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 against Basilacius, Pechenegs mixed with Cumans attacked Adrianople, being angry with Bryennius because some of their own had been killed by him. Therefore, having lit a fire, they burned down many of the buildings there and, having accomplished nothing worthy of mention, they returned. And in this year Philaretus curopalates, Brachamius, also acknowledged faith and servitude to the emperor. For making his dwelling in certain strong places, enclosed by walls and ravines, and having gathered a multitude of Armenians and of rabble, he had been unsubdued to the previous emperor Michael and was appropriating the imperial sovereignty to himself, but when Botaneiates assumed the imperial power, he became a self-proclaimed servant. But a certain Lecas from the Paulicians of Philippopolis, through marriage-alliance deserted to the Pechenegs, and being of one mind with them, threatened the most terrible things to the Romans, but also a certain Dobromerus was stirring up trouble in Mesembria. And while planning to rise against the emperor, being afraid and sobered by the misfortunes of others, before the attempt they bowed their necks to the servile yoke and approached as self-deserting suppliants. Then indeed Lecas killed Michael, the bishop of Sardica, who sided with the emperor and was advising the city to do the same, while he was wearing the divine and priestly vestment. And the emperor deemed the former Augusta Eudocia and her children worthy of great providence and honor, and appointed her mistress of three secretariats; moreover he also deemed Bryennius and Basilacius worthy of suitable providence. And with the Turks just now overrunning the East, having gathered a 185 capable army, he appointed Constantius as its general, the son of Constantine Doukas. And immediately after crossing over, he rebelled against the emperor, and was forthwith proclaimed emperor by the host of soldiers with him in Chrysopolis. And the emperor, having made demands about this and not being heeded, by conciliating some with gifts and dignities, and by handling others in another way, takes him without bloodshed, as the very ones who had proclaimed him betrayed him, and tonsures him a monk and exiles him to a certain island. And it is said that he was also raised to the rank of presbyter.
And in the month of October, the 3rd indiction, a thunderbolt striking on the column of Constantine the Great, on top of which his statue stood—formerly being a statue of Apollo, but renamed in his name—both cut a piece of it off and burned three bands, iron on the inside, but bronze on the outside. And when John, the archbishop of Bulgaria, died during the passage of Basilacius, the emperor appointed another in his place, also called John, but named Aoinos (Wineless) because he did not partake of wine at all. Likewise also, when the patriarch of Antioch fell asleep, the emperor appointed a certain Nicephorus, bearing the surname Maurus. And Alexander Kabasilas was appointed doux of Skopje. And Leo Diabatenus, having been sent to Mesembria, was administering matters there and had made agreements and treaties with the Pechenegs and the Cumans. And the emperor also gave his niece Synadene, being the daughter of Theodoulus Synadenus, to the king of Hungary as a wife, and when he died, she returned again to Byzantium. And many ordinations of both metropolitans and of other clergy took place during his reign that were not above reproach. And the emperor, being accustomed to frugality and simplicity, in no way departed from his own manner. And he was most generous with gifts and open-handed and readily inclined to all. And he had two servants, both Borilus and 186 Germanus, not obeying him as servants, but carrying out everything they wished without hesitation; because of whom
δὲ γενομένου ἤχθη ἐφ' ἁμάξης φόρτος ἐλεεινὸς καὶ δυστυχὲς καταγώγιον. 184 Ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ τὰ στρατεύματα εἰς τὴν περὶ τὸν Βασιλάκιον ἠσχολοῦντο ἐκστρατείαν, Πατζινάκοι ἀναμὶξ Κομάνοις τῇ Ἀδριανουπόλει ἐπῆλθον, ὀργιζόμενοι κατὰ τοῦ Βρυεννίου διὰ τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀναιρεθῆναί τινας αὑτῶν. Πυρὰν οὖν ὑφάψαντες πολλὰ τῶν ἐκεῖσε οἰκημάτων κατέπρησαν καὶ μηδὲν ἄξιον λόγου πεπραχότες ὑπέστρεψαν. Ὡμολόγησε δὲ τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει καὶ Φιλάρετος κουροπαλάτης ὁ Βραχάμιος πίστιν τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ δούλωσιν. Ἔν τισι γὰρ τόποις ὀχυροῖς, τείχεσι καὶ ξυναγκείαις περιειλημμένοις, τὴν οἴκησιν ποιούμενος, Ἀρμενίων τε πληθὺν καὶ συγκλύδων ἀνδρῶν συλλεξάμενος τῷ μὲν προβεβασιλευκότι Μιχαὴλ ἀκαταδούλωτος ἦν καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐπικράτειαν ἑαυτῷ οἰκειούμενος, τοῦ δὲ Βοτανειάτου περιζωσαμένου τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς αὐτοκρατορίας δοῦλος αὐτεπάγγελτος γέγονε. Λέκας δέ τις ἀπὸ Παυλικιάνων Φιλιππουπόλεως ὡρμημένος ἐξ ἐπιγαμβρείας ηὐτομόλησε τοῖς Πατζινάκοις καὶ τούτοις συμφρονῶν τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἠπείλει τὰ φοβερώτατα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆οβρομηρός τις τὰ ἐν Μεσημβρίᾳ διακυκῶν. Καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀντᾶραι μελετῶντες, δείσαντες καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἄλλων σωφρονισθέντες κακοῖς, πρὸ τῆς πείρας δουλικῷ ζυγῷ τοὺς αὐχένας ὑπέκλιναν καὶ προσῆλθον ἱκέται αὐτόμολοι. Τότε δὴ ὁ Λέκας τὸν ἐπίσκοπον Σαρδικῆς Μιχαήλ, τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως φρονοῦντα καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιεῖν παραινοῦντα, ἀνεῖλε τὴν θείαν καὶ ἱερατικὴν στολὴν ἀμπεχόμενον. Ἠξίωσε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τὴν πρὸ τοῦ αὐγοῦσταν Εὐδοκίαν καὶ τοὺς παῖδας αὐτῆς προνοίας τε μεγάλης καὶ τιμῆς, καὶ τριῶν σεκρέτων κυρίαν ἀπέδειξεν· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Βρυέννιον καὶ τὸν Βασιλάκιον προνοίας ἐνδεχομένης ἠξίωσεν. Ἄρτι δὲ τῶν Τούρκων τὴν ἑῴαν κατατρεχόντων στρατὸν 185 ἀξιόχρεων συνηλικὼς στρατηγὸν αὐτῷ ἐφίστησι Κωνστάντιον, τὸν υἱὸν Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ ∆ούκα. Καὶ αὐτίκα διαπεράσας νεωτερίζει κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ βασιλεὺς παραυτίκα ἀναγορεύεται παρὰ τοῦ ἐν Χρυσοπόλει συνόντος αὐτῷ στρατιωτικοῦ πλήθους. Ἀξιώσας δὲ περὶ τούτου ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ μὴ εἰσακουσθείς, τοὺς μὲν δώροις καὶ ἀξιώμασι μειλιξάμενος, ἄλλους δὲ ἄλλον τρόπον μεταχειρισάμενος λαμβάνει τοῦτον ἀναιμωτί, αὐτῶν τῶν ἀναγορευσάντων προδόντων αὐτόν, καὶ ἀποκείρει μοναχὸν καὶ εἴς τινα νῆσον περιορίζει. Λέγεται δὲ ὅτι καὶ εἰς πρεσβυτέρου ἀνήχθη βαθμόν.
Ὀκτωβρίῳ δὲ μηνί, ἰνδικτιῶνος γʹ, κεραυνὸς ἐνσκήψας ἐν τῷ τοῦ Μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου κίονι, οὗ ἄνωθεν ἡ στήλη αὐτοῦ ἵστατο-Ἀπόλλωνος οὖσα ἀφίδρυμα πρότερον, εἰς ὄνομα δὲ αὐτοῦ μετονομασθεῖσαμέρος τε τούτου διέτεμε καὶ ζωστῆρας τρεῖς, σιδηροῦς μὲν τὰ ἔνδον, τὰ δὲ ἔξω χαλκοῦς, κατέκαυσε. Τοῦ δὲ ἀρχιερέως τῆς Βουλγαρίας Ἰωάννου τελευτήσαντος ἐν τῇ τοῦ Βασιλακίου διόδῳ ἕτερον ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ὁ βασιλεὺς προεβάλετο, Ἰωάννην καὶ αὐτὸν καλούμενον, Ἄοινον δὲ ὀνομαζόμενον διὰ τὸ μηδόλως μετέχειν αὐτὸν οἴνου. Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἀντιοχείας κοιμηθέντος προεβάλετο ὁ βασιλεύς τινα Νικηφόρον, Μαῦρον τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν φέροντα. Σκοπίων δὲ δοὺξ προεβλήθη Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Καβάσιλας. Λέων δὲ ὁ ∆ιαβατηνὸς εἰς Μεσημβρίαν ἀποσταλεὶς τὰ ἐκεῖσε ἦν διοικῶν καὶ μετὰ τῶν Πατζινάκων καὶ τῶν Κομάνων συμβιβάσεις καὶ σπονδὰς ποιησάμενος. ∆έδωκε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀνεψιὰν αὑτοῦ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὴν Συναδηνήν, θυγατέρα οὖσαν Θεοδούλου τοῦ Συναδηνοῦ, τῷ κράλῃ Οὐγγρίας εἰς γυναῖκα, οὗ καὶ τελευτήσαντος αὖθις εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον ὑπέστρεψε. Καὶ χειροτονίαι δὲ πολλαὶ μητροπολιτῶν τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλως ἱερωμένων γεγόνασιν ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ μὴ ἔχουσαι τὸ ἀνεπίληπτον. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς λιτότητι καὶ ἁπλότητι συνειθισμένος κατ' οὐδὲν τοῦ οἰκείου ἐξέστη τρόπου. Φιλοδωρότατος δὲ ἦν καὶ προετικὸς καὶ πᾶσιν ἑτοίμως ἐπικλινόμενος. Ἦσαν δὲ αὐτῷ δοῦλοι δύο, Βορίλος τε καὶ 186 Γερμανός, οὐ κατὰ δούλους αὐτῷ ὑπακούοντες, ἀλλὰ πᾶν τὸ αὑτοῖς βουλητὸν διαπραττόμενοι ἀνενδοιάστως· δι' οὓς