐξαίρετον ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ ὃν ὁ μάγιστρος Ἰωάννης ὁ Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ Κουρκούα υἱὸς φυλάττειν ἐτέτακτο (τὸ γὰρ ἐκεῖσε πετροβόλον ὄργανον οὐ μικρῶς τοὺς ἐντὸς ἐπημαίνετο), ἀποκρίναντές τινας τῶν ἀλκιμωτέρων ὁπλίτας ψιλοῖς ἐπιμεμιγμένους ἐπὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐκπέμπουσιν ὄργα νον, εἴ πως δυνηθεῖεν αὐτὸ κατεργάσασθαι. τοῦτο γνοὺς ὁ Κουρκούας, ὅ τι κράτιστον ἦν περὶ αὐτὸν ἀναλαβόμενος, ἐβοήθει διὰ ταχέων. ἐς μέσους δὲ τοὺς Σκύθας γενόμενος ἀκοντίῳ βλη θέντος αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἵππου καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ πεπτωκότος ἀναιρεῖται κρεουργηθείς. οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ἐπιδραμόντες καὶ τοῖς Ῥὼς συμπλακέντες τό τε ὄργανον ἀβλαβὲς διετήρησαν καὶ τοὺς Σκύθας ὠσάμενοι συνέκλεισαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν. Ἰουλίου δὲ καταλαβόντος μηνός, καὶ εἰκοστὴν ἡμέραν ἄγοντος, ἐξῆλθον οἱ Ῥὼς παμπλη θεῖς καὶ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις συμπλακέντες ἐμάχοντο, παραθαρρύνοντα ἔχοντες καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἀλείφοντα ἄνδρα τινὰ παρὰ Σκύ θαις ἐπισημότατον, Ἴκμορα τοὔνομα, μετὰ Σφάγελλον τὸν ἀναι ρεθέντα τιμώμενον, οὔτε κατὰ συγγένειαν τὴν ἐξ αἵματος ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ἀγόμενον παρ' αὐτοῖς οὔτε κατὰ συμπάθειαν, ἀλλ' ἐκ μόνης τῆς ἀρετῆς παρὰ πᾶσι σεβόμενον. τοῦτον ἰδὼν Ἀνεμᾶς ὁ τῶν Κρητῶν τοῦ βασιλέως υἱὸς Κουρουπᾶ, εἷς ὢν τῶν βασιλι 2.406 κῶν σωματοφυλάκων, αὐτόν τε εὐψύχως ἀγωνιζόμενον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς εἰς τοῦτο παρορμῶντα καὶ διεγείροντα καὶ τὰς τῶν Ῥω μαίων τάξεις διαταράσσοντα, μήτε πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος καταπλαγεὶς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μήτε τὴν ἀλκὴν δειλιάσας, ἀλλὰ περικαρδίῳ θέρμῃ ληφθεὶς καὶ τὸν ἵππον τῇδε κἀκεῖσε παρακινήσας, μεθ' ὁρμῆς ἀκατασχέτου τὸ παρῃωρημένον τῷ μηρῷ αὐτοῦ ξίφος σπασάμενος ἵεται κατὰ τοῦ Σκύθου, καὶ παίει τοῦτον τῷ φασγάνῳ κατὰ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ ὤμου περὶ τὴν κλεῖδα, καὶ ἀποτέμνει τὸν αὐχένα, ὡς συμβῆναι τὴν κεφαλὴν σὺν τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρὶ ἐκκοπεῖσαν πεσεῖν εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος. καὶ ὁ μὲν Σκύθης ἔκειτο πεσών, ὁ δ' Ἀνεμᾶς ἀσινὴς ἐπανῆκεν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον. ἤρθη ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ φωνὴ παμμι γής, τῶν μὲν Ῥωμαίων ἀλαλαξάντων ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ, τῶν δὲ Σκυ θῶν ἀσήμως ὀλολυξάντων καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ὑπενδόντων ἐνστάσεως. ἐπιβρισάντων δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων εἰς φυγὴν ἐγκεκλίκασι, καὶ ἀκλεῶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐσώζοντο. ἔπεσον δὲ πολλοὶ κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ἡμέραν, ὑπ' ἀλλήλων τε συμπατούμενοι διὰ τὴν στενοχωρίαν καὶ ὑπὸ Ῥω μαίων σφαττόμενοι τῷ καταλαμβάνεσθαι. μικροῦ δ' ἂν ἑάλω καὶ ὁ Σφενδοσθλάβος αὐτός, εἰ μὴ νὺξ ἐπιγενομένη τοῦτον ἐρρύ σατο. οἱ δὲ τὸν κίνδυνον διαδράντες, ἐντὸς τοῦ περιβόλου γενό μενοι, κωκυτὸν ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ Ἴκμορος θανάτῳ μέγαν ἐκόψαντο. τοὺς δὲ πεσόντας τῶν βαρβάρων σκυλεύοντες οἱ