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a plot was made against the city of Edessa; and it came close to being captured, if God had not saved it. For while the protospatharios Barasbatze the Iberian was general in it, 12 chieftains of the Arabs, having 500 horsemen and 500 camels, which carried a thousand chests having within two thousand hoplites, reached Edessa, claiming that they were going to the emperor bringing gifts. Their plan was to bring the chests inside the city and at night to let out the hoplites and seize the city. The general received the chieftains cordially and feasted them, but ordered the horsemen and the baggage to stay outside. But a certain poor Armenian, while begging, came to where the Saracens were encamped, and heard one of those in the chests (for he also knew the Saracen dialect) asking someone where they were, and running he reported it to the general. The 2.521 general, having let the chieftains eat, went out with hoplites, and having broken open the chests and found the hoplites inside, he utterly slaughtered all of them along with the horsemen and the camel drivers; then returning to the city he killed eleven of the chieftains, but sent the one most important one home as a messenger of the events, after cutting off his hands and ears and nose. In the year #22φμζʹ, the 7th indiction, John, intensifying his hatred toward Dalassenos, also banishes Theophanes the patrikios, his brother, and his other brother Romanos the patrikios, and Adrian his nephew and the rest who were close to him by kinship; for he was eager to utterly destroy his family. And being most resourceful for what one might call wickedness, he invented every path of injustice, adding beyond the public taxes that each of the villages should give for the aerikon according to their quality and strength, to one four nomismata, to another six, up to twenty, and other shameful revenues for the sake of profit, which it is a shame even to list. But the emperor, tormented by the demon and not finding freedom, sent to all the themes and islands two nomismata each for the presbyters, and one nomisma each for the monks. He also baptized newborn infants, giving one nomisma and four miliaresia for each. But none of these things helped him; for the evil was rather intensified, with the disease of dropsy also taking hold. At this time there were also 2.522 continuous earthquakes and a violent deluge of rains. And in some of the themes the disease of quinsy prevailed, so that the living were unable to carry out the dead. On the 2nd of the month of February, the 8th indiction, in the year #22φμηʹ, a frightful earthquake occurred, and while other places and cities also suffered, Smyrna became a pitiful sight, as its most beautiful buildings collapsed and destroyed many of the inhabitants. And in Sicily, the Carthaginian, having recovered himself again, and having gathered a force much greater than the previous one, comes to Sicily to drive Maniakēs from there. And having encamped in a certain level and open plain (the plain was called Draginae) he was watching for an opportunity for battle. When Maniakēs learned this, having raised the forces around him, he went to meet him, having first instructed the patrikios Stephen, the emperor's brother-in-law, commander of the fleet, as we said, to guard the coast securely, lest when the battle was joined the Carthaginian should turn, escape secretly and return home. And indeed engaging him in battle, he utterly routs him. And a multitude of the Africans fell, over 50 thousand, but their commander himself, having escaped the danger, comes to the shore and embarking on a swift galley and eluding Stephen's guards, he fled to his own country. When Maniakēs learned this, he took it 2.523 badly, and when Stephen met with him he overwhelmed him with unbecoming insults and raising his whip struck him on the head not a few times, calling him lazy and unmanly and a traitor to the emperor's affairs. But he, not

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γέγονεν ἐπιβουλὴ κατὰ τῆς πόλεως Ἐδέσσης· καὶ μικροῦ δεῖν ἑάλω, εἰ μὴ θεὸς διεσώ σατο. στρατηγοῦντος γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου Βαρα σβατζὲ τοῦ Ἴβηρος, ἄρχοντες τῶν Ἀράβων ιβʹ, ἱππεῖς ἔχοντες φʹ καὶ καμήλους φʹ, κιβώτια φερούσας χίλια ἔνδοθεν ἔχοντα δισχι λίους ὁπλίτας, τὴν Ἔδεσσαν κατειλήφασι, φάσκοντες ὡς βασιλέα ἀπιέναι δῶρα κομίζοντες. ἦν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἡ ὁρμὴ ἔνδον τῆς πόλεως εἰσαγαγεῖν τὰ κιβώτια καὶ νύκτωρ τοὺς ὁπλίτας ἐκβαλεῖν καὶ κατα σχεῖν τὴν πόλιν. ὁ δὲ στρατηγὸς τοὺς μὲν ἄρχοντας φιλοφρόνως ἐδέξατο καὶ εἱστία, τοὺς δὲ ἱππεῖς καὶ τὴν ἀποσκευὴν ἔξωθεν διαιτᾶσθαι ἐκέλευσε. πένης δέ τις Ἀρμένιος μεταιτῶν, ἔνθα ηὐλίζοντο οἱ Σαρακηνοὶ γενόμενος, ἤκουσέ τινος τῶν ἐν τοῖς κι βωτίοις (ᾔδει γὰρ καὶ τὴν τῶν Σαρακηνῶν διάλεκτον) διερωτῶν τός τινος ὅποι πάρεισι, καὶ δραμὼν ἀπήγγειλε τῷ στρατηγῷ. ὁ 2.521 δὲ τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐσθίειν ἐάσας ἐξῆλθε μεθ' ὁπλιτῶν, καὶ διαρρή ξας τὰ κιβώτια καὶ τοὺς ὁπλίτας ἔνδον εὑρὼν ἅπαντας ἄρδην ἀπέσφαξε σὺν τοῖς ἱππεῦσι καὶ τοῖς καμηλοκόμοις· εἶτα πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ὑποστρέψας τοὺς μὲν ἕνδεκα τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀπέκτεινεν, ἕνα δὲ τὸν κρείττονα ἄγγελον τῶν γεγονότων ἐπ' οἴκου ἀπέστειλεν, ἀποτεμὼν χεῖρας αὐτῷ καὶ ὦτα καὶ ῥῖνα. Τῷ δὲ #22φμζʹ ἔτει, ἰνδικτιῶνος ζʹ, ἐπιτείνων τὸ πρὸς τὸν ∆αλασσηνὸν ἔχθος ὁ Ἰωάννης ὑπερορίζει καὶ Θεοφάνην πατρίκιον τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν πατρίκιον Ῥωμανόν, καὶ Ἀδριανὸν τὸν ἀνεψιὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς τοὺς κατὰ γένος αὐτῷ ἐγγίζοντας· ἔσπευδε γὰρ ἄρδην ἀφανίσαι τὸ γένος αὐτοῦ. ποριμώτατος δὲ ὢν πρὸς ἣν ἄν τις εἴποι κακίαν, πᾶσαν ἐφεῦ ρεν ὁδὸν ἀδικίας, προσθεὶς ἐπέκεινα τῶν δημοσίων τελεσμάτων διδό ναι ἕκαστον τῶν χωρίων ὑπὲρ ἀερικοῦ κατὰ τὴν ποιότητα καὶ ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν, τῷ μὲν νομίσματα τέσσαρα τῷ δὲ ἓξ ἄχρι τῶν εἴκοσι, καὶ ἄλλους πόρους αἰσχροὺς τοῦ κερδαλέου χάριν, οὓς καὶ καταλέγειν αἰσχύνη. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς κατατεινόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος καὶ μὴ εὑρίσκων ἐλευθερίαν, ἔπεμψεν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς θέμασι καὶ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις τοῖς μὲν πρεσβυτέροις ἀνὰ νομίσματα δύο, τοῖς δὲ μονα χοῖς ἀνὰ νόμισμα ἕν. ἐβάπτιζε δὲ καὶ παῖδας ἀρτιγενεῖς, διδοὺς ἀνὰ νόμισμα ἓν καὶ μιλιαρίσια τέσσαρα. ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων ὤνη σεν αὐτόν· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἐπετείνετο τὸ κακόν, συνεπιλαβομένης καὶ νόσου ὑδρωπικῆς. κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καὶ σεισμοὶ γεγόνασι 2.522 συνεχεῖς καὶ ὄμβρων ἐπίκλυσις σφοδρά. ἐπεκράτησε δὲ καὶ ἔν τισι τῶν θεμάτων τὸ τῆς κυνάγχης νόσημα, ὡς ἀδυνατεῖν τοὺς ζῶντας ἐκφέρειν τοὺς τεθνεῶτας. Φεβρουαρίου δὲ μηνὸς βʹ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ηʹ, ἔτους #22φμηʹ, γέγονε σεισμὸς φρικώδης, καὶ ἔπαθον μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι τόποι καὶ πόλεις, ἐγένετο δὲ ἡ Σμύρνα ἐλεεινὸν θέαμα, καταπεσόντων τῶν καλλίστων οἰκοδομημάτων αὐτῆς καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν οἰκητόρων ἀνα λωσάντων. Ἐν δὲ Σικελίᾳ ἀναλαβὼν πάλιν ἑαυτὸν ὁ Καρχηδόνιος, καὶ δύναμιν πολλῷ μείζονα τῆς προτέρας ἀθροίσας, ἔρχεται πρὸς Σικελίαν τὸν Μανιάκην ἐκεῖθεν ἐξωθήσων. καὶ στρατοπεδευσάμενος ἔν τινι πεδιάδι ὑπτίᾳ καὶ ἀναπεπταμένῃ (∆ραγῖναι ἡ πεδιὰς ἐκα λεῖτο) ἐκαιροσκόπει τὸν πόλεμον. τοῦτο δὲ μαθὼν ὁ Μανιάκης, ἄρας τὰς περὶ αὐτὸν δυνάμεις, ὑπαντιάζει, ἐπισκήψας πρότερον τῷ πατρικίῳ Στεφάνῳ τῷ τοῦ βασιλέως γαμβρῷ, τοῦ στόλου, ὡς εἴπομεν, ἄρχοντι, ἀσφαλῶς τηρεῖν τὴν παράλιον, μή πως πολέ μου κροτηθέντος τραπεὶς ὁ Καρχηδόνιος λάθῃ διαδρὰς καὶ οἴκαδε παλινοστήσῃ. καὶ δὴ συμβαλὼν τρέπεται τοῦτον ἀνὰ κράτος. καὶ πίπτει μὲν τῶν Ἄφρων πλῆθος ὑπὲρ τὰς νʹ χιλιάδας, αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ τούτων ἄρχων διαδρὰς τὸν κίνδυνον ἔρχεται ἐν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ καὶ κελητίῳ ἐπιβὰς καὶ τὰς τοῦ Στεφάνου λαθὼν φυλακὰς ἀπέδρασε πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν χώραν. ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ Μανιάκης ἐν δεινῷ τε 2.523 ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ τὸν Στέφανον συμμίξαντα τούτῳ ὕβρεσί τε ἀτόποις κατέκλυσε καὶ τὸν σειρομάστην ἀνατείνας ἔπαισεν αὐτὸν κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς οὐκ ὀλίγας, ῥᾴθυμον ἀποκαλῶν καὶ ἄνανδρον καὶ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως προδότην πραγμάτων. ὁ δὲ μὴ