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him. whose son, having received the rule, wished to kill them as false prophets. Having learned this, they returned to the Isaurian regions. And as they were refreshing themselves at a certain spring, behold this Leo, still being a youth, 1.789 fair in appearance and tall in body, a craftsman by trade and making his living from it, and having taken the load off his beast of burden, he himself also sat down at the spring as if to have breakfast. Then the initiates of the ventriloquists prophesy to him that he would take up the scepters of the Roman Empire. But when Leo hesitated, he was assured by them. They also ask for an oath that, if this should come to pass, he would do whatever they should ask. And as a church of Saint Theodore was nearby, he swears to them. So, when both had departed, Leo was recruited into the army by Sisinnius the patrician. and in a short time, having been made a spatharios by Justinian the slit-nosed, he is sent to the western regions, and having been victorious, he is made strategos of the east by Theodosius, and he takes hold of the empire in the aforementioned manner. In the second year, Suleiman arrived with a fleet and emirs, and crossed over from Abydos into Thrace. When he died, Umar became emir. And as a very harsh winter occurred in Thrace, so that for one hundred days the ground was not visible because of the frozen snow, a multitude of horses and camels and other animals of the enemy died. In the springtime Sufyan arrived with the fleet built in Egypt and moored in the harbor of Kalos Agros. Not long after, Izeth also, with another fleet built in Africa, moored at Satyrus and Bryas and as far as the harbor of Kartos. However, the Egyptians of these two fleets, having deliberated among themselves, by night 1.790 entered the city acclaiming the emperor, so that from Hiereia to the city the sea appeared to be solid wood. Each of these fleets had an innumerable army and ships and weapons not subject to counting. And all these things, through the help of the merciful God and the intercessions of the Theotokos, in that place, some were sunk by winds, others were burned, and all were utterly destroyed with their ships, having warred against the city for two years. Again, as Merdasas with his army was running back and forth from the gates to Nicaea and Nicomedia, the Romans who were hiding in Liba and Sophon in the manner of Mardaites, suddenly falling upon them and causing much slaughter each time, drove them away. Moreover, as a severe famine overtook them, they ate all the dying animals. And they say that they would boil and eat dead men and their own dung with crushed roots of herbs. A pestilential disease also broke out among them and destroyed innumerable multitudes of them. And the Bulgars also joined battle against them and slaughtered twenty-two thousand Arabs. And many other terrible things happened to them, so that they recognized by experience that God and the Lady Theotokos are the guardians of this city; and that there is no complete abandonment by God among those who call upon him in truth, even if for a short while we are chastised for our sins.

In this year Sergius, protospatharios and strategos 1.791 of Sicily, hearing that the Saracens were besieging the city, crowned his own emperor from among his men, Basil a citizen, the son of Onomagoulos, renaming him Tiberius. He also made promotions and his own magistrates by the counsel of Sergius. But the emperor, hearing these things, sends Paul his official with a force, who, upon reaching Sicily and reading the imperial orders to the people, they immediately acclaimed Leo as emperor, and handed over Basil son of Onomagoulos and those with him as prisoners to Paul, whom he beheaded and sent their heads to the emperor. But Sergius, having received words of immunity, came out to the

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αὐτόν. οὗ ὁ υἱὸς τὴν ἡγεμο νίαν δεξάμενος ὡς ψευδομάντεις αὐτοὺς ἐβουλήθη ἀποκτεῖναι. ὅπερ μαθόντες ἀνέκαμψαν ἐν τοῖς Ἰσαυρικοῖς μέρεσιν. εἰς πη γὴν δέ τινα ἀναψυχόντων αὐτῶν, ἰδοὺ οὗτος ὁ Λέων νεανίσκος 1.789 ἔτι ὤν, καλὸς τῷ εἴδει καὶ εὐμήκης τῷ σώματι, βάναυσος τὴν τέχνην καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τὴν ζωὴν ποριζόμενος, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὑποζυγίου τὸν φόρτον περιελόμενος ἐκάθισε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ ὡς ἀρι στήσων. εἶτα οἱ τῶν ἐγγαστριμύθων μύσται τοῦ κατάρξαι τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς βασιλείας τῶν σκήπτρων τούτῳ προλέγουσι. τοῦ δὲ Λέοντος ἀναβαλλομένου, πληροφορεῖται ὑπ' αὐτῶν. οἳ καὶ αἰ τοῦσιν ὅρκον, εἰ εἰς πέρας ἔλθῃ τοῦτο, ὅπερ ἂν αἰτήσωνται ποιή σειν. πλησιάζοντος δὲ ἐκεῖσε ναοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου Θεοδώρου ὄμνυσιν αὐτοῖς. ὑποχωρησάντων οὖν ἀμφοτέρων, ὑπὸ Σισινίου πατρι κίου στρατολογεῖται ὁ Λέων. καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ ὑπὸ Ἰουστίνου τοῦ ῥινοτμήτου σπαθάριος γενόμενος εἰς τὰ ἑσπέρια πέμπεται, καὶ νικήσας ὑπὸ Θεοδοσίου στρατηγὸς ἀνατολῆς γίνεται, καὶ τῆς βα σιλείας κρατεῖ τῷ προειρημένῳ τρόπῳ. Τῷ βʹ ἔτει κατέλαβε Σουλειμὰν μετὰ στόλου καὶ ἀμηράδων, καὶ διεπέρασεν ἐξ Ἀβύδου ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ. οὗ τελευτήσαντος ἀμη ρεύει Οὔμαρος. χειμῶνος δὲ βαρυτάτου γενομένου ἐν τῇ Θρᾴκῃ ὡς ἐπὶ ἡμέρας ἑκατὸν μὴ φανῆναι γῆν ἐκ τῆς κρυσταλλωθείσης χιόνος, πλῆθος ἵππων τε καὶ καμήλων καὶ λοιπῶν ζῴων τῶν ἐχθρῶν τεθνήκασι. τῷ δὲ ἐαρινῷ καιρῷ κατέλαβε Σουφιὰμ μετὰ τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ κτισθέντος στόλου, καὶ προσώρμισεν εἰς τὸν τοῦ Καλοῦ Ἀγροῦ λιμένα. μετ' οὐ πολὺ καὶ Ἰζὴθ μεθ' ἑτέρου στόλου κτισθέντος ἐν Ἀφρικῇ καὶ αὐτὸς προσώρμισεν εἰς τὸν Σάτυ ρον καὶ τὸν Βρύαντα καὶ ἕως Κάρτου λιμένος. οἱ μέντοι τῶν δύο τούτων στόλων Αἰγύπτιοι καθ' ἑαυτοὺς βουλευσάμενοι νυκτὸς 1.790 εἰσῆλθον ἐν τῇ πόλει τὸν βασιλέα εὐφημοῦντες, ὥστε ἀπὸ τῆς Ἱερείας μέχρι τῆς πόλεως ὁλόξυλον φαίνεσθαι τὴν θάλασσαν. ἕκαστος δὲ τῶν τοιούτων στόλων στρατὸν εἶχεν ἀναρίθμητον καὶ πλοῖα καὶ ὅπλα ἀριθμῷ μὴ ὑποβαλλόμενα. καὶ ταῦτα πάντα διὰ τῆς βοηθείας τοῦ εὐσπλάγχνου θεοῦ καὶ τῶν πρεσβειῶν τῆς θεο τόκου κατὰ τὸν τόπον τὰ μὲν ἐβυθίσθησαν ὑπὸ ἀνέμων τὰ δὲ ἐνε πρήσθησαν, καὶ πάντες μετὰ τῶν πλοίων αὐτῶν ἄρδην ἀπώλοντο, πολεμοῦντες τὴν πόλιν ἐπὶ ἔτη δύο. πάλιν δὲ τοῦ Μερδασᾶ σὺν τῷ στρατῷ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἕως Νικαίας καὶ Νικομηδείας ἀνατρέχοντος, οἱ ἐν τῷ Λίβα καὶ τῷ Σόφωνι δίκην Μαρδαϊτῶν κρυπτόμενοι Ῥωμαῖοι ἐξαίφνης τούτους ἐπιρρίπτοντες καὶ πολὺν φόνον καθ' ἑκάστην ποιοῦντες ἀπεδίωξαν. ἄλλως τε καὶ λιμοῦ αὐτοὺς καταλαβόντος σφοδροῦ πάντα τὰ θνήσκοντα ζῷα κατή σθιον. φασὶ δὲ ὅτι ἀνθρώπους τεθνεῶτας καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν κόπρον σὺν ῥίζαις βοτανῶν τεθρυμμέναις ἕψοντες ἤσθιον. ἐνέσκηψε δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ λοιμικὴ νόσος, καὶ ἀναρίθμητα πλήθη ἐξ αὐτῶν ὤλεσε. συνῆψαν δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ οἱ Βούλγαροι πόλεμον, καὶ κατέ σφαξαν χιλιάδας εἰκοσιδύο Ἀράβων. καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ συνέβη αὐτοῖς δεινά, ὡς ἐπιγνῶναι τῇ πείρᾳ τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὴν δέσποιναν θεοτόκον φρουροὺς εἶναι ταύτης τῆς πόλεως· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐγκα τάλειψις τελεία θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτόν, εἰ καὶ πρὸς βραχὺ παιδευόμεθα διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.

Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει Σέργιος πρωτοσπαθάριος καὶ στρατηγὸς 1.791 Σικελίας, ἀκούσας ὅτι οἱ Σαρακηνοὶ παρακαθέζονται τὴν πόλιν, ἔστεψεν ἴδιον βασιλέα ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αὐτοῦ Βασίλειον πολίτην, τὸν υἱὸν Ὀνομαγούλου, μετονομάσας αὐτὸν Τιβέριον. ἐποίησε δὲ προβολὰς καὶ ἰδίους ἄρχοντας μετὰ βουλαῖς Σεργίου. ὁ δὲ βα σιλεὺς ταῦτα ἀκούσας ἀποστέλλει Παῦλον τὸν οἰκεῖον αὐτοῦ μετὰ δυνάμεως, ὃς καταλαβὼν τὴν Σικελίαν καὶ τὰς βασιλικὰς προστά ξεις ὑπαναγνοὺς τῷ λαῷ, εὐθὺς τὸν μὲν Λέοντα βασιλέα εὐφή μησαν, Βασίλειον δὲ τὸν Ὀνομάγουλον καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ δεσμίους τῷ Παύλῳ παραδεδώκασιν, οὓς καρατομήσας τὰς κε φαλὰς αὐτῶν τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐξαπέστειλεν. ὁ δὲ Σέργιος λόγους ἀπαθείας λαβὼν ἐξῆλθε πρὸς τὸν