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who had with his own hand denied his goodwill and love for the emperor Constantine, who had first honored him as a spatharokandidatos, and having made him first protokarabos and promoted him to protospatharios of the phiale, a little later he also honored him as protospatharios. This man, therefore, on the suggestion of the cleric John and by the permission of God having become rector, suggested to the late emperor, the lord Romanos, that: "The protospatharios Theophylaktos and of the augusta’s table, since he happens to be a creation and protégé of the emperor’s mother and of the emperor himself, must needs be attached to his own masters and benefactors. And what need is there for the people of the agrarians of the phiale to be divided between two authorities? For he of the augusta’s table, being constrained by his goodwill towards the emperor and the augusta, is able to deceive the Augustan agrarians under his control, and often also the oarsmen of the dromons, and they will plot some rebellion against your majesty." Saying these things, he persuades that evil and crooked rector and through him the emperor. For it is easy for levity and an injudicious mind to be led astray and carried away by everything that is maliciously said and suggested. And by speaking he persuades, and having persuaded, the authority over the Augustan agrarians is also given to him. And from that time it became the established practice for the protokarabos of the imperial dromon to hold and to exercise authority over all the oarsmen of the dromons both of the imperial and Augustan agrarians and to be also protospatharios of the phiale. It is to be known that in the time of Leo, the Christ-loving and ever-memorable emperor, there was a demand for money from the themes of the west, through the protospatharios Leo, who had become strategos, Tzikanes, from those choosing not to go on campaign. It is to be known that again, in the time of the same Christ-loving and ever-memorable Leo, there was a demand for money from the themes of the west, through the magistros John Eladas, who was then a patrikios. It is to be known that again, in the time of the lord Romanos, when he wished the Peloponnesians to campaign in Longobardia, when the protospatharios John Proteuon was then strategos in the Peloponnese, the same Peloponnesians chose not to campaign, but to give one thousand horses, saddled and bridled, and one hundredweight of money, which they also furnished with great eagerness. 52 The requisition of horses made in the theme of the Peloponnese in the time of the lord Romanos, as has been said before. The metropolitan of Corinth, four horses; the metropolitan of Patras, four horses; all the bishops of the theme, two horses each; the protospatharioi, three horses each; the spatharokandidatoi, two horses each; the spatharioi, the stratores, one horse each; the imperial and patriarchal monasteries, two horses each; the monasteries of the archbishops, metropolitans and bishops, two horses each; the poor monasteries, one horse between two. But those holding imperial dignities, sailors, purple-dyers, paper-makers, have not given horses. It is to be known that also the whole army of the Peloponnese were required for this campaign five nomismata each, but the completely poor, five nomismata between two, from which was also made up by minting the aforementioned one hundredweight. 53 History of the fortress of Cherson. When Diocletian was reigning in Rome, and in the city of the Chersonites Themistes, the son of Themistes, was crown-bearer and chief citizen, Sauromates, one of the Bosporans, who was the son of Criscoronus, having gathered together the Sarmatians who inhabit the Maeotic lake, encamped against the Romans, and having occupied the country of the Lazi and fought against those there, he even reached as far as the Halys river. When the emperor Diocletian learned this, that the country of the Lazi and Pontus were being ravaged, he sent an army there, wishing to draw up in battle against the Sarmatians. The commander of the army was Constas the tribune, and Constas, having reached the Halys with the army, sat down there, preventing the Sarmatians from crossing the

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ἰδιοχείρῳ ἐξαρνησάμενον τὴν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Κωνσταντῖνον εὔνοιαν καὶ ἀγάπην, ὃν πρῶτον μὲν σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτον ἐτίμησεν, καὶ πρῶτον πρωτοκάραβον ποιήσας καὶ πρωτοσπαθάριον τῆς φιάλης προβαλόμενος, μετ' ὀλίγον καὶ πρωτοσπαθάριον ἐτίμησεν. Οὗτος οὖν δι' ὑπομνήσεως τοῦ κληρικοῦ Ἰωάννου καὶ κατὰ συγχώρησιν Θεοῦ ῥέκτωρος γεγονότος, ὑπέθετο τῷ μακαρίτῃ βασιλεῖ, τῷ κυρῷ Ῥωμανῷ, ὅτι· "Ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος Θεοφύλακτος καὶ τῆς τραπέζης τῆς αὐγούστης, ἐπεὶ προβολὴ καὶ ἀντίληψις τῆς μητρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως τυγχάνει καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀνάγκη καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἰδίους δεσπότας καὶ εὐεργέτας προσπαθεῖν. Καὶ τίς ἡ χρεία τὸν λαὸν τῶν ἀγραρίων τῆς φιάλης ἐν δυσὶν ἐξουσίαις διαιρεῖσθαι; ∆ύναται γὰρ ὁ τῆς τραπέζης τῆς αὐγούστης τῇ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τὴν αὐγοῦσταν εὐνοίᾳ κρατούμενος, ἐξαπατῆσαι τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κρατουμένους αὐγουστιατικοὺς ἀγραριώτας, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τοὺς τῶν δρομωνίων ἐλάτας, καὶ μελετήσουσίν τινα ἐπανάστασιν κατὰ τῆς βασιλείας σου." Ταῦτα εἰπὼν πείθει τὸν κακὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ σκολιὸν ῥέκτωρα καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ τὸν βασιλέα. Εὔκολον γὰρ ἡ κουφότης καὶ ἀδιάκριτος γνώμη πρὸς ἅπαν τὸ κακούργως λεγόμενον καὶ ὑποτιθέμενον ἀποπλανᾶσθαι καὶ ἐκκυλίεσθαι. Καὶ εἰπὼν πείθει καὶ πείσας, δίδοται αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ τῶν αὐγουστιατικῶν ἀγραρίων ἐξουσία. Καὶ ἔκτοτε ἐπεκράτησεν τὸ τὸν πρωτοκάραβον τοῦ βασιλικοῦ δρομωνίου ἐπέχειν καὶ ἐξουσιάζειν πάντας τοὺς ἐλάτας τῶν τε δρομωνίων βασιλικῶν τε καὶ αὐγουστιατικῶν ἀγραρίων καὶ εἶναι καὶ πρωτοσπαθάριον τῆς φιάλης. Ἰστέον, ὅτι ἐπὶ Λέοντος, τοῦ φιλοχρίστου καὶ ἀειμνήστου βασιλέως, ἐγένετο ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς δύσεως θεμάτων λογαρίου ἀπαίτησις διὰ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου Λέοντος καὶ γεγονότος στρατηγοῦ τοῦ Τζικάνη ἐκ τῶν αἱρουμένων μὴ ταξιδεύειν. Ἰστέον, ὅτι καὶ πάλιν ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φιλοχρίστου καὶ ἀειμνήστου Λέοντος ἐγένετο ἀπὸ τῶν τῆς δύσεως θεμάτων λογαρίου ἀπαίτησις διὰ τοῦ μαγίστρου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Ἐλαδᾶ, τῷ τότε πατρικίου αὐτοῦ ὄντος. Ἰστέον, ὅτι καὶ πάλιν ἐπὶ Ῥωμανοῦ δεσπότου, βουληθέντος ταξιδεῦσαι τοὺς Πελοποννησαίους ἐν Λαγουβαρδίᾳ, τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Πρωτεύοντος ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ τότε στρατηγοῦντος, ᾑρετίσαντο οἱ αὐτοὶ Πελοποννησαῖοι μὴ ταξιδεῦσαι, ἀλλὰ δοῦναι ἱππάρια χίλια ἐστρωμένα καὶ χαλινωμένα καὶ λογάριον κεντηνάριον ἕν, ἅπερ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας παρέσχον. 52 Ἡ γενομένη ἀπαίτησις τῶν ἱππαρίων ἐν τῷ θέματι Πελοποννήσου ἐπὶ Ῥωμανοῦ δεσπότου, καθὼς προείρηται. Ὁ μητροπολίτης Κορίνθου ἱππάρια τέσσαρα· ὁ μητροπολίτης Πατρῶν ἱππάρια τέσσαρα· οἱ ἐπίσκοποι πάντες τοῦ θέματος ἀνὰ ἱππάρια δύο· οἱ πρωτοσπαθάριοι ἀνὰ ἱππάρια τρία· οἱ σπαθαροκανδιδᾶτοι ἀνὰ ἱππάρια δύο· οἱ σπαθάριοι, οἱ στράτωρες ἀνὰ ἱππαρίου ἑνός· τὰ βασιλικὰ καὶ πατριαρχικὰ μοναστήρια ἀνὰ ἱππάρια δύο· τὰ τῶν ἀρχιεπισκοπῶν, μητροπόλεων καὶ ἐπισκοπῶν μοναστήρια ἀνὰ ἱππάρια δύο· τὰ ἄπορα μοναστήρια σύνδυο ἱππάριον ἕν. Οἱ δὲ ἔχοντες βασιλικὰ ἀξιώματα, πλώϊμοι, κογχυλευταί, χαρτοποιοὶ ἱππάρια οὐ δεδώκασιν. Ἰστέον, ὅτι καὶ πᾶς ὁ στρατὸς Πελοποννήσου ἀπῃτήθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦδε τοῦ ταξιδίου ἀνὰ νομίσματα πέντε, οἱ δὲ παντελῶς ἄποροι σύνδυο νομίσματα πέντε, ἐξ ὧν συνέστη καὶ τὸ προρρηθὲν διὰ χαράγματος κεντηνάριον ἕν. 53 Ἱστορία περὶ τοῦ κάστρου Χερσῶνος. Βασιλεύοντος ∆οικλητιανοῦ ἐν Ῥώμῃ, ἐν δὲ τῇ Χερσωνιτῶν στεφανηφοροῦντος καὶ πρωτεύοντος Θεμιστοῦ, τοῦ Θεμιστοῦ, Σαυρόματος, ὁ ἐκ τῶν Βοσποριανῶν, Κρισκορόνου δὲ παῖς γενόμενος, συναθροίσας Σαρμάτας τοὺς τὴν Μαιώτιδα λίμνην οἰκοῦντας, ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο κατὰ Ῥωμαίων, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὴν τῶν Λαζῶν χώραν καὶ πολεμήσας τοὺς ἐκεῖσε, φθάζει καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ἅλυος ποταμοῦ. Μαθὼν δὲ τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς ∆ιοκλητιανός, πορθεῖσθαι τὴν τῶν Λαζῶν χώραν καὶ τὴν Ποντικήν, ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖσε στρατὸν ἀντιπαρατάξασθαι Σαρμάταις βουλόμενος. Ἦν δὲ ἔξαρχος τοῦ στρατοῦ Κώνστας τριβοῦνος, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὸν Ἅλυν ὁ Κώνστας σὺν τῷ στρατῷ, ἐκαθέσθη ἐκεῖσε, κωλύων Σαρμάτας ἀντιπερᾶσαι τὸν