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And since then they subdued many cities and lands of the Persians more through fear of Heraclius, the emperor of the Romans, than by their own strength and power. For once the emperor Heraclius had routed the Persians and brought their rule to an end, the Persians became easy to capture and easy to subdue not only for the Iberians, but also for the Saracens. And because they are descended, as they themselves say, from Jerusalem, because they have great faith in them and in the tomb of our Lord {the} Jesus Christ, and at certain times they send money lavishly to the patriarch of the holy city and to the Christians there. The aforesaid David, the brother of Spandiates, begat a son, Pankratios, and Pankratios begat a son, Asotios, and Asotios begat a son, Adranase, who was also honored as kouropalates by Leo, the Christ-loving emperor of the Romans. And Spandiates, the brother of the aforesaid David, died childless. From their migration from Jerusalem to the land now inhabited by them there are 400 or even 500 years until today, which is the 10th indiction, the year 6600 from the creation of the world, in the reign of Constantine and Romanos, the Christ-loving and porphyrogennetos emperors of the Romans. It must be known that the Christ-loving and porphyrogennetos and ever-memorable emperor Leo, having heard that the Saracens, having come to the place called Phasianē, had made the churches there into forts, sent the patrikios {so-and-so} and strategos of the Armeniacs, Lalakon, with the strategos of Koloneia and the strategos of Mesopotamia and the strategos of Chaldia, and they destroyed these forts, freeing the churches, and plundering all of Phasianē, at that time held by the Saracens. And so he again sent the magistros Katakalon and domestikos of the schools, who, having come to the fortress of Theodosioupolis and plundered its surroundings, and having delivered the land of Phasianē and the forts around it to a similar destruction, returned, having dealt a great blow to the Saracens in this. And in the reign of the lord Romanos, the emperor, the magistros John Kourkouas, while marching against the fortress of Tibion, on his passage devastated the whole land of Phasianē, as it was held by the Saracens. But also the patrikios Theophilos, the brother of the aforesaid magistros John, when he was first serving as strategos in Chaldia, ravaged this same land of Phasianē, as it was also then ruled by the Saracens. For until the agreement was made with the Theodosioupolitans, no estate was established in the land of Phasianē, nor in the fortress of Abnikon. And the Iberians always had love and friendship with the Theodosioupolitans and the Abnikiotans and with the Mantzikertans and with all of Persis, but in Phasianē they never acquired estates. That many times the lord Leo, the emperor, and the lord Romanos and our own majesty sought the fortress of Ketzeon to take it and bring in taxatoi so that Theodosioupolis would not be supplied with grain from there, giving assurances to both the kouropalates and his brothers that after Theodosioupolis was taken they could take back such a fortress, but the Iberians did not agree to do this because of their love for the Theodosioupolitans, and so that the fortress of Theodosioupolis would not be sacked, but they declared in reply to the lord Romanos and our majesty, saying: "If we do this, we shall be dishonored among our neighbors, such as the magistros and {and the} exousiastes of Abasgia and the Vasprakanites and the presiding princes of the Armenians, and they will have reason to say that the emperor considers the Iberians faithless, both the kouropalates and his brothers, and does not trust them, and for this reason he took the fortress from them, but rather let the emperor send a tourmarches

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καὶ ἔκτοτε ὑπέταξαν τῷ φόβῳ Ἡρακλείου, τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων μᾶλλον, ἤπερ τῇ ἑαυτῶν ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει πόλεις καὶ χώρας ἱκανὰς τῶν Περσῶν. Ἅπαξ γὰρ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἡρακλείου τοὺς Πέρσας τροπωσαμένου καὶ εἰς τὸ μηκέτι εἶναι τὴν τούτων ἀρχὴν παραστήσαντος, εὐάλωτοι καὶ εὐχείρωτοι οὐ μόνον τοῖς Ἴβηρσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς οἱ Πέρσαι γεγόνασιν. ∆ιὰ δὲ τὸ κατάγεσθαι αὐτούς, ὡς αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν, ἐξ Ἱερουσαλὴμ διὰ τὸ μεγάλην πίστιν ἔχουσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐν τῷ τάφῳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν {ἡ} Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ κατά τινας καιροὺς ἀφθόνως ἀποστέλλουσι χρήματα τῷ πατριάρχῃ τῆς ἁγίας πόλεως καὶ τοῖς ἐκεῖσε Χριστιανοῖς. Ὁ δὲ προρρηθεὶς ∆αυίδ, ὁ τοῦ Σπανδιάτου ἀδελφός, ἐγέννησεν υἱὸν τὸν Παγκράτιον, καὶ ὁ Παγκράτιος ἐγέννησεν υἱὸν τὸν Ἀσώτιον, καὶ ὁ Ἀσώτιος ἐγέννησεν υἱὸν τὸν Ἀδρανασή, τὸν καὶ κουροπαλάτην τιμηθέντα παρὰ Λέοντος, τοῦ φιλοχρίστου βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων. Ὁ δὲ Σπανδιάτης, ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ προρρηθέντος ∆αυίδ, ἐτελεύτησεν ἄτεκνος. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐξ Ἱερουσαλὴμ μετοικήσεως αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν νῦν οἰκουμένην παρ' αὐτῶν χώραν εἰσὶν ἔτη υʹ ἢ καὶ φʹ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἰνδικτιὼν ιʹ, ἔτος ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου υξʹ ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας Κωνσταντίνου καὶ Ῥωμανοῦ, τῶν φιλοχρίστων καὶ πορφυρογεννήτων βασιλέων Ῥωμαίων. Ἰστέον, ὅτι ὁ φιλόχριστος καὶ πορφυρογέννητος καὶ ἀοίδιμος βασιλεὺς Λέων ἀκούσας, ὅτι εἰς τὸν τόπον, τὸν λεγόμενον Φασιανὴν ἐλθόντες οἱ Σαρακηνοί, τὰς ἐκεῖσε ἐκκλησίας ἐποίησαν κάστρα, ἀπέστειλεν τὸν πατρίκιον {ὁ δεῖνα} καὶ στρατηγὸν τῶν Ἀρμενιάκων τὸν Λαλάκωνα μετὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Κολωνείας καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Μεσοποταμίας καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ Χαλδίας, καὶ κατέστρεψαν τὰ τοιαῦτα κάστρα, τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἐλευθερώσαντες, ληϊσάμενοι καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Φασιανήν, τῷ τότε καιρῷ ὑπὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν κρατουμένην. Καὶ εἶθ' οὕτως πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν τὸν μάγιστρον Κατακαλὼν καὶ δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν, ὃς ἐλθὼν ἐν τῷ κάστρῳ Θεοδοσιουπόλεως καὶ τὰ πέριξ αὐτῆς ληϊσάμενος καὶ τὴν χώραν τῆς Φασιανῆς καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὴν κάστρα τῷ ὁμοίῳ ὀλέθρῳ παραδούς, ὑπέστρεψεν, μεγάλην πληγὴν ἐν τούτῳ δοὺς τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ κυροῦ Ῥωμανοῦ, τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ μάγιστρος Ἰωάννης ὁ Κουρκούας ἀπερχόμενος κατὰ τοῦ κάστρου Τιβίου, εἰς τὴν δίοδον αὐτοῦ ἠφάνισεν τὴν πᾶσαν χώραν τῆς Φασιανῆς, ὡς ὑπὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν κρατουμένην. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πατρίκιος Θεόφιλος, ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ προρρηθέντος μαγίστρου Ἰωάννου, τὸ πρῶτον αὐτοῦ στρατηγεύοντος ἐν Χαλδίᾳ, ἐπραίδευσεν τὴν τοιαύτην χώραν τῆς Φασιανῆς, ὡς καὶ τότε ὑπὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν δεσποζομένην. Μέχρι γὰρ τοῦ γεγονέναι τὸν λόγον μετὰ τοὺς Θεοδοσιουπολίτας εἰς τὴν χώραν τῆς Φασιανῆς χωρίον οὐ συνέστη, οὐδὲ εἰς τὸ κάστρον τοῦ Ἀβνίκου. Καὶ οἱ Ἴβηρες πάντοτε εἶχον ἀγάπην καὶ φιλίαν μετὰ τῶν Θεοδοσιουπολιτῶν καὶ τῶν Ἀβνικιωτῶν καὶ μετὰ τῶν Μανζικιερτῶν καὶ μετὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Περσίδα, ἀλλ' ἐν Φασιανῇ οὐδέποτε ἐπεκτήσαντο χωρία. Ὅτι πολλάκις ὁ κύρις Λέων, ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁ κύρις Ῥωμανὸς καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ βασιλεία ἡμῶν ἐπεζήτησεν τὸ κάστρον τὸ Κετζέον τοῦ ἀναλαβέσθαι αὐτὸ καὶ εἰσαγαγεῖν ταξάτους πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἐκεῖθεν σιταρχεῖσθαι τὴν Θεοδοσιούπολιν, ἐξασφαλιζόμενοι πρός τε τὸν κουροπαλάτην καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ τοῦμετὰ τὸ παραληφθῆναι τὴν Θεοδοσιούπολινἀναλαβέσθαι αὐτοὺς τὸ τοιοῦτον κάστρον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο οἱ Ἴβηρες τοῦτο ποιῆσαι διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην τῶν Θεοδοσιουπολιτῶν, καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ πορθηθῆναι τὸ κάστρον Θεοδοσιούπολιν, ἀλλ' ἀντεδήλωσαν τὸν κύριν Ῥωμανὸν καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἡμῶν, λέγοντες, ὅτι· "Εἰ τοῦτο ποιήσωμεν, ἀτιμία ἔχομεν γενέσθαι εἰς τοὺς γείτονας ἡμῶν, οἷον εἰς τὸν μάγιστρον καὶ {εἰς τὸν} ἐξουσιαστὴν Ἀβασγίας καὶ εἰς τὸν Βασπαρακανίτην καὶ εἰς τοὺς ὑπερεξάρχοντας τῶν Ἀρμενίων, καὶ εἰπεῖν ἔχουσιν, ὅτι ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπίστους ἔχει τοὺς Ἴβηρας, τόν τε κουροπαλάτην καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ πιστεύει αὐτοῖς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀνελάβετο τὸ κάστρον ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἂς ἀποστείλῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς τουρμάρχην