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having subjected them, when they recalled them from exile, smashing their faces and their teeth with fists, [they raged] with all blackness wickedly against the priests, and a second 196 like him of those on earth has not yet appeared. But as for all the other acts of violence he committed against all the priests, handing them over daily to prisons and exiles and most cruel punishments, so that they might enter into communion with Photius, many books and all of time would not suffice to recount them. 33 Hence, on the one hand, the raid of the Rus’ afflicted the affairs of the Romans (these are a Scythian nation, both uncivilized and rustic), and they set fire to the Pontus itself, and indeed the Euxine, and surrounded the city itself, at the very time Michael was campaigning against the Ishmaelites. But they, at that time, being filled with divine wrath, since Photius, who held the rudders of the church, propitiated the divinity, had journeyed home; and not long after, their embassy again arrived at the ruling city, beseeching that they might come to share in divine baptism, which also happened. 34 On the one hand, their raid afflicted them; on the other, the fleet of Crete, setting sail, with as many as twenty koumbariaphus, bringing with it seven galleys and some satourae, was both plundering and enslaving, at one time travelling around the Cyclades islands, at another time the entire coast as far as Proconnesus. And the continuous earthquakes were both damaging and casting to the ground, at one time, on the day on which the Ascension of our Lord and Savior is celebrated, razing to the ground the southern third of the Hexakionion, 197 both beautiful churches and splendid houses, at another time shaking down columns, both the Victory established at the Golden Gate of the city and those standing firmly in the Deuteron at Saint Anna’s; which when Leo the Mathematician saw had fallen, he said that it clearly threatened the fall of the second from the king. It would be a long story to tell of the disappearance of rivers and springs and other such calamities that occurred both in Isauria and in each country. The emperor, putting all these things in second place, was wholly given over to the chariot races in the church of Saint Mamas that had been built in the Euxine. (35) And once—but first I shall relate a certain custom, which in an instant would reveal and lay bare to the emperor a campaign of the Saracens against us by means of a beacon. There is a certain stronghold and fortress near and neighboring Tarsus in Cilicia, called Loulon. Those, therefore, assigned to guard this, as soon as they saw their raid, reveal it by means of a torch to those on Mount Argaeus, and they in turn to those on Isamos, and they to those on Aigilon, and this one in turn to Mount Mamas; then Kyrizos takes it from this one, and in turn Mokilos from him, and from this one the mountain of Saint Auxentius in a short time would indeed make it clear to those assigned for this purpose in the observatory of the Pharos in the Great Palace. Once, therefore, when Michael was about to race his chariot in the said church of the martyr Mamas 198 and had given the signal for the hippodrome race, when in the evening the beacon from the Pharos, through the pappias, indicated the raid of the nations, the emperor came to such great struggle and fear from dread that his charioteering might be overlooked by the spectators on account of such a message, as much as some other person came [to fear] who was in danger for his life and struggling rather that these not draw near. Thus did he make a spectacle of himself and was not ashamed. Therefore, so that no one might be absent from his games, nor any other distressing news from there arriving might make the spectators less enthusiastic, he ordered the nearby beacons no longer to be operated, but that such things be covered over by deep silence and long oblivion. 36 But at another time again, so that the man's misconduct and foolishness might become clearer, as he was standing on his chariot and being about to from the starting-gate

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καθυποβαλόντες, ἐπεὶ τῆς ἐξορίας μετεκαλέσαντο, πυγμαῖς τὰ πρόσωπα καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας συνθλά- σαντες, πᾶσαν σκοτόμαιναν κατὰ τῶν ἱερέων κακῶς, καὶ δεύτερος 196 τῶν οντων ἐπὶ γῆς μηδέπω φανῇ. ἀλλ' οσα μὲν καὶ αλλα κατὰ πάντων ἱερέων ἐνεανιεύσατο, φυλακαῖς τε καὶ ὑπερορίαις καὶ ποι- ναῖς ὠμοτάταις ὁσημέραι παραδιδούς, ινα τῷ Φωτίῳ συγκοινω- νήσωσι, βίβλοι τε πολλαὶ καὶ ὁ πᾶς οὐκ ἐπιλίποι χρόνος ἐκτρα- γῳδῶν. 33 ̓Εντεῦθεν γοῦν τὰ μὲν τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἡ τῶν ̔Ρὼς ἐκάκου ἐπιδρομή (εθνος δὲ ουτοι Σκυθικὸν ἀνήμερόν τε καὶ αγροικον), τόν τε Πόντον αὐτόν, οὐ μὴν καὶ τὸν Ευξεινον, κατεπίμπρα καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν πόλιν περιεστοίχιζεν, τηνικαῦτα τοῦ Μιχαὴλ κατὰ ̓Ισ- μαηλιτῶν ἐκστρατεύοντος. πλὴν ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τότε θείας ἐμ- φορηθέντες ὀργῆς, Φωτίου τὸ θεῖον ἐξιλεωσαμένου τοῦ τῆς ἐκ- κλησίας τοὺς οιακας εχοντος, οικαδε ἐκπεπόρευντο· καὶ μετ' οὐ πολὺ πάλιν τὴν βασιλεύουσαν πρεσβεία αὐτῶν κατελάμβανεν, τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος ἐν μετοχῇ γενέσθαι αὐτοὺς λιτανεύουσα, ο καὶ γέγονεν. 34 Τὰ μὲν ουν ἡ τούτων ἐκάκου ἐπιδρομή· τὰ δὲ ὁ τῆς Κρήτης στόλος ἀναγόμενος, ὡς κουμβαρίων αχρι εικοσι, ἑπτὰ γαλέας καί τινας σατούρας μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐπαγόμενος, ἐληΐζετό τε καὶ κατεδουλαγώγει, νῦν μὲν τὰς Κυκλάδας νήσους περινοστῶν, νῦν δὲ αχρι Προικοννήσου τὴν παράλιον απασαν. τὰ δὲ οἱ συν- εχεῖς τῶν σεισμῶν ἐλυμαίνοντό τε καὶ πρὸς τουδαφος εβαλλον, νῦν μὲν καθ' ην ἡ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀνάληψις ἑορτάζεται, τὸ πρὸς νότον τρίτον τοῦ ̔Εξακιονίου πρὸς γῆν ἐδαφίζοντες, ναούς 197 τε εὐπρεπεῖς καὶ οικους λαμπρούς, νῦν δὲ στήλας τήν τε κατὰ Χρυσῆν πύλην τῆς πόλεως Νίκην ἐγκαθιδρυμένην τάς τε ἐν τῷ ∆ευτέρῳ κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν Ανναν στερρῶς ἱσταμένας ἐγκατασείσαν-τες· ην ὁ μαθηματικὸς Λέων καταπεπτωκυῖαν ἰδὼν τὴν τοῦ δευ- τέρου ἐκ βασιλέως πτῶσιν ελεγεν ἐπαπειλεῖν καθαρῶς. μακρὸν ειη λέγειν ποταμῶν ἀφάνειαν καὶ πηγῶν καὶ αλλ' αττα παθήματα κατά τε ̓Ισαυρίαν καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην χώραν ἐπιγινόμενα. Α πάντα ὁ βασιλεύων ἐν δευτέρῳ θέμενος ολος ειχετο τῶν ἱππικῶν ἀγώνων κατὰ τὸν ἐν Εὐξείνῳ ἀνεγηγερμένον ναὸν τοῦ ἁγίου Μάμαντος. (35) καί ποτε δὲ-ἀλλὰ συνήθειάν τινα διηγήσο- μαι πρότερον, η τὴν τῶν Σαρακηνῶν καθ' ἡμῶν ἐκστρατείαν διὰ πυρσοῦ ἐν ἀκαρεῖ ἐδήλου καὶ παρεγύμνου τῷ βασιλεῖ. ερυμά τι καὶ φρούριον τῇ κατὰ Κιλικίαν Ταρσῷ πλησιάζον καὶ γειτονοῦν ουτω καλούμενον Λοῦλον εστιν. οἱ τεταγμένοι ουν τοῦτο φρου- ρεῖν, αμα τῷ τὴν ἐκείνων ἰδεῖν ἐκδρομήν, διὰ φανοῦ δηλοῦσιν τοῖς κατὰ τὸν ̓Αργαῖον βουνόν, καὶ οἱ αυθις τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ̓Ισά-μον, καὶ οἱ τοῖς κατὰ τὸ Αιγιλον, καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Μά- μαντα πάλιν βουνόν· ειτα τοῦτον ὁ Κύριζος διαδεχόμενος, καὶ αυθις τοῦτον ὁ Μώκιλος, ἐκ τούτου δὲ ὁ τοῦ ἁγίου Αὐξεντίου βουνὸς τοῖς ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ παλατίῳ κατὰ τὸ ἡλιακὸν τοῦ Φάρου ἐπὶ τούτου διαιταρίοις ἀφωρισμένοις ἐν βραχεῖ ἐποίει δὴ φανερά. ποτὲ γοῦν τοῦ Μιχαὴλ κατὰ τὸν εἰρημένον τοῦ μάρτυρος Μάμαν- 198 τος ναὸν ἱππάσασθαι μέλλοντος καὶ τὸ σύνθημα τῆς ἱπποδρομίας δεδωκότος, ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Φάρου φανὸς διὰ τοῦ παππίου ἐδήλου τὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκδρομήν, εἰς τοσοῦτον ηλθεν ἀγῶνα καὶ φόβον ὁ βασιλεὺς δέει τοῦ μὴ παροφθῆναι τὴν ἡνιοχείαν αὐτοῦ παρὰ τῶν θεατῶν τῆς τοιαύτης ενεκεν ἀγγελίας, εἰς οσον αλλος τις ηλθεν κινδυνεύων ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ μὴ πλησιάσαι τούτους μᾶλλον ἀγωνιζόμενος. ουτως ἐκεῖνος ἐθεατρίζετό τε καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνετο. οθεν ινα μήτε τις τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀγώνων ἀπολιμπά- νοιτο μήτ' αλλο τι τῶν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνιαρῶν προσπῖπτον χαλαρωτέρους ποιήσῃ τοὺς θεατάς, μηκέτι τοὺς πλησιάζοντας φανοὺς ἐνεργεῖν προσέταξεν, ἀλλὰ σιγῇ βαθείᾳ καὶ λήθῃ τὰ τοιαῦτα παρακαλυ- φθῆναι μακρᾷ. 36 Αλλοτε δὲ πάλιν, ινα σαφεστέρα γένηται ἡ τοῦ ἀν- δρὸς ἀναγωγία καὶ ανοια, αὐτοῦ ἐφ' αρματος ἱσταμένου καὶ τῆς βαλβῖδος μέλλοντος