he did in the following way. It was a custom for the Persians that the proclamation of a king be from the royal line; whence, the royal line having failed because of the successive wars, and being at a loss, they learned that some from the royal lineage had fled to the emperor of the Romans, and on this account they considered it desirable to emigrate from their own country and to go over to the Roman empire because of Theophobos, in order that they might obtain a leader according to their race, and especially since the Persian leader Babek had been at the height of his rebellion against the amermoumnes for five years. When wars occurred between them, Babek was defeated and entered Roman territory with 7,000 men, searching for the father of Theophobos in the city of Sinope. When Babek found him, and having received guarantees from the emperor, he placed his people and himself in subjection to the emperor. But others say that the father of Theophobos came to Byzantium in poverty, and attached himself to a certain woman who happened to be a tavern-keeper for hire; and he, being overcome by love for her, came to live with her for pleasure; from whom she conceived and gave birth to a male child. The Persians, therefore, being skilled in astronomy and divination, learned that a certain kinsman of the king of the Persians was living in Byzantium. Thence 627, going to the emperor, they asked to search for this man about whom they had come. But the emperor, having heard this and having searched for him, accomplished nothing. But later, having found the woman with whom the Persian, Babek, had lived, they learned that he had died, but the child brought forth from this union still survived; whom they also showed to him, being twelve years old. The emperor took him in and raised him in the palace, and enrolled the Persians in the military registers. 4. The emperor Theophilos, therefore, being a lover of splendor, built from the beginning the Pentapyrgion, and the two very large organs, all of gold with various stones, and a golden tree, on which sparrows perched and sang musically by some mechanism, as breath was sent in through hidden channels. (5) And he also renewed the imperial robes, both the loroi and the rest, having made them all of golden weave. And he raised the city walls, which were low. And pretending to have worldly justice, he who had wronged the faith and piety more than the emperors before him, when a widow approached him in Blachernae (for it was his custom to go there) and cried out that she was being wronged by the Augusta’s brother, Petronas, who was droungarios of the Vigla (for he is raising his own buildings, and darkens mine and makes them as nothing, since I am a despised widow), he immediately sent to see the truth, if it was so; 628 and having confirmed that the woman was telling the truth, in the middle of the street he stripped the droungarios and beat him severely, and razing his said buildings to the ground, he gave them to the widow. And once, when a ship was passing through the Boukoleon, he asked whose it might be, and learning that it belonged to the empress, he said, “Woe is me, who am revealed as a ship-owner, since this belongs to my wife.” And sending for it, he burned the ship along with its cargo. 6. Theophilos’ mother, Euphrosyne, was living as a nun in her own monastery, the house of Gastria, which she had purchased from Niketas the patrikios and made into a convent, naming it Gastria. Calling for Theodora’s daughters (and there were five: Thekla and Anna and Anastasia, Maria and Pulcheria), she never ceased instructing them in all piety and admonition of the Lord and in the veneration of the holy icons. This did not escape Theophilos, but calling his daughters, he asked about everything. And the others, being of good sense, strongly evaded his questions as if they were traps; but Pulcheria, being childish in age and mind, spoke of the kindnesses and the abundance of fruit, and also recounted the veneration of the holy icons, thus not thinking much and speaking like a baby doll
ἐποιήσατο τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. τοῖς Πέρσαις ἔθος ἦν ἐκ σειρᾶς βασιλικῆς ὑπέχειν ἀνάρρησιν· ὅθεν τοῖς ἀλλεπαλλήλοις πολέμοις τῆς βασιλικῆς σειρᾶς ἐκλιπούσης, καὶ ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ γεγονότες, ἔγνωσαν ὡς ἐκ τῆς βασιλικῆς συγγενείας τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων τινὲς προσερρύησαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἀσπαστὸν ἐλογίσαντο τῆς οἰκείας χώρας ἀπαναστεῦσαι καὶ προσχωρῆσαι τῇ Ῥωμαΐδι διὰ τὸν Θεόφοβον, ὅπως τοῦ κατὰ γένους ἀρχηγοῦ ἐπιτεύξοιντο, καὶ μάλιστ ὅτι καὶ ὁ Περσῶν ἀρχηγὸς Βαβὲκ ἀποστάσει τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀμερμουμῆν ἐπὶ πέντε ἔτεσιν ἐκεκορύφωτο. ὧν ἀναμεταξὺ πόλεμ συμβεβηκότες, ἡττηθεὶς ὁ Βαβὲκ εἰσῄει σὺν χιλιάσιν ζʹ πρὸς τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἐπικράτειαν, τὸν Θεοφόβου πατέρα κατὰ τὴν πόλιν Σινώπῃ ἀνερευνῶν· ὃν ὁ Βαβὲκ κατειληφώς, ἐγγύας τε παρὰ βασιλέως δεξάμενος, τὸν ὑπ' αὐτῷ λαὸν καὶ ἑαυτὸν τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑπήκοον τέθεικεν. ἄλλως δέ φασιν ὅτι ὁ τοῦ Θεοφόβου πατὴρ εἰσῄει τῷ Βυζαντίῳ πενόμενος, καί τινι γυναικὶ κατὰ μισθαρνίαν καπηλεύειν λαχούσῃ προσκεκόλληται· ὃς τῷ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἔρωτι ἁλοὺς πρὸς ἡδονὴν συμβιβάζεται· ἐξ οὗ συνειληφυῖα ἄρρενα ἐκατέτοκεν. οἱ οὖν Πέρσαι ἀστρονομίᾳ καὶ μαντείᾳ ἠκριβωμένοι ἔγνωσαν τοῦ Περσῶν βασιλέως συγγενῆ τινὰ ἐν Βύζαντι διάγειν. ἐντεῦθεν 627 πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰσελθόντες τοῦτον περὶ οὗ ἦλθον ἐρευνήσασθαι ἠξίωσαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοῦτο ἀκηκοὼς καὶ ἐρευνησάμενος περὶ τούτου οὐδὲν ἤνυσεν. ἐν ὑστέρῳ δὲ τὸ γύναιον εὑρηκότες μεθ' οὗ τὴν ἀναστροφὴν ὁ Πέρσης ἐπεποίητο Βαβέκ, ἔμαθον ὡς ἐκεῖνος μὲν τετελεύτηκεν, ὁ δὲ ἐκ τούτου προενηνεγμένος κατὰ συζυγίαν παῖς ἔτι περίεστιν· ὃν καὶ τούτῳ ἐπεδείκνυον δωδεκαετῆ τυγχάνοντα. τοῦτον ὁ βασιλεὺς προσλαβόμενος ἀνέτρεφεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ, καὶ τοὺς Πέρσας ἐν τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς κώδιξιν ἀνεγράψατο. 4. Ὁ τοίνυν βασιλεὺς Θεόφιλος φιλόκοσμος ὢν κατασκευάζει ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸ Πενταπύργιον, καὶ τὰ δύο μέγιστα ὄργανα ὁλόχρυσα μετὰ διαφόρων λίθων, καὶ δένδρον χρύσεον, ἐν ᾧ στρουθοὶ ἐφεζόμενοι διὰ μηχανῆς τινὸς μουσικῶς ἐκελάδουν, τοῦ πνεύματος διὰ κρυφίων πόρων εἰσπεμπομένου. (5) ἐκαινούργησε δὲ καὶ τὰς βασιλικοὺς στολάς, τούς τε λώρους καὶ τὰ λοιπά, πάντα χρυσοΰφαντα κατασκευάσας. καὶ τὰ τῆς πόλεως τείχη χθαμαλὰ ὄντα ἀνύψωσε. δικαιοσύνην τε κοσμικὴν προσποιούμενος ὁ τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν πλέον ὑπὲρ τοὺς πρῴην βασιλεύσαντας ἀδικήσας, προσελθούσης αὐτῷ γυναικὸς χήρας ἐν βλαχέρναις (ἔθος γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐκεῖσε ἀπέρχεσθαι) καὶ βοησάσης ὡς ἀδικοῖτο παρὰ τοῦ τῆς Αὐγούστης ἀδελφοῦ Πετρωνᾶ δρουγγαρίου τῆς βίγλας ὄντος (ὑψοῖ γὰρ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ οἰκήματα, τὰ δὲ ἐμὰ σκοτεῖ καὶ εἰς τὸ μηδὲν εἶναι ποιεῖ ὡς ἅτε χήρας καταπεφρονημένης), παρευθὺ ἀποστέλλει ἰδεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, εἰ οὕτως ἔχει· 628 καὶ βεβαιωθεὶς ὡς ἀλήθειαν ἡ γυνὴ λέγει, ἐν μέσῃ τῇ ὁδῷ ἐκδύσας τὸν δρουγγάριον τύπτει σφοδρῶς, καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα οἰκήματα αὐτοῦ ἐξεδαφίσας τῇ χήρᾳ δίδωσι. καὶ πλοίου ποτὲ διὰ τοῦ Βουκολέοντος διερχομένου, ἐρωτήσας τίνος ἂν εἴη τοῦτο, καὶ μαθὼν ὡς τῆς δεσποίνης ἐστίν, "οἴμοι" ἔφη "φανερωθέντος ναυκλήρου, ἐπείπερ τοῦτο τῆς ἐμῆς συμβίου ἐστί." καὶ ἀποστείλας αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀγωγίμοις τὴν ναῦν ἐνέπρησεν. 6. Ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοφίλου μήτηρ Εὐφροσύνη ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ μονῇ τὸν Γαστρίων οἶκον ἑαυτῆς ὄντα, ὃν ἐξωνήσατο παρὰ Νικήτα πατρικίου καὶ μοναστήριον γυναικεῖον ἐποίησεν, ἐπονομάσασα Γαστρία, μονάζουσα ἦν. τὰς τῆς Θεοδώρας θυγατέρας μετακαλουμένη (πέντε δὲ ἦσαν, ἥ τε Θέκλα καὶ Ἄννα Ἀναστασία τε, Μαρία καὶ Πουλχερία) ἐν πάσῃ εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ κυρίου καὶ τῇ προσκυνήσει τῶν ἁγίων εἰκόνων νουθετοῦσα οὐκ ἐπαύετο. τοῦτ τὸν Θεόφιλον οὐκ ἔλαθεν, ἀλλὰ προσκαλούμενος τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτοῦ πάντα ἠρώτα. καὶ αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι τὰς πεύσεις τούτου, ἀγαθὰ φρονοῦσαι, ὥσπερ τινὰς λαβὰς ἐρρωμένως παρέτρεχον· ἡ δὲ Πουλχερία, ἅτε δὴ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ νῷ νηπιάζουσα, τάς τε φιλοφροσύνας ἔλεγε καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὀπωρῶν, συναπηρίθμει δὲ καὶ τῆς τῶν σεπτῶν εἰκόνων προσκυνήσεως, οὕτω δὲ οὐ πολλὰ φρονοῦσα καὶ λέγουσα ὡς νινία