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2.151 But Bogoris, the ruler of the Bulgars, having heard that a woman was ruling the Romans with a tender child, was roused to boldness; for which reason he also sent some messengers to the empress, threatening to break the treaties and to make an invasion against the Romans. But the empress, thinking nothing ignoble nor womanish, announced, "you will find me campaigning against you, and by the will of God, victorious. But if, which is not possible, you yourself should prevail, even so the victory is mine; for you will have conquered a woman, but not a man." At these words, the barbarian, being greatly disturbed, embraced peace and renewed the former treaties. And again the empress and the ruler exchanged embassies, she concerning a certain Theodosios, surnamed Koupharas, a man of worth and useful to the state, who was a captive in Bulgaria, and he concerning his own sister, who had been taken in a certain raid and was living in the imperial palace. For she, having been taken captive long before, and having been initiated into the Christian rites and having received an education during the time of her captivity, and now being released from captivity, did not cease extolling the Christian faith to her brother and sowing the seeds of faith in his heart, as he had already been initiated into the divine mysteries by Koupharas. And when the exchange was made and the woman was returned to her brother, and Koupharas was given in return to the empress, although the ruler had been previously instructed and initiated into the divine rites, he still kept the same unbelief, being attached to his own religion. But when a severe famine 2.152 had seized the land of the Bulgars, and all help was unavailing, the ruler called upon the God of the Christians for help, the one into whose mysteries he had been initiated by Koupharas and his sister. And he prepared the entire nation to do the same. And having obtained deliverance, they thus converted to the worship of God and were deemed worthy of the bath of regeneration, the ruler being named Michael after the name of the emperor of the Romans by the high priest who was sent to him and had administered the divine bath. And another thing also happened that led and confirmed the ruler towards piety. This man having an insatiable desire for hunting, and wishing to delight in these things not only when he went out to hunt, but also when he was at leisure, to delight in such things through painting, having built a new house, he ordered a certain monk, Methodios, a Roman by race, a painter by art, to fill the room with historical scenes. But as if guided by some divine inspiration, he did not explicitly command what sort and what kind of animals he should depict, but ordered him to paint whatever he wished, provided that what was painted was terrifying and caused astonishment and fear in those who saw it. But he, knowing nothing more terrifying than the second coming of Christ, depicted this there. And when the ruler saw on one side the choir of the righteous being crowned and on the other that of the sinners being punished, and understood the meaning of the painting from the painter, he at once renounced his own religion, and having been catechized, 2.153 as we have said, in the divine mysteries by the divine bishop, he received the divine baptism in the middle of the night. But the rulers of the nation and the common people, having learned of the change of religion, rose up against the ruler and were eager to kill him. But he, with the few who were with him, routed them, the sign of the cross going before, and being astounded by the miracle, he made them become Christians. And when the entire nation had been converted to the worship of God, he wrote to the empress requesting that land be given to him, since those under him were in want of space, promising to unite the nations and to make a peace both eternal and unchangeable. And the empress received the supplication very cheerfully, and gave the land which was at that time deserted, from what is called Sidera, which was then the border between the Romans and Bulgars, as far as Debeltos, which the Bulgars Zagora

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2.151 Βόγορις δὲ ὁ Βουλγάρων ἀρχηγός, γυναῖκα ἄρχειν Ῥω μαίων ἀκηκοὼς μετὰ παιδὸς ἁπαλοῦ, εἰς θράσος ᾔρετο· ὅθεν καί τινας ἀγγέλους ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὴν βασιλίδα, ἀπειλῶν λύειν τὰς συνθήκας καὶ εἰσβολὴν ποιεῖσθαι κατὰ Ῥωμαίων. ἡ δὲ βασιλὶς μηδὲν ἀγεννὲς μηδὲ γυναικεῖον ἐννοήσασα "καὶ ἐμὲ εὑρήσεις" μηνύει "ἀντιστρατεύουσαν, θεοῦ δὲ νεύσει καὶ κατισχύουσαν. εἰ δ', ὅπερ οὐκ ἔνι, ὑπερέξεις αὐτός, καὶ οὕτως ἡ νίκη ἐμή· γυναῖκα γὰρ ἔσῃ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἄνδρα νενικηκώς." οἷς ὁ βάρβαρος διαταραχθεὶς ἡσυχίαν ἠσπάσατο καὶ τὰς προηγησαμένας ἀνενέου σπονδάς. διεπρεσβεύσαντο δὲ ἀλλήλοις πάλιν ἥ τε βασιλὶς καὶ ὁ ἄρχων, ἡ μὲν περί τινος Θεοδοσίου τοῦ ἐπίκλην Κουφαρᾶ, ἀξιο λόγου ἀνδρὸς καὶ χρησίμου τῷ πολιτεύματι, αἰχμαλώτου ὄντος ἐν Βουλγαρίᾳ, ὁ δὲ περὶ τῆς οἰκείας ἀδελφῆς, κατά τινα προνο μὴν ληφθείσης καὶ τοῖς βασιλείοις διατριβούσης. αὕτη γὰρ πρὸ πολλοῦ ἀχθεῖσα αἰχμάλωτος, τὰ Χριστιανῶν τε μυηθεῖσα καὶ γραμμάτων μετασχοῦσα κατὰ τὸν τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας καιρόν, ἄρτι τε τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπολυθεῖσα, οὐ διέλιπε πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὰ Χριστιανῶν ἐκθειάζουσα καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ καρδίᾳ πίστεως καταβάλ λουσα σπέρματα, προμυηθέντος ἤδη παρὰ τοῦ Κουφαρᾶ τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια. τοῦ ἀλλαγίου δὲ γενομένου καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀποδοθείσης τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἀντιδοθέντος δὲ τῇ δεσποίνῃ τοῦ Κου φαρᾶ, εἰ καὶ προενήχητο ὁ ἄρχων καὶ προετελέσθη τὰ θεῖα, ἀλλ' ἔτι τὴν αὐτὴν ἐφύλαττε ἀπιστίαν, τῆς οἰκείας θρησκείας ἐξηρτημένος. λιμοῦ δὲ σφοδροῦ τὴν χώραν τῶν Βουλγάρων 2.152 κατεσχηκότος, καὶ πάσης βοηθείας ἀργούσης, τὸν τῶν Χριστια νῶν ὁ ἄρχων εἰς βοήθειαν ἐπεκαλεῖτο θεὸν τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κουφαρᾶ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀδελφῆς αὐτῷ μυσταγωγηθέντα. τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ ἔθνος ποιεῖν παρεσκεύασεν ἅπαν. καὶ τυχόντες ἀπαλλα γῆς, οὕτω δὴ πρὸς θεοσέβειαν μετατίθενται καὶ τοῦ λουτροῦ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας καταξιοῦνται, Μιχαὴλ κατονομασθέντος τοῦ ἄρ χοντος κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν Ῥωμαίων παρὰ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποσταλέντος ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοῦ θείου μεταδεδωκότος λου τροῦ. Συνέβη δὲ καὶ ἕτερόν τι τὸ ὁδηγῆσαν καὶ βεβαιῶσαν τὸν ἄρχοντα πρὸς εὐσέβειαν. ἀπλήστως οὗτος ἔχων πρὸς τὰ κυνη γέσια, καὶ βουλόμενος τούτοις ἐντρυφᾶν μὴ μόνον ὅτε πρὸς θήραν ἐξίοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτε σχολάζοι, διὰ ζωγραφίας ἐντρυφᾶν τοῖς τοιού τοις, οἶκον δημιουργήσας νέον Μεθόδιόν τινα μοναχὸν Ῥωμαῖον τὸ γένος, ζωγράφον τὴν τέχνην, ἐκέλευσεν ἱστορίας πληρῶσαι τὸ οἴκημα. ὥσπερ δὲ ὑπό τινος ἐπιπνοίας θείας ὁδηγούμενος οὐκ ἐπέσκηψε ῥητῶς ὁποῖα δὴ καὶ τίνα τῶν ζῴων ἐξιστορήσοι, ἀλλ' ἐκέλευε γράφειν ἅττα καὶ βούλοιτο, φοβερὰ μέντοι εἶναι τὰ γρα φόμενα καὶ πρὸς ἔκπληξιν καὶ δέος τῶν θεωμένων. ὁ δὲ μηδὲν ἕτερον εἰδὼς φρικωδέστερον τῆς δευτέρας τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ταύτην ἐκεῖ καθυπέγραψεν. ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ ἄρχων ἔνθεν μὲν τῶν δι καίων τὸν χορὸν στεφανούμενον ἐκεῖθεν δὲ τὸν τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν κολαζόμενον, καὶ παρὰ τοῦ ζωγράφου συνεὶς τὸν νοῦν τῆς ζωγρα φίας, εὐθύς τε τὴν οἰκείαν ἐξόμνυται θρησκείαν, καὶ κατηχηθείς, 2.153 ὡς εἴπομεν, παρὰ τοῦ θείου ἐπισκόπου τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν τοῦ θείου μεταλαμβάνει βαπτίσματος. οἱ δὲ τοῦ ἔθνους ἄρχοντες καὶ τὸ κοινὸν τὴν τῆς θρησκείας ἐγνωκότες μετα βολὴν κατεξανίστανται τοῦ ἄρχοντος καὶ ἀνελεῖν ἐσπούδαζον. τούτους δ' ἐκεῖνος μετὰ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ὀλίγων ὄντων τρεψάμενος, τοῦ σταυρικοῦ τύπου προηγουμένου, τῷ παραδόξῳ καταπλαγέντας χριστιανίσαι πεποίηκε. μεταβληθέντος δὲ παντὸς τοῦ ἔθνους πρὸς θεοσέβειαν, γράφει πρὸς τὴν δέσποιναν ἐξαιτῶν δοθῆναί οἱ γῆν, στενοχωρουμένων τῶν ὑπ' αὐτόν, ὑπισχνούμενος ἑνοποιῆσαι τὰ ἔθνη καὶ εἰρήνην ἐργάσασθαι ἀΐδιόν τε καὶ ἀμετάβλητον. ἡ δὲ βασιλὶς ἱλαρῶς λίαν τὴν ἱκετείαν προσήκατο, καὶ δέδωκεν ἔρημον οὖσαν τηνικαῦτα τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς καλουμένης Σιδηρᾶς, ὅριον τότε τυγχάνουσαν Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Βουλγάρων, ἄχρι τῆς ∆εβελτοῦ, ἣν οἱ Βούλγαροι Ζαγορὰν