impulse, but something that happened persuaded him on the following day, even unwillingly, to yield to their will. 3.9 For having encamped at Trajanopolis, wishing to maintain their loyalty to the ruler, they closed the gates of the city and went up to the battlements, ostensibly guarding the city. But when many of the soldiers learned of this, they ran out unarmed as if to the spectacle; and the people of the city both reproached those who were approaching and mocked them for their faithlessness, and those outside reproached them in turn; then they also engaged in skirmishes with slings against each other. Therefore, when this was reported to the camp, more ran together; and some even were fashioning ladders, threatening with a war-cry to take the city. And when word reached Bryennios, he thought it a terrible thing if, while he was still hesitating and shirking the tyranny, the soldiers should display the acts of tyranny, and that too against a city bearing good men, and from the very first starting-line, as they say, should stain their hands with civil blood. Therefore he immediately sent out men to restrain the impulse of the soldiers, who, arriving before the battle could escalate greatly, checked their impulses; when this was done, it seemed best that a sufficient guard be left very near the walls of the city, lest some from the city, sallying out by night, might throw the army into confusion. And when this too was done, the son of the now-emperor Nikephoros, the patrician Bryennios, having just passed his boyhood and being a spirited and noble youth, taking his peers with him—these were Koutzomites and Basil Kourtikes, whom they also called Joannikios—went out for sport to the soldiers entrusted with the guard outside the city, and finding them all awake, he deemed them worthy of praise and having passed them, he came near the city and went around near the walls, inspecting the guard of the city. And as he learned that all those guarding within were sleeping, turning back, he came upon the ladders that had been fashioned, and having ordered his followers to lift them, he set them against the city wall and he himself was the first to go up as if to the battlements; and the rest followed him; and finding the guards sleeping deeply and not perceiving anything that was being done, drawing their swords, they stood around them and both woke them up and ordered them to acclaim Nikephoros as emperor of the Romans. So, these men, struck by the suddenness of it and realizing the bad situation they were in, some threw themselves down from the walls; others did what was commanded with a faint and broken voice, for fear interrupted their voices; and the inhabitants of the city, perceiving what had happened, having supposed that the whole city was already captured, all ran together, not resorting to arms nor hastening to defend themselves, for they had already given up hope, but considering the one ground for safety to be proclaiming Bryennios emperor of the Romans. Therefore this was done immediately and all acclaimed him and, stretching their hands to those above on the walls, they begged them to save the city. So when the shout became strong, the whole army ran together toward the city, and they tried to climb up to the walls by means of the ladders, but the son of Bryennios restrained them from their impulse, ordering them to stand below and join in the acclamation with those inside. 3.10 In this way, then, Trajanopolis was the first to acclaim Bryennios emperor of the Romans; and at dawn the whole army, together with the generals and captains, having gathered around his tent, were forcing him to put on the purple cloak and to don the scarlet-dyed sandals; but he, yielding late and with difficulty to their force, put these on and was proclaimed emperor of the Romans. Setting out from there, therefore, he proceeded to Adrianople, and as he passed by, all the cities and villages acclaimed him; and when they reached the city, all the people of the city received them with great joy. And he went to the church of the Theometor and to the Mother of God the

ὁρμήν, ἀλλά τι ξυμπεσὸν ἔπεισε τοῦτον τῇ ἐπιούσῃ καὶ ἄκοντα ὑπεῖξαι τῷ τούτων θελήματι. 3.9 Τῆς γὰρ Τραϊανουπόλεως στρατοπεδευσάμενοι, εὔνοιαν φυλάξαι πρὸς τὸν κρατοῦντα βουλόμενοι τὰς πύλας τῆς πόλεως ἀπεκλείσαντο καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπάλξεις ἀνῄεσαν, φρουροῦντες δῆθεν τὴν πόλιν. Πυθόμενοι δὲ τοῦτο πολλοὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἐξέθεον ὡς πρὸς τὴν θέαν ἄοπλοι· οἱ δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὠνείδιζόν τε τοὺς ἐπιόντας καὶ εἰς ἀπιστίαν ἀπέσκωπτον καὶ οἱ ἐκτὸς ἀντωνείδιζον· εἶτα καὶ ἀκροβολισμοῖς τοῖς διὰ σφενδόνης κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐκέχρηντο. Τούτου τοίνυν ἀπαγγελθέν τος εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ξυνέθεον πλείονες· οἱ δὲ καὶ κλίμακας ἐσχεδίαζον, τὴν πόλιν αἱρήσειν αὐτοβοεὶ ἀπειλοῦντες. Φθάσαντος δὲ τοῦ λόγου καὶ πρὸς τὸν Βρυέννιον, δεινὸν ᾤετο εἰ, αὐτοῦ μέλλοντος ἔτι καὶ ἀναδυομένου πρὸς τὴν τυραννίδα, οἱ στρατιῶται τὰ τῆς τυραννίδος ἐνδείξονται καὶ ταῦτα εἰς πόλιν ἄνδρας φέρουσαν ἀγαθοὺς καὶ ἐκ πρώτης, ὅ φασι, βαλβῖδος ἐμφυλίῳ αἵματι τὰς χεῖρας μιανοῦσιν. Εὐθὺς οὖν ἐξέπεμπε τοὺς ἀπείρξοντας τὴν ὁρμὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν, οἳ φθάσαντες πρὸ τοῦ εἰς μέγα τὴν μάχην ἐξάψαι τὰς ὁρμὰς ἀνεχαίτισαν αὐτῶν· οὗ γενομένου, ἐδόκει ἀποχρῶσαν φυλακὴν ἔγγιστα τῶν τειχῶν τῆς πόλεως καταλειφθῆναι, μή πως νυκτὸς ἐκδραμόντες τινὲς τῆς πόλεως τὸ στράτευμα θορυβήσωσιν. Ὡς δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τετέλεστο, ὁ τοῦ βασιλειῶντος ἤδη Νικηφόρου υἱός, ὁ πατρίκιος Βρυέννιος, ἄρτι τὴν παιδικὴν ἡλικίαν ὑπερελάσας καὶ μειράκιον ὢν θυμοειδὲς καὶ γενναῖον, τοὺς συνηλικιώτας παραλαβώνἤστην δὲ τούτω ὁ Κουτζομίτης καὶ ὁ Κουρτίκης Βασίλειος, ὃν καὶ Ἰωαννίκιον ἐκάλουνἀπῄει παιδιᾶς χάριν πρὸς τοὺς τὴν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως πεπιστευμένους φρουρὰν στρατιώτας καὶ ἀγρυπνοῦντας ἅπαντας ἐκείνους εὑρὼν ἐπαίνων ἠξίου καὶ παρελθὼν αὐτοὺς πλησίον τῆς πόλεως γέγονε καὶ περιῄει ἀγχοῦ τῶν τειχῶν τὴν τῆς πόλεως περισκοπῶν φυλακήν. Ὡς δ' ὑπνώττοντας ἅπαντας τοὺς ἔνδον φυλάττοντας κατεμάνθανεν, ὑποστρέφων ταῖς σχεδιασθείσαις ἐντετύχηκε κλίμαξι καὶ ταύτας ἆραι προστάξας τοῖς ἑπομένοις τῷ τῆς πόλεως τείχει προσήρεισε καὶ πρῶτος αὐτὸς ἀνῄει ὡς ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπάλξεις· ξυνείποντο δέ οἱ καὶ οἱ λοιποί· εὑρόντες δὲ τοὺς φύλακας βαθέως ὑπνώττοντας καὶ μηδέν τι τῶν δρωμένων προαισθομένους, τὰ ξίφη γυμνώσαντες περιέστησαν αὐτοῖς ἀφύπνιζόν τε καὶ βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων τὸν Νικηφόρον εὐφημεῖν ἐκέλευον. Τῷ γοῦν αἰφνιδίῳ καταπλαγέντες οὗτοι καὶ οἱ κακῶν εἰσι συναισθόμενοι, οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς κατεκρήμνιζον· οἱ δὲ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐποίουν βραχείᾳ καὶ διακεκομμένῃ φωνῇ, διέκοπτε γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὰς φωνὰς ὁ φόβος· οἱ δὲ τῆς πόλεως οἰκήτορες αἰσθόμενοι τὸ συμβάν, ὑπειληφότες τὴν πόλιν ἤδη πᾶσαν ἑαλωκέναι, συνέθεον ἅπαντες, οὐ πρὸς ὅπλα χωροῦντες οὐδὲ ἀμύνειν σπεύδοντες, ἤδη γὰρ ἀπεγνώκεισαν, ἀλλὰ μίαν ἡγούμενοι σωτηρίας ὑπόθεσιν τὸ βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων ἀναγορεῦσαι τὸν Βρυέννιον. Εὐθὺς οὖν τοῦτο ἐγένετο καὶ πάντες ἀνευφήμουν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἄνω τῶν τειχῶν τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνοντες ἱκέτευον σῴζειν τὴν πόλιν. Τῆς γοῦν κραυγῆς ἰσχυρᾶς γενομένης, τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἅπαν συνέθεον πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, προσεπειρῶντο δὲ διὰ τῶν κλιμάκων ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη, ἀλλ' ὁ τοῦ Βρυεννίου υἱὸς κάτεσχεν αὐτοὺς τῆς ὁρμῆς, κελεύσας κάτωθεν ἱσταμένους συνεφάπτεσθαι τοῖς ἐντὸς τῆς εὐφημίας. 3.10 Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν τρόπον ἡ Τραϊανούπολις πρώτη τὸν Βρυέννιον βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων ἀνευφήμησεν· ἕωθεν δὲ τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἅπαν ἅμα στρατηγοῖς τε καὶ λοχαγοῖς συναθροισθὲν περὶ τὴν τούτου σκηνὴν ἐβιάζοντο τοῦτον τήν τε ἁλουργίδα περιθέσθαι καὶ τὰ κοκκοβαφῆ ὑποδύσασθαι πέδιλα· ὁ δ' ὀψὲ καὶ μόλις εἴξας τῇ τούτων βίᾳ ταῦτα περιεβάλλετο καὶ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμαίων ἤδη ἀνηγόρευτο. Ἄρας οὖν ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν ἐχώρει καὶ παριόντα τοῦτον αἱ πόλεις καὶ αἱ κῶμαι ἅπασαι ἀνευφήμουν· φθάσαντες δὲ τὴν πόλιν περιχαρῶς οἱ τῆς πόλεως ὑπεδέχοντο ἅπαντες. Ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν ναὸν φοιτήσας τῆς Θεομήτορος καὶ τῇ μητρὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰ