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to the one who wanted; and a Hebrew from Edessa bought him, having loaded him up from the sea with 80 camels. When Uthman died, then, Muawiyah himself succeeded to the rule of the Arabs. And he took possession of the holy city and of the parts of Palestine, and Damascus and Antioch and all the cities of Egypt. But Ali, who was the son-in-law of Muhammad by his daughter, called Fatimah, took possession of Yathrib and all of rugged Arabia. In these days, therefore, both Ali and Muawiyah were stirred up to war against each other, contending for the rule, as to which of them would rule all of Syria. And they were gathered by the Euphrates river, and they joined in a strong war with each other. And while the war was raging, and many were falling from both sides, the multitudes of the Hagarenes of both {two} sides cried out: "Why are we slaughtering and being slaughtered, and our race is vanishing from the life of men? But let two elders be chosen from both sides, and whoever they may select, let him have the rule." And Ali and Muawiyah were pleased with their word, and taking their own rings from their hands, they gave them to the two elders, which is a sign of rule among the Hagarenes, and they gave their authority over to the will of the two elders, having made the matter an oath and having agreed to this, that whomever the elders should select, that one would be lord and leader of all the Saracens. And when the two elders had entered between the battle line of the two sides and had stood opposite each other in the space between the armies, the elder of Ali was pious according to the custom of the Saracens, the kind they call qadis, that is, faithful and sanctified; but the elder of Muawiyah was pious in appearance only, but in other respects deceitful and arrogant and surpassing all men in wickedness. And the elder of Muawiyah said to the elder of Ali: "You speak first, whatever you wish, you who are both wise and pious and far exceed my years." And the elder of Ali answered this: "I deposed Ali from the rule, as I took his ring from his hand and put it on my own finger; so I remove the ring of Ali from my finger, deposing him along with it from his rule." And the elder of Muawiyah answered in turn, thus: "I installed Muawiyah in the rule, just as I put his ring on my finger; so I shall also put the ring of Muawiyah on his finger." And then they were separated from each other. Muawiyah therefore takes all the authority of Syria, since all the amirs had sworn to each other thus: "Whatever the elders may say, that we shall follow their words." At any rate Ali, taking his people, went away to the regions of Yathrib with all his kin, and there ended his life. But after the death of Ali, his sons, considering their father's counsel to be nonsense, rose up against Muawiyah, and joined in a strong war with Muawiyah, and being defeated they fled from his presence, and Muawiyah, sending men, killed them all. And from that time all the rule of the Arabs came to Muawiyah. And it should be known that this Muawiyah was a descendant of Sufyan. And Maslamah was a descendant of Muawiyah, the one who campaigned against Constantinople, at whose request the mosque of the Saracens was built in the imperial praetorium. But he was not the leader of the Arabs, but Sulayman was the leader of the Saracens, while Maslamah served in the rank of a general. And Sulayman came with his fleet against Constantinople, and Maslamah by land, and he crossed over at Lampsacus to the regions of Thrace, leading with him 80 thousand soldiers. And through the providence of God, both the fleet of Sulayman, the leader of the Arabs, and the infantry army of Maslamah all returned with shame, having been defeated and warred down

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τῷ βουλομένῳ· ὠνήσατο δὲ αὐτὸν Ἑβραῖος Ἐδεσσηνός, ἐπιφορτώσας αὐτὸν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης καμήλους πʹ. Τελευτήσαντος οὖν τοῦ Οὐθμάν, διεδέξατο τὴν τῶν Ἀράβων ἀρχὴν αὐτὸς ὁ Μαυίας. Ἐκράτησεν δὲ τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως καὶ τῶν τῆς Παλαιστίνης μερῶν, τήν τε ∆αμασκὸν καὶ Ἀντιόχειαν καὶ πάσας τὰς τῆς Αἰγύπτου πόλεις. Ὁ δὲ Ἀλήμ, ὃς ἦν γαμβρὸς τοῦ Μουάμεθ ἐπὶ θυγατρί, καλουμένῃ Φατιμέ, ἐκράτησεν τῆς Αἰθρίβου καὶ πάσης τῆς τραχείας Ἀραβίας. Ἐν ταύταις οὖν ταῖς ἡμέραις διηγέρθησαν πρὸς πόλεμον κατ' ἀλλήλων ὅ τε Ἀλὴμ καὶ ὁ Μαυίας ἐρίζοντες περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς, τίς αὐτῶν κυριεύσει πάσης Συρίας. Συνήχθησαν δὲ παρὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμόν, καὶ συνάπτουσι πόλεμον ἰσχυρὸν μετ' ἀλλήλων. Τοῦ δὲ πολέμου κρατοῦντος, καὶ πολλῶν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων πιπτόντων, ἔκραξαν τὰ πλήθη τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν {δύο} μερῶν· "Τίνι τρόπῳ σφάζομεν καὶ σφαζόμεθα, καὶ ἀφανίζεται τὸ γένος ἡμῶν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων βιοτῆς; Ἀλλὰ χωρισθήτωσαν δύο γέροντες ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν μερῶν, καὶ ὃν ἂν προκρίνωσιν, ἐχέτω τὴν ἀρχήν." Ὁ δὲ Ἀλὴμ καὶ ὁ Μαυίας ἠρέσθησαν ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν δακτυλίους, δεδώκασι τοῖς δυσὶ γέρουσιν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ σημεῖον τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν, καὶ παρέσχον τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν θέλησιν τῶν δύο γερόντων, τὸ πρᾶγμα ἔνορκον ποιησάμενοι καὶ τοῦτο στοιχήσαντες, ἵνα ὃν ἂν προκρίνωσιν οἱ γέροντες, ἐκεῖνος ἔσται κύριος καὶ ἀρχηγὸς πάντων τῶν Σαρακηνῶν. Καὶ εἰσελθόντων τῶν δύο γερόντων ἀναμέσον τῆς παρεμβολῆς τοῦ πολέμου τῶν δύο μερῶν καὶ σταθέντων ἐν τῷ μεταιχμίῳ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἀντιπροσώπων, τοῦ μὲν Ἀλὴμ ὁ γέρων ὑπῆρχεν κατὰ τὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἔθνος εὐλαβής, οἵους ἐκεῖνοι λέγουσι καδῆς, τουτέστιν πιστοὺς καὶ ἡγιασμένους· ὁ δὲ τοῦ Μαυίου γέρων ἐν σχήματι μόνῳ ἦν εὐλαβής, τὰ δ' ἄλλα δολερὸς καὶ αὐθάδης καὶ πονηρίᾳ πάντας ὑπερβάλλων ἀνθρώπους. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ τοῦ Μαυίου γέρων πρὸς τὸν γέροντα τοῦ Ἀλήμ, ὅτι· "Σὺ πρῶτος εἰπέ, ὅπερ βούλῃ, ὃς εἶ τε φρόνιμος καὶ εὐλαβὴς καὶ μακρὰ τοὺς ἐμοὺς χρόνους ὑπερβαλλόμενος." Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων τοῦ Ἀλὴμ τοῦτο, ὅτι· "Ἐξέβαλον τὸν Ἀλὴἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ὡς ἐξήγαγον τὸν δακτύλιον αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσήγαγον εἰς τὸν ἐμὸν δάκτυλον· ἐκβάλω καὶ τὸν δακτύλιον τοῦ Ἀλὴμ ἐκ τοῦ δακτύλου μου, συνεκβαλὼν αὐτὸν καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ." Καὶ ἀνταπεκρίθη ὁ τοῦ Μαυίου γέρων, ὡς ὅτι· "Εἰσήγαγον τὸν Μαυίαν εἰς τὴν ἀρχήν, ὥσπερ εἰσήγαγον τὸν δακτύλιον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν δάκτυλόν μου· εἰσαγάγω καὶ τὸν δακτύλιον τοῦ Μαυίου εἰς τὸν δάκτυλον αὐτοῦ." Καὶ τότε διεχωρίσθησαν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων. Παραλαμβάνει οὖν ὁ Μαυίας πᾶσαν τὴν ἐξουσίαν Συρίας, ἐπειδὴ ὀμωμόκεσαν ἀλλήλοις οἱ ἀμηραῖοι πάντες, ὡς· "Ὅ τι ἂν εἴπωσιν οἱ γέροντες, ἵνα ἑπώμεθα εἰς τοὺς λόγους αὐτῶν." Ὁ γοῦν Ἀλὴμ παραλαβὼν τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ μέρη Αἰθρίβου μετὰ πάσης τῆς συγγενείας αὐτοῦ, κἀκεῖσε τελευτᾷ τὸν βίον. Μετὰ δὲ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Ἀλὴμ λῆρον ἡγησάμενοι οἱ τούτου υἱοὶ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν βουλήν, ἐπανέστησαν κατὰ τοῦ Μαυίου, καὶ συνῆψαν πόλεμον ἰσχυρὸν μετὰ τοῦ Μαυίου, καὶ ἡττηθέντες ἔφυγον ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀποστείλας Μαυίας ἀπέκτεινεν ἅπαντας. Καὶ ἔκτοτε ἦλθε πᾶσα ἡ ἀρχὴ τῶν Ἀράβων εἰς τὸν Μαυίαν. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ Μαυίας ἔκγονος ἦν τοῦ Σοφιάμ. Ἔκγονος δὲ τοῦ Μαυίου ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Μάσαλμας, ὁ κατὰ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐκστρατεύσας, οὗτινος καὶ δι' αἰτήσεως ἐκτίσθη τὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν μαγίσδιον ἐν τῷ βασιλικῷ πραιτωρίῳ. Οὐκ ἦν δὲ οὗτος ἀρχηγὸς τῶν Ἀράβων, ἀλλὰ Σουλεϊμὰν ὑπῆρχεν ἀρχηγὸς τῶν Σαρακηνῶν, ὁ δὲ Μάσαλμας ἐν τάξει στρατηγοῦ ἐχρημάτιζεν. Ἦλθεν δὲ Σουλεϊμὰν μετὰ τοῦ στόλου αὐτοῦ κατὰ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ὁ δὲ Μάσαλμας διὰ ξηρᾶς, καὶ διεπέρασεν ἐν Λαμψάκῳ ἐπὶ τὰ μέρη τῆς Θρᾴκης, ἄγων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ στρατιώτας χιλιάδας πʹ. Καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας ὅ τε στόλος Σουλεϊμάν, τοῦ ἀρχηγοῦ τῶν Ἀράβων καὶ ὁ πεζὸς στρατὸς τοῦ Μάσαλμα ὑπέστρεψαν ἅπαντες μετ' αἰσχύνης, ἡττηθέντες καὶ καταπολεμηθέντες