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203

being, but hidden and being fugitives throughout lesser Arabia, having gathered, with Abraïm being chief among them, they send a certain freedman of theirs named Abumuslim to Khorasan to some of the leading men there, asking them to ally with them against Marwam. And they, having gathered with a certain Chaktabas, take counsel and incite the slaves against their own masters and kill many in one night, by whose arms and horses and money they were equipped and became powerful. They are divided into two tribes, the Kaisini and the Imanitae. Abumuslim, having observed that the Imanitae were more powerful, incited them against the Kaisini, and 425 after killing them, he arrives in Persia with Chaktabas, and having warred against Ibindaras, he takes them all with victory, about 100 thousand men. And coming against Ibinoubeeras, who was encamped with 200 thousand men, he destroyed him as well, and having caught Marwam at the river Zabas with 300 thousand men, he wars against him and kills an infinite number of them. And it was then to be seen, according to the scripture, one chasing a thousand, and two putting ten thousand to flight. Marwam, seeing them thus winning by force, comes to Charran and having crossed the river, he cut the bridge, which was made of boats. And taking with him all his wealth and his household with 3 of his kinsmen, he fled to Egypt. θʹ. ʹ. ιʹ. κʹ. ʹ. In this year Marwam is pursued by the Black-robed ones and having been caught by them, he is killed, after a most heavy war was waged. Their leader was Salim, son of Alim, being one of the aforementioned fugitives, who had also sent out Abumuslim. The rest, having gathered in the region of Samaria and Trachonitis, by lot assigned the rule to Abulabas, and after him to his brother Abdela, and after him to Ise Ibinmuse; and they appointed Abdela, the son of Alim and brother of Salim, to be general of Syria, and the same Salim to rule Egypt, and Abdela, the brother of Abulabas, who had the lot of rule after him, they appointed over Mesopotamia. The same Abulabas, who was the leader of them all, was seated in Persia, the seat of power having been transferred by him and the allied Persians from Damascus, and all the captured treasures which Marwam had carried with him.426 But the surviving sons and relatives of Marwam, having come from Egypt to Africa, and from there having crossed the narrow sea that separates Libya and Europe on the Ocean side, the one called Septae, inhabited the Spanish part of Europe up to this time, having found some who had settled there previously of those from Mauïus who had been cast ashore there by ship, being their relatives and of the same religion. The capture of Marwam took two years, during which all the famous cities in Syria were stripped of their walls, except Antioch, because he intended to have it as a refuge, and countless Arabs were destroyed by him. For he was exceedingly skilled in matters of war. He belonged to the heresy of the Epicureans or Automatists, having taken on this impiety from the Greeks who inhabited Charran. On the 25th of the month of January of the same 3rd indiction, a son was born to the emperor Constantine, whom he named Leo, from the daughter of the Khagan of Khazaria. At the same time there was an earthquake in Syria and a great and terrible collapse, whereby some of the cities were completely destroyed, others moderately so, while others were moved entirely, safe, from the mountains to the plains below, along with their walls and their buildings, a distance of about six miles or a little more. And those who saw it with their own eyes said that the earth of Mesopotamia was split lengthwise for two miles, and from its depths another earth was brought up, very white and sandy, from the middle of which, as they say, came up a mule-like animal, spotless, speaking with a human voice and foretelling the invasion of a nation from the desert against the Arabs, which also came to pass. In the coming

203

τυγχάνοντες, κεκρυμμένοι δὲ καὶ φυγάδες ὄντες κατὰ τὴν μικρὰν Ἀραβίαν, ἀθροισθέντες, πρωτεύοντος ἐν αὐτοῖς Ἀβραΐμ, ἐκπέμπουσιν ἀπόδουλον αὐτῶν τινα λεγόμενον Ἀβουμουσλὶμ εἰς τὸ Χωροσὰν πρός τινας τῶν αὐτόθι προυχόντων, αἰτούμενοι συμμαχῆσαι αὐτοῖς κατὰ Μαρουάμ. οἱ δὲ συναχθέντες πρὸς Χακταβάν τινα βουλεύονται καὶ ἐπανιστῶσι τοὺς δούλους κατὰ τῶν ἰδίων δεσποτῶν καὶ ἀναιροῦσι πολλοὺς ἐν μιᾷ νυκτί, ὧν τοῖς ἄρμασι καὶ ἵπποις καὶ χρήμασι καθοπλισθέντες ἐγένοντο εἰς δυνατούς. διαιροῦνται δὲ εἰς φυλὰς δύο, Καϊσινοὺς καὶ Ἰμανίτας. ὧν δυνατωτέρους σκοπήσας τοὺς Ἰμανίτας ὁ Ἀβουμουσλὶμ διεγείρει κατὰ τῶν Καϊσινῶν, καὶ 425 ἀνελὼν αὐτοὺς παραγίνεται ἐν Περσίδι σὺν τῷ Χακταβάν, καὶ πολεμήσας τὸν Ἰβινδάρα παραλαμβάνει μετὰ νίκης ἅπαντας, ὡς ρʹ που χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν. καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰβινουβεηρᾶ στρατοπεδεύοντα σὺν χιλιάσι σʹ κἀκεῖνον ἐξέλυσεν, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὸν Μαρουὰμ εἰς τὸν Ζάβαν ποταμὸν ἔχοντα τʹ χιλιάδας πολεμεῖ αὐτὸν καὶ πλῆθος ἄπειρον ἀναιρεῖ ἐξ αὐτῶν. καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν τότε ἕνα διώκοντα χιλίους, καὶ δύο μετακινοῦντας μυριάδας. οὓς οὕτω κατὰ κράτος νικῶντας ὁρῶν ὁ Μαρουὰμ ἔρχεται εἰς Χαρρὰν καὶ περάσας τὸν ποταμὸν ἔκοψε τὴν γέφυραν ἀπὸ πλοίων οὖσαν. καὶ συμπαραλαβὼν πάντα τὰ χρήματα καὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ μετὰ γ ἀνδρῶν οἰκογενῶν αὐτοῦ ἔφυγεν ἐπὶ Αἴγυπτον. θʹ. ʹ. ιʹ. κʹ. ʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει καταδιώκεται Μαρουὰμ ὑπὸ τῶν Μαυροφόρων καὶ καταληφθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτῶν κτείνεται, βαρυτάτου πολέμου κροτηθέντος. ἦρχε δὲ αὐτῶν Σαλίμ, υἱὸς Ἀλίμ, εἷς ὢν τῶν προλεχθέντων φυγάδων, τῶν καὶ ἐξαποστειλάντων τὸν Ἀβουμουσλίμ. οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἀθροισθέντες κατὰ τὴν Σαμάρειαν καὶ Τραχωνίτιδα χώραν κλήρῳ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπένειμαν τῷ Ἀβουλαβᾶς, καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνον τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ Ἀβδελᾶ, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον τῷ Ἰσὲ Ἰβινμουσέ· καὶ τῆςμὲν Συρίας στρατηγεῖν ἔταξαν Ἀβδελᾶν, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Ἀλὶμ καὶ ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Σαλίμ, τὸν δὲ αὐτὸν Σαλὶμ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἄρχειν, τὸν δὲ Ἀβδελᾶν, τοῦ Ἀβουλαβᾶς ἀδελφὸν ἀπ' ἐκείνου ἔχοντα τὸν κλῆρον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπὶ τῆς Μεσοποταμίας ἔταξαν. ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς Ἀβουλαβᾶς, ὁ καὶ πάντων ἐξάρχων, ἐν Περσίδι κεκάθικεν, μετατεθείσης ὑπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν συμμαχησάντων Περσῶν ἀπὸ ∆αμασκοῦ τῆς ἀρχῆς, καὶ πάντων τῶν συλληφθέντων θησαυρῶν, ὧν ὁ Μαρουὰμ ἐπεφέ426 ρετο. οἱ δὲ περισωθέντες υἱοί τε καὶ συγγενεῖς τοῦ Μαρουὰμ ἐλθόντες ἀπ' Αἰγύπτου εἰς Ἀφρικὴν κἀκεῖθεν ἀντιπεράσαντες τὸ διορίζον μεταξὺ Λιβύης καὶ Εὐρώπης τῆς κατὰ τὸν Ὠκεανὸν στενῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ λεγόμενον Σέπται, τὴν τῆς Εὐρώπης Σπανικὴν ᾤκησαν μέχρι τοῦδε τοῦ χρόνου, ἔχοντές τινας προκατοικήσαντας αὐτόθι τῶν ἀπὸ Μαυΐου διὰ πλοὸς ἐκριφέντων ἐκεῖσε, συγγενεῖς αὐτῶν ὄντας καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς θρησκείας. ἐκράτησε δὲ ἡ ἐπὶ Μαρουὰμ ἅλωσις ἔτη ʹ, ἐν ᾗ πᾶσαι μὲν αἱ κατὰ τὴν Συρίαν περιφανεῖς πόλεις ἀπετειχίσθησαν, ἄτερ Ἀντιοχείας, διότι καταφύγιον αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἐμελέτα, ἀναρίθμητοί τε τῶν Ἀράβων ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ὤλοντο. λίαν γὰρ ὑπῆρχε διεσκεμμένος περὶ τὰ πολεμικά. ἐτύγχανε δὲ τῆς τῶν Ἐπικουρείων ἤτοι Αὐτοματιστῶν αἱρέσεως, ἐκ τῶν οἰκούντων τὴν Χαρρὰν Ἑλλήνων μεταλαβὼν τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Τῇ δὲ κεʹ τοῦ Ἰαννουαρίου μηνὸς τῆς αὐτῆς γʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐτέχθη τῷ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίνῳ υἱός, ὃν ἐπωνόμασε Λέοντα, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Χαγάνου τῆς Χαζαρίας θυγατρός. ἐν δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ γέγονε σεισμὸς ἐν Συρίᾳ καὶ μεγάλη καὶ φοβερὰ πτῶσις, ὅθεν αἱ μὲν τῶν πόλεων ὁλοκλήρως ἠφανίσθησαν, αἱ δὲ μέσως πως, ἑτέραι δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρεινῶν εἰς τὰ ὑποκείμενα πεδία σὺν τῶν τειχέων καὶ τῶν οἰκημάτων αὐτῶν ὁλόκληροι μετέστησαν σῶαι ὡς ἀπὸ μιλίων ἓξ ἢ καὶ μικρὸν πρός. ἔφησαν δὲ οἱ αὐτοψὶ θεασάμενοι τὴν γῆν Μεσοποταμίας εἰς μῆκος ῥαγῆναι ἐπὶ μίλια δύο, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ βυθοῦ αὐτῆς ἀναχθῆναι ἑτέραν γῆν λευκοτάτην καὶ ἀμμώδη, ἧς ἐκ μέσου, ὥς φασιν, ἀνῆλθε ζῶον μουλικόν, ἄσπιλον, λαλοῦν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φωνῇ προμηνύον τε ἔθνους ἐπιδρομὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου κατὰ τῶν Ἀράβων, ὃ καὶ γέγονεν. τῷ δὲ ἐρχομένῳ