160 THE DECLINE AND FALL His defeat by Zimisces,'^'^ who, in a diminutive body, possessed the spirit and AD. 970 973 abilities of an hero. The first victoiy of his heutenants deprived the Russians of their foreign alhes, twenty thousand of whom were either destroyed b}' the sword or provoked to revolt or tempted to desert.^^ Thrace was delivered, but seventy thou- sand barbarians were still in arms ; and the legions that had been recalled from the new conquests of Syria prepared, with the return of the spring, to march under the banners of a war- like prince, who declared himself the friend and avenger of the injured Bulgaria. The passes of mount Haemus had been left unguarded ; they were instantly occupied ; the Roman vanguard was formed of the immortals (a proud imitation of the Persian [A.D. 972] style) ; the emperor led the main body of ten thousand five hun- dred foot ; *' and the rest of his forces followed in slow and cautious an-ay with the baggage and military engines. The first exploit of Zimisces was the reduction of Marcianopolis, or Peristhlaba,^*^ in two days : the trumpets sounded ; the walls were scaled ; eight thousand five hundred Russians were put to the sword ; -'^ and 8* This singular epithet is derived from the Armenian language, and T^t/nto-K^s is interpreted in Greek by jiou^aKcV^jj^, or notpaKiVi^?. As I profess myself equally igno- rant of these words, I may be indulged in the question in the play, " Pray which of you is the interpreter?" From the context they seem to signify A dolescenfulus (Leo Diacon. 1. iv. Ms. apud Ducange, Glossar. Grasc. p. 1570 [Bk. v. c. 9, p. 92, ed Bonn]). [ Tshemshkik would be the Armenian form. It is supposed to be derived from a phrase meaning a red boot.] ^ [The first victory was gained by the general Bardas Sclerus in the plains near Arcadiopolis ; it saved Constantinople. M. Bielov in a study of this war (Zhurnal Min. vol. 170, 1876, p. 168 jy^.) tried to show that the Russians were victorious, but (as M. Schlumberger rightly thinks) he is unsuccessful in proving this thesis.]
- '[For the date (..D. 972) of this splendid expedition of Tzimisces cp. Schlum-
berger, op. cit. p. 82. Nestor places it in A.D. 971 (c. 36).] ^^ In the Sclavonic tongue, the name of Peristhlaba implied the great or illus- trious city, ij.eyaKri Kai ov(Ta Kai Aeyofiei'ij, says Anna Comnena (.Alexiad, 1. vii. p. 194 [c. 3]). From its position between mount Hsemus and the lower Danube, it appears to fill the ground, or at least the station, of Marcianopolis. The situation of Durostolus, or Dristra, is well known and conspicuous (Comment. Academ. Petropol. torn. ix. p. 415, 416 ; D'Anville, Geographic Ancienne, torn. i. p. 307, 311). [Great Peristhlava was situated at Eski Stambul, 22 kilometres south of Shumla, Marcianopolis was much farther east ; some of its ruins have been traced near the modern village of Dievna (about 30 kils. west of Varna as the crow flies). Tzimisces called Peristhlava after himself Joannopolis, but the city rapidly decayed after this period. He called Drster Theodoropolis, in honour of St. Theodore the Megalomartyr, who was supposed to have fought in the Roman ranks in the last great fight at Drster on July 23. Thereby hangs a problem. The Greek writers say that the day of the battle was the feast of St. Theodore ; but his feast falls on June 8. Cp. ^iuralt, Essai de Chron. byz. ad ann.] 91 [The Greek sources for the capture of Peristhlava (and for the whole campaign) are Leo the Deacon and Scylitzes. The numbers (given by Scylitzes) are very doubtful.]
