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to Sventislav; and leaving his sons, the emperor Andronikos and Manuel the despot, to be raised in a royal manner by their emperor and grandfather, he himself crossed over to the east, to bring what help he could to the subjects there of the empire of the Romans, who were suffering badly at the hands of the Persians. And after spending some little time there, and returning to the city of Constantine, he was sent by his father and emperor to reside in the city of Adrianople. And he resided there for a considerable time; then, when his father again commanded, he departed for Thessalonica. While he was engaged in these things, messengers of bad news came to him, saying that his daughter who was married to the despot Thomas had died; and a little later, others bearing heavier news than the first said that his son, the despot Manuel, had died. And whether the flame of despondency rekindled some acute disease still lingering within, or whether the immoderation of his grief was by itself sufficient for his death, eight days after the news of his child's 1.14 death, he himself also died in Thessalonica, being in the forty-third year of his age, in the year six thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, on the twelfth of the month of October, on the first day of the week. When these things had so transpired, the death of the emperor and son was announced to the emperor Andronikos, the father of the deceased, and for a considerable time he mourned for the emperor and his child; for the death of his fine child touched his heart not superficially; then, with some demon renowned for destruction breathing heavily and fiercely against the good fortune of the Romans, or rather, to speak more truly, with God Himself, who governs all things, allowing such things for the requital of our errors, which in number and magnitude exceed measure, it came into the mind of the emperor Andronikos to deprive the reigning emperor, his grandson the young Andronikos, of the empire and reduce him to the status of a private citizen, and to adorn his son Constantine, who was despot, with the diadem of the empire. He devised this not so much for the sake of this Constantine himself, as so that the dignity of the empire might also pass to Michael, the son born to this Constantine from a concubine, as though it were his due from his father and by right, who was indeed also named Katharos, having received the name from his mother's side. This Michael, indeed, drew the origins of his lineage from a base and obscure mother, and in other respects was worthy of nothing. For he neither possessed a nature robust in intellect, nor 1.15 did he have experience of a general education, nor was he trained in military matters at all, nor was he talented, even a little, in any of the things that adorn the young, but being so utterly deprived of every good thing, a terrible desire entered the emperor to set him over this brilliant empire of the Romans, which requires a profound mind. Having so devised, he now set to the task, and taking Michael away from his sojourn with his mother, he made him his housemate and companion, always sitting beside him and standing by him, and receiving the first honors among the legitimate sons, at least as far as honor is concerned; furthermore, he made every effort to have Michael present and listen, both in his dealings with ambassadors from wherever they came, and in his conversations with high priests or any of the wise, or in any other discourses which seem to make the listener more intelligent than himself; and if it ever happened that Michael was not present for the emperor's serious discourses, he would summon him with great urgency, as if doing something of importance. His purpose, on the one hand, was ostensibly to procure honor for him and to persuade the Romans to pay attention to him as a grandson of the emperor; but in truth, it was to train him for the planned height of power, and to bring him to the trial of administering imperial affairs. And yet emperor Andronikos himself, after the agreements which he made with his grandson and emperor, the young Andronikos, blaming himself concerning this, not from

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Σφεντισθλάβῳ· τοὺς υἱοὺς δὲ αὐτοῦ, τὸν βασιλέα Ἀνδρόνικον καὶ Μανουὴλ τὸν δεσπότην, παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πάππῳ αὐτῶν ἀφεὶς ἀνάγεσθαι βασιλικῶς, αὐτὸς ἐπεραιώθη πρὸς ἕω, τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ἐκεῖσε τῇ βασιλείᾳ Ῥωμαίων τὴν δυνατὴν εἰσοίσων βοήθειαν, πάσχουσι κακῶς ὑπὸ τῶν Περσῶν. ὀλίγον δέ τινα χρόνον ἐνδιατρίψας ἐκεῖ, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν ἐπανελθὼν, πέμπεται παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῷ καὶ βασιλέως τῇ Ἀδριανοῦ πόλει ἐνδιατρίβειν. καὶ διέτριψεν ἐκεῖ χρόνον τινὰ συχνόν· εἶτα τοῦ πατρὸς πάλιν προστεταχότος, πρὸς Θεσσαλονίκην ἀπῆρεν. ἐν τούτοις ὄντος αὐτοῦ, ἥκουσι κακῶν ἄγγελοι πρὸς αὐτὸν, τὴν τῷ δεσπότῃ συνοικοῦσαν Θωμᾷ θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ λέγοντες τεθνηκέναι· καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἕτεροι τῶν προτέρων βαρυτέρας φέροντες ἀγγελίας τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Μανουὴλ δεσπότην ἔφασαν τεθνηκέναι. εἴτε δὲ καὶ νόσημά τι τῶν ὀξέων ἔνδον οἰκουροῦν ἔτι ἡ τῆς ἀθυμίας ὑπανῆψε φλὸξ, εἴτε καὶ αὐτὴ καθ' αὑτὴν ἡ ἀμετρία τῆς λύπης ἤρκεσε πρὸς θάνατον αὐτῷ, μετὰ ὀγδόην ἡμέραν τῆς ἀγγελίας τῆς τελευτῆς 1.14 τοῦ παιδὸς τελευτᾷ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ, τρίτον πρὸς τεσσαράκοντα χρόνον ἄγων τῆς ἡλικίας, ἔτους ἐννάτου πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσι καὶ ὀκτακοσίοις καὶ ἑξακισχιλίοις, δωδεκάτῃ μηνὸς ὀκτωβρίου, ἡμέρᾳ πρώτῃ τῆς ἑβδομάδος. τούτων οὕτω συνενεχθέντων, ἀγγέλλεται τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἀνδρονίκῳ τῷ τοῦ τετελευτηκότος πατρὶ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ υἱοῦ τελευτὴ, καὶ χρόνον μέν τινα συχνὸν ἐπένθησεν ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ παιδί· οὐ γὰρ ἄκρας ἔψαυσεν αὐτοῦ καρδίας ἡ τοῦ καλοῦ παιδὸς τελευτή· εἶτα δαίμονός τινος τῶν ἐξητασμένων ἐπὶ φθορᾷ, βαρὺ καὶ ἄγριον κατὰ τῆς Ῥωμαίων πνεύσαντος εὐτυχίας, ἢ τἀληθέστερον μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν, αὐτοῦ τοῦ τὰ πάντα οἰκονομοῦντος θεοῦ πρὸς ἔκτισιν τῶν ἐπὶ πλήθει καὶ μεγέθει τὸ μέτρον ὑπερβαινόντων ἡμετέρων σφαλμάτων τὰ τοιαῦτα παραχωροῦντος, ἐπὶ νοῦν ἔρχεται τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἀνδρονίκῳ, τὸν μὲν καθεστῶτα βασιλέα τὸν ἔγγονον αὐτοῦ τὸν νέον Ἀνδρόνικον ἀποστερῆσαι τῆς βασιλείας καὶ εἰς ἰδιώτου μεταστῆσαι σχῆμα, τὸν υἱὸν δὲ αὐτοῦ τὸν Κωνσταντῖνον δεσπότην ὄντα τῷ διαδήματι τῆς βασιλείας κοσμῆσαι. οὐ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ τούτου γε ἕνεκα διανοηθεὶς τοῦτο τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου, ἢ ὥστε τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ἀξίωμα καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐκ παλλακῆς αὐτῷ δὴ τῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ προσόντα παῖδα μεταβῆναι τὸν Μιχαὴλ, ὡς πατρόθεν καὶ ἐξ ἁρμονίας αὐτῷ προσῆκον, ὃς δὴ καὶ Καθαρὸς ὠνόμαστο, μητρόθεν λαχὼν τὴν κλῆσιν. οὗτος δὴ ὁ Μιχαὴλ εἷλκε μὲν καὶ τὰς τοῦ γένους πηγὰς ἐκ φαύλης καὶ ἀσήμου μητρὸς, ἦν δὲ καὶ τἆλλα ἄξιος οὐδενός. οὔτε γὰρ φύσεως ἔτυχεν εὐρώστου πρὸς τὸ φρονεῖν, οὔτ' ἐγ 1.15 κυκλίου πεῖραν ἔσχε παιδείας, οὔτε πρὸς στρατείας ἤσκητο τὸ παράπαν, οὔτε πρός τι τῶν ὅσα νέους κοσμεῖ εὐφυῶς εἶχε κἂν ἐπ' ὀλίγον, ἀλλ' οὕτω παντάπασιν ὄντα παντὸς ἐστερημένον καλοῦ, δεινὸς ἔρως εἰσῆλθε τὸν βασιλέα, τῇ λαμπρᾷ ταύτῃ καὶ βαθείας δεομένῃ φρενὸς ἐπιστῆσαι βασιλείᾳ Ῥωμαίων. οὕτω δὴ διανοηθεὶς καὶ ἔργου ἥπτετο ἤδη, καὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ ἐκ τῆς παρὰ μητρὶ διατριβῆς ἀφελὼν, σύνοικον ἀπέδειξεν ἑαυτῷ καὶ συνδιατρίβοντα, αὑτῷ τε ἀεὶ παρακαθήμενον καὶ παριστάμενον, καὶ τὰ πρῶτα τῶν γνησίων ἀποφερόμενον, ὅσα γε εἰς τιμήν· ἔτι τε διὰ σπουδῆς ἐποιεῖτο πάσης, ἔν τε τοῖς πρὸς τοὺς ὁθενδήποθεν πρέσβεις χρηματισμοῖς, κἀν ταῖς πρὸς ἀρχιερέας ἤ τινας τῶν σοφῶν ὁμιλίαις, ἢ καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶ λόγοις τὸν ἀκροατὴν δοκοῦσι συνετώτερον ποιεῖν ἑαυτοῦ, παρεῖναι καὶ ἀκροᾶσθαι τὸν Μιχαήλ· εἰ δέ ποτε συμβεβήκει τὸν Μιχαὴλ μὴ παρεῖναι ταῖς ἀγωνιστικαῖς ὁμιλίαις τοῦ βασιλέως, μετεκαλεῖτο τοῦτον διὰ πολλῶν ὡς δή τι προὔργου ποιῶν. σκοπὸς δ' ἦν αὐτῷ, τὸ ἐμφανὲς μὲν, ὡς ἂν αὐτῷ περιποιήσῃ τιμὴν καὶ Ῥωμαίους πείσῃ ὡς ἐγγόνῳ βασιλέως αὐτῷ προσέχειν· τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ, πρὸς τὸ μελετώμενον αὐτὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐξασκῆσαι ὕψος, καὶ πρὸς πεῖραν ἀναγαγεῖν διοικήσεως πραγμάτων βασιλικῶν. καίτοι γε αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀνδρόνικος μετὰ τὰς συμβάσεις, ἃς ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν ἔγγονον καὶ βασιλέα τὸν νέον Ἀνδρόνικον, ἑαυτὸν ἐξαιτιώμενος περὶ τούτου, οὐκ ἐκ