2

For they happened to be generous-he hands over the boy to the leaders of the armies, so that, having rescued him from the present circumstances, they might establish him on his paternal throne and might receive expenses from him, as much as they might spend on the way and as much as by delaying around Constantinople. Therefore these men put to sea with triremes and hollow ships, having made the voyage up auspiciously with favorable winds. And when they put in at Constantinople, they make known to those there the boy, the injustice, and on account of these things, the mandates of Rome. So for a time there were both speeches from both sides and strong battles on land, and agreements by embassies did not happen at all. But when the emperor Alexios became weary of such affairs, and especially grew tired of those within who were looking to cause confusion and were sick with instability, letting all things go, he resorted to flight willingly with an unwilling spirit, having said this, as those who heard reported, “David, by fleeing, was saved,” and taking with him both his wife and sufficient money from the imperial treasury.

3

When, therefore, this man departed from Constantinople, the inhabitants sent an embassy to the Italians, so that Alexios, the son of Isaac, on whose account, as it seemed, the fighting was, might be brought inside and be proclaimed emperor. So the boy is brought into the city under the former agreements, which he promised to the Italians who had brought him up, and he is proclaimed emperor by all the people. Therefore, from this point, both the citizens and the Italians were seemingly at peace, with the Italians demanding the promises and the expenses, but the inhabitants of the city considering the sum beyond calculation and insisting that they could not give so much to the Italians. And it happened at that time that murmuring also arose in the city on this account. For the father of Alexios, Isaac Angelos—for he was still alive, although he departed shortly after, before Constantinople had yet been captured—gave the opinion that a collection of the sacred treasures should first be made and that from there the debt to the Italians should begin to be paid, and that the deficit should be given from the imperial treasuries and from the inhabitants of the city. But in the midst of the dispute, while ambassadors were arriving from both sides, Alexios, the son of Isaac, is murdered by Alexios Doukas, whom he had honored as protovestiarios, whom the people of the city, blaming him for some of his actions, called Mourtzouphlos. So the said Alexios Mourtzouphlos was proclaimed emperor by the citizens. For this reason, therefore, the Italians, becoming even more enraged, made their enmity against the Constantinopolitans implacable. And it also happened that another plan, not worthy of praise, was formed by the citizens. For the leading men and those in authority decided to send away from the city the Latins whom Constantinople had as inhabitants, so that they would not have them as conspirators within. But these deserted to the enemy, many thousands of them, having first assured the citizens with unbreakable oaths that they would never plot treachery against them, but would die with them if it should happen, as if they were natives and indigenous; and although they offered to take their wives and children away to safer places, they did not persuade them. And having gone out, they helped the enemy greatly, since they were a great multitude and knowledgeable of the situation.

4

So forty days passed and Constantinople was captured by them, it being the six thousand, seven hundred and eleventh year from the creation of the world, on the twelfth day of April. For in the tenth year, in the month of May, they anchored at the city, and in eleven months the sack happened to occur. And the greatest and most illustrious city was captured, when one, as they say, or even two leaped onto the wall from a ladder placed against the mast of a very large hollow ship. Therefore, whatever happened to the city, these things would be matters for longer accounts and not for the

2

ἐτύγχανον γὰρ ἁδραί-παραδίδωσι τὸν παῖδα τοῖς ἡγεμόσι τῶν στρατευμάτων, ὡς ἂν αὐτὸν τῆς προκει μένης ἐκνεύσαντες τῷ πατρικῷ ἐγκαταστήσαιεν θρόνῳ ἀνα λώματά τε παρ' αὐτοῦ λάβοιεν, ὁπόσα ἂν καθ' ὁδὸν ἀνα λώσαιεν καὶ ὁπόσα περὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου βραδύναντες. ἀνήχθησαν οὖν οὗτοι τριήρεσί τε καὶ ναυσὶ κοίλαις, εὐτυ χῶς ἐν πνεύμασι φοροῖς πεποιημένοι τὴν ἄνοδον. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῇ Κωνσταντίνου προσώκειλαν, γνωρίζουσι τοῖς ἐκεῖ τὸν παῖδα, τὴν ἀδικίαν, τὰ διὰ ταῦτα τοῦ Ῥώμης ἐντάλματα. μέχρι μὲν οὖν τινὸς λόγοι τε ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἐγεγόνεισαν τῶν μερῶν καὶ μάχαι κατὰ χέρσον ἰσχυραί, συμβάσεις τε ἐκ πρεσβειῶν οὐδ' ὅλως συνέβαινον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξιος τοῖς τοι ούτοις ἀπώκνησε πράγμασι, μάλιστα δέ γε ἀπείρηκε τοῖς ἐντὸς εἰς σύγχυσιν ἀποβλέπουσι καὶ νοσοῦσι τὸ ἄστατον, τὰ πάντα χαίρειν ἐάσας φυγῇ ἐχρήσατο ἑκὼν ἀέκοντί γε θυμῷ, τοῦτο δὴ προσειπών, ὡς οἱ ἀκηκοότες ἔφασκον, τὸ «∆αυὶδ φυγὼν ἐσώθη», προσεπαγόμενός τε καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ χρή ματα τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ταμιείου ἱκανά.

3 Ἐπεὶ γοῦν οὗτος ἐξῄει τῆς Κωνσταντίνου, πρεσβεύ ουσι πρὸς τοὺς Ἰταλοὺς οἱ οἰκήτορες, ὡς ἂν ὁ τοῦ Ἰσαακίου Ἀλέξιος, δι' ὃν ὡς ἐδόκει τὸ μάχιμον ἦν, ἐντὸς εἰσαχθείη καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀναγορευθείη. εἰσάγεται γοῦν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ὁ παῖς ἐπὶ ταῖς προτέραις συνθήκαις, αἷς ὑπέσχετο τοῖς ἀναβιβάσασιν αὐτὸν Ἰταλοῖς, καὶ βασιλεὺς παρὰ παντὸς ἀναγορεύεται τοῦ λαοῦ. ἦσαν οὖν τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε οἵ τε πο λῖται οἵ τε Ἰταλοὶ τῷ δοκεῖν εἰρηνεύοντες, τῶν μὲν Ἰταλῶν ἀπαιτούντων τὰς ὑποσχέσεις καὶ τὰ ἀναλώματα, τῶν δ' οἰκητόρων τῆς πόλεως ὑπὲρ ἀριθμὸν ἡγουμένων τὸ χρῆμα καὶ διισχυριζομένων, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν τοσαῦτα τοῖς Ἰταλοῖς ἐπι δοῦναι. συνέβη δὲ τῷ τότε καὶ γογγυσμὸν ἐν τῇ πόλει τούτου χάριν γενέσθαι. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ Ἀλεξίου ὁ Ἄγγελος Ἰσαάκιος-ἔτι γὰρ περιῆν τῷ βίῳ, κἂν ἀπῆρε μετὰ μικρὸν μήπω ἁλούσης τῆς Κωνσταντίνου-γνώμην δέδωκεν, ὡς τῶν ἱερῶν κειμηλίων συνάθροισιν γεγονέναι τὰ πρῶτα ἐκεῖθέν τε ἄρξασθαι τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς Ἰταλοὺς χρέους, τὸ δ' ἐλλεῖπον ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ταμιείων δοθῆναι καὶ τῶν οἰκη τόρων τῆς πόλεως. ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ δὲ τῆς ἀμφισβητήσεως οὔσης καὶ ἐξ ἑκατέρων τῶν μερῶν ἀφικνουμένων τῶν πρέσβεων, φονεύεται ὁ παῖς τοῦ Ἰσαακίου Ἀλέξιος παρ' Ἀλεξίου τοῦ ∆ούκα, ὃν πρωτοβεστιάριον οὗτος τετίμηκεν, οἱ δὲ τῆς πόλεως εἴς τι τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐπιμεμφόμενοι Μούρ τζουφλον ἐκάλουν. ἀνηγορεύθη γοῦν παρὰ τῶν πολιτῶν ὁ ῥηθεὶς Ἀλέξιος Μούρτζουφλος βασιλεύς. τοῦ τοιούτου γοῦν χάριν ἐπὶ πλέον μανέντες οἱ Ἰταλοὶ ἄσπονδον τὴν ἔχθραν κατὰ τῶν Κωνσταντινουπολιτῶν ἐποίησαν. συνέβη δὲ καὶ ἕτερόν τι γενέσθαι τοῖς πολίταις βούλευμα οὐκ ἐπαίνου ἄξιον. τοὺς γὰρ Λατίνους, οὓς οἰκήτορας εἶχεν ἡ Κωνσταντίνου, οἱ προύχοντες καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει συνεβουλεύσαντο ἀποπέμψαι τῆς πόλεως, ὡς μὴ ἐπιβούλους αὐτοὺς ἐντὸς ἔχοιεν. οἱ δὲ αὐτόμολοι πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους χωροῦσι χιλιοστύες πολλαί, ὅρκοις ἀρρήκτοις τὸ πρῶτον τοὺς πολίτας πληροφοροῦντες μὴ ἄν ποτε μελετῆσαι κατ' αὐτῶν προδοσίαν, συναποθανεῖν δὲ εἰ συμβαίη αὐτοῖς ὡς ἰθαγενεῖς καὶ αὐ τόχθονας· καίτοι καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ παιδία διδόντες ἐν ἀσφα λεστέροις ταῦτα τόποις ἀπαγαγεῖν, οὐκ ἔπεισαν. ἐξελθόντες δὲ πολλὰ τοῖς ἐναντίοις συνήραντο ἅτε πλῆθος πολὺ ὄντες καὶ εἰδήμονες τῶν πραγμάτων.

4 Τεσσαράκοντα γοῦν παρῆλθον ἡμέραι καὶ ἑάλω παρὰ τούτων ἡ Κωνσταντίνου, ἔτους μὲν ὄντος ἀπὸ γενέσεως κόσμου ἑξακισχιλιοστοῦ ἑπτακοσιοστοῦ ἑνδεκάτου, δωδεκάτην τοῦ Ἀπριλλίου ἄγοντος. τῷ γὰρ δεκάτῳ ἔτει Μαΐου ὄντος τῇ πόλει προσώρμισαν, ἐν ἕνδεκα δὲ μησὶ συνέβη γενέσθαι τὴν πόρθησιν. καὶ ἡ μεγίστη καὶ περιφανεστάτη πόλις ἑάλω, ἑνὸς ὥς φασιν ἢ καὶ δύο ἐπιπηδησάντων τῷ τείχει ἀπὸ κλίμακος εἰς ἱστὸν κειμένης μεγίστης κοίλης νηός. ὅσα μὲν οὖν συνέβη τῇ πόλει, μακροτέρων ἂν εἴη ταῦτα λόγων καὶ οὐ πρὸς τὴν