Sometimes the emperor, as in the case of Heraclius,[262] rode in a chariot instead of on horseback; or the occupant of the triumphal car might be, as on the occasion of the triumph of Zimisces, the Icon of the Virgin.[263] Michael Palæologus entered the city on foot, walking as far as the Church of St. John Studius before he mounted his horse.[264] On the occasion of the second triumph of Theophilus, the beautiful custom was introduced of making children take part in the ceremonial with wreaths of flowers.[265] But besides serving as a State entrance into the city, the Porta Aurea was one of the strongest positions in the fortifications.[266] The four towers at its gateways, the deep moat in front, and the transverse walls across the peribolos on either hand, guarding approach from that direction, constituted a veritable citadel. Cantacuzene repaired it, and speaks of it as an almost impregnable acropolis, capable of being provisioned for three years, and strong enough to defy the whole city in time of civil strife.[267] Hence the great difficulty he found in persuading the Latin garrison which held it on his behalf, in 1354, to surrender the place to his rival John VI. Palæologus. The Golden Gate, therefore, figures also in the military annals of Constantinople. In the reign of Anastasius I. it was the object of special attack by Vitalianus at the head of his Huns and Bulgarians.[268] Repeated attempts were made upon it by the Saracens in the siege of 673-675.[269] Crum stood before it in the reign of Leo the Armenian, and there he invoked the aid of his gods against the city, by offering human sacrifices and by the lustration of his army with sea-water in which he had bathed his feet.[270] His demand to plant his spear in the gate put an end to the negotiations for peace. In 913 the Bulgarians, under their king Simeon, were again arrayed before the entrance.[271] Here, also, in 1347, John Cantacuzene was admitted by his partisans.[272]