of the times of my blessed and holy father. For previously it was desolate and uninhabited, both that place and Tzamandos and the adjacent parts of the Armenians; and their name was not of any account nor number. But when that great and gigantic Armenian, the son-in-law of Aggourine of Laikastria, that long-armed and ambidextrous man, whom in the Armenian dialect they called Azat, he, then, having come to my blessed and holy father, whether as a refugee or as a friend I do not know, he had as a servant the one who died yesterday and a little while ago, Melias I mean, the renowned, who also campaigned with him in that most unfortunate war, I mean that of the Bulgarian. When the Armenian, then, fell in the aforesaid war against Symeon the most godless Bulgarian—for he was exarch of the imperial regiment of those called Excubitors—at which time also Theodosios the protovestiarios of my blessed father vanished in that same war and became unseen. The aforementioned Melias, then, having been saved from this war and having departed for the land of the Armenians, being clever and suited to barbaric brigandage, having gathered a certain band of Armenians and having fortified the citadel of this city as he was able, and proceeding little by little, raised the whole city, so to speak, from its fall; and the whole country, advancing forward, became full of Armenians, being a good nurse of youths and a pasture for horses and suitable for the nourishment of all kinds of livestock. Wherefore it was also named a theme and was elevated to a renowned strategia by the zeal of this strong-minded one. But the name of the city was a certain ancient and old one from the race and tongue of the Armenians. And there is a certain story about him both charming and not unsuited to myth-making. For an inscription has been carved on the wall of the city, proclaiming thus: "What Constantinople? What Lykandos? What Thomas the steward? What emperor?" And this is the reason for the inscription: that great and renowned emperor Justinian, when his uncle Justin held the scepters of the Roman empire, served as Caesar, being sole commander of the Roman regiments. And passing through the parts of Lesser Armenia, he arrived at Lykandos. Then that Thomas, the steward of the same city, was so rich in cattle, as the divine history presents the blessed Job; and he offered to Justinian a gift in the form of a presentation basket, most wondrous and worthy of writing, a myriad of sheep differing in their colors, a thousand black sheep, and another thousand white-fleeced, and another thousand ash-colored, and another thousand spotted ones maintaining the same number, and another thousand with fiery appearances, and another thousand gray ones likewise, and another thousand with yellow hair, bearing the same quantity, and another thousand dark ones being of the same equality, and another thousand purple-fleeced, and another thousand golden ones, having wool as if of mother-of-pearl, such as the Greeks say was that renowned golden fleece. And simply, the ten thousand were of different colors and varied in their shades. Admiring this and accepting the gift of Thomas, the Caesar jokingly ordered this epigram to be written on the gate of the city, which we mentioned above. This city, in the time of my blessed father, through the virtue of the aforesaid Melias, or rather of my father, who prudently directed affairs and looked for a man's virtue, came to be called a theme. And so much, then, concerning Lykandos and its neighbor Tzamandos. ασια.13 ˉˉΙˉˉΓ. Thirteenth Theme of Seleukeia And Seleukeia is a part of Isauria, being bounded on the west by the Taurus in which the Isaurians dwell; and on the east it is shut in by the mountains of Cilicia, in which are coastal cities, first Seleukeia itself, then Korykos and the Korykian cave and the meadow called Krokophoros, and Soloi and Aigaiai and Pompeiopolis and Aphrodisias, and Issos and the homonymous gulf, in which that noble Macedonian and

τῶν χρόνων τοῦ μακαρίτου καὶ ἁγίου μου πατρός. Ἔρημος γὰρ ἦν τὸ πρότερον καὶ ἀοίκητος κἀκείνη καὶ ἡ Τζαμανδὸς καὶ τὰ συμπαρακείμενα μέρη τῶν Ἀρμενίων· καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὄνομα αὐτῶν οὔτ' ἐν λόγῳ οὔτ' ἐν ἀριθμῷ. Ὅτε δὲ ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος καὶ γιγαντοειδὴς Ἀρμένιος ὁ τῆς Ἀγγουρίνης τῆς Λαικαστρίας γαμβρός, ὁ μακρόχειρ ἐκεῖνος καὶ περιδέξιος, ὃν κατὰ τὴν τῶν Ἀρμενίων διάλεκτον Ἀζάτον ἐκάλουν, ἐκεῖνος γοῦν ἐλθὼν πρὸς τὸν μακαρίτην καὶ ἅγιόν μου πατέρα, εἴτε ὡς πρόσφυξ εἴτε ὡς φίλος οὐκ οἶδα, ἐκεῖνος εἶχε θεράποντα τὸν χθὲς καὶ πρὸ μικροῦ τελευτήσαντα, Μελίαν λέγω τὸν περιβόητον, ὃς καὶ συνεστράτευσεν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸν δυστυχέστατον πόλεμον, τὸν τοῦ Βουλγάρου λέγω. Τοῦ γοῦν Ἀρμενίου πεσόντος ἐν τῷ προλεχθέντι πολέμῳ πρὸς Συμεὼν τὸν ἀθεώτατον Βούλγαρον-ἦν γὰρ ἐξάρχων τοῦ βασιλικοῦ τάγματος τῶν καλουμένων ἐξκουβίτων-ὅτε καὶ θεοδόσιος ὁ πρωτοβεστιάριος τοῦ μακαρίου μου πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πολέμῳ ἠφαντώθη καὶ γέγονεν ἄδηλος. Ὁ γοῦν προλεχθεὶς Μελίας ἐκ τούτου τοῦ πολέμου διασωθεὶς καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν Ἀρμενίων χώραν ἀπάρας, εὐφυὴς ὢν καὶ πρὸς λῃστουργίαν βαρβαρικὴν ἐπιτήδειος, συμμορίαν τινὰ τῶν Ἀρμενίων ἀναλεξάμενος καὶ ταυτησὶ τῆς πόλεως τὴν ἄκραν κατοχυρώσας ὡς ἠδύνατο, καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν προιὼν ὅλην, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τὴν πόλιν τοῦ πτώματος ἤγειρε· καὶ προβαίνουσα ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσθεν πᾶσα ἡ χώρα, μεστὴ γέγονε τῶν Ἀρμενίων, κουροτρόφος οὖσα ἀγαθή τε καὶ ἱππόβοτος καὶ παντοίων βοσκημάτων εἰς τροφὴν ἐπιτήδειος. ∆ιὸ καὶ θέμα κατωνομάσθη καὶ εἰς στρατηγίδα περίδοξον ἀνήχθη σπουδῇ τουτουῒ τοῦ κραταιόφρονος. Ἡ δὲ ὀνομασία τῆς πόλεως ἀρχαία τις καὶ παλαιὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν Ἀρμενίων γενεᾶς τε καὶ γλώττης ὠνόμαστο. Ἔστι δὲ λόγος τις περὶ αὐτοῦ χαρίεις τε καὶ πρὸς μυθοποιίαν οὐκ ἄμουσος. Γραφὴ γὰρ ἐν τῷ περιβόλῳ τῆς πόλεως ἐντετύπωται οὑτωσὶ διαγορεύουσα· "τί Κωνσταντινούπολις; τί Λυκανδός; τί Θωμᾶς ὁ πρόοικος; τί βασιλεύς;" Ἔστι δὲ ἡ αἰτία τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς αὕτη· ὁ μέγας ἐκεῖνος καὶ περιβόητος βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανός, ὅτε τῶν σκήπτρων ἐκράτει τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς βασιλείας ὁ τούτου θεῖος Ἰουστῖνος, μονοστράτηγος τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν ταγμάτων Καῖσαρ ὢν ἐχρημάτιζε. Καὶ διερχόμενος τὰ μέρη τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀρμενίας κατήντησεν ἐν τῇ Λυκανδῷ. Ὁ γοῦν Θωμᾶς ἐκεῖνος ὁ πρόοικος τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως τηλικοῦτος ἦν ἐπὶ βοσκήμασι πλούσιος, οἷον τὸν μακάριον Ἰὼβ ἡ θεία παρίστησι ἱστορία· προσήνεγκε δὲ τῷ Ἰουστινιανῷ δῶρον ἐν τάξει κανισκίου θαυμασιώτατόν τε καὶ γραφῆς ἄξιον, μυριάδα προβάτων ταῖς χροιαῖς διαλλάττουσαν, χίλια πρόβατα μέλανα, καὶ ἕτερα λευκότριχα χίλια, καὶ ἕτερα σποδοειδῆ χίλια, καὶ ἕτερα ῥαντὰ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀριθμὸν διασῴζοντα καὶ ἕτερα πυρρὰς ἔχοντα τὰς ὄψεις χίλια, καὶ ἕτερα φαιὰ ὡσαύτως, καὶ ἕτερα ξανθὰς ἔχοντα τὰς τρίχας, τὴν αὐτὴν ποσότητα φέροντα, καὶ ἕτερα περκνὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ὄντα ἰσότητος, καὶ ἕτερα φοινικότριχα χίλια, καὶ ἕτερα χρυσίζοντα, ἔχοντα τοὺς μαλλοὺς οἱονεὶ πινινότριχα, ὁποῖον φημίζουσι τὸ χρυσοῦν δέρας ἐκεῖνο τὸ περιβόητον Ἕλληνες. Καὶ ἁπλῶς αἱ δέκα χιλιάδες ἑτερόχροιαι καὶ παρηλλαγμέναι τοῖς χρώμασι. Τοῦτο θαυμάσας ὁ Καῖσαρ καὶ τὸ δῶρον τοῦ Θωμᾶ προσδεξάμενος, παίζων ἐκέλευσε γραφῆναι ἐν τῇ πύλῃ τῆς πόλεως τουτοῒ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα, ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς ἄνωθεν ἔφημεν. Αὕτη ἡ πόλις ἐπὶ τοῦ μακαρίου μου πατρὸς διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ προλεχθέντος Μελίου, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πατρός, τοῦ προμηθῶς τὰ πράγματα διευθύνοντος καὶ σκοποῦντος ἀνδρὸς ἀρετήν, εἰς ὄνομα θέματος ἐχρημάτισε. Καὶ τοσαῦτα μὲν περὶ Λυκανδοῦ καὶ τῆς ὁμόρου αὐτῆς Τζαμανδοῦ. ασια.13 ˉˉΙˉˉΓ. Τρισκαιδέκατον θέμα Σελευκείασ Ἡ δὲ Σελεύκεια μέρος ἐστὶν Ἰσαυρίας, πρὸς μὲν δυσμὰς ὁριζομένη ὑπὸ τοῦ Ταύρου ἐν ᾧ κατοικοῦσιν Ἴσαυροι· πρὸς δὲ ἀνατολὰς ἀποκέκλεισται παρὰ τῶν Κιλικίας ὀρέων, ἐν οἷς εἰσι πόλεις παραθαλάσσιοι, πρώτη μὲν αὐτὴ Σελεύκεια, ἔπειτα Κώρυκος καὶ τὸ Κωρύκειον ἄντρον καὶ λειμὼν ὁ καλούμενος Κροκοφόρος, Σόλοι τε καὶ Αἰγαῖαι καὶ Πομπηϊούπολις καὶ Ἀφροδισιάς, ἥ τε Ἰσσὸς καὶ κόλπος ὁμώνυμος, ἐν ᾧ Μακεδὼν ἐκεῖνος ὁ γεννάδας τε καὶ