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taken captive, were brought before the emperor. Who, upon seeing him, and having received his mother, and having inquired who the Persian who had been joined to her in marriage might be and from where he had been raised, was informed by her that he was of the Persian race, and descended from royal nobility. The emperor, being pleased by this, lodged Theophobos in the palace and deemed him worthy of a suitable upbringing and a liberal education; And he, by good fortune of nature, and no less by living in magnificence, reached the pinnacle of a renowned education, so that from this, being greatly cherished by the emperor, he obtained the rank of patrician, and of the most glorious bodyguard and venerability, but also to attain the sumptuous and most sufficient retinue [...]. For this reason, the emperor, knowing from him that the Persians were vigorous and high-minded in wars, enrolled them in the military registers, and established for them a Persian corps, and ordered them to be counted among the Roman army commands. 3.5 When he was making many campaigns against the Ishmaelites, with Theophobos accompanying him, the Persians were so encouraged by their affection for him and were so filled with cheer, that they alone took up the war against the Hagarenes, and routed them with invincible force; at which the sovereign, being magnanimous and emboldened by the truth of the outcomes, was eager for Theophobos to lead the Persians. So when the emperor had returned to the capital on some urgent and necessary pretext, and had entrusted to Theophobos the command of the Persian troops, and then ordered him to return to the capital, the Persians had resorted to an absurdity out of a seditious disposition, and surrounding him against his will in the coastal parts of Paphlagonia (which is named after Paphlagon, son of Phineus, who ruled such a land) having taken possession of the city of Sinope, or according to some, Amastris, they proclaim him emperor, so that from this the Persian customs were also being renewed. But he, being distressed at the undertaking, since it had not been done according to his own judgment, blamed them for the audacious act, lamenting terribly because of this, and he tried to shame them and beseeched and compelled them to propitiate the emperor's favor, and, as was the truth, not to ascribe to him the cause of what was done. They, having heard these things and being seized with despair and no less being caught up in a mad rush, are by no means persuaded by his counsel, and they prepare themselves according to their own pleasure. But Theophobos, having sent secretly to the emperor, and confirming with written and most solemn oaths that he himself was in no way responsible for what had been dared, but that this had been done through the foolishness or good-will of the Persians, the emperor is benevolently pleased and guarantees by sworn assurances a pardon for him and for those with him; by which being fully assured and having accepted deliverance from their errors, they departed from the city of Sinope or Amastris. Of these cities, Sinope is said to have taken its name from one of the Amazons who founded it, and the other, formerly called Cromna, from a certain Persian, Amastris, daughter of Oxyartes, the brother of Darius, who having married Dionysius, the tyrant of Heraclea, he named the city that was under him after his wife. 3.6 And Theophobos, having been reconciled again with the emperor, was settled in the palace and enjoyed the affection and kindness that he had long had from the emperor. But as for the multitude of Persians, since they amounted to 30,000, it did not seem expedient to the emperor for them to be free and to live without constraint; hence, a number of Persians, two thousand to each of the Roman themes, was sent to be under the hand of those appointed from time to time as generals, over whom tourmarchs were also appointed to have charge of them. Assuredly, even down to the present time, the turmae of the themes the name of Persians

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ἀνῃρημένοι πρὸς βασιλέα ἠγάγοντο. ὅστις θεασάμενος αὐτόν, καὶ τὴν τεκοῦσαν προσηκάμενος, πεπυσμένος τε, ὁ πρὸς γάμον Πέρσης αὐτῇ συνιὼν τίς ἄρα ὑπάρχοι καὶ πόθεν ἐκτέθραπτο, ταύτης παρεδηλοῦτο, ὡς ἀπὸ Περσῶν εἴη τῆς γενεᾶς, εὐγενείας τε βασιλίδος ἐξέχεσθαι. τούτοις κατ' εὐθυμίαν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ διατεθεὶς τὸν μὲν Θεόφοβον ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις ἐσκήνωσεν ἀνατροφῆς τε προσηκούσης καὶ τῆς κατὰ μαθητείαν ἠξίου παιδεύσεως· ὁ δὲ φύσεως εὐκληρίᾳ, οὐχ ἧττον δὲ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπείᾳ συνδιαιτώμενος, εἰς ἄκρον ἧκεν ἐλλογίμου παιδεύσεως, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ πλεῖστα στεργόμενος εὐμοιρῆσαι πατρικιότητα, δορυφορίας τε καὶ σεβασμιότητος περιδόξων, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τῆς κατὰ θεραπείαν πολυτελοῦς καὶ ἱκανωτάτης [...] ἐφάψασθαι. διά τοι τοῦτο ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς τοὺς Πέρσας ἐκ τούτου ὡς νεανικοὺς ἐν πολέμοις καὶ μεγαλόφρονας ἐπιστάμενος τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς ἀναγράφεται κώδιξιν, καὶ τούτοις Περσικὸν σύλλογον ἐγκατέστησεν, καὶ αὐτοὺς ταῖς Ῥωμαϊκαῖς στρατοπεδαρχίαις συνηριθμῆσθαι προσέταξεν. 3.5 Οὗ κατὰ τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν πολλαχῶς ἐφοδεύοντος, τοῦ Θεοφόβου αὐτῷ συμπαρόντος, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τῷ πρὸς αὐτὸν πόθῳ τοὺς Πέρσας θαρρύνεσθαι καὶ θυμηδίᾳ διακεχύσθαι, ὡς μόνους τὸν κατὰ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν αἴρεσθαι πόλεμον, τρέπειν τε τούτους ἐξ ἀηττήτου δυνάμεως· ἐφ' οἷς μεγαλοψυχήσας ὁ ἄναξ καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τῶν ἀποβάντων τεθαρρηκὼς ἡγεμονεύειν ἐν Πέρσαις τὸν Θεόφοβον προτεθύμητο. τοῦ οὖν βασιλέως κατά τινα πρόφασιν διεσπουδακυῖαν ἀναγκαίως πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ἀναλύσαντος, τῷ δὲ Θεοφόβῳ τὰ τῶν Περσῶν ἐγκεχειρικότος διαθέσθαι στρατηγικῶς τὰ στρατεύματα, εἶτα πρὸς τὴν βασιλίδα τοῦτον ἐπανιέναι κελεύσαντος, εἰς ἀτοπίαν οἱ Πέρσαι προσκεχωρήκεσαν ἐκ στασιόφρονος διαθέσεως, καὶ μὴ ἑκόντα περιστοιχήσαντες ἐν μέρεσι παραλίοις τῆς Παφλαγονίας (ἥτις ἀπὸ Παφλαγόνος υἱοῦ τοῦ Φινέως τῆς τοιαύτης γῆς ἐγκρατήσαντος ἀγορεύεται) ἐν κατασχέσει τε Σινώπης τῆς πόλεως ἢ κατά τινας Ἀμάστριδος γεγονότες βασιλέα κηρύττουσιν, ὡς ἐκ τούτου καὶ τὰ Περσῶν καινίζεσθαι ἔθιμα. αὐτὸς δὲ δυσφόρως ἔχων πρὸς τὸ ἐγχείρημα, οἷα μὴ κατὰ γνώμην αὐτῷ πεπραγμένον, αἰτίαν αὐτοῖς προσέπλεκε τοῦ τολμήματος, δεινῶς ἀπολοφυρόμενος διὰ τοῦτο, καὶ ἐδυσώπει αὐτοὺς ἱκέτευέ τε καὶ ἐβιάζετο τὸ εὐμενὲς βασιλέως ἐξιλεοῦσθαι, καὶ ὥσπερ ἔχοι τὸ ἀληθές, μὴ αὐτῷ ἐπιγράφειν τοῦ τελεσθέντος αἰτίαν. οἳ ταῦτα διηκουτισμένοι ἀπογνώσει τε συσχεθέντες οὐκ ἔλαττον καὶ μανιώδει φορᾷ συνειλούμενοι, οὐδαμῶς τῷ συμβουλεύματι πείθονται, καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀρέσκον αὐτοῖς εὐτρεπίζονται. τοῦ δὲ Θεοφόβου λαθραίως διαπεμψαμένου πρὸς βασιλέα, ἐγγράφοις τε ὅρκοις καὶ φρικωδεστάτοις ἐπισχυριζομένου, ὡς οὐ τῷ τολμηθέντι πάντως αὐτὸς κατῃτίατο, παρὰ δὲ τῆς τῶν Περσῶν εὐηθείας ἢ φιλευνοίας τοῦτο πεπρᾶχθαι, φιλανθρώπως ὁ βασιλεὺς εὐμενίζεται καὶ ἐπωμότοις αὐτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ κατεγγυᾶται πιστώσεσιν ἄφεσιν· οἷς πεπληροφορημένοι καὶ τῶν ἐσφαλμένων προσδεξάμενοι λύτρωσιν τῆς Σινωπίδος πόλεως ἢ Ἀμάστριδος ἐξεδήμησαν. ὧν τὴν μὲν κλῆσιν ἐξειληφέναι Σινώπης ἀπό τινος τῶν Ἀμαζόνων, αὐτὴν δειμαμένης, τὴν δὲ τὸ πρὶν Κρῶμναν ὠνομασμένην ἔκ τινος Περσίδος Ἀμάστριδος, θυγατρὸς Ὀξυάρτου ἀδελφοῦ ∆αρείου, ἥτις συνοικήσασα ∆ιονυσίῳ τῷ Ἡρακλείας τυράννῳ, ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ οὖσαν τὴν πόλιν ἀπὸ τῆς συζύγου ὠνομακέναι. 3.6 Καὶ ὁ μὲν Θεόφοβος τῷ βασιλεῖ αὖθις ἱλεωθεὶς ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις κατῴκιστο καὶ τῆς πάλαι προσούσης αὐτῷ παρὰ βασιλέως φιλοστοργίας καὶ εὐπαθείας ἀπέλαυεν. Περσῶν δὲ πληθύν, διὰ τὸ προϊέναι μέχρι μυριάδων γʹ, οὐ ταύτην ἐλευθεριάζειν συμφέρον εἶναι καὶ ἐπ' ἀδείας διάγειν τῷ βασιλεῖ κατεφαίνετο· ἐντεῦθεν τοῖς Ῥωμαϊκοῖς θέμασι χιλιάσιν ἐπὶ δυσὶν Περσικὸς ἀριθμὸς ἀπεστέλλετο ὑπὸ χεῖρα τελεῖν τῶν κατὰ στρατηγεσίαν καιροῖς τεταγμένων, ἐφ' ὧν καὶ τουρμάρχαι τούτων ἐπιστατεῖν διωρίζοντο. ἀμέλει καὶ ἕως τῶν ἐνταυθοῖ χρόνων τὴν προσηγορίαν Περσῶν αἱ τῶν θεμάτων τοῦρμαι