| Keywords |
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| ID |
5016 |
| Text |
Historia syntomos (780 - 828) Nikephoros I of Constantinople |
| Quotation |
Οἱ δὲ Ἄβαροι ἐπεὶ τὰς σπονδὰς διέλυσαν (καὶ γᾶρ Ἡράκλειος πρὶν πρὸς Πέρσας ἐκστρατεῦσαι δώροις πρὸς αὐτοὺς ταύτας ἐβεβαίου (...)) καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκστρατεύοντες τῷ τείχει τοῦ Βυζαντίου πελάζουσιν, εὐθύς τε πάντα ἐνεπίπρων τὰ προάστεια. καὶ ὥσπερ ἀναμερισάμενοι ἑκάτεροι τὸν Θρᾳκικὸν Βόσπορον Πέρσαι μὲν τὰ τῆς Ἀσιάτιδος μοίρας καθῄρουν, Ἄβαροι δὲ τὸν ἐπῖ Θρᾁκης διέφθειρον χῶρον. ἀλλήλοις τε λόγοις οἱ βάρβαροι συνετίθεντο συμφωνήσαντες ἑλεῖν τὸ Βυζάντιον. οἱ οὖν Ἄβαροι μηχανήματα τειχομάχα ἐτέκταινον· πύργοι δέ ἦσαν ξύλινοι καὶ χελῶναι τὰ κατασκευάσματα. καὶ ἐπεὶ προσῄεσαν τῷ τείχει τὰ ὄργανα, θεία δύναμις ἐξαπιναίως ταῦτα διέλυσε καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς τῶν Ἀβάρων μαχητὰς διώλεσεν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ Σκλαβηνὰ πλήθη οἱ Ἄβαροι ἐπεφέροντο καὶ εἰς συμμαχίαν ἐχρῶντο, δεδώκεσαν δὲ αὐτοῖς σημεῖον ὡς ἡνίκα ἂν ἴδοιεν πυρσοὺς ἀναφθέντας εἰς τὸ Βλαχερνῶν προτείχισμα, τὸ καλούμενον Πτερόν, εὐθὺς ἅμα τοῖς μονοξύλοις ἀκατίοις κἀκεῖνοι ἐπεξίοιεν, ὡς πλοΐμῳ ἀναφανέντες τὴν πόλιν κραταιῶς θορυβήσωσιν αὐτοί τε ἀδείας λαβόμενοι ἐκ τῶν τειχῶν ἀνατρέχοντες ἐντὸς τῆς πόλεως γένωνται. |
| Translation |
The Avars (Ábaroi), for their part, broke the treaty which Herakleios, before taking up arms against Persia, had confirmed by means of gifts (...). So they took up arms and drew near the walls of Byzantium, and straightaway they set fire to all the suburbs. Dividing, as it were, between themselves the Thracian Bosporos, the Persians (Pérsai) destroyed the Asiatic part, while the Avars (Ábaroi) devastated the Thracian side, and they made a mutual agreement to capture Byzantium. Now the Avars (Ábaroi) constructed siege engines, namely, wooden towers and "tortoise shells"; but when these machines approached the walls, a divine force undid them and destroyed the Avar soldiers who were inside. Furthermore, the Avars (Ábaroi) had brought along a multitude of Slavonic (Sklabēnà) allies and gave them the following signal, namely, that when the latter saw pyres kindled by the forward wall of the Blachernai (the one called Pteron), they would immediately set out in their hallowed-out canoes with a view to producing a mighty disturbance in the City by their sea-borne sortie, while <the Avars>, seizing the opportunity, would climb up the walls and so get inside the City. |
| Summary |
The Avars break the treaty with the Romans. Avars and Persians lead a combined attack against Constantinople. The Avars bring with them a multitude of Slavonic allies. |
| Quotation source |
13.1-26 (pp. 58-59) |
| Temporal Coverage |
626 - 626 |
| Associated use case(s) |
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| Spatial Coverage Objects |
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| Comment |
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