Meanwhile. the Emperor Wils preparing it formidable expedition against Bulgaria, to requite Krum for his cruelties and successes. In May 811 the preparations were complete', and Nicephorus marched through Thraco at the head of a large army

The troops of the Asiatic Thermes had been transporte from beyond the Bosphorns ; Romanus, general of the Anatolicy, and Leo, general of the Arinenincs, were summoned to attack the Bulgarians, as their presence was 110 longer required in Asia to repel the Saracen. When he reached Marcelle, at the foot of the mountains, where he umited the various contingents of his host, ambassadors arrived from Krum, who wils daunted by the numbers of the Romans.' But the Augustus iit the head of his legions had no thought ol'abindoning his enterpriseo, and he rejected all pleadings for peace, Hlo kuew well that a humiliating treaty would be violated by the enemy as soon as his own army bad been disbundled; you nothing less than it signal humiliation could utone for the SSLC ROS of Survliet and the Strymon. The march, dillicult for at great army, through the pass of Voregavil, occupied some time, and on the 20th of July the Romans approncheil the capital of Krum. Some temporary consternita tion was caused by the disappearance of a trusted servant of the Emperor, who leserted to the enemy with the Imperial apparel and 100 lbs. of gold.

No opposition was offered to the invaders, and the Roman swords did not spare the inhabitants. Arriving at l’liski, Nicephorus found that the king had tled; he set under lock and key, and sealeil with the Imperial seal; the royal treasures, ils his own spoil; and burned the palace. Then Krum said, "Lo, thou hast conuerul; take all thou pleasest, and go in

War

' It is supposed by Uspenski that certainly more probable that Vicepolis the Kudy-koni inscription (ilboba, orus is the Emperor, thun, for instance, 228) may relato to the

of Nicephorus, an engineer, who took Nicophorus with lirum, on account service under the Bulgarian king (see of the words kal cionadev ó Vennolópos Theoph. 198). If the Emperor is meant, (1. 3). In l. 2 we have tous l'ponovs I conjecture that the events described εις Μαρκ[έλλας Πι11. 6-10 may be connected with his abortivo concerned with the actions of it expedition in A.1). 807 illil tlie certain Ekusoos, whom “the Greeks military mutiny. This is singestel met" 1001 who "Went to Hadrian. by 11. , 6, εκ πικρίας αυτοι (

peace.” But the vietor disdained to listen. Perhaps it was his hope to recover Moesia and completely to subdue the Bulgarian power. But if this was his design it was not to be realised ; Nicephorus was not to do the work which was reserved for Tzimiskes and Basil Bulgaroktonos. He allowed himself to be drawn back into the inountain where Krum und his army awaited him. It is generally supposed that un obvious precaution had been neglected and that the Romans had not taken care to guard their retreat by leaving soldiers to protect the mountain pass behind them. But it seems probable that the pass of Veregavil was not the scene of the disaster which followed, and the imprudence of Nicephorus did not consist in neglecting to secure the soul of return. So far as we can divine, le permitted the enemy w lure him into the contiguous pitss of Verbits, where it narrow detile was blocked by wooden fortitications which small garrisons could detend against multitudes. Here, perhaps, in what is called to-day the Greek Hollow,' where tradition declares that many Greeks once met their death, the army found itself enclosed as in it traj), and the Emperor exclaimed, “Our destruction is certain ; if we had wings, we could not escape.” The Bulgarians could coliceal themselves in the mountains and abide their time until their enemies were pressed by want of supplies; and its the numbers of the Roman army were so greitt, they would not have to wait long. But the entustrophe was accelerated by il successful night attuk. The defiles had been fortitied on Thursday and Friday, and on Sunday morning just before diwn the tent in which Nicephorus and the chief patricians were reposing was assailed ly the heathen. The details of the attack ill'e not recorded; perhaps they were never clearly known; but we must suppose that there was sime extraordinary carelessness in the arrangements of the

The Roman soldiers, laken: unawares, seem to have been paralysed and to live allowed themselves to be massacred without resistance. Nicephorus himself was slain, and almost all the generals and great officers who were with him, imong the rest the general of Thrace and the general of the Anatolios.“

Romall citin!

This disuster befell ou the 26th of July. It seemed more shameful than any reverse that had happened throughout the invasions of the Huns and the Avars, worse than any defeat since the fatal day of Hadrianople. After the death of Valens in that great triumph of the Visigoths, no Roman Augustus had fallen a victim to barbarians. During the fifth and sixth centuries the Emperors were not used to fight, but since the valour of lleraclius set a new example, most of the Roman sovrans had led armies to battle, and if they were not always victorious, they always succeeded in escaping The slaughter of Nicephorus was then an event to which no parallel could be found for four centuries back, and it was it shock to the Roman world.

Krum exposed the head of the Emperor on a lance for al certain number of days. He then caused the skull to be hollowed out in the form of a large drinking bowl,' and lined with silver, and at great banquets he used to drink in it to the health of his Slavonic boliads with the Slavonic formula zdravitsa.”

a memorial of this disaster survived till late times at Eskibaba in Thrice, where a Servian patriarch of the seventeenth century siw the tomb of a certain Nicolas, a warrior who had accompanied the fatal expedition of Nicephorus and seen it strange warning cream. The Turks had shrouded the head of the corpose with a turbin."

$ 3. krum and Michael 1. Sated with their brilliant victory, the Bulgarims did not pursue the son and son-in-law of the Emperor, who escape from the slaughter, and they allowed the Romans ample time to arrange the succession to the throne, which,

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we have seen, was attended by serious complications. But Michael I. had not been many inonths established in the seat of Empire, when he received tidings that the enemy had invaded Thrace (A.1). 812). The city which Kruin first attacked was near the frontier. On an inner curve of the bays, on whose northern and southern horns Anchialus and Apollonin faced each other, lay the town of Develtos. It might pride itself on its dignity as an episcopal sent, or on its strength ins in fortified city. But its fortifications did not

it now itvail it, nor yet its bishop. Krum reducel the place, and transported inhabitants and bishop beyond the mountning to Bulgaria. The Emperor

' meanwhile prepared to oppose the invader. On the 7th day of June he left the capitul, and the Empress Procopi accompanied him as far as Tzurulon,' at place which still preserves its name is Chorlu, on the direct road from Selymbria to líndrianople.

It does not seem tha: Michuel advanced further than to Tumulon. The news of the fate of Develtos came, and it mutiny broke out in the army. It wily thought that the Emperor had shown incompetence or lind followed injudicious advice, While we can well understand that little confidence coulil be felt in this weak and inexperienced commander, we must also remember that there was in the army a large iconoclastic section hostile to the government. The Opsikian and Thrakesian Themes played the inost prominent parts in the riotiny. A conspiracy in favour of the blind brothers of Constantine V. followed upon this mutiny, and Michael returned to the l'ity. The field was thus left to the Bulgarinns, who prevailed in both Thrace and Macedonia. But the alarm felt by the inhabitants caused perhaps more confusion than the actual operations of the invaders. It does not indeed appear that the Bulgarians committed in this year any striking atrocities or won any further success of great moment. But the fate of the Roman Emperor in the previous year had worked its full cflect, The dwellers in Thrace were thoroughly frightened, and when they silw no Rumun army in the field they had not the heart to defend their towns. The taking of Develtos brought the fear home to neighbouring Anchialus on the sea. Anchinlus had always been one of the firmest and strongest defences against the barbarians—against the Avars in olden duys and against the Bulgarians more recently. Fifty years ago the inhabitants had seen the Bulgarian forces defeated in the neighbouring plain by the armies of the Fifth Constantine. But Michael was not like Constiintine, ils the men of Anchiulus well knew; and now, although the defences of their city had recently been restored and strengtheneul by Irene, they fled from the place though none pursued. Other cities, not only smaller places like Nicara and I'robutton, but even such as Beroe and the great city of Western Thrace, Philippopolis, olid likewise. The Thracian Nirnen in little known to history; it seems to have lreol situated to the south. - east of laulrianoplo. Probritton or Sheep-fort, which is to be sought at the modern l'rovadii, north-cest of Hadrianople, had seen Roman and Bulgarian armies funco to fuce in a campaign of Constantine VI. (A.1). 791). Stilra Zigora is believed to mark the site of Berce, it the Crossing of the Roman roails, which led from Philippopolis to Anchialus and from Hadrianople to Nicopolis on the Danube. It was in this neiylıbourhood that the Empero. Decius was defeated by the Goths. The town had been restored by the Empress Irene, who honoured it by calling it Irenopolis;' but the old name persisteil, as in the more illustrious cases of Antioch ind Jerusalem. Macedonian l'hilippi behavedl like Thracian Philippopolis, and those

. reluctant colonists whom Nicopoliorus had settled in the district of the Strymon seized the opportunity to return to their original dwellings in Asia Minor."

Liter in the same year (812) Krum sent an embassy to the Roman Emperor to treat for pence. The ambassador

” whom he chose wils a Slav, as his name Dargamer* proves. The Bulgarians wished to renew an old commercial treaty which seems to have been made about half a century before between kiny Kormisos and Constantine V.;' and Krum threatened that

! For restoration of Anchialus and : In October: op Theopoli. 197, 198. Beror, see Theoph. 157; for Constan. That is, Dragomir. tine 1' l. int Ilpo, játov káo t pov, ib. 407.. " See above, p. 312.

• Sec above, p. 339.

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