500

then he presented himself to the emperor. But he also, having departed to his own province and not having received a new and fresh force, but having been forced with the 2.547 previously defeated to engage the enemy near Monopoli, who had already been strengthened and were holding on to the country as their own, being defeated was captured, and the army with him, as many as had not become the prey of the sword, were scattered some in one place, some in another, finding safety in the fortresses that were still loyal to the Romans. And thereafter the Franks claimed Italy as a spear-won possession, with the locals joining them, some willingly, others by force and necessity, except for Brentesion and Hydrous and Tarentum and Bari; for these four cities remained, keeping faith with the Romans. But when the emperor Michael died and the one after him was driven from the empire, Maniakes, as was said above, having been sent to Italy by Zoe, although he did not have a sufficient force, nevertheless using the one he had with strategic devices was able to drive the Franks out of Italy around Capua and Beneventum and Neapolis, and he provided a moderate state of stability and calm to affairs. This Maniakes, having his estates in the theme of the Anatolics and being a neighbor to Romanos Skleros, being at odds with him, often attempted to kill him, had he not secured his own safety by flight. But when the scepters of the Romans came to Constantine Monomachos and Skleros was raised to great fortune (for the sister of Skleros was the mistress of Monomachos) having been honored as magistros and protostrator, remembering the raids of George against him, abusing 2.548 his authority and taking advantage of Maniakes' absence, he both plundered and ravaged the lands belonging to him and shamelessly violated his marriage-bed. Hearing these things in Italy, he was distressed and sawn through with anger. But just then, also having been relieved of his command by the efforts of Romanos and despairing of everything (for he knew that his arrival in Byzantium would not come to a good end for him), having stirred up and corrupted the forces in Italy, with the soldiers thirsting to see their own homelands, he took up arms against the emperor. And his designated successor (he was the protospatharios Pardos, a man from Byzantium, and good for nothing else, but because he was known to the emperor, he was sent to govern so great a land) he kills, and he, having placed a diadem on himself and having taken up the imperial insignia, is proclaimed emperor, and having embarked his forces on ships, he crosses over into Bulgaria.

Learning this, the emperor fell into no small confusion; and he sends letters to him, absolving him and those with him of all fear, and urging them to lay down their arms, and promising every favor; but since he was inflexible and did not abandon his purpose, he himself also having assembled what forces he had, and having appointed as their general with full powers the Sebastophoros Stephanos, the one who had conveyed to him the good news of his accession in Damokraneia, he sends them out against the apostate. And the armies meet near the so-called Ostrovon in Marmarion, and when the engagement took place, those 2.549 around Stephanos are routed, with Maniakes himself leading the way and breaking through the phalanxes. And they were acclaiming him as emperor. But while these things were happening, he suddenly fell from his horse and died, with no one appearing who had wounded him; for he was found having a mortal wound in his chest. And when this became known to the opposing army, the head of George is cut off, and all those who had joined him are arrested, having thrown down their weapons at the fall of their leader and surrendered themselves. And a messenger was sent to the emperor carrying the good news of the victory, and after some days Stephanos also enters, bringing the head of Maniakes and those captured in the war; and having triumphed through the middle of the main street

500

τότε τῷ βασιλεῖπαρεστήσατο. ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος ἀπελθὼν κατὰ χώραν καὶ νεαλῆ καὶ ἀκμαίαν δύναμιν μὴ λαβών, ἀλλ' ἀναγκασθεὶς μετὰ τῶν 2.547 προηττημένων συμβαλεῖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς κατὰ τὴν Μονόπολιν ἤδη κραταιωθεῖσι καὶ τῆς χώρας ὡς ἰδίας ἀντεχομένοις, ἡττηθεὶς ἑάλω, καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ στρατός, ὅσοι μὴ σιδήρου γεγόνασι παρανάλωμα, ἄλλος ἀλλαχοῦ διεσκεδάσθησαν, διασωθέντες ἐν τοῖς ἔτι τὰ Ῥωμαίων φρονοῦσι φρουρίοις. καὶ λοιπὸν οἱ Φράγγοι τῆς Ἰταλίας ὡς δορυκτήτου ἀντεποιοῦντο κτήματος, τῶν ἐγχω ρίων ὧν μὲν ἑκουσίως ὧν δὲ βίᾳ καὶ ἀνάγκῃ προσχωρούντων αὐ τοῖς, πλὴν Βρεντησίου καὶ Ἱδροῦντος καὶ Τάραντός τε καὶ Βά ρεως· αὗται γὰρ αἱ τέσσαρες πόλεις παρέμειναν πίστιν Ῥωμαίοις φυλάττουσαι. Μιχαὴλ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποθανόντος καὶ τοῦ μετ' αὐτὸν ἐξωσθέντος τῆς βασιλείας, ὁ Μανιάκης, ὡς ἄνωθεν ἐρρέθη, πεμφθεὶς εἰς Ἰταλίαν παρὰ τῆς Ζωῆς, εἰ καὶ μὴ δύναμιν ἀξιόχρεων εἶχεν, ὅμως μετὰ τῆς παρούσης στρατηγικαῖς μηχαναῖς χρησάμενος ἐκδιῶξαι ἴσχυσε τοὺς Φράγγους τῆς Ἰταλίας περὶ Κα πύην καὶ Βενεβενδὸν καὶ Νεάπολιν, καὶ μετρίαν κατάστασιν καὶ γαλήνην παρέσχε τοῖς πράγμασι. οὗτος ὁ Μανιάκης κατὰ τὸ θέμα τῶν ἀνατολικῶν τὰς οἰκήσεις ἔχων καὶ Ῥωμανῷ τῷ Σκληρῷ γειτονῶν, διαφερόμενος πρὸς αὐτὸν πολλάκις ἐπεχείρησεν ἀνελεῖν τοῦτον, εἰ μὴ φυγῇ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐπορίσατο σωτηρίαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ Ῥωμαίων σκῆπτρα ἐς Κωνσταντῖνον ἦλθε τὸν Μονομάχον καὶ ὁ Σκληρὸς ἐπὶ μέγα τύχης ἦρτο (ἐπαλλακεύετο γὰρ τῷ Μονομάχῳ ἡ τοῦ Σκληροῦ ἀδελφὴ) μάγιστρος τιμηθεὶς καὶ πρωτοστράτωρ, τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν μεμνημένος τοῦ Γεωργίου καταδρομῶν, καταχρώ 2.548 μενος τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ καὶ τὴν ἀπουσίαν κατατρέχων τοῦ Μανιάκη, τά τε ἀνήκοντα αὐτῷ ἐδῄου καὶ ἔκειρε χωρία καὶ εἰς τὴν τούτου κοίτην ἀνέδην ἐξύβρισεν. ἅπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πυνθανόμενος ἤσχαλλε καὶ διεπρίετο τῷ θυμῷ. ἄρτι δὲ καὶ σπουδῇ τοῦ Ῥω μανοῦ παραλυθεὶς τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀπεγνωκὼς (ᾔδει γὰρ ὡς οὐκ εἰς χρηστὸν αὐτῷ τέλος ἡ εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον ἄφιξις τελευ τήσει), τὰς ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ δυνάμεις ἀνασείσας καὶ διαφθείρας, δι ψώντων τῶν στρατιωτῶν τὰς οἰκείας ἰδεῖν πατρίδας, ὅπλα κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως κινεῖ. καὶ τὸν μὲν πεμφθέντα διάδοχον αὐτοῦ (ἦν δὲ ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος Πάρδος, ἀνὴρ Βυζάντιος, καὶ δι' ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἀγαθόν, ὅτι δὲ γνώριμος ἦν τῷ βασιλεῖ, τηλικαύτης χώρας ἄρχειν πεμφθεὶς) ἀναιρεῖ, αὐτὸς δὲ αὑτῷ διάδημα περι θεὶς καὶ τὰ τῆς βασιλείας παράσημα ἀναλαβὼν ἀναγορεύεται βα σιλεύς, καὶ πλοίοις ἐμβιβάσας τὰς δυνάμεις περαιοῦται ἐν Βουλ γαρίᾳ.

Τοῦτο μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς ταραχὴν οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἐνέπεσε· καὶ γράμματα μὲν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκπέμπει παντὸς ἀπο λύοντα φόβου τοῦτον καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ, παρακαλοῦντά τε ἀπο θέσθαι τὰ ὅπλα, καὶ ὑπισχνούμενος πᾶσαν εὐεργεσίαν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνος ἄτεγκτος ἦν καὶ οὐ μεθίετο τοῦ σκοποῦ, ἀγηοχὼς καὶ αὐ τὸς ἃς εἶχε δυνάμεις, καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐταῖς ἐπιστήσας αὐτοκρά τορα τὸν Σεβαστοφόρον Στέφανον τὸν ἐν ∆αμοκρανείᾳ τὰ τῆς βα σιλείας εὐαγγέλια τούτῳ διακομίσαντα, ἐκπέμπει κατὰ τοῦ ἀπο στάτου. καὶ συναντῶσι τὰ στρατεύματα κατὰ τὸν λεγόμενον Ὀστροβὸν ἐν τῷ Μαρμαρίῳ, καὶ συμπλοκῆς γενομένης τρέπονται 2.549 οἱ περὶ τὸν Στέφανον, αὐτοῦ τοῦ Μανιάκη προηγουμένου καὶ τὰς φάλαγγας διακόπτοντος. καὶ αὐτὸν ὡς βασιλέα εὐφήμουν. ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ ταῦτα ἐγίνετο, αἰφνιδίως ἐκ τοῦ ἵππου πεσὼν οὗτος ἀπέ θανε, μηδενὸς φανέντος τοῦ τοῦτον τρώσαντος· εὑρέθη γὰρ ἔχων κατὰ τοῦ στήθους καιρίαν πληγήν. τούτου δὲ γνωσθέντος τῷ ἐναντίῳ στρατεύματι, ἀποτέμνεται μὲν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ Γεωργίου, συλλαμβάνονται δὲ καὶ πάντες οἱ αὐτῷ συναράμενοι, ἅμα τῇ πτώσει τοῦ ἀρχηγοῦ τὰ ὅπλα ῥίψαντες καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἐγχειρίσαντες. καὶ τῷ μὲν βασιλεῖ ἄγγελος ἐπέμφθη κομίζων τὰ εὐαγγέλια τῆς νίκης, εἴσεισι δὲ μεθ' ἡμέρας τινὰς καὶ ὁ Στέφανος τὴν κεφαλὴν ἄγων τοῦ Μανιάκη καὶ τοὺς κρατηθέντας ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ· καὶ διὰ μέσης τῆς πλατείας θριαμβεύσας