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He had to build with these. Since the place was lacking in stones, he made quicklime from the small pebbles of the river, and by firing clay from the underlying earth in kilns, and having made bricks, with difficulty, to be sure, but through the help of many hands he splendidly completed the servitude assigned to him, and returned to the reigning city. And he also gave to the emperor his opinion and counsel concerning Cherson, based on the experience he had gained of the people and the places together, and "You will not otherwise rule the land and the places entirely than by appointing your own general, but not by entrusting yourself to their archons and proteuons." For not even one of our generals was yet sent out to provide for them, but the so-called proteuon, along with the fathers of the city, was administering everything. On account of this, the emperor Theophilos, judging the aforementioned Petronas to be experienced in the place, honored him as a protospatharios and sent him out as a general, having decreed that the proteuon 124 and the others should obey him without hesitation; from which time the practice of appointing generals from here to Cherson has prevailed even to our own day. Thus, then, occurred both the building of Sarkel and the sending of generals from here to the Chersonites. 29And Theophilos again went out against the Agarenes more vehemently, being unwilling to be surpassed in his father's boldness. Wherefore he advanced even further into Syria, at once ravaging and sacking the land, at once plundering and taking it captive, and taking two other cities and razing them to the ground, and having even besieged Sozopetra, which happened to be the native land of the ameramnounes, concerning which there came from there an exhortation through letters for Theophilos to withdraw from his homeland, though he in no way had a listener. And having managed these things, Theophilos returned to the reigning city, having urged Theophobos to arrange the affairs of the Persians and to return quickly to him. But the Persians, detaining him at Sinope, proclaimed him emperor even against his will; but he, moved by reverence and fear towards the emperor, refused and said that they would suffer terrible things for their audacity. Wherefore, they, fearing the threats from the emperor even more, held to their decision, and held him in their midst, encouraging him. But Theophobos secretly informed the emperor of what had been done, and assured him under oath that not he, but they were the cause of what had been dared. And the emperor gladly accepts his 125 choice and summons him to the palace, restoring his former good standing; and having given pardon to all the others and amnesty for their misdeeds, he makes them depart from Sinope, or rather from Amastris. And since they had given way to and increased in number so that they had reached thirty thousand, it did not seem expedient to the emperor for them to be free and at large, but having considered it well, he sent two thousand to each theme, to be under the hand of those appointed to the generalship; over whom he also set tourmarchs to preside. Wherefore, even to our day, the tourmas of the themes to which they were dispersed have been called "of the Persians." At any rate, this act of audacity, seeming somehow too bold and rash to Theophilos, caused them to be dispersed and distributed, and not long after he took Theophobos's life. And there was also a second cause, which the account will certainly reveal in its proper time. 30 But the ameramnounes was so wounded in his soul at the capture and sack of his homeland that he decreed and proclaimed everywhere that every age group from both Babylonia and Phoenicia and Coele-Syria and Palestine and lower Libya being gathered together, should inscribe "Amorion" upon their shields, hinting with audacity at the crossing against him. At any rate, he was gathered together and at Tarsus became a great force from a few, with madness at the 126

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εδει τούτοις οἰκοδομεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ λίθων ὁ τόπος ἠπόρει, ἐκ μὲν τῶν μικρῶν καχλήκων τοῦ ποταμοῦ ασβεστον, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ὑπο- κειμένης γῆς πηλὸν ἐγκαύσας διὰ καμίνων, καὶ βίσαλον ἐργασά- μενος, τὴν ὁρισθεῖσαν αὐτῷ δουλείαν μόγις μέν, ἐπεραίου δὲ διὰ πολυχειρίας λαμπρῶς, καὶ πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ἐπανέστρεφεν. ἐδίδου δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Χερσῶνος τῷ βασιλεῖ γνώμην τε καὶ βου- λήν, οις εἰς πεῖραν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ηλθεν καὶ τῶν τόπων ὁμοῦ, καὶ "οὐκ αλλως αρξεις τῆς χώρας καὶ τῶν τόπων ὁλοσχερῶς η  στρατηγὸν προχειριζόμενος ιδιον, ἀλλ' οὐ τοῖς ἐκείνων αρχουσί τε καὶ πρωτεύουσι καταπιστεύων σαυτόν." οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδ' ἡμέτερός πω τῆς ἐκείνων προνοούμενος ἐξαπεστέλλετο στρατηγός, ἀλλ' ὁ λε- γόμενος πρωτεύων μετὰ καὶ τῶν πατέρων τῆς πόλεως τὰ πάντα ην διοικῶν. ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεόφιλος οὐκ αλλον ἀλλὰ τὸν εἰρημένον Πετρωνᾶν, ὡς εμπειρον κρίνας τοῦ τόπου, πρωτοσπα- θάριόν τε ἐτίμησεν καὶ στρατηγὸν ἐξαπέστειλεν, τόν τε πρωτεύοντα 124 καὶ τοὺς αλλους θεσπίσας ὑπείκειν ἀνενδοιάστως αὐτῷ· ἐξ οτου περ καὶ μέχρι ἡμῶν ἐκράτησεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντεῦθεν εἰς Χερσῶνα προβάλλεσθαι στρατηγούς. ουτω μὲν ουν η τε τοῦ Σάρκελ οἰ- κοδομὴ ἐγένετο καὶ ἡ πρὸς τοὺς Χερσωνίτας τῶν ἐντεῦθεν ἀπο- στολὴ στρατηγῶν. 29Εξεισι δὲ πάλιν ὁ Θεόφιλος κατὰ τῶν ̓Αγαρηνῶν ἐμ-βριθέστερος, τῆς πατρικῆς ἡττᾶσθαι τόλμης ἀνέραστος ων. οθεν καὶ πορρωτέρω πρόεισι τῆς Συρίας, ὁμοῦ μὲν κείρων τὴν γῆν καὶ πορθῶν, ὁμοῦ δὲ λαφυραγωγῶν αὐτὴν καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζων, καὶ πόλεις παραλαμβάνων αλλας τε δύο καὶ μέχρις ἐδάφους καταστρε- φόμενος, καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν Σωζόπετραν ἐκπολιορκήσας πατρίδα τυγχάνουσαν τοῦ ἀμεραμνουνῆ, ὑπὲρ ης ἐγένετο ἐκεῖθεν διὰ γραμ- μάτων προτρέψασθαι ἀναχωρεῖν τὸν Θεόφιλον ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος αὐτοῦ, καν οὐκ ειχέ πως τὸν ἀκούοντα. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν διοικησά- μενος πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ἐπάνεισιν ὁ Θεόφιλος, τῷ Θεοφόβῳ τὰ τῶν Περσῶν ἐνδιαθέσθαι προτρεψάμενος καὶ αυθις διὰ ταχέων ἐπαναδραμεῖν πρὸς αὐτόν. ἀλλ' οἱ Πέρσαι συσχόντες αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴν Σινώπην βασιλέα καὶ ακοντα ἀνεκήρυξαν· ος αἰδοῖ τε καὶ φόβῳ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα βαλλόμενος ἀνένευέ τε καὶ δεινὰ πείσεσθαι τούτους ελεγεν ἐπὶ τῷ τολμήματι. οθεν πλέον κατορρωδοῦντες αὐτοὶ τὰς ἐκ βασιλέως ἀπειλὰς ειχοντο μὲν τῆς γνώμης αὐτῶν, ειχον δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ παραθαρρύνοντες. ἀλλ' ὁ Θεόφοβος λάθρα τὰ τελεσθέντα δηλοῖ τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ἐνωμότως πληροφορεῖ ὡς οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνοι δὲ τῶν τολμηθέντων ὑπαίτιοι. ἀλλ' ἐκεί- 125 νου τε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀσμένως ἀποδέχεται τὴν προαίρεσιν καὶ πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια εἰσκαλεῖ, τὴν ἀρχαίαν εὐκληρίαν ἀποδιδούς· συγγνώ- μην τε απασι τοῖς αλλοις καὶ ἀμνηστίαν κακῶν δοὺς τῆς Σινώπης, ειτε δὴ καὶ ̓Αμάστριδος, ποιεῖ ἐκδημεῖν. καὶ ἐπείπερ εἰς πολυ- πληθίαν ἐνέδωκάν τε καὶ ηυξησαν ὡς εἰς τρεῖς μυριάδας ἐληλα- κέναι, οὐ συμφέρον ἐδόκει τῷ βασιλεῖ τούτους ἐλευθέρους ειναι καὶ ἀνειμένους, ἀλλὰ καλῶς σκεψάμενος ἑκάστῳ θέματι χιλιάδας δύο ἀπέσταλκεν, ὑπὸ χεῖρα τελεῖν τοῖς εἰς στρατηγίαν τεταγμένοις· ἐφ' ων καὶ τουρμάρχας ἐπιστατεῖν ἐξετίθετο. οθεν αχρις ἡμῶν τὴν προσηγορίαν Περσῶν αἱ τῶν θεμάτων τοῦρμαι κεκλήρωνται, ἐφ' οις διεσπάρησαν. τοῦτο γοῦν τὸ τόλμημα θρασύτερόν πως καὶ ἰταμώτερον δόξαν τῷ Θεοφίλῳ αὐτούς τε διασπαρῆναι καὶ διανεμηθῆναι ἐποίησεν καὶ τὸν Θεόφοβον μετ' οὐ πολὺ ἀπήγαγε τῆς ζωῆς. ἐγένετο δέ τι καὶ δεύτερον αιτιον, ο  δηλώσει πάντως ὁ λόγος κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον καιρόν. 30 ̔Ο δὲ ἀμεραμνουνὴς τοσοῦτον ἐτρώθη τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπὶ τῇ καταλήψει τε καὶ πορθήσει τῆς πατρίδος αὐτοῦ ὡς πανταχοῦ θεσπίσαι τε καὶ κηρῦξαι πᾶσαν ἡλικίαν εκ τε Βαβυλωνίας καὶ Φοινίκης καὶ Κοίλης Συρίας Παλαιστίνης τε καὶ τῆς κάτω Λιβύης συναθροιζομένην ἐπὶ ταῖς ἀσπίσιν αὐτῶν ἐγγράψαι ̓Αμόριον, τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ διάβασιν μετὰ θρασύτητος αἰνιττόμενος. συνήγετο γοῦν καὶ κατὰ τὴν Ταρσὸν πολὺς ἐξ ὀλίγων ἐγένετο, μανίᾳ ἐπὶ 126 τῇ