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he managed to be joined to a wife, the emperor wished to commit an unlawful act; for he chose to secure this man beforehand as son-in-law for his daughter Eudokia. Hence a dispute also arose for the emperor with Manuel, who was then patriarch, as he did not at all consent to such an unlawful marriage. But the emperor did not manage to bring his wish to completion; for before he had sent her to Constantine's city, as he had prepared, he ended his life, leaving the empire to his son-in-law John Doukas; for he did not have a male child who had reached puberty. For the male child whom he had had by the empress Anna had died beforehand, and by the one who came from the Armenians he had made one male child, who was eight years old when the emperor, his father, had died. Therefore, because he was without a male offspring of age, his son-in-law by his daughter inherits the empire. Laskaris was forty-eight years old and more, but less than fifty, having reigned for eighteen of these years, small in body, but not excessively so, dark-complexioned, having a beard that hung down a considerable length and was forked at the tip, with a slight cast in one eye, sharp in battles, overcome by both anger and lust, rather generous in his gifts; for to whomever he wished, much gold was given. And he toiled greatly in the battles against the Italians and the Persians. This man was indeed the beginning of the rule of the Romans, to whom it is proper for the Romans to owe much gratitude. And his corpse was laid to rest in the monastery of Hyakinthos, where both the emperor Alexios is buried and the empress Anna, his wife.

19 Then John Doukas Vatatzes, his son-in-law, takes up the Roman scepters, having been crowned by the patriarch Manuel, who succeeded Maximos. For after the death of the patriarch Michael, Theodore Eirenikos was installed on the patriarchal throne, who was also called Kopas. When he departed after six years, the monk Maximos is elevated to the patriarchal throne, serving the women's quarters. And having survived for six months he dies, and Manuel is elevated to the patriarchal throne, being a philosopher, as it seemed, and so called by many.

20 And the account turns again to the affairs of the Bulgarians. The first emperor of the Bulgarians, Asan, had two sons, John and Alexander. John went into exile and proceeded to the lands of the Rus', and having remained there for a considerable time and gathered to himself some of the Russian rabble, he reclaims his paternal inheritance; and he makes war on Boril and conquers him and becomes master of no small amount of land. But Boril enters within Trinovo and for seven years is besieged inside the walls. But when those with him grew weary, they went over to Asan John. And Boril is captured while fleeing and is blinded by John. And thus John became master of all the Bulgarians.

21 And Theodore Komnenos, whom the account related a little before, not wanting to remain in his own rank, but having usurped the imperial power after he became master of Thessalonica, he brought under his control much of the Roman land from that held by the Italians, and also that subdued by the Bulgarians, and he puts on the purple robe and dons the red sandals, while the metropolitan of Thessalonica, Constantine Mesopotamites, most staunchly opposed him in this, whom, for upholding the canonical customs, he also subjected to many hardships and exiles on account of these things. But Demetrios, the archbishop of Bulgaria, clothes this man with the imperial diadem, as he claimed he was autonomous and owed an account to no one, and for this reason had the authority to crown an emperor. Therefore, having been proclaimed, Theodore conducted affairs in an imperial manner, and despots

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ἔφθασε συζυγῆναι γυναικί, παράνομόν τι πρᾶγμα βεβούλη ται ὁ βασιλεὺς διαπράξασθαι· ἐπὶ γὰρ τῇ θυγατρὶ αὐτοῦ Εὐδοκίᾳ προλαβέσθαι τουτονὶ γαμβρὸν ᾑρετίσατο. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ ἔρις ἐκ τοῦ τότε πατριαρχοῦντος Μανουὴλ τῷ βα σιλεῖ ξυμβεβήκει μηδ' ὅλως τῇ τοιαύτῃ ἀθεσμογαμίᾳ συγκα τανεύσαντος. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔφθασεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τέρματι δοῦναι τὸ βούλημα· μήπω γὰρ στείλας ταύτην εἰς Κωνσταντίνου, ὡς ηὐτρέπισε, καταλύει τὸν βίον, τὴν βασιλείαν καταλιπὼν τῷ γαμβρῷ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ ∆ούκᾳ· οὐ γὰρ εἶχεν ἄρρενα παῖδα εἰς ἥβην ἐλθόντα. ὃν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς βασιλίδος Ἄννης ἔσχηκεν ἄρρενα παῖδα τεθνάναι προύφθασεν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἐξ Ἀρμενίων ὡρμημένης ἓν παιδίον ἄρρεν πεποίηκεν, ὅπερ ὀκταετὲς ἦν, ἡνίκα ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἐτεθνήκει. διὰ τὸ γοῦν ἀμοιρεῖν αὐτὸν ἄρρενος ἐνήβου γονῆς ὁ ἐπὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ τῆς βασιλείας κληρονομεῖ. ἦν δὲ ὁ Λάσκαρις μηʹ ἐτῶν καὶ πρός, ἐλάττων δὲ τῶν νʹ, βα σιλεύσας ἐκ τούτων ἔτη ιηʹ, τὸ μὲν σῶμα μικρός, οὐκ ἄγαν δέ, μελάγχρους, ἐφ' ἱκανὸν καθειμένον ἔχων τὸ γένειον καὶ περὶ τὸ ἄκρον σχιζόμενον, ἐπ' ὀλίγον ἑτερόφθαλμος, περὶ τὰς μάχας ὀξύς, θυμοῦ τε καὶ ἀφροδισίων ἡττώμενος, ἐλευ θεριώτερος ἐν ταῖς δωρεαῖς· οἷς γὰρ ἂν βούλοιτο, πολὺ τὸ χρυσίον ἐδίδοτο. τεταλαιπώρηκε δὲ πάμπαν ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ταῖς πρὸς Ἰταλοὺς καὶ τοὺς Πέρσας. ἀρχὴ γοῦν οὗτος ἐγεγόνει τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ᾧ καὶ πολλὴν χάριν ὤφλειν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις δέον καθέστηκε. κατετέθη δὲ ὁ νε κρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Ὑακίνθου μονῇ, ἔνθα καὶ ὁ βασι λεὺς Ἀλέξιος τέθαπται καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Ἄννα, ἡ τούτου σύζυγος.

19 Εἶτα ἐπιλαμβάνεται τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν σκήπτρων Ἰωάννης ∆ούκας δὲ Βατάτζης, γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ, στεφθεὶς παρὰ τοῦ πατριάρχου Μανουήλ, ὃς τὸν Μάξιμον διεδέξατο. μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ πατριάρχου Μιχαὴλ ὁ Εἰρηνικὸς Θεόδωρος τῷ πατριαρχικῷ ἐνίδρυται θρόνῳ, ὃς καὶ Κωπᾶς ἐκαλεῖτο. τούτου δὲ μετ' ἐνιαυτοὺς ἓξ ἀπολιπόντος μοναχὸς Μάξιμος εἰς τὸν πατριαρχικὸν ἀνάγεται θρόνον, θεραπεύων τὴν γυναικωνίτιδα. ἐπιβιοὺς δὲ μῆνας ἓξ τελευτᾷ, καὶ ὁ Μανουὴλ εἰς τὸν πατριαρχικὸν ἀνάγεται θρόνον, φιλόσοφος, ὡς ἐδόκει, ὢν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν κατονομαζόμενος.

20 Ἐπὶ δὲ τὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων αὖθις ὁ λόγος χωρεῖ. ὁ πρῶτος βασιλεὺς τῶν Βουλγάρων Ἀσὰν δύο ἔσχεν υἱοὺς τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον. ὁ Ἰωάννης φυγαδείᾳχρησάμενος περὶ τὰ Ῥώσων χωρεῖ, ἐκεῖσε τε χρόνον ἐφ' ἱκανὸν διαμείνας καί τινας τῶν συγκλύδων Ῥώσων ἐν ἑαυτῷ περιαγαγὼν τὴν πατρικὴν ἀνακαλεῖται κληρονομίαν· καὶ πολεμεῖ τῷ Βορίλᾳ καὶ νικᾷ τοῦτον καὶ χώρας ἐγκρατὴς οὐκ ὀλίγης γίνεται. ὁ δὲ Βορίλας ἔνδον εἰσέρχεται τοῦ Τρινόβου καὶ ἐπὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτεσι τειχήρης ἔσω πολιορκεῖται. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπέκαμον οἱ συνόντες αὐτῷ τῷ Ἀσὰν Ἰωάννῃ προσέρχονται. φεύγων δὲ ἁλίσκεται ὁ Βορίλας καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου τυφλοῦται. καὶ οὕτως ἐγκρατὴς τῆς τῶν Βουλ γάρων ἁπάσης ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐγένετο.

21 Ὁ δὲ Κομνηνὸς Θεόδωρος, ὃν πρὸ μικροῦ ὁ λόγος ἱστόρησε, μὴ θέλων μένειν ἐν τῇ οἰκείᾳ τάξει, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῆς βασιλείας σφετερισάμενος ἐπειδὴ τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης γέγονεν ἐγκρατής, πολλήν τε χώραν τῆς Ῥωμαΐδος ἐκ τῆς κεκρα τημένης παρὰ τῶν Ἰταλῶν ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἐποιήσατο, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῆς παρὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων κεχειρωμένης, πορφυρίδα τε ὑποδύεται καὶ ἐρυθρὰ ὑποβάλλεται πέδιλα, ἀντιστάντος αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τοῦτο στερρότατα τοῦ μητροπολίτου Θεσσαλονίκης Κων σταντίνου τοῦ Μεσοποταμίτου, ὃν καὶ πολλαῖς κακουχίαις καὶ ἐξορίαις διὰ ταῦτα ὑπέβαλε τὸν κανονικῶν ἐθῶν ἀντε χόμενον. ὁ δὲ Βουλγαρίας ἀρχιεπίσκοπος ∆ημήτριος τὸ βασιλικὸν περιδιδύσκει τοῦτον διάδημα, ὡς ἔφασκεν αὐτό νομος ὢν καὶ μηδενὶ εὐθύνας ὀφείλων δοῦναι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν βασιλέα στέφειν. ἀναγορευθεὶς οὖν ὁ Θεόδωρος βασιλικῶς ἐχρᾶτο τοῖς πράγμασι, δεσπότας τε