The Stammerer and Iconoclast, 8 years, 9 months. This man took as his wife Euphrosyne, the daughter of Constantine who had been blinded, who had embraced the monastic life. Who, yielding a little from the previously held evil, to the extent that those in prisons and exiles could imagine freedom and respite as in a dream, fanned the flames of the God-hated sentiment of his impious predecessor; for he was likewise ensnared by the same hook of the terrible heresy out of the utmost irrationality and lack of education. Wherefore at a silentium he said, "Those before us who examined the ecclesiastical ordinance of the dogmas will be called to account concerning them, whether they legislated well or badly. In the state in which we found the church proceeding, in that we choose to preserve it. For to honor icons and not to honor them, let it be a matter of indifference in the same way." At this 621 time, Antony of Syllaion held the patriarchal throne, being alienated from the veneration of the holy icons. 2. After these things, Michael crowns Theophilos, his son by Euphrosyne, in the Great Church. But Thomas the rebel, setting out from the eastern parts, dragging along a beggarly and mixed people, moved against Byzantium, undeservedly aspiring to the empire. For being a Roman and of obscure origin, he arrived in Syria, and having renamed himself Constantine, he said he was the son of the empress Irene; and from there, having deceived many barbarians and Romans, and having gathered an infinite multitude, boasting in the multitude, he advanced against Constantinople, and having ravaged it for three years, when he saw his ships burned by fire and his picked troops destroyed by the citizens, being seized with helplessness, he left the city and proceeds to Thrace, plundering it. But Michael, having gone out of the city with a very great force, marched against him, and indeed after besieging him for a short time, he captured him without a struggle; and having cut off his hands and feet, and then having impaled him, he stopped the civil war which had lasted for three years. 3. While Michael was occupied with these things, Crete and Sicily and the Cyclades islands were taken away from the rule of the Romans by Africans and Arabs, this taking its beginning just then for the first time on account of the sins of the people and the impiety of the rulers. 622 And when matters stood thus, the emperor summons Eirenaios the magistros, and says to him, "I congratulate you, magistros, that Sicily has revolted." And he said, "This is a strange cause for joy, master." And turning to one of the great men he said, a beginning of evils indeed will fall upon the earth, when a stammering dragon, utterly and exceedingly fond of gold, shall rule over Babylon. (4) For the leader of the Agarenes, Apochaps, attacked the promontory of Crete and anchored at Charax, having ordered the people under him to leave their ships and plunder the land. And when the army had set out for such an undertaking, he gave orders and burned their ships. And when they were murmuring about this, he said to them that "On the day before you were murmuring against me, O men, seeking a land for a dwelling, and for this reason I have brought you hither, where there is an abundance of milk and honey." And they said in reply to him, "And where shall we find our children and our wives?" And he said to them, "Know that you have brought a great many captives for yourselves; from these, therefore, take wives for yourselves." And this pleased them, and they built a palisade for fortification; from which the place is called Charax until this day. But a certain monk, later coming to the island, said to them that if you wish to subdue the island, follow me, and wherever 623 after consideration I shall show you a suitable place for building, there build a city, through which you may rule the island. And he led them to a place called Chandax, in which their city is established, and they dug a trench around it. And having conquered ninety cities, they enslaved them, with one monastery not being captured but rather remaining un-siegable, so to speak, of its inhabitants
Τραυλὸς καὶ εἰκονομάχος ἔτη ηʹ μῆνας θʹ. οὗτος Εὐφροσύνην τὴν θυγατέρα Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ τυφλωθέντος, τὸν μονήρη βίον προσηκαμένην, εἰς γαμετὴν ἠγάγετο. ὃς μικρόν τι τῆς προκατασχούσης κακίας ὑπενδούς, ὅσον τοὺς ἐν εἱρκταῖς καὶ ἐξορίαις ἐλευθερίαν καὶ ἄνεσιν ὀνειρωδῶς φαντάζεσθαι, τὸ τοῦ προηγουμένου δυσσεβοῦς ὑπέθαλπε θεοστυγὲς φρόνημα· ὁμοίως γὰρ τῷ αὐτῷ περιεπάρη τῆς δεινῆς αἱρέσεως ἀγκίστρῳ ἐξ ἀκροτάτης ἀλογίας καὶ ἀπαιδευσίας. ὅθεν ἐπὶ σελεντίου ἔφη "οἱ μὲν πρὸ ἡμῶν ἐρευνησάμενοι τὸν ἐκκλησιαστικὸν θεσμὸν τῶν δογμάτων τὸν περὶ αὐτῶν εἰσπραχθήσονται λόγον, εἰ καλῶς ἢ κακῶς ἐθέσπισαν. ἐν ᾧ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εὕρομεν βαδίζουσαν, ἐν τούτῳ καὶ διαφυλάττειν προκρίνομεν. τὸ γὰρ τιμᾶν τὰς εἰκόνας καὶ μὴ τιμᾶν ἀδιάφορον ἔστω κατὰ τὸ αὐτό." κατὰ τὸν 621 καιρὸν τοῦτον τὸν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης θρόνον κατεῖχεν Ἀντώνιος ὁ τοῦ Συλαίου, τῆς προσκυνήσεως τῶν ἁγίων εἰκόνων ἀλλότριος. 2. Ἐπὶ τούτοις στέφει Μιχαὴλ Θεόφιλον τὸν ἐξ Εὐφροσύνης υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ. Θωμᾶς δὲ ὁ ἀντάρτης ἐκ τῶν ἀνατολικῶν μερῶν ἀπάρας, λαόν τε καὶ ἀγυρτώδη καὶ ἐπίμικτον ἐπισυρόμενος, ἐπὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον ἐκίνησεν, τῆς βασιλείας παρ' ἀξίαν ἐφιέμενος. Ῥωμαῖος γὰρ ὢν καὶ ἀφανὴς πρὸς Συρίαν ἀφίκετο, καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον ἑαυτὸν μετονομάσας υἱὸν Εἰρήνης τῆς βασιλίσσης ἔλεγεν· κἀντεῦθεν πολλοὺς ἀπατήσας βαρβάρων τε καὶ Ῥωμαίους, καὶ πλῆθος ἄπειρον συναθροίσας, μεγαλαυχῶν τῷ πλήθει ἐπῄει τῇ Κωνσταντινουπόλει, καὶ ταύτην ἐπὶ τρεῖς χρόνους πορθήσας, ἐπεὶ τὰς ναῦς αὐτοῦ εἶδεν πυρὶ καυθείσας καὶ τοὺς λογάδας τῶν πολεμίων ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν ἀπολωλότας, ἀμηχανίᾳ ληφθείς, τὴν πόλιν καταλιπὼν ἐπὶ τὴν Θρᾴκην χωρεῖ, ταύτην ληϊζόμενος. ὁ δὲ Μιχαὴλ τῆς πόλεως ἐξελθὼν μετὰ πλείστης δυνάμεως πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐξώρμησε, καὶ δὴ παρακαθίσας βραχύν τινα καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀμογητὶ ἐχειρώσατο· ἀκρωτηριάσας τε αὐτὸν χεῖρας καὶ πόδας, εἶτα καὶ ἀνασκολοπίσας, κατέπαυσε τὸν ἐν τρισὶ χρόνοις ἐμφύλιον γενόμενον πόλεμον. 3. Ἐν τούτοις τοῦ Μιχαὴλ ἐνασχολουμένου Κρήτη καὶ Σικελία καὶ αἱ Κυκλάδες νῆσοι τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς ἐξ Ἀφρικῶν τε καὶ Ἀράβων περιῃρέθησαν, λαβόντος ἀρχὴν ἄρτι πρῶτον διὰ τὰς τοῦ λαοῦ ἁμαρτίας καὶ τὴν τῶν κρατούντων δυσσέβειαν. 622 τῶν δὲ πραγμάτων οὕτως ἐχόντων προσκαλεῖται ὁ βασιλεὺς Εἰρηναῖον τὸν μάγιστρον, καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν "συγχαίρω σοι, μάγιστρε, ὅτι ἡ Σικελία ἐμούλτευσεν." ὁ δὲ ἔφη "τοῦτο ξένον χαρᾶς ἐστί, δέσποτα." καὶ στραφεὶς πρός τινα τῶν μεγάλων ἔφη ἀρχὴ κακῶν γε πεσεῖται τῇ χθονί, ὅταν κατάρξῃ τῆς Βαβυλῶνος δράκων δύσγλωσσος ἄρδην καὶ φιλόχρυσος λίαν. (4) ὁ γὰρ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν ἀρχηγὸς Ἀπόχατ τῷ τῆς Κρήτης ἀκρωτηρίῳ προσέβαλε καὶ προσωρμίσθη τῷ Χάρακι, ὁρίσας τὸν ὑπ' αὐτὸν λαὸν καταλιπεῖν τὰς ναῦς αὐτῶν καὶ τὴ χώραν ληΐζεσθαι. τοῦ δὲ στρατοῦ πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην ἐγχείρησιν ἀποκινήσαντος προστάξας τὰς ναῦς αὐτῶν ἐπυρπόλησεν. καταγογγυζόντων δὲ αὐτῶν περὶ τούτου ἔφη πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὅτι τῇ προτεραίᾳ κατεγογγύζετέ μου, ὦ ἄνδρες, ζητοῦντες χώραν εἰς κατοικίαν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἤγαγον ὑμᾶς ἐνταυθοῖ, ἐν ᾧ γάλακτος καὶ μέλιτος ἔστιν ἀπορρώξ." οἱ δὲ ἀντεῖπον αὐτῷ "καὶ ποῦ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἡμῶν εὑρήσομεν;" ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς "ἴστε ὅτι αἰχμαλωσίαν πλείστην ἑαυτοῖς ἠνέγκατε· ἐκ ταύτης οὖν γυναῖκας ὑμῖν ἁρμόσασθε." καὶ ἤρεσεν αὐτοῖς τοῦτο, καὶ χάρακα περιέθεντο πρὸς ὀχυρώματα· ἀφ' οὗ ὁ τόπος Χάραξ μέχρι τῆς δεῦρο προσονομάζεται. μοναστὴς δέ τις μετέπειτα τῇ νήσῳ προσφοιτήσας ἔφη αὐτοῖς ὅτι εἴπερ ἐθέλοιτε καταδυναστεῦσαι τῆς νήσου, ἀκολουθήσατέ μοι, καὶ ὅπου 623 ἂν στοχασάμενος παραδείξω ὑμῖν ἐπιτηδειότητα κτίσεως, ἐκεῖσε πόλιν οἰκοδομήσατε, δι' ἧς τῆς νήσου ἐξουσιάσητε. καὶ ἀπήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τόπον καλούμενον Χάνδακα, ἐν ᾧ ἡ πόλις τούτων καθίδρυται, καὶ ταύτην κυκλόθεν ἐτάφρευσαν. καὶ ἐννενήκοντα πόλεις κρατήσαντες ἠνδραποδίσαντο, μιᾶς μονῆς μὴ ἁλωθείσης ἀλλ' ἢ λόγῳ ἀπολιορκήτου μεινάσης, τῶν οἰκητόρων αὐτῆς