- ... that in 878, the Byzantines lost Syracuse in Sicily to the Arabs because the imperial fleet was occupied with transporting marble for the construction of the Nea Ekklesia cathedral?
- ... that in the Battle of Satala in 530, a Byzantine officer captured the Persian general's flag, causing the Persian army to panic and retreat?
- ... that before beginning his revolt in 803, Bardanes Tourkos, with his three principal associates, Thomas, Leo the Armenian and Michael the Amorian, allegedly visited a monk who foretold their fates?
