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of much and frequent labor and an abundance of books and leisure from affairs, but these were not available to us, I have of necessity embarked on a second voyage, and for the time being, of one emperor, who raised the power of the empire to great heights, who was also eponymous of the empire and was of great benefit to the Roman state and its affairs, to narrate his deeds and his whole conduct from the beginning until his very end, so that for posterity the first source and root of the royal stock that extended for a long time might not be unknown, and for his descendants there might be set up in their own house a rule and statue for virtue and the archetype for imitation. But if more time of life is measured out to us, and there is some small respite from illnesses, and there is no external impediment, perhaps we shall add in succession the whole narrative of the history of his line coming down to our own time. 2 However, this man whom the present account promises to reveal, the emperor Basil, came from the land of the Macedonians, but drew his lineage from the Armenian nation of the Arsacids. For of the ancient Arsaces, who led the Parthians, having advanced to great glory and virtue, it became a law for his successors that neither Parthians nor Armenians, nor even Medes, should be ruled 213 from any other source than the family of Arsaces and his descendants. Thus, while the aforesaid nations were being ruled by such a line, at a certain time it happened that the ruler of the Armenians passed from among men and a sedition arose concerning the palace and the successors to such rule. Artabanus and Klienes, therefore, not only having fallen from their ancestral rule but also being in danger of their lives, take refuge in this reigning city of Constantinople. Leo the Great was at that time governing the Roman empire, the father-in-law of Zeno. This man, therefore, having received the men and treated them kindly in a manner worthy of their noble birth, assigned them a fitting residence and way of life in the imperial city. But having learned of the men’s flight from their homeland and their refuge in this reigning city, and how they were favorably received by the rulers, the one then governing the Persian empire summoned them by letters, promising to install them in their paternal dominion, ostensibly out of goodwill, but in reality seeking for himself the submission of the nation. But as they received the letters and were still deliberating on what to do, this was revealed to the emperor by one of their attendants, and the letter was handed over. When the matter was understood, that the Persian was making the summons not so much wishing to subject the rule to them as the nation to himself, which was profitable neither for those 214 summoned nor for the affairs of the Romans, provision was made that what seemed good to the Persians should not come to pass. And for this reason, the emperor cutting off, as it happened, the facility of flight under a respectable pretense, as if for more space and greater security, they were relocated to the city of Nike in Macedonia with their wives and children (for these also were later stolen away from them). But as time flowed on and the Saracens were advancing to greater power, the then amermoumnes made a similar attempt on the descendants of the earlier Arsacids, and by letters summoned them to their ancestral authority and rule, so he claimed. But when this drama was also exposed to Heraclius, the emperor at that time, and the letters were handed over, since he knew the summons was made not out of goodwill for them but for the purpose of their own dominion by those who contrived these things (for the Saracens hoped that they could easily win over the nation out of its goodwill towards the ancient Arsaces, if they had these men with them), for this reason also to Philippi, itself also being one of the cities in Macedonia, as if for

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πολλοῦ καὶ πόνου συχνοῦ καὶ βιβλίων ἀφθονίας καὶ σχολῆς τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων, ταῦτα δ' ἡμῖν οὐ προσῆν, εἰς τὸν δεύτερον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὑποβέβηκα πλοῦν, καὶ τέως ἑνὸς βα- σιλέως, ἐπὶ μέγα τὸ τῆς βασιλείας κράτος ὑψώσαντος, ος καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπώνυμος ην καὶ μέγα οφελος τῇ πολιτείᾳ ̔Ρωμαίων ἐγένετο καὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν, ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ μέχρις αὐτῆς τελευτῆς τὰς πράξεις καὶ τὴν ολην ἀγωγὴν διηγήσασθαι, ὡς αν καὶ τοῖς μετέπειτα μὴ ἀγνοῆται βασιλείου στελέχους ἐπὶ πολὺ τοῦ χρόνου παρεκταθέντος ἡ πρώτη πηγὴ καὶ ῥίζα, καὶ τοῖς ἐκγόνοις ἐκείνου οικοθεν ειη ἀνεστηκὼς ὁ πρὸς ἀρετὴν κανών τε καὶ ἀνδριὰς καὶ τὸ ἀρχέτυπον τῆς μιμήσεως. εἰ δὲ ἐπιμετρηθείη καὶ χρόνος ἡμῖν ετι ζωῆς, καὶ γένηταί τις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν νόσων ἐκεχειρία μικρά, καὶ μηδὲ τῶν εξωθεν ειη τι ἐμποδών, ισως προσθῶμεν ἐχομένως καὶ τῆς αχρις ἡμῶν κατιούσης αὐτοῦ γενεᾶς τὴν ολην τῆς ἱστορίας ἀφήγησιν. 2 Πλὴν ουν ουτος ον ὁ λόγος νῦν ὑποδεῖξαι κατεπαγγέλ- λεται, αὐτοκράτωρ Βασίλειος ὡρμᾶτο μὲν ἐκ τῆς Μακεδόνων γῆς, τὸ δὲ γένος ειλκεν ἐξ ̓Αρμενίων εθνους ̓Αρσακίων. τοῦ γὰρ πα-λαιοῦ ̓Αρσάκου, ος Πάρθων ἡγήσατο, ἐπὶ μέγα δόξης προελθόν- τος καὶ ἀρετῆς, νόμος τοῖς υστερον ἐχρημάτισε μὴ αλλοθεν βασι- 213 λεύεσθαι μήτε Πάρθους μήτε ̓Αρμενίους, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ Μήδους, η παρὰ τοῦ γένους ̓Αρσάκου καὶ τῶν ἀπογόνων αὐτοῦ. ουτως ουν τῶν εἰρημένων ἐθνῶν ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης βασιλευομένων σειρᾶς, κατά τινας χρόνους τοῦ ̓Αρμενίων κατάρχοντος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀποιχομένου συνέβη στάσιν γενέσθαι περὶ τὰ βασίλεια καὶ τοὺς διαδόχους τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρχῆς. ̓Αρτάβανος ουν καὶ Κλειένης οὐ μόνον τῆς προγονικῆς ἐκπεπτωκότες ἀρχῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ζωὴν κινδυνεύοντες, τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ταύτην καταλαμβάνουσι Κωνσταντινούπολιν. Λέων ην ὁ μέγας τηνικαῦτα τὴν ̔Ρωμαϊκὴν διέ- πων ἀρχήν, ὁ Ζήνωνος πενθερός. ουτος ουν τοὺς ανδρας ὑπο- δεξάμενος καὶ ἀξίως τῆς περὶ αὐτοὺς εὐγενείας φιλοφρονησάμενος οικησίν τε καὶ δίαιταν τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐν τῇ βασιλίδι ἀπένειμε. μαθὼν δὲ τῶν ἀνδρῶν τὴν ἐκ τῆς πατρίδος φυγὴν καὶ πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ταύτην καταφυγήν, καὶ ὡς εὐμενῶς ὑπὸ τῶν κρα- τούντων ἐδέχθησαν, ὁ τότε τὰ τῆς Περσικῆς διέπων ἀρχῆς γράμ- μασιν αὐτοὺς μετεκαλεῖτο, εἰς τὴν πατρῴαν ἡγεμονίαν ἐγκατα- στῆσαι δῆθεν ὡς εὐνοῶν ὑπισχνούμενος, ἑαυτῷ δὲ τὴν τοῦ εθνους ἐντεῦθεν ὑποταγὴν μνηστευόμενος. δεξαμένων δὲ τούτων τὰ γράμματα καὶ περὶ τῶν πρακτέων ετι διασκοπουμένων, μηνύεται ταῦτα παρά τινος τῶν ἐξυπηρετούντων αὐτοῖς τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἐγχειρίζεται. γνωσθέντος δὲ τοῦ πράγματος, ὡς οὐκ αὐτοῖς τοσοῦτον τὴν ἀρχὴν οσον ἑαυτῷ τὸ εθνος ὁ Πέρσης ὑποτά- ξαι βουλόμενος τὴν τούτων ἐποιεῖτο μετάπεμψιν, οπερ ουτε τοῖς 214 καλουμένοις ουτε τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐλυσιτέλει τοῖς πράγμασιν, πρό- νοια γίνεται τοῦ μὴ τὸ τοῖς Πέρσαις δοκοῦν εἰς πέρας ἐλθεῖν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὑποτεμνομένου τοῦ βασιλέως τήν, εἰ τύχοι, εὐχέρειαν τοῦ δρασμοῦ μετ' εὐπρεποῦς τοῦ σχήματος, ὡς ἐπ' εὐρυχωρίας δῆθεν καὶ ἀδείας πλείονος, εἰς Νίκην τὴν κατὰ Μακεδονίαν πόλιν μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων (καὶ αυται γὰρ μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτοῖς ὑπε- κλάπησαν) μετοικίζονται. τοῦ δὲ χρόνου ῥέοντος καὶ τῶν Σαρα- κηνῶν ἐπὶ μείζονος δυναστείας προαγομένων, τὴν ὁμοίαν πεῖραν τοῖς τῶν προτέρων ἀπογόνοις ̓Αρσακιδῶν ὁ τότε ἀμερμνουνὴς προ- εβάλετο, καὶ διὰ γραμμάτων μετεκαλεῖτο αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν προγονι- κὴν δῆθεν ἐξουσίαν τε καὶ ἀρχήν. φωραθέντος δὲ καὶ τοῦ τοιού- του δράματος ̔Ηρακλείῳ τῷ τηνικαῦτα βασιλεῖ, καὶ τῶν γραμμά- των ἐγχειρισθέντων, ἐπεὶ μὴ εὐνοίᾳ τούτων εγνω τὴν μετάπεμψιν γενομένην ἀλλ' εἰς πρόθεσιν οἰκείας ἐπικρατείας τῶν ταῦτα μηχα- νωμένων (ηλπιζον γὰρ τὸ εθνος ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸν παλαιὸν ̓Αρσάκην εὐνοίας ῥᾳδίως, εἰ τούτους εχοιεν μεθ' ἑαυτῶν, προσάξεσθαι οἱ Σαρακηνοί), διὰ τοῦτο καὶ εἰς Φιλίππους, μίαν καὶ αὐτὴν τῶν κατὰ Μακεδονίαν τυγχάνουσαν πόλεων, ὡς ἐπὶ