Continuatio scylitzae

 To do or to suffer. whence also, with the festival of the archangels approaching, the patriarch departs to the <monastery established by him> outside

 For it was the 24th day of the month, on which the feast of the holy protomartyr thekla is celebrated by christianshe filled the soldiery with much ha

 To be possessed by a terrible barrenness, he said, manuel and maria, who by the grace of god have already become my children, are enough for me. for

 Having thwarted an impious plot. for it was their plan for him to be given over to the deep with his whole family, since he was about to sail across t

 In the west, during the third indiction, when the cities around the ister were governed by the *magistros* basil apokapes and the 114 *magistros* nike

 They came here and were deemed worthy of senatorial and brilliant offices. it was then the sixth year of the reign of doukas, the 3rd indiction, in th

 He had done everything for the empress, who was considered most temperate towards her husband and most exact in raising her children and most capable

 Again proved all things. for not the whole pay, but a partial and moderate amount given to them made the soldiers listless for having received what w

 By the empress, who had proceeded royally with her own children into the greatest and most famous shrine of the wisdom of god. 123 but since the empre

 To attack and utterly overthrow and destroy the roman power. but the emperor, leading an army not such as was fitting for the emperor of the romans, b

 So then, having gathered his forces, he pursued from behind through difficult paths. and approaching sebasteia, he left the military baggage and all t

 Of berroia, having joined with both the arabs and the turks and having gathered a strong force, was considering coming to grips with the emperor and f

 They were taken alive. and the emperor, having returned to the camp after the repulse of the enemy, decided to garrison the acropolis of hierapolis. a

 Having appointed senators and distributed the annual gifts, and not even waiting for the days of pascha, he sailed away to the house of the heria 134

 The war was joined. and on the next day, sitting in public, he handed over the captured enemies to the final sentence, sparing absolutely no one, not

 To accomplish something manly which would have no place to happen in the presence of the emperor, with him personally supervising what was happening

 , since the romans, having been scattered, were pursuing, making a sudden turn they reversed the victory for this reason many were captured, and more

 Of orthodoxy, having distributed on the day before it the annual donative to both the army and the senate, not all of it in gold, but having made up t

 Hurrying to reach iberia, when he also became a spectator of the bodies of those who had fallen with the curopalates manuel comnenus. and from there,

 Bryennios having ordered those around him to hold the reins, basilakios alone was in pursuit, through ignorance of what had been done. but when he app

 The arrival of ambassadors, and some of those closest to the emperor persuade him to cast off the peace, as it was false in its effect and deceptive r

 With many he lay on the ground dishonorably and in great pain, overwhelmed by countless waves of sorrows. on the next day, when the capture of the emp

 Having left him by night, he fled to constantinople, having learned beforehand of the plots being stitched together there. for john the caesar and his

 Of his having been dug out pitilessly and inhumanly. and having been brought on a lowly beast of burden as far as the propontis like a rotting corpse,

 Unbearable and tearful wailing. but while these things were happening thus, divinely sent wrath had seized the east. for since the peace agreements wi

 Being cast down. and when this domestic misfortune was also reported to the emperor and the frank’s arrival astonished everyone, a great despondency a

 Being defeated unsparingly, they do not perceive the divine nemesis. but the romans of old, not acting in this way, achieved those fearful and celebra

 And now he looked toward rebellion. for, not bearing the insatiability of nikephoros and what things he contrived against everyone, with the emperor p

 Hurrying to extinguish this great flame that had flared up. and he sent out with him a noteworthy army, composed of macedonians and romans and franks.

 They wished to remain still of the same mind, but they were considering how to defend themselves against their enemies in every way. and sending strab

 In the meantime perenus was appointed doux of italy, and nicephorus karantenos strategos of brindisi. perenus, therefore, being unable to cross over t

 Tasted, but being deceived and misled by the consul of the philosophers, corrupted the whole world, so to speak. for a severe famine occurred, which p

 Having met him, if indeed he had handled matters skillfully, he would have easily defeated him at the beginning of the revolt. and having arrived at t

 While he was staying, while the proedros alexios komnenos was in command with the soldiers in the capital, having previously given pledges with sure o

 Battle and the army retreats and all strife is driven away, and they began to enslave the romans to themselves.

 He received the man dishonorably and not as one sent from an emperor, but as from some subordinate general and yet the body of an envoy is considered

 They being of marriageable age. and he chose one of the two, either eudokia, the wife of doukas and later of diogenes, or maria of alania, the wife of

 When it was done, he was brought on a wagon, a pitiful burden and an unfortunate lodging. 184 and while the armies were occupied in the campaign again

 And he was considered burdensome to the more prominent members of the senate, who were stung by the things he pointed out to everyone. but since, as t

He received the man dishonorably and not as one sent from an emperor, but as from some subordinate general; and yet the body of an envoy is considered sacred even among the unbelievers themselves, as a mediator of peace and a reconciler of combatants and one who averts the circumstances of war. Then the tent of 180 Bryennios fell down automatically, its roof having been undone by unseen hands. There was also an eclipse of the moon, which descended upon him, since such things are generally wont to signify the deposition of tyrants, as those who pass their time in the idle vanity of the stars fabulously report.

So when Straboromanos returned and the embassy had remained without success, the emperor turned to the works of war and an army was drawn up against him, and taking courage, he foretold his downfall; for the famous element of the single N and not the double was an inspiration to those who consider these things. And indeed, having appointed as general one of the nobles, the nobilissimus Alexios Komnenos, promoting him to grand domesticus, who had previously cleverly captured Rousselios, he sent him against Bryennios, a man venerable in prudence and stability of mind, and steadfast and imperturbable in the face of battles and the dangers of war. He, having taken up his forces, marched against Bryennios, and while resting his army at a place called Kalabrye, he learned from his scouts that Bryennios was approaching with his entire army, having set out from Mesene. And immediately the nobilissimus, selecting some of his own Turks, ordered them to go as far as Bryennios, and having made only a show of war, to return again to him. But he himself, having set ambushes in opportune places and arranged the affairs of the army as seemed best, awaited the attack of Bryennios. And when the standards of both armies appeared and each side raised the war cry, a fierce battle ensued. When Bryennios saw the defeat of his own battalions and their confusion and precarious state, having gathered the best of the forces with him, he himself in person waged the struggle for everything. But the emperor's men repulsed his attack. And as both sides vied for the victory, the battle 181 became astonishing and full of fear. But Komnenos, giving the signal to those in the ambushes to rise up and charge the enemy with a violent assault, worked a mighty rout of Bryennios' men. So Bryennios was captured alive, and many of his men fell, and no fewer were captured, especially those who were preeminent among the others. But Bryennios, having been seized, suffered the penalty for such folly, the blinding of his eyes, having greatly bemoaned his own ill counsel. And the emperor, upon receiving the news, offered up thanks to God and to His Mother. And his brother was also slain in Byzantium by the Varangians. For when Bryennios had revolted and the Varangians outside had sided with him, the Varangians in the palace, choosing one of their own, sent him to their kinsmen, demanding that they abandon the apostate and take the side of the emperor. But he was recognized and seized, and having been severely examined, he revealed the entire message of those who sent him, and he was also deprived of his nose, being thus mutilated by John. Wherefore the barbarian, not bearing meekly the outrage he had suffered, killed John as he was leaving the palace, cutting him down with his native swords. The Varangians also rose up against the emperor and were eager to do away with him. But when the emperor's men drew up against them, they turned to supplications and, having propitiated the emperor, obtained a pardon. And the emperor, after his wife of Bebdene died, who had also been proclaimed at the same time as his accession, married another. For many were betrothed to him, for there was Zoe, the daughter of the emperor Doukas, being a virgin and comely in appearance, but also many daughters of senators

τὸν ἄνδρα ἀτίμως προσήκατο καὶ οὐδ' ὡς ἐκ βασιλέως, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐξ ὑποστρατήγου τινὸς ἀποσταλέντα· καίτοι ἱερὸν εἶναι σῶμα ὁ πρέσβυς λελόγισται καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἀπίστοις αὐτοῖς, ὡς εἰρήνης μεσίτης καὶ τῶν μαχομένων διαλλακτὴς καὶ πολεμικὰς περιστάσεις ἀποσοβῶν. Ἔπεσε δὲ τηνικαῦτα αὐτομάτως ἡ τοῦ 180 Βρυεννίου σκηνή, τοῦ ὀρόφου ταύτης παραλυθέντος ἀοράτοις χερσί. Γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἔκλειψις τῆς σελήνης, ἥτις εἰς αὐτὸν ἀπέσκηψεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ πεφύκασιν ὡς ἐπίπαν τὰ τοιαῦτα τυραννούντων καθαίρεσιν δηλοῦν, καθὼς οἱ περὶ τὴν τῶν ἀστέρων ἀδόλεσχον ματαιότητα διαγινόμενοι τερατεύονται.

Ἐπανελθόντος οὖν τοῦ Στραβορωμανοῦ καὶ τῆς πρεσβείας ἀπράκτου μεινάσης ἔργων πολεμικῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἴχετο καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν συνετάττετο στράτευμα καὶ θαρσῶν τὴν αὐτοῦ κατάλυσιν προηγόρευε· τὸ γὰρ ᾀδόμενον στοιχεῖον τοῦ Ν ἁπλοῦν μόνον καὶ οὐ διπλοῦν τοῖς ταῦτα σκοποῦσιν ἐφοιβάζετο. Καὶ δὴ στρατηγὸν ἐπιστήσας ἕνα τῶν εὐπατριδῶν, τὸν νωβελίσσιμον Ἀλέξιον τὸν Κομνηνὸν μέγαν αὐτὸν δομέστικον προβαλλόμενος, ὃς τὸν Ῥουσέλιον τὸ πρὶν εὐμηχάνως ἐχειρώσατο, κατὰ τοῦ Βρυεννίου ἀφίησι, φρονήσει καὶ διανοίας σταθηρότητι γεραρὸν καὶ πρὸς μάχας καὶ κινδύνους πολεμικοὺς ἑδραῖόν τε καὶ ἀπερικτύπητον. Ὃς δὴ τὰς δυνάμεις ἀνειληφὼς κατὰ τοῦ Βρυεννίου ἐβάδιζε, καὶ πρὸς τόπον Καλαβρύην ἐπονομαζόμενον διαναπαύων τὸν στρατὸν ἔμαθε παρὰ τῶν σκοπῶν ὡς ὁ Βρυέννιος ἐγγίζει πανστρατιᾷ τῆς Μεσήνης ἀπαναστάς. Καὶ αὐτίκα ὁ νωβελίσσιμος Τούρκους τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἀπολεξάμενος ἀφικέσθαι μὲν ἄχρι τοῦ Βρυεννίου ἐκέλευσεν, ἐπίδειξιν δὲ πολέμου ποιησαμένους μόνην πάλιν ἐπαναστρέψαι πρὸς αὐτόν. Αὐτὸς δὲ λόχους ἐν ἐπικαίροις θέμενος καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν στρατόν, ὡς ἄριστον ἐδόκει, διαταξάμενος ἔμενε τὴν τοῦ Βρυεννίου ἐπέλευσιν. Φανέντων δὲ τῶν σημείων τῶν στρατευμάτων ἀμφοῖν καὶ ἀλαλαξάντων ἑκατέρων τὸ ἐνυάλιον πόλεμος συνέστη καρτερός. Ὡς δὲ ἑώρα ὁ Βρυέννιος τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ταγμάτων τὴν ἧτταν καὶ τὸ τεθορυβημένον καὶ σφαλερόν, τὰς κρατίστας τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ δυνάμεων συνηλικὼς αὐτὸς δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅλων ἀγῶνα ἐκρότησεν. Ἀπεκρούσαντο δὲ τὴν τούτου ὁρμὴν οἱ τοῦ βασιλέως. Φιλοτιμουμένων δὲ ἀμφοτέρων περὶ τῆς νίκης καταπληκτική τις καὶ φόβου πλήρης 181 ἡ μάχη γέγονεν. Ὁ δὲ Κομνηνὸς σύνθημα δοὺς τοῖς ἐν τοῖς λόχοις διαναστῆναι καὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις μεθ' ὁρμῆς βιαίας εἰσβαλεῖν τροπὴν τῶν τοῦ Βρυεννίου εἰργάσαντο καρτεράν. Ἑάλω μὲν οὖν ὁ Βρυέννιος ζῶν, ἔπεσον δὲ καὶ συχνοὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ, ἑάλωσαν δὲ οὐχ ἥττους καὶ μᾶλλον οἱ τῶν ἄλλων προέχοντες. Ὁ δὲ Βρυέννιος ληφθεὶς τῆς τοσαύτης ἀπονοίας πρόστιμον τὴν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑφίσταται πήρωσιν, πολλὰ μετακλαυσάμενος τῆς δυσβουλίας ἑαυτόν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὴν ἀγγελίαν δεξάμενος τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ Μητρὶ τὰς εὐχαριστίας ἀνέθετο. Ἀναιρεῖται δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Βυζαντίῳ παρὰ τῶν Βαράγγων. Τοῦ γὰρ Βρυεννίου ἀποστατήσαντος καὶ τῶν ἐκτὸς Βαράγγων ὁμοφρονησάντων αὐτῷ οἱ ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ Βάραγγοι ἕνα τινὰ ἑαυτῶν ἐπιλεξάμενοι πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοέθνους ἀποστέλλουσιν, ἀξιοῦντες ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὸν ἀποστάτην, φρονῆσαι δὲ τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως. Γνωσθεὶς δὲ καὶ κρατηθεὶς ἐτασθείς τε σφοδρῶς πᾶσαν ἀνεκάλυψε τῶν μηνυθέντων τὴν δήλωσιν, στερεῖται δὲ καὶ τῆς ῥινός, παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου ταύτην λωβηθείς. Ὅθεν καὶ μὴ πράως ἐνεγκὼν τὴν ὕβριν ἣν πέπονθεν ὁ βάρβαρος, ἀναιρεῖ τὸν Ἰωάννην ἐξιόντα τοῦ παλατίου, μαχαίραις ἐθνικαῖς κατακόψας αὐτόν. Ἐπανέστησαν δὲ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ οἱ Βάραγγοι καὶ διαχειρίσασθαι αὐτὸν ἔσπευδον. Ἀντιταξαμένων δὲ τούτοις τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς ἱκετείας ἐτράποντο καὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἐξιλεωσάμενοι συγγνώμης ἔτυχον. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ τελευτησάσης τῆς Βεβδηνῆς, ἅμα τῇ ἀναρρήσει ἀναγορευθείσης καὶ αὐτῆς, ἑτέραν ἠγάγετο. Πολλαὶ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐμνηστεύοντο, Ζωή τε γὰρ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ ∆ούκα θυγάτηρ, παρθένος οὖσα καὶ τῷ εἴδει εὐπρεπής, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν συγκλητικῶν θυγατέρες πολλαὶ