Sicily is very great and most illustrious. But formerly it was not under the rule of the emperor of Constantinople, when Rome was ruled; but now this innovation has come about because Rome has laid aside imperial power and has its own sovereignty, and is ruled properly by a certain Pope from time to time. But it is now held under the rule of Constantinople because the emperor of Constantinople rules the sea as far as the Pillars of Heracles, and all of the sea hereabouts. It got the reason for being called Sicily from such a history, as the grammarian Stephanus writes: "The island of Sicily was formerly called Sicania; then it was called Sicily, as Hellanicus says, in the second book of the Priestesses of Hera: "And at the same time the Ausones were driven out of Italy by the Iapygians, and their leader was Sicelus; and crossing to the island then called Sicania, settling around Aetna, they dwelt there, both they and their king Sicelus, who established a kingdom and starting from there this Sicelus took control of this entire island, which was then called Sicily after this Sicelus, who also ruled in it". And Menippus says the same things. But Thucydides says thus: "A large army coming from Italy into Sicily, having defeated the Sicani in battle, sent them to the southern and western parts of it, and made the island be called Sicily instead of Sicania, and they dwelt there, holding the best parts of the land". And it is testified to be the greatest of the seven, as Alexis the comic poet says: Of the seven islands, which nature has shown to be greatest for mortals, Sicily, as the story goes, is the greatest, second is Sardinia, third is Cyrnus, and fourth is Crete, the nurse of Zeus. Euboea, long and narrow, is fifth, sixth is Cyprus; and Lesbos has been allotted the seventh place. "Of the islanders, the ancient indigenous Ligurians from Italy are called Sicels, while the immigrant Greeks [are] Siceliotes, like the Italiotes". It has famous cities, both Syracuse and what is called Tauromenium, and Akragas itself and the other cities, some desolate, others held by the Saracens. So, the Saracens took Syracuse in the time of the renowned emperor Basil, and Tauromenium in the time of the most wise emperor Leo. Therefore, whatever fortresses were left are held by the godless Saracens; but only Calabria opposite is held by the Christians, in which is Rhegion and the town of Saint Kyriake, and that of Saint Severina and Croton and some others, over which the strategos of Calabria rules; and the cities under Sicily and its strategos are 22. In ancient times this island was ruled by tyrants, not to say ruled by kings, by both Hieron and Dionysius the tyrant; but the Romans took it with a great fleet, when that famous Marcellus was general and was appointed admiral of the Roman fleet, at which time Archimedes the geometer, being in Syracuse itself when the city was taken by night, was killed by a certain soldier; whom that Marcellus lamented so much that no wailing was lacking at his burial. And these things are about Sicily. europ.11 The Eleventh Theme of Longibardia Lagobardia is called by two names: by some Longibarbia, that is, long-beardedness; and by some Lagobardia, as [long-beardedness] ***. And the land which they inhabit, both Sorrentum and Naples the metropolis and Mount Vesuvius and Pyrchanos in it, are colonies of the Greeks; and in the days of Justinian, or rather Zeno, the Goths took both Naples and the other adjacent cities; whose leader was Butilinus, the general of the Franks, whom Narses conquered at the river Casulinus and completely destroyed, as the epigram says: The streams of the river Casulinus, heavy with corpses, the shingle of the Tyrrhenian shore received, when the Ausonian spear slew the Frankish tribes, as many as obeyed wretched Butilinus; this stream in turn will be blessed and will be a substitute for a trophy

μεγίστη καὶ ἐπιφανεστάτη ἡ Σικελία. Οὐκ ἦν δὲ τὸ πρότερον ὑπὸ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ βασιλέως Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, ὅτε ἡ Ῥώμη ἐβασιλεύετο· νυνὶ δὲ ἐγένετο ἡ καινοτομία αὕτη διὰ τὸ τὴν Ῥώμην ἀποθέσθαι τὸ βασίλειον κράτος καὶ ἰδιοκρατορίαν ἔχειν, καὶ δεσπόζεται κυρίως παρά τινος κατὰ καιρὸν Πάπα. Κρατεῖται δὲ νῦν ὑπὸ τὴν ἀρχὴν Κωνσταντινουπόλεως διὰ τὸ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα Κωνσταντινουπόλεως θαλασσοκρατεῖν μέχρι τῶν Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν, καὶ πάσης ὁμοῦ τῆς ὧδε θαλάσσης. Ἔσχε δὲ τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ καλεῖσθαι Σικελία ἀπὸ ἱστορίας τοιαύτης, καθὼς ὁ γραμματικὸς Στέφανος γράφει· "Σικελία ἡ νῆσος Σικανία πρότερον ὠνομάζετο· εἶτα Σικελία ἐκλήθη, ὥς φησιν Ἑλλάνικος, Ἱερειῶν τῆς Ἥραςβʹ· "ἐν δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ καὶ Αὔσονες ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰαπύγων ἐξ Ἰταλίας ἀνέστησαν, ὧν ἦρχε Σικελός· καὶ διαβάντες εἰς τὴν νῆσον τὴν τότε Σικανίαν καλουμένην περὶ τὴν Αἴτναν καθιζόμενοι, ᾤκουν αὐτοί τε καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν Σικελός, βασιλείην ἐγκαταστησάμενος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ὁρμώμενος ὁ Σικελὸς οὗτος πάσης ἤδη τῆς νήσου ἐκράτησε ταύτης τῆς τότε Σικελίας καλουμένης ἀπὸ τοῦ Σικελοῦ τούτου, ὃς καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ ἐβασίλευσε". Καὶ Μένιππος δὲ ταὐτά φησιν. Θουκυδίδης δὲ οὕτως· "ἐλθόντες εἰς Σικελίαν στρατὸς πολὺς ἐξ Ἰταλίας, τούς τε Σικανοὺς κρατήσαντες μάχῃ ἀπέστειλαν εἰς τὰ μεσημβρινὰ καὶ τὰ ἑσπέρια μέρη αὐτῆς καὶ ἀντὶ Σικανίας Σικελίαν τὴν νῆσον ἐποίησαν καλεῖσθαι, καὶ τὰ κράτιστα τῆς γῆς ᾤκησαν ἔχοντες". Μεγίστη δὲ αὐτὴ μαρτυρεῖται τῶν ἑπτά, καθά φησιν Ἄλεξις ὁ κωμικός· Τῶν ἑπτὰ νήσων, ἃς δέδειχεν ἡ φύσις θνητοῖς μεγίστας, Σικελία μέν, ὡς λόγος, ἐστὶν μεγίστη, δευτέρα Σαρδώ, τρίτη Κύρνος, τετάρτη δ' ἡ ∆ιὸς Κρήτη τροφός. Εὔβοια πέμπτη στενοφυής, ἕκτη Κύπρος· Λέσβος δὲ τάξιν ἑβδόμην λαχοῦσ' ἔχει. "Τῶν δὲ νησιωτῶν οἱ μὲν ἰθαγενεῖς πάλαι Λίγυες ἐξ Ἰταλίας Σικελοὶ λέγονται, οἱ δὲ ἐπήλυδες Ἕλληνες [εἰσι] Σικελιῶται, ὡς Ἰταλιῶται". Ἔχει δὲ πόλεις ἐπισήμους τήν τε Συράκουσαν καὶ τὸ καλούμενον Ταυρομένιον, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν Ἀκράγαντα καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς πόλεις, τὰς μὲν ἠρημωμένας, τὰς δὲ κρατουμένας παρὰ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν. Τὴν μὲν οὖν Συράκουσαν ἐπὶ Βασιλείου τοῦ ἀοιδίμου βασιλέως παρέλαβον οἱ Σαρακηνοί, τὸ δὲ Ταυρομένιον ἐπὶ Λέοντος τοῦ σοφωτάτου βασιλέως. Ὅσα τοίνυν κατελείφθησαν κάστρα, παρὰ τῶν ἀθέων Σαρακηνῶν κρατοῦνται· μόνη δὲ ἀντίπεραν ἡ Καλαβρία κρατεῖται παρὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ἐν ᾗ καὶ τὸ Ῥήγιόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ πολισμάτιον τῆς ἁγίας Κυριακῆς, τῆς τε ἁγίας Σευηρίνης καὶ ὁ Κρότων καὶ ἄλλα τινά, ὧνπερ ὁ στρατηγὸς Καλαβρίας κυριεύει· εἰσὶ δὲ αἱ ὑπὸ Σικελίαν καὶ τὸν ταύτης στρατηγὸν πόλεις κβʹ. Τὸ δὲ ἀρχαῖον αὕτη ἡ νῆσος ἐτυραννεῖτο, ἵνα μὴ λέγω ἐβασιλεύετο, ὑπό τε Ἱέρωνος καὶ ∆ιονυσίου τοῦ τυράννου· παρέλαβον δὲ αὐτὴν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι μετὰ στόλου μεγάλου, ὅτε Μάρκελλος ἐκεῖνος ἐστρατήγει καὶ ναύαρχος τοῦ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ στόλου ἀνεδείκνυτο, ὅτε καὶ Ἀρχιμήδης ὁ γεωμέτρης ἐν αὐταῖς ταῖς Συρακούσαις ὤν, νυκτὸς ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως, ὑπὸ στρατιώτου τινὸς ἀνῃρέθη· ὃν ὁ Μάρκελλος ἐκεῖνος τοσοῦτον ἐθρήνησεν, ὡς μηδένα κοπετὸν ἀπολειφθῆναι τῆς ἐκείνου ταφῆς. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ Σικελίας. ευροπ.11 Ἑνδέκατον θέμα Λογγιβαρδίασ Ἡ δὲ Λαγοβαρδία δισσοῖς ὀνόμασι κέκληται· παρὰ μέν τισι Λογγιβαρβία, τουτέστι πολυγένεια· παρὰ δέ τισι Λαγοβαρδία, ὡς [πολυγένεια] ***. Ἡ δὲ γῆ, ἣν κατοικοῦσιν, ἥ τε Συρρεντὸς καὶ Νεάπολις ἡ μητρόπολις καὶ τὸ Βέσβιον ὄρος καὶ ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ Πυρχάνος, Ἑλλήνων εἰσὶν ἀποικίαι· καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰουστινιανοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ Ζήνωνος, παρέλαβον οἱ Γότθοι, τήν τε Νεάπολιν καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς παρακειμένας πόλεις· ὧν ἦρχε Βουτελῖνος, ὁ τῶν Φράγγων στρατηγός, ὃν κατεπολέμησεν ὁ Ναρσῆς παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν Κασουλῖνον καὶ τελείως ἠφάνισε, καθὼς τὸ ἐπίγραμμα λέγει· Ῥεῖθρα Κασουλίνου ποταμοῦ βεβαρημένα νεκροῖς δέξατο Τυρσηνῆς ἠϊόνος κροκάλη, ἡνίκα Φραγγικὰ φῦλα κατέκτανεν Αὐσονὶς αἰχμή, ὁππόσα δειλαίῳ πείθετο Βουτελίνῳ· ὄλβιον αὖ τόδε χεῦμα καὶ ἔσσεται ἀντὶ τροπαίου