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being at that time a chartoularios of the swift post, to the archon of Taron on account of such an affair and to Adranaser, the kouropalates of Iberia, for some other affairs, having given to him the appropriate gifts for both. But when the aforementioned Sinoutes was slandered by Theodore, the interpreter of the Armenians, to the aforementioned emperor of blessed memory, there was sent out as a royal envoy in his place the protospatharios Constantine Libos, the domestikos of the hypourgia, who is now an anthypatos, patrikios, and megas hetaireiarches, having been instructed by mandate to take back the gifts that had been sent to the archon of Taron, Krikorikios, and to enter Taron himself, and to urge Sinoutes to go to Adranaser, the kouropalates of Iberia, as had been commanded him. And when the aforementioned protospatharios reached Taron and delivered to Krikorikios the gifts and letters sent to him from the emperor, he took the illegitimate son of the Taronite, who was named Asotios, and brought him to the imperial city, whom the emperor honored with the rank of protospatharios and, having shown him sufficient favor, sent back to his own father by means of the same protospatharios. Then the same Constantine took from there Apoganem, the brother of Krikorikios, the archon of Taron, and brought him to the blessed emperor along with the two sons of Arkaïkas, whom the emperor also honored with the rank of protospatharios and, having kindly welcomed him many times, sent him back again by means of the same Constantine to his own country and to his own brother. And after this, when the aforementioned Constantine had spent a considerable time in Chaldia, he was permitted by command to enter Taron and to take Krikorikios, the archon of Taron, and enter the imperial city, which he also did. And when the same Krikorikios entered the God-guarded city and was honored with the rank of magistros and strategos of Taron, he was also given a house for his residence, the one called ‘of Barbaros,’ which is now the house of Basil the parakoimomenos. He was also honored with an annual salary of ten litrai of gold and another ten litrai of miliaresia, making a total of twenty litrai. And after spending some time in the imperial city, he was again safely escorted to his own country by the same protospatharios Constantine. And after this, Apoganem again came to the blessed emperor, and was promoted by him to the rank of patrikios; and he was also permitted to take the daughter of the aforementioned Constantine as his wife, and on this pretext he also requested a house, and he too received the house of Barbaros, without a chrysobull. And having been kindly treated by the emperor, he then returned to his own country with the intention of coming back again to complete the marriage rites, but upon his safe arrival in his own country, after a few days, he met the end of his life. But his brother, Krikorikios, requested through his letters to enter the imperial city and to receive his appointed salary from the hands of the holy emperor, and to reside for a time in the God-guarded city. And for this purpose, he asked to receive for his residence the house that had been designated for his own brother, which the blessed emperor granted him, both because of his recent submission and in order to call other archons of the east to a like zeal for submission to the Romans; but he did not make a written grant by chrysobull of this house to him. And after a considerable time, when the blessed emperor Romanos had taken up the scepters of the empire of the Romans, the same Krikorikios reported that he was not able to maintain the house of Barbaros, but asked to receive in its place an estate in Keltzene, either that of Tzatzates, or another, as the emperor should command, so that, whenever an incursion of the Hagarenes should occur against his country, he might have a place to send his own relatives and

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χαρτουλάριον τηνικαῦτα τοῦ ὀξέως δρόμου τυγχάνοντα, πρός τε τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ Ταρὼν τῆς τοιαύτης ἕνεκα ὑποθέσεως καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδρανασήρ, τὸν κουροπαλάτην Ἰβηρίας, διά τινας ἑτέρας ὑποθέσεις, δοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους ξενάλια τὰ ἁρμόζοντα. ∆ιαβληθέντος δὲ τοῦ εἰρημένου Σινούτου παρὰ Θεοδώρου, τοῦ τῶν Ἀρμενίων ἑρμηνευτοῦ, πρὸς τὸν εἰρημένον ἀοίδιμον βασιλέα, ἐξαπεστάλη βασιλικὸς ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ δομέστικος τῆς ὑπουργίας ὁ τοῦ Λιβός, ὁ νῦν ἀνθύπατος πατρίκιος καὶ μέγας ἑταιρειάρχης, ἐνταλματικῶς ὁρισθεὶς τοῦ ἀναλαβέσθαι τὰ πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ Ταρών, τὸν Κρικορίκιον, ἀποσταλέντα ξενάλια, καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν πρὸς τὸ Ταρὼν εἰσελθεῖν, τὸν δὲ Σινούτην προτρέψασθαι πρὸς τὸν Ἀδρανασήρ, τὸν κουροπαλάτην Ἰβηρίας, κατὰ τὰ ἐνταλθέντα αὐτῷ ἀπελθεῖν. Καταλαβὼν δὲ τὸ Ταρὼν ὁ εἰρημένος πρωτοσπαθάριος καὶ ἀποδοὺς Κρικορικίῳ τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποσταλέντα τοῦ βασιλέως δῶρα καὶ γράμματα, ἀνελάβετο τὸν νόθον τοῦ Ταρωνίτου υἱόν, ὃς Ἀσώτιος ὠνομάζετο, καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν, ὃν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῇ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου τιμήσας ἀξίᾳ καὶ ἱκανῶς φιλοφρονησάμενος, πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον πατέρα διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου ἀπέστειλεν. Ἀναλαβόμενος οὖν ὁ αὐτὸς Κωνσταντῖνος ἐκεῖθεν Ἀπογάνεμ, τὸν ἀδελφὸν Κρικορίκου, τοῦ ἄρχοντος τοῦ Ταρών, εἰσήγαγεν πρὸς τὸν μακάριον βασιλέα μετὰ καὶ τῶν δύο υἱῶν τοῦ Ἀρκάϊκα, ὃν καὶ τῇ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου ἀξίᾳ τιμήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ φιλοφρόνως πολλάκις δεξιωσάμενος, ἀπέστειλεν αὖθις διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντίνου εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν χώραν καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφόν. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν Χαλδίᾳ ὁ εἰρημένος Κωνσταντῖνος ἐπὶ χρόνον ἱκανὸν διατρίψας, ἐπετράπη διὰ κελεύσεως εἰσελθεῖν ἐν τῷ Ταρὼν καὶ ἀναλαβέσθαι Κρικορίκιον, τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ Ταρὼν καὶ πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν εἰσελθεῖν, ὃ καὶ ἐποίησεν. Εἰσελθόντος δὲ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κρικορικίου ἐν τῇ θεοφυλάκτῳ πόλει καὶ τῇ τοῦ μαγίστρου καὶ στρατηγοῦ Ταρὼν ἀξίᾳ τιμηθέντος, ἐδόθη αὐτῷ καὶ οἶκος εἰς κατοικίαν, ὁ τοῦ Βαρβάρου λεγόμενος, ὁ νῦν Βασιλείου τοῦ παρακοιμωμένου οἶκος. Ἐτιμήθη δὲ καὶ ἐτησίῳ ῥόγᾳ χρυσίου μὲν δέκα λίτρας καὶ μιλιαρησίων ἑτέρας δέκα λίτρας, ὡς εἶναι τὸ πᾶν λίτρας εἴκοσι. Καὶ ἐπὶ χρόνον ἐν τῇ βασιλευούσῃ διατρίψας, καὶ διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου Κωνσταντίνου πάλιν πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν διεσώθη χώραν. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πάλιν εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ὁ Ἀπογάνεμ πρὸς τὸν μακάριον βασιλέα, καὶ προεβιβάσθη παρ' αὐτοῦ εἰς πατρικιότητα· ἐπετράπη δὲ καὶ εἰς γυναῖκα λαβεῖν τοῦ εἰρημένου Κωνσταντίνου θυγατέρα, καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ προφάσει καὶ οἶκον ἐπεζήτησεν, καὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν τοῦ Βαρβάρου οἶκον χρυσοβουλλίου χωρίς. Καὶ φιλοφρονηθεὶς παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, τῷ τότε μὲν πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν χώραν ὑπέστρεψεν πρὸς τὸ πάλιν εἰσελθεῖν καὶ τὰ τοῦ γάμου ἀπαρτίσασθαι, ἅμα δὲ τῷ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν χώραν διασωθῆναι μετ' ὀλίγας ἡμέρας τέλει τοῦ βίου ἐχρήσατο. Ὁ δὲ τούτου ἀδελφός, Κρικορίκιος διὰ γραμμάτων αὐτοῦ ἐξῃτήσατο εἰσέρχεσθαι εἰς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν καὶ παρὰ τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ ἁγίου βασιλέως λαμβάνειν τὴν διδομένην ῥόγαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ χρόνον τινὰ ἐν τῇ θεοφυλάκτῳ διατρίβειν πόλει. Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὸν τῷ οἰκείῳ ἀδελφῷ προχειρισθέντα οἶκον εἰς κατοίκησιν λαβεῖν ἠξίου, ὃν καὶ ἐπιδέδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ μακάριος βασιλεὺς διά τε τὸ νεωστὶ ὑποταγῆναι καὶ διὰ τὸ καὶ ἄλλους ἄρχοντας τῆς ἀνατολῆς πρὸς τὸν ὅμοιον ζῆλον τῆς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ὑποταγῆς ἐκκαλέσασθαι· ἔγγραφον δὲ χρυσοβούλλιον δωρεὰν τοῦ τοιούτου οἴκου πρὸς αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐποίησεν. Μετὰ δὲ χρόνους ἱκανούς, Ῥωμανοῦ τοῦ μακαρίου βασιλέως τῶν σκήπτρων τῆς βασιλείας Ῥωμαίων ἐπειλημμένου, ἀνήγαγεν ὁ αὐτὸς Κρικορίκιος μὴ ἰσχύειν κρατεῖν τὸν τοῦ Βαρβάρου οἶκον, ἀλλ' ἠξίου λαβεῖν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ προάστειον ἐν Κελτζηνῇ, εἴτε τοῦ Τατζάτου, εἴτε ἄλλο, οἷον κελεύει ὁ βασιλεύς, ἵνα, ὅτε ἐπιδρομὴ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν κατὰ τῆς χώρας αὐτοῦ γένηται, ἀποστέλλειν ἐκεῖσε ἔχει τὴν οἰκείαν συγγένειαν καὶ