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Rather, however, 224 having lost a great multitude, and having been deprived of most of their ships (for at that time liquid fire had also been invented, by a certain architect Kallinikos who came from Syria and prepared it), they returned with great shame and grief. And when the remaining barbarian fleet was now at Sylaion, a harsh storm of winds fell upon it, sinking some, and smashing others, dashing them against the shores. And when the strategos of the Kibyrrhaiotai also attacked it, it was entirely destroyed. And by land again another army of the Arabs, attacking a Roman force, was defeated, so that there fell, as it is said, no fewer than thirty thousand. From this the Saracens, knowing that none of their hopes could be fulfilled, and rather, fearing lest the Romans should attack them, resolved to make a truce, and Muawiyah sends envoys to the emperor, asking for peace. And the emperor assented to this and sent the patrikios John, called Pitzigaudes, as a prudent man 225 and having a nimble tongue for speaking, to fulfill the conditions of the treaty. Who, having gone to the Arabs and been received most honorably, set the agreements of the peace and confirmed it in writing for thirty years, with the Arabs agreeing to give to the Roman empire an annual tribute of three thousand gold pieces and eight slaves and as many horses of their approved stock. The sons of Hagar therefore thus obtained peace. And the enemies of the Romans in the west, learning these things, they too made haste to end the wars and sent envoys with gifts to the emperor, and peace was ratified with them. And there was a calm from wars both in the eastern and the western region. And when the patriarch John died, Constantine was appointed, and after two years he passed away; and Theodore is raised to this patriarchal throne. Who, after being expelled after two years, had George as his successor. And Constantine, being orthodox, strove to unite 226 the churches that had been divided by the heresy of the Monothelites since the time of the reign of his great-grandfather Heraclius. Therefore he also orders an ecumenical council to be assembled in Constantinople, which was led by the legates of Pope Agatho of Rome, and George of Constantinople and Theophanes of Antioch. For there was no patriarch of Alexandria nor of Jerusalem, because these cities were under the Saracens. And this council, being the sixth, ratified that two wills and two energies were to be spoken of and believed in concerning the Savior Christ, with the emperor also being present, after those who held one will and one energy were anathematized: Theodore bishop of Pharan, Honorius of Rome, Cyrus of Alexandria, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul and Peter of Constantinople, Macarius of Antioch and Stephen his disciple, and Polychronius, the chronic in evil and childish-minded old man. And the nation of the Bulgars, having come into the Roman lands beyond the Ister, ravaged them without restraint. 227 The emperor Constantine therefore campaigned against them both by land and sea, leading a great fleet from the sea into the Danube. And the barbarians, seeing the preparation of the Romans, were afraid and shutting themselves up in some fortification crowned by rivers and marshes, they remained quiet; but the Roman army did not attack them. Therefore, when both opponents were thus disposed for some days, the barbarians accused the Romans of cowardice. And something also happened which instilled in them a courage opposite to their former cowardice. For the emperor, suffering from gout and being struck by sharper pains, in order to use the baths, with five dromons along with his retinue to Mesembria (this is a region under Roman control), made the voyage, leaving the army and the generals there and having instructed the

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μᾶλλον μέντοι 224 καὶ πλῆθος ἀποβαλόντες πολύ, καὶ τῶν νηῶν ζημιωθέντες τὰς πλείονας (τότε γὰρ καὶ τὸ ὑγρὸν ἐπινενόητο πῦρ, Καλλινίκου τινὸς ἀρχιτέκτονος ἀπὸ Συρίας ἐλθόντος καὶ τοῦτο σκευάσαντος), μετ' αἰσχύνης καὶ λύπης πολλῆς ἀνθυπέστρεφον. ἤδη δὲ τοῦ περιλειφθέντος βαρβαρικοῦ στόλου γενομένου κατὰ τὸ Σύλαιον, καταιγὶς πνευμάτων σκληρὰ τούτῳ προσπεσοῦσα τὸν μὲν κατέδυσε, τὸν δὲ συνέτριψεν, ἀκταῖς προσαράξασα. ἐπιθεμένου δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ τοῦ τῶν Κιβυρραιωτῶν στρατηγοῦ, ἅπας διώλετο. κατὰ γῆν δ' αὖθις ἑτέρα στρατιὰ τῶν Ἀράβων Ῥωμαϊκῷ προσβαλοῦσα στρατεύματι ἥττητο, ὥστε πεσεῖν, ὡς λέγεται, τριάκοντα χιλιάδων οὐ μείονας. ἐντεῦθεν οἱ Σαρακηνοὶ γνόντες ὡς οὐδὲν σφίσι τῶν ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἀνύσιμον, μᾶλλον μέντοι καὶ δείσαντες μὴ αὐτοῖς οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπέλθωσι, σπείσασθαι ἐβουλεύθησαν, καὶ στέλλει πρέσβεις ὁ Μαυίας πρὸς βασιλέα, εἰρήνην αἰτούμενος. καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς ταύτην κατένευσε καὶ τὸν πατρίκιον Ἰωάννην τὸν Πιτζιγαύδην καλούμενον ἔπεμψεν, ὡς συνετὸν ἄνδρα 225 καὶ γλῶτταν περὶ τὸ λέγειν ἔχοντα εὔστροφον, τὰς τῶν σπονδῶν συνθήκας πληρώσοντα. ὃς ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τοὺς Ἄραβας δεχθείς τε φιλοτιμότατα, τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης ἔθετο σύμφωνα καὶ δι' ἐγγράφων αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τριάκοντα ἐνιαυτοὺς ἐβεβαίωσε, τῶν Ἀράβων καταθεμένων διδόναι τῇ βασιλείᾳ Ῥωμαίων δασμὸν ἐνιαύσιον χρυσίου χιλιάδας τρεῖς καὶ δούλους ὀκτὼ καὶ ἵππους τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς δοκίμων τοσούτους. οἱ μὲν οὖν τῆς Ἄγαρ οὕτω τῆς εἰρήνης ἔτυχον. οἱ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν τῶν Ῥωμαίων πολέμιοι ταῦτα μαθόντες, κἀκεῖνοι καταλῦσαι τοὺς πολέμους σπουδὴν ἔθεντο καὶ πρέσβεις πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα μετὰ δώρων ἐστάλκασι, καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἡ εἰρήνη κεκύρωτο. Καὶ ἠρεμία πολέμων ἐγένετο καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἑῴαν λῆξιν καὶ τὴν ἑσπέριον. Θανόντος δὲ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἰωάννου προκεχείριστο Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ μετὰ δύο ἔτη ἐξέλιπε· καὶ ἀνάγεται εἰς τὸν ἀρχιερατικὸν τοῦτον θρόνον Θεόδωρος. ὃς μετὰ δύο ἐνιαυτοὺς ἐκβληθεὶς διάδοχον ἔσχε Γεώργιον. Ὀρθόδοξος δὲ ὢν ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος ἐσπούδασεν ἑνῶσαι 226 τὰς ἐκκλησίας διεσχισμένας διὰ τὴν τῶν Μονοθελητῶν αἵρεσιν ἀπὸ τῶν χρόνων τῆς βασιλείας Ἡρακλείου τοῦ προπάππου αὐτοῦ. διὸ καὶ σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν ἀθροισθῆναι κελεύει ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, ἧς ἡγοῦντο τοῦ πάπα Ῥώμης Ἀγάθωνοςτοποτηρηταί, Γεώργιος δὲ Κωνσταντινουπόλεως καὶ Θεοφάνης Ἀντιοχείας. Ἀλεξανδρείας γὰρ οὐκ ἦν πατριάρχης οὐδ' Ἱεροσολύμων, ὅτι ὑπὸ τοὺς Σαρακηνοὺς αἱ πόλεις αὗται ἐτύγχανον. ἕκτη δὲ οὖσα ἡ σύνοδος αὕτη ἐκύρωσε δύο θελήσεις καὶ δύο ἐνεργείας ἐπὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ καὶ λέγεσθαι καὶ πιστεύεσθαι, παρουσιάζοντος καὶ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος, ἀναθεματισθέντων τῶν τὴν μίαν φρονούντων θέλησιν καὶ ἐνέργειαν Θεοδώρου τοῦ τῆς Φαρὰν ἐπισκόπου, Ὀνωρίου Ῥώμης, Κύρου Ἀλεξανδρείας, Σεγίου, Πύρρου, Παύλου καὶ Πέτρου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, Μακαρίου Ἀντιοχείας καὶ Στεφάνου τοῦ φοιτητοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ Πολυχρονίου τοῦ χρονίου τὴν κακίαν καὶ νηπιόφρονος γέροντος. Τὸ δὲ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἔθνος εἰς τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς χώρας τὰ πέραν τοῦ Ἴστρου γενόμενον ταύταις ἀκρατῶς ἐλυμαίνετο. 227 ἐκστρατεύει τοίνυν κατ' αὐτῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς Κωνσταντῖνος κατὰ γῆν τε καὶ θάλασσαν, στόλον πολὺν ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης εἰσαγαγὼν εἰς τὸν ∆άνουβιν. οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἰδόντες παρασκευὴν ἐδειλίασαν καὶ εἰς ὀχύρωμά τι ποταμοῖς στεφανούμενον καὶ τενάγεσι κατακλείσαντες ἑαυτοὺς ἠρέμουν· ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἡ Ῥωμαϊκὴ στρατιὰ τούτοις προσέβαλεν. ἐφ' ἡμέραις οὖν τισιν οὕτω διατιθεμένων τῶν ἐναντίων ἀμφοῖν, μαλακίαν οἱ βάρβαροι τῶν Ῥωμαίων κατέγνων. ἐπισυμβέβηκε δὲ καί τι ὃ θάρσος ἐκείνοις ἐνῆκε τῆς προτέρας δειλίας ἀντίθετον. ὁ γὰρ βασιλεὺς ἐκ ποδαλγίας νοσήσας καὶ δριμυτέραις ἀλγηδόσι βαλλόμενος, λουτροῖς χρησόμενος σὺν πέντε δρόμωσι μετὰ τῆς θεραπείας εἰς Μεσημβρίαν (χώρα δ' ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους τελοῦσα αὕτη ἐστί) τὸν ἔκπλουν πεποίητο, τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ τοὺς στρατάρχας ἐκεῖσε καταλιπὼν καὶ ἐπισκήψας πρὸς τοὺς