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fishing boats were not prevented from catching fish both in the islands and near the surrounding walls. And when a great famine occurred among the Arabs, they ate all their dying animals, both horses and asses and camels; and some say that they even ate dead men and, putting their own dung into ovens and kneading it, they ate it. And a pestilential disease also fell upon them and destroyed countless multitudes of them. And the nation of the Bulgars also engaged in war against them, and, as those who know accurately say, [that] they slaughtered 22,000 Arabs; and many terrible things happened to them at that time, so that they recognized by experience that God 398 and the all-holy Virgin and Mother of God guard this city and the kingdom of the Christians, and there is no complete abandonment by God of those who call upon him in truth, even if for a short while we are chastised for our sins. Ruler of the Arabs, Umar, 2 years. 210. 710. 2. 1. 4. 13. In this year Sergius, the protospatharios and strategos of Sicily, having heard that the Saracens were besieging the ruling city, crowned there his own emperor from among his own men, named Basil, a Constantinopolitan, son of Gregory Onomagoulos, renaming him Tiberius. And he made promotions and his own officials with the counsel of the aforementioned Sergius. But the emperor, having heard these things, sends Paul, his own chartoularios, promoting him to patrikios and strategos of Sicily, having handed over to him for his support two spatharioi and a few men for his service, and orders for the officials of the western parts and a sacra for the people. And having entered a swift dromon by night, they went out toward the parts of Cyzicus. And from place to place, having made their journey both by land and by sea, they suddenly reach Sicily. And when they entered Syracuse, Sergius heard and was alarmed, and recognizing his own guilt, he fled to the Lombards who were near Calabria. And the people having been gathered, and the sacra having been read, and having been assured by it that the empire stood firm and the city was more confident regarding the enemies, and when they had related to them the matters concerning the two fleets, they immediately acclaimed Leo as emperor, but Basil Onomagoulos and the officials appointed by him they handed over as prisoners to the strategos. And he beheaded Basil along with his monostrategos, and having pickled their heads, sent them to the emperor by means of the spatharioi. And the rest, having flogged and tonsured them, 399 and some also having had their noses cut off, he exiled. Therefore, from this a great settlement came about in the western parts. And Sergius, the aforementioned, having asked the strategos for a pledge of impunity and having received it, came out to him; and all the western parts were pacified. And Umar, having become ruler of the Arabs, permitted Masalmas to return. And when the Hagarenes departed on the 15th of the month of August with great shame; for as their fleet was setting out, a storm from God, through the intercessions of the Mother of God, having descended upon them, scattered them; and it sank some of them at Proconnesus and the other islands, and others at Apostrophoi and the other shores, and those that were left were passing through the Aegean sea, and suddenly a terrible divine wrath came upon them; for fiery hail, having come down upon them, made the water of the sea boil, and the pitch having been melted, the ships with their crews were carried down to the deep; but only ten of them were saved, and these by the providence of God, in order to announce to us and to the Arabs the mighty works of God that happened to them; which our men, having encountered them, were able to seize five, but the other five escaped to Syria, to announce the power of God. And in the same year, a great earthquake having occurred in Syria, Umar forbade wine from

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ἁλιευτικὰ ἀγράρια εἴς τε τὰς νήσους καὶ τὰ περιπόλια τείχη ἀγρεύειν ἰχθύας οὐκ ἐκωλύοντο. λιμοῦ τε μεγάλου γεγονότος ἐν τοῖς Ἄραψιν, πάντα τὰ ἀποθνήσκοντα ζῶα αὐτῶν κατήσθιον, ἵππους τε καὶ ὄνους καὶ καμήλους· φασὶ δέ τινες ὅτι καὶ ἀνθρώπους τεθνεῶτας καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν κόπρον εἰς τὰ κλίβανα βάλλοντες καὶ ζυμοῦντες ἤσθιον. ἐνέσκηψε δὲ εἰς αὐτοὺς καὶ λοιμικὴ νόσος καὶ ἀναρίθμητα πλήθη ἐξ αὐτῶν ὤλεσεν. συνῆψε δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς πόλεμον καὶ τὸ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἔθνος, καί, ὥς φασιν οἱ ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστάμενοι, [ὅτι] κβʹ χιλιάδας Ἀράβων κατέσφαξαν· καὶ πολλὰ αὐτοῖς συνέβησαν δεινὰ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ὥστε ἐπιγνῶναι αὐτοὺς τῇ πείρᾳ, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς 398 καὶ ἡ παναγία παρθένος καὶ θεομήτωρ φρουροῦσι τὴν πόλιν ταύτην καὶ τὸ τῶν χριστιανῶν βασίλειον, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐγκατάλειψις τελεία θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, εἰ καὶ πρὸς βραχὺ παιδευόμεθα διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. Ἀράβων ἀρχηγὸς Οὔμαρος ἔτη βʹ. σιʹ. ψιʹ. βʹ. αʹ. δʹ. ιγʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει Σέργιος, ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος καὶ στρατηγὸς Σικελίας, ἀκούσας ὅτι οἱ Σαρακηνοὶ παρακαθέζονται τὴν βασιλεύουσαν πόλιν ἔστεψεν ἐκεῖσε ἴδιον βασιλέα ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αὐτοῦ, ὀνόματι Βασίλειον, Κωνσταντινουπολίτην, υἱὸν Γρηγορίου τοῦ Ὀνομαγούλου, Τιβέριον αὐτὸν μετονομάσας. ἐποίησε δὲ προβολὰς καὶ ἰδίους ἄρχοντας μετὰ βουλῆς τοῦ προλεχθέντος Σεργίου. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ταῦτα ἀκηκοὼς ἀποστέλλει Παῦλον, τὸν οἰκεῖον αὐτοῦ χαρτουλάριον, προβαλόμενος αὐτὸν πατρίκιον καὶ στρατηγὸν Σικελίας, παραδεδωκὼς αὐτῷ πρὸς σύναρσιν αὐτοῦ σπαθαρίους δύο καὶ ἀνθρώπους ὀλίγους εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν αὐτοῦ κελεύσεις τε πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας τῶν δυτικῶν καὶ σάκραν πρὸς τὸν λαόν. καὶ διὰ νυκτὸς εἰσελθόντες εἰς ἐξελαστικὸν δρόμωνα ἐξῆλθον ἐπὶ τὰ μέρη Κυζίκου. ἀπὸ δὲ τόπου εἰς τόπον, διά τε γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης τὴν πορείαν ποιησάμενοι ἐξάπινα τὴν Σικελίαν καταλαμβάνουσιν. εἰσελθόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν Συρακούσῃ, ἤκουσε Σέργιος καὶ ἐξέστη καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιγνοὺς αἰτίαν προσέφυγεν εἰς τοὺς πλησιάζοντας τῇ Καλαβρίᾳ Λογγιβάρδους. τοῦ δὲ λαοῦ ἀθροισθέντος, καὶ τῆς σάκρας ἀναγνωσθείσης, καὶ δι' αὐτῆς πιστωθέντες, ὅτι καὶ τὸ βασίλειον συνίσταται, καὶ ἡ πόλις εὐθυμοτέρα ἐστὶ περὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν δύο στόλων διηγησαμένων αὐτοῖς, εὐθέως τὸν μὲν Λέοντα βασιλέα εὐφήμησαν, Βασίλειον δὲ τὸν Ὀνομάγουλον καὶ τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ προχειρισθέντας ἄρχοντας δεσμίους τῷ στρατηγῷ παραδέδωκαν. αὐτὸς δὲ τὸν μὲν Βασίλειον σὺν τῷ μονοστρατήγῳ αὐτοῦ ἀπεκεφάλισεν, καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν φουσκιάσας τῷ βασιλεῖ διὰ τῶν σπαθαρίων ἀπέστειλεν. τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τύψας καὶ κουρεύσας, 399 τινὰς δὲ καὶ ῥινοκοπήσας ἐξώρισεν. ἐντεῦθεν οὖν μεγάλη κατάστασις ἐν τοῖς δυτικοῖς ἐγένετο. Σέργιος δὲ ὁ προλεχθεὶς λόγον ἀπαθείας τὸν στρατηγὸν αἰτησάμενος καὶ λαβὼν ἐξῆλθε πρὸς αὐτόν· καὶ πάντα εἰρήνευσαν τὰ ἑσπέρια μέρη. Οὔμαρος δὲ κρατήσας τῶν Ἀράβων ἐπέτρεψεν ἀνακάμψαι τὸν Μασαλμᾶν. ἀποκινησάντων δὲ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν τῇ ιεʹ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς μετὰ πολλῆς αἰσχύνης· ἐν γὰρ τῷ ἐκπορίζειν τὸν στόλον αὐτῶν λαῖλαψ ἐκ θεοῦ διὰ τῶν πρεσβειῶν τῆς θεομήτορος ἐνσκήψας εἰς αὐτοὺς τούτους διεσκόρπισεν· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐν Προκονήσῳ καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς νήσοις, τοὺς δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἀποστρόφοις καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἀκταῖς κατεπόντισεν, οἱ δὲ περιλειφθέντες παρήρχοντο τὸ Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος, καὶ ἄφνω ἐπῆλθεν αὐτοῖς θεομηνία φοβερά· χάλαζα γὰρ πύρινος κατελθοῦσα ἐπ' αὐτοὺς τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς θαλάσσης καχλάσαι πεποίηκεν, καὶ τῆς πίσσης λυθείσης, αὔτανδροι αἱ ναῦς εἰς βυθὸν κατηνέχθησαν· δέκα δὲ μόναι καὶ αὗται προνοίᾳ θεοῦ διασωθεῖσαι ἐξ αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸ ἀπαγγεῖλαι ἡμῖν τε καὶ τοῖς Ἄραψι τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ γεγονότα εἰς αὐτούς· ἃς καὶ περιτυχόντες οἱ τῶν ἡμετέρων τὰς μὲν πέντε πιάσαι ἠδυνήθησαν, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι πέντε ἀπεσώθησαν εἰς Συρίαν τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δυναστείαν ἀναγγελοῦσαι. Τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει σεισμοῦ μεγάλου γενομένου ἐν Συρίᾳ, ἐκώλυσεν Οὔμαρ τὸν οἶνον ἀπὸ