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of Bulgaria, so that he even made him his godson. But after the time that the lord Leo himself reigned, there came to Pagania, then held by the archon of Serbia, the then strategos in Dyrrachion, protospatharios Leo Rhabdouchos, who after this was honored with the rank of magistros and logothete of the dromos, to confer and meet with the same archon Peter about some service and matter. But Michael, the archon of the Zachloumoi, growing jealous at this, informed Symeon, the archon of the Bulgarians, that the emperor of the Romans was bribing the archon Peter with gifts to bring over the Turks with him and come against Bulgaria. And at that time there was a war at Achelo between the Romans and the Bulgarians. Symeon therefore, becoming enraged at this against the archon of Serbia, Peter, sent Sigritzes Theodore and that Marmain with an army, having with them also the archon’s son Paul, the son of Bran, whom Peter, the archon of Serbia, had blinded. The Bulgarians therefore, coming against the archon of Serbia by treachery and making a spiritual kinship with him and confirming by an oath that he would suffer no harm from them, deceived him into coming out to them, and having immediately bound him they brought him into Bulgaria, and he died in prison. In his place came Paul, the son of Bran, and he ruled for three years. But the emperor, the lord Romanos, having in the City the archon’s son Zacharias, the son of Pribesthlabos, the archon of Serbia, sent him to become archon in Serbia, but he went and fought and was defeated by Paul; for having seized him, he handed him over to the Bulgarians, and he was held captive. Then after three years, when Paul had turned against the Bulgarians, he sent Zacharias, who had previously been sent by the lord Romanos the emperor, and having driven out Paul, he himself seized the rule of the Serbs, and he, at once remembering the benefactions of the emperor of the Romans, turned against the Bulgarians, not wishing to be subject to them at all, but rather to be ruled by the emperor of the Romans. So that when Symeon sent an army against him through Marmain and Sigritzes {and} Theodore, he sent their heads and arms from the war to the emperor of the Romans as trophies of victory (for there was still fighting between the Romans and the Bulgarians), and he never ceased, just like the archons before him, sending to the emperors of the Romans, and being subject and serving them. And again Symeon sent another army through Kninos and Hmnikos and Itzboklia against the archon Zacharias, sending with them also Tzeesthlabos. Then Zacharias, taking fright, fled into Croatia, but the Bulgarians sent word to the župans to come to them and receive Tzeesthlabos as archon, and having deceived them with an oath and led them out as far as {the} first village and immediately bound them, they entered Serbia and carried off the entire people, from small to great, and brought them into Bulgaria, but some, escaping, entered Croatia, and the country was left deserted. At that time, therefore, these same Bulgarians entered Croatia with Alogobotur to make war, and were all slain there by the Croats. But after seven years Tzeesthlabos fled from the Bulgarians with four others, and from Persthlavos entered Serbia, and found in the country no more than fifty men without wives or children, but living by hunting. Having taken possession of the country with these men, he sent a message to the emperor of the Romans, seeking his succour and aid, promising to serve and obey his command, just as the archons before him. And from then on the emperor of the Romans did not cease to benefit him, so that also those living in Croatia and Bulgaria and in the other lands

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Βουλγαρίας, ὥστε καὶ σύντεκνον αὐτὸν ἐποίησεν. Μετὰ δὲ τὸν καιρόν, ὃν αὐτὸς ὁ κύρις Λέων ἐβασίλευσεν, παρεγένετο ὁ τότε εἰς τὸ ∆υρράχιον στρατηγῶν, ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος Λέων ὁ Ῥαβδοῦχος, ὁ μετὰ τοῦτο μάγιστρος τιμηθεὶς καὶ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου, εἰς Παγανίαν, τὴν τότε παρὰ τοῦ ἄρχοντος Σερβλίας διακρατουμένην, πρὸς τὸ βουλευθῆναι καὶ συντυχεῖν τῷ αὐτῷ ἄρχοντι Πέτρῳ περί τινος δουλείας καὶ ὑποθέσεως. Ζηλοτυπήσας δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο Μιχαήλ, ὁ ἄρχων τῶν Ζαχλούμων, ἐμήνυσεν Συμεών, τῷ Βουλγάρων ἄρχοντι, ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων δεξιοῦται διὰ δώρων τὸν ἄρχοντα Πέτρον πρὸς τὸ συνεπαρεῖν τοὺς Τούρκους καὶ ἐπελθεῖν κατὰ Βουλγαρίας. Ἐγένετο δὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ πόλεμος εἰς Ἀχελὼν μεταξὺ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν Βουλγάρων. Ἐμμανὴς οὖνἐν τούτῳ γενόμενος Συμεὼν κατὰ τοῦ ἄρχοντος Σερβλίας, Πέτρου, ἀπέστειλε τὸν Σιγρίτζη Θεόδωρον καὶ τὸν Μαρμαὴν ἐκεῖνον μετὰ φοσσάτου, ἔχοντας καὶ ἀρχοντόπουλον Παῦλον, τὸν υἱὸν Βράνου, ὃν ὁ Πέτρος, ὁ ἄρχων Σερβλίας ἐτύφλωσεν. ∆όλῳ οὖν ἐπελθόντες οἱ Βούλγαροι πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα Σερβλίας καὶ συντεκνίαν μετ' αὐτοῦ ποιησάμενοι καὶ ὅρκῳ βεβαιώσαντες μὴ παθεῖν τι παρ' αὐτῶν ἐναντίον, ἠπάτησαν αὐτὸν ἐξελθεῖν πρὸς αὐτούς, ὃν καὶ πάραυτα δεσμήσαντες εἰσήγαγον ἐν Βουλγαρίᾳ, καὶ ἀποθνήσκει ἐν φυλακῇ. Εἰσῆλθεν δὲ ἀντ' αὐτοῦ Παῦλος, ὁ υἱὸς Βράνου, καὶ ἐκράτησεν ἔτη τρία. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, ὁ κύρις Ῥωμανὸς ἔχων ἀρχοντόπουλον ἐν τῇ πόλει Ζαχαρίαν, τὸν υἱὸν Πριβεσθλάβου, τοῦ ἄρχοντος Σερβλίας, ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι ἄρχοντα ἐν Σερβλίᾳ, ἀλλὰ ἀπελθὼν καὶ πολεμήσας, ἡττήθη παρὰ τοῦ Παύλου· κρατήσας γὰρ αὐτὸν παρέδωκεν τοῖς Βουλγάροις, καὶ ἐκρατεῖτο δέσμιος. Εἶτα μετὰ χρόνους τρεῖς, τοῦ Παύλου ἐναντιωθέντος τοῖς Βουλγάροις, ἀπέστειλεν τὸν Ζαχαρίαν, τὸν πρότερον παρὰ τοῦ κυροῦ Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποσταλέντα, καὶ διώξας τὸν Παῦλον, ἐκράτησεν αὐτὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Σέρβλων, ὅστις πάραυτα τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων ἐπιμνησθείς, ἐγένετο κατὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων, μηδ' ὅλως θελήσας ὑποταγῆναι αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως μᾶλλον Ῥωμαίων δεσπόζεσθαι. Ὥστε καὶ τοῦ Συμεὼν φοσσᾶτον κατ' αὐτοῦ ἀποστείλαντος διὰ τοῦ Μαρμαὴμ καὶ τοῦ Σιγρίτζη {καὶ} Θεοδώρου, ὧν καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς καὶ ἄρματα ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων ἐπινίκια (ἔτι γὰρ μεταξὺ Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν Βουλγάρων μάχη ἦν), οὐδέποτε δὲ ἐπαύσατο, καθὼς καὶ οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντες, ἀποστέλλων πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς Ῥωμαίων, καὶ ὑποτασσόμενος καὶ δουλεύων αὐτοῖς. Πάλιν δὲ ἀπέστειλεν ἕτερον φοσσᾶτον ὁ Συμεὼν διὰ τοῦ Κνήνου καὶ τοῦ Ἡμνήκου καὶ τοῦ Ἠτζβόκλια κατὰ τοῦ ἄρχοντος Ζαχαρίου, συναποστείλας μετ' αὐτῶν καὶ Τζεέσθλαβον. Τότε ὁ μὲν Ζαχαρίας φοβηθεὶς φεύγει ἐν Χρωβατίᾳ, οἱ δὲ Βούλγαροι μηνύσαντες τοῖς ζουπάνοις ἐλθεῖν πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ παραλαβεῖν ἄρχοντα τὸν Τζεέσθλαβον καὶ δι' ὅρκου τούτους ἀπατήσαντες καὶ ἐξαγαγόντες μέχρι {τῷ} τοῦ πρώτου χωρίου καὶ πάραυτα δεσμήσαντες αὐτούς, εἰσῆλθον ἐν Σερβλίᾳ καὶ συνεπῆραν τὸν ἅπαντα λαὸν ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου, καὶ εἰσήγαγον ἕως Βουλγαρίας, τινὲς δὲ ἀποδράσαντες εἰσῆλθον καὶ ἐν Χρωβατίᾳ, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἡ χώρα ἔρημος. Κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν οὖν ἐκεῖνον εἰσῆλθον οἱ αὐτοὶ Βούλγαροι εἰς Χρωβατίαν μετὰ τοῦ Ἀλογοβότουρ τοῦ πολεμῆσαι, καὶ ἐσφάγησαν πάντες ἐκεῖσε παρὰ τῶν Χρωβάτων. Μετὰ δὲ χρόνους ἑπτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν Βουλγάρων φυγὼν ὁ Τζεέσθλαβος μετὰ καὶ ἑτέρων τεσσάρων, ἀπὸ Περσθλάβου εἰσῆλθεν ἐν Σερβλίᾳ, οὐχ εὗρεν δὲ εἰς τὴν χώραν, εἰ μὴ πεντήκοντα μόνους ἄνδρας μήτε γυναῖκας ἔχοντας, μήτε παιδία, ἀλλὰ κυνηγοῦντας, καὶ διατρεφομένους. Μετὰ τούτων κρατήσας τὴν χώραν, ἐμήνυσεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων, τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀντίληψιν καὶ βοήθειαν ἐπιζητῶν, ὑπισχνούμενος, δουλεύειν καὶ ὑπείκειν τῇ προστάξει αὐτοῦ, καθὼς καὶ οἱ πρὸς αὐτοῦ ἄρχοντες. Καὶ ἔκτοτε οὐ διέλιπεν ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς εὐεργετῶν αὐτόν, ὥστε καὶ οἱ εἰς Χρωβατίαν καὶ Βουλγαρίαν καὶ ἐν ταῖς λοιπαῖς χώραις διάγοντες