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the barbarians to skirmish, so that they might thus draw them into war. But when a rumor spread to the camp that the emperor was running away in fear of the enemy, they all shamefully fled, with no one pursuing. This unexpected event inspired courage in the Bulgars and spurred them to valor, and pursuing them from behind they killed many, 228 captured no fewer, and crossing the Ister pitched their tents in the land of the Romans; and from that time they did not cease plundering all the land under the Romans. Wherefore the emperor, being compelled, made a treaty with them on the condition of paying them an annual tribute, to the shame of the Roman empire. And so matters were peaceful for the Romans on all sides until the death of this emperor. He died with his son Justinian as his successor, having reigned for seventeen years. Justinian, when he ascended to power, was a youth of sixteen years. Therefore, governing the empire according to his own will, he beset the Roman dominion with many evils. For the Mardaites, having seized the heights of Lebanon while Pogonatus was emperor, were fearsome to the Arabs; for which reason they had requested a treaty with the Romans and, as has been said, obtained it. But when this emperor had just taken up the scepter, the then ruler of the Arabs, Abi229melech (for Muawiyah had already died), sent and sought to have the peace confirmed, demanding that the Mardaites be removed from Lebanon and promising that if this were done he would give the Romans a daily tribute of a thousand gold coins and a slave and a horse of their finest. Therefore, with the treaty having been renewed on these terms, and the Mardaites, numbering twelve thousand fighting men, having been removed from Lebanon, the nation of the Arabs, freed from the fear of them, filled the Roman dominion with many disasters. And Justinian, sending the general Leontius, subjected through him Iberia and Albania and other lands. This emperor also broke the treaty with the Bulgars, not enduring to pay them tribute. And campaigning in the west, he subjugated many of the Slavic nations, some willingly, and some by the law of war; from whom he also formed a new corps. For having chosen from these noble and youthful men to the number of thirty thousand, he called them 230 a special people. Delighting in and trusting them, he also broke the treaty with the Arabs, having as a pretext that the coin sent for the annual tribute did not have a Roman stamp, but a new Arabian one. For it was not permitted for any other image to be stamped on a gold coin than that of the emperor of the Romans. He therefore marched against them, not so much trusting in the Roman regiments as in this new and special people. But when the Arabs requested that he not violate the treaty nor transgress the written agreements, and called God to witness, who having been invoked as mediator had confirmed them, and called upon him as an avenger against those responsible for the battle, the emperor stopped his ears to these things and prepared for battle. So the Arabs, having tied the written treaty to a spear and raised it like a standard going before their army, clashed with the Romans; and immediately twenty thousand of the special people deserted to the Arabs, which became a cause of cowardice for the Romans, but instilled courage in their opponents. And the Romans were defeated, while victory smiled upon the Arabs; who, pursuing the fugitives, killed those they overtook, so that almost more than could be counted from the Roman armies fell. But the empe231ror, shamefully escaping the slaughter with a few men, when he was at Leucate, ordered all the remaining Slavic men from the special people to be killed; and they were all cut down with swords there and thrown into the sea. And he, having arrived at Byzantium

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βαρβάρους ἀκροβολίζεσθαι, ἵν' οὕτως αὐτοὺς εἰς πόλεμον ἐπισπάσωνται. φήμης δὲ γενομένης εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον φόβῳ τῶν πολεμίων διαδιδράσκειν τὸν αὐτοκράτορα, αἰσχρῶς ἅπαντες μηδενὸς διώκοντος ἔφευγον. τοῦτο τοῖς Βουλγάροις ἀπροσδοκήτως γενόμενον μένος ἐνέπνευσε καὶ παρέθηξεν εἰς ἀλκήν, καὶ ὀπίσω διώκοντες πολλοὺς μὲν 228 ἀνῄρουν, οὐ μείους δ' ἐζώγρησαν καὶ τὸν Ἴστρον περαιωθέντες ἐν τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἐπήξαντο τὰς σκηνάς· καὶ οὐ διέλιπον ἐξ ἐκείνου τὴν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους ἅπασαν ληιζόμενοι. ὅθεν βιασθεὶς ὁ κρατῶν σπονδὰς ἔθετο πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ συνθήκαις τοῦ δασμὸν αὐτοῖς καταβάλλειν ἐτήσιον, εἰς αἰσχύνην τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς. καὶ ἦν οὕτως πάντοθεν εἰρηνεύοντα τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τὰ πράγματα ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς τοῦδε τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. ἐτελεύτησε δὲ ἐπὶ διαδόχῳ τῷ υἱῷ Ἰουστινιανῷ, βασιλεύσας ἐνιαυτοὺς ἑπτακαίδεκα. Ἦν δὲ Ἰουστινιανός, ὅτε τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπέβη, μειρακίσκος ἓξ ἐπὶ δέκα ἐνιαυτοῖς. αὐτοβούλως οὖν τῇ διοικήσει κεχρημένος τῆς βασιλείας πολλοῖς τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν κακοῖς περιέβαλεν. οἱ γὰρ Μαρδαῗται τὰς τοῦ Λιβάνου καταλαβόντες περιωπὰς τοῦ Πωγωνάτου κρατοῦντος φοβεροὶ τοῖς Ἄραψιν ἦσαν· διὸ καὶ σπονδὰς ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ᾐτήσαντο καὶ τούτων, ὡς εἴρηται, τετυχήκασι. τούτου δὲ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἄρτι τῶν σκήπτρων ἐπειλημμένου, ὁ τότε τῶν Ἀράβων ἡγεμονεύων Ἀβι229 μέλεχ (ὁ γὰρ Μαυίας ἔφθη θανών) πέμψας προσκυρωθῆναι τὴν εἰρήνην ἐζήτησεν, ἀξιῶν τοὺς Μαρδαΐτας μεταστῆναι ἐκ τοῦ Λιβάνου καὶ ὑπισχνούμενος τούτου γενομένου διδόναι Ῥωμαίοις ἡμερήσιον φόρον χρυσοῦ νομίσματα χίλια καὶ δοῦλον καὶ ἵππον τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐκκρίτων. ἐπὶ τούτοις οὖν ἀνανεωθεισῶν τῶν σπονδῶν, καὶ τῶν Μαρδαϊτῶν εἰς δώδεκα χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν μαχίμων ἀριθμουμένων μεταστάντων ἐκ τοῦ Λιβάνου, τὸ τῶν Ἀράβων ἔθνος τοῦ ἐξ ἐκείνων δέους ἀπαλλαγὲν πολλῶν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν ἐνέπλησε συμφορῶν. Στείλας δὲ τὸν στρατηγὸν Λεόντιον ὁ Ἰουστινιανὸς ὑπέταξε δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν Ἰβηρίαν καὶ τὴν Ἀλβανίαν καὶ χώρας ἑτέρας. οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔλυσε καὶ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Βουλγάρους σπονδάς, μὴ ἀνεχόμενος δασμοὺς παρέχειν αὐτοῖς. ἐκστρατεύσας δὲ κατὰ τὰ ἑσπέρια πολλὰ τῶν Σθλαβικῶν ἐθνῶν ὑπηγάγετο, τὰ μὲν ἑκόντα, ἔνια δὲ πολέμου νόμῳ· ἐξ ὧν καὶ νέον συνεστήσατο σύνταγμα. κατ' ἐκλογὴν γὰρ εἰληφὼς ἐκ τούτων ἄνδρας γενναίους τε καὶ νεάζοντας εἰς χιλιάδας τριάκοντα, λαὸν 230 αὐτοὺς ἐκάλεσε περιούσιον. οἷς γεγηθώς τε καὶ πεποιθὼς καὶ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς Ἄραβας συνθήκας παρέλυσεν, αἰτίαν ἐσχηκὼς ὅτι σταλὲν τὸ τοῦ ἐτησίου φόρου χάραγμα οὐ Ῥωμαϊκὸν εἶχε σφράγισμα, ἀλλὰ νέον Ἀράβιον. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐξῆν ἐν χρυσῷ νομίσματι χαρακτῆρα ἕτερον ἐντυποῦσθαι ἢ τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων. ἐστράτευσεν οὖν κατ' αὐτῶν οὐ τοσοῦτον ταῖς Ῥωμαϊκαῖς συντάξεσι τεθαρρηκὼς ὅσον τῷ νέω τούτῳ καὶ περιουσίῳ λαῷ. τῶν δὲ Ἀράβων τὰς σπονδὰς αἰτουμένων μὴ ἀθετῆσαι μηδὲ τὰς ἐγγράφους παραβῆναι συνθήκας καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἐπιμαρτυρομένων, ὃς μέσος παραληφθεὶς αὐτὰς ἐμπεπέδωκε, καὶ ἐκδικητὴν καλούντων αὐτὸν κατὰ τῶν τῆς μάχης αἰτίων, ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰ ὦτα πρὸς ταῦτα βύσας πρὸς μάχην ἡτοίμαστο. οἱ γοῦν Ἄραβες δόρατι τὸ τῶν σπονδῶν προσδήσαντες ἔγγραφον καὶ ὥσπερ σημαίαν ἄραντες τοῦτο τοῦ σφῶν στρατεύματος προερχόμενον, συρρήγνυνται τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις· καὶ αὐτίκα ἐκ τοῦ περιουσίου λαοῦ αἱ εἴκοσι χιλιάδες πρὸς τοὺς Ἄραβας ηὐτομόλησαν, ὃ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις δειλίας γέγονεν αἴτιον, τοῖς δ' ἐναντίοις ἐνῆκε θάρσος. καὶ ἥττηντο μὲν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, ἡ νίκη δ' ἐπεμειδία τοῖς Ἄραψιν· οἳ τοῖς φεύγουσιν ἐφεπόμενοι ἀνῄρουν οὓς κατελάμβανον, ὡς καὶ ἀριθμοῦ κρείττους σχεδὸν ἐκ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν στρατευμάτων πεσεῖν. αἰσχρῶς δὲ διαφυγὼν ὁ βασι231 λεὺς μετ' ὀλίγων τὸν ὄλεθρον, ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὸν Λευκάτην ἐγένετο, τοὺς περιλειφθέντας ἐκ τοῦ περιουσίου λαοῦ τῶν Σθλαβικῶν ἀναιρεθῆναι πάντας προσέταξε· καὶ πάντες ἐκεῖ ξίφεσι συγκοπέντες ἐρρίφησαν εἰς τὴν θάλατταν. καὶ ὁ μὲν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον παραγεγονὼς