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a great evil befell both the 1.24.2 people and the senate in the following manner. The populace in each city had from of old been divided into the Blues and the Greens, and it is not long since for the sake of these names and the seats which they occupy as spectators, they both spend their money and submit their bodies to the most bitter tortures and do not disdain to die 1.24.3 a most shameful death; and they fight against their opponents, not knowing for what cause they are in danger, and well aware that, even if they should survive their enemies in the fight, it will remain for them to be led away at once to prison, and then, after being tortured 1.24.4 to the uttermost, to be killed. So then, a hostility without cause grows up in them against their neighbors, and it remains unceasing for all time, yielding neither to marriage-tie nor kinship nor the bond of friendship, even if those who are at variance over these colors should be brothers or something of that sort. 1.24.5 And they care for neither divine nor human affairs compared to winning in these contests, whether any impiety is committed against God by anyone or whether the laws and the state are violated by their own people or by their enemies, since even when they are perhaps lacking in necessities and their country is being wronged in the most vital matters, they pay no heed, provided that their own faction is likely to be in a good position; for so they call their fellow-partisans. 1.24.6 And their women also share in this pollution, not only following their husbands, but also, if it so happens, opposing them, although they do not go to the theaters at all nor are they moved by any other cause; so that I, for my part, can call this nothing other than a disease of the soul. So this is how matters stand in the cities and with each populace. 1.24.7 But at that time the authority which was set over the populace in Byzantium was leading away some of the partisans to death. But both factions, coming to an agreement and making a truce with each other, seized those who were being led away, and at once invading the prison, they released all who were bound there, having been convicted of sedition or some other crime. 1.24.8 And the attendants, as many as served the city's authority, were killed for no reason, and of the citizens, any who were blameless fled to the opposite continent, and fire was set to the city 1.24.9 as if it had fallen to enemies. And the church of Sophia, the bath of Zeuxippus, and the parts of the imperial palace from the propylaea as far as the so-called House of Ares were burned and destroyed, and in addition to these, both the great porticoes extending to the forum which is named after Constantine, and many houses of wealthy men and great wealth. 1.24.10 But the emperor and his consort and some of the senators, having shut themselves up in the palace, remained quiet. And the factions gave each other the watchword "Nika," and from this that sedition is called by this name to the present day. 1.24.11 At that time the prefect of the court was John the Cappadocian, and Tribonian, a Pamphylian by birth, was assessor 1.24.12 to the emperor; the Romans call this man quaestor. One of these, John, was unacquainted with liberal studies and education. For attending a schoolmaster he learned nothing else except letters, and these badly and poorly written; but by the strength of his nature he became the most capable 1.24.13 of all men we know. For he was most able to discern what was necessary and to find a solution for difficulties. But being the most wicked of all men, he used the power of his nature for this purpose, and neither fear of God nor any shame before men came over him, but it was his concern to destroy the lives of many men for the sake of gain and 1.24.14 to pull down whole cities. At any rate, in a short time having acquired great sums of money he kicked them away in a certain debauchery that had no limit, plundering the properties of his subjects up until the time of breakfast, and for the rest of the time being occupied with drunkenness and licentious acts of the body. 1.24.15 And he was in no way able to restrain himself, but he ate food until he vomited and he was always ready to steal money, but even readier to give it away and spend it. Such, then, was John

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κακὸν μέγα τῷ 1.24.2 τε δήμῳ καὶ τῇ βουλῇ ἐτελεύτησε τρόπῳ τοιῷδε. οἱ δῆμοι ἐν πόλει ἑκάστῃ ἔς τε Βενέτους ἐκ παλαιοῦ καὶ Πρασίνους διῄρηντο, οὐ πολὺς δὲ χρόνος ἐξ οὗ τούτων τε τῶν ὀνομάτων καὶ τῶν βάθρων ἕνεκα, οἷς δὴ θεώμενοι ἐφεστήκασι, τά τε χρήματα δαπανῶσι καὶ τὰ σώματα αἰκισμοῖς πικροτάτοις προΐενται καὶ θνήσκειν 1.24.3 οὐκ ἀπαξιοῦσι θανάτῳ αἰσχίστῳ· μάχονται δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀντικαθισταμένους, οὔτε εἰδότες ὅτου αὐτοῖς ἕνεκα ὁ κίνδυνός ἐστιν, ἐξεπιστάμενοί τε ὡς, ἢν καὶ περιέσωνται τῶν δυσμενῶν τῇ μάχῃ, λελείψεται αὐτοῖς ἀπαχθῆναι μὲν αὐτίκα ἐς τὸ δεσμωτήριον, αἰκιζομένοις 1.24.4 δὲ τὰ ἔσχατα εἶτα ἀπολωλέναι. φύεται μὲν οὖν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἐς τοὺς πέλας ἔχθος αἰτίαν οὐκ ἔχον, μένει δὲ ἀτελεύτητον ἐς τὸν πάντα αἰῶνα, οὔτε κήδει οὔτε ξυγγενείᾳ οὔτε φιλίας θεσμῷ εἶκον, ἢν καὶ ἀδελφοὶ ἢ ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον οἱ ἐς τὰ χρώματα ταῦτα διάφοροι εἶεν. 1.24.5 μέλει τε αὐτοῖς οὔτε θείων οὔτε ἀνθρωπείων πραγμάτων παρὰ τὸ ἐν τούτοις νικᾶν, ἤν τέ τι ἀσέβημα ἐς τὸν θεὸν ὑφ' ὁτουοῦν ἁμαρτάνηται ἤν τε οἱ νόμοι καὶ ἡ πολιτεία πρὸς τῶν οἰκείων ἢ τῶν πολεμίων βιάζωνται, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων σπανίζοντες ἴσως κἀν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ἀδικουμένης αὐτοῖς τῆς πατρίδος, οὐ προσποιοῦνται, ἤν γε αὐτοῖς κεῖσθαι τὸ μέρος ἐν καλῷ μέλλῃ· οὕτω γὰρ τοὺς συστασιώτας καλοῦσι. 1.24.6 μεταλαγχάνουσι δὲ τοῦ ἄγους τούτου καὶ γυναῖκες αὐτοῖς, οὐ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἑπόμεναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτοις, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, ἀντιστατοῦσαι, καίπερ οὔτε εἰς τὰ θέατρα τὸ παράπαν ἰοῦσαι οὔτε τῳ ἄλλῳ αἰτίῳ ἠγμέναι· ὥστε οὐκ ἔχω ἄλλο τι ἔγωγε τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ἢ ψυχῆς νόσημα. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ταῖς τε πόλεσι καὶ δήμῳ ἑκάστῳ ὧδέ πη ἔχει. 1.24.7 Τότε δὲ ἡ ἀρχὴ, ἣ τῷ δήμῳ ἐφειστήκει ἐν Βυζαντίῳ, τῶν στασιωτῶν τινας τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἀπῆγε. ξυμφρονήσαντες δὲ καὶ σπεισάμενοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἑκάτεροι τούς τε ἀγομένους ἁρπάζουσι καὶ ἐς τὸ δεσμωτήριον αὐτίκα ἐσβάντες ἀφιᾶσιν ἅπαντας ὅσοι στάσεως ἢ ἑτέρου του ἁλόντες ἀτοπήματος ἐδέδεντο. 1.24.8 καὶ οἱ μὲν ὑπηρέται, ὅσοι τῇ τῆς πόλεως ἀρχῇ ἕπονται, ἐκτείνοντο οὐδενὶ λόγῳ, τῶν δὲ πολιτῶν εἴ τι καθαρὸν ἦν ἐς τὴν ἀντιπέρας ἤπειρον ἔφευγον, καὶ τῇ πόλει 1.24.9 πῦρ ἐπεφέρετο, ὡς δὴ ὑπὸ πολεμίοις γεγενημένῃ. καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἡ Σοφία τό τε βαλανεῖον ὁ Ζεύξιππος καὶ τῆς βασιλέως αὐλῆς τὰ ἐκ τῶν προπυλαίων ἄχρι ἐς τὸν Ἄρεως λεγόμενον οἶκον καυθέντα ἐφθάρη, ἐπὶ τούτοις τε ἄμφω αἱ μεγάλαι στοαὶ μέχρι τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἀνήκουσαι, ἣ Κωνσταντίνου ἐπώνυμός ἐστιν, εὐδαιμόνων τε ἀνθρώπων οἰκίαι πολλαὶ καὶ χρήματα μεγάλα. 1.24.10 βασιλεὺς δὲ καὶ ἡ συνοικοῦσα καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ βουλῆς ἔνιοι καθείρξαντες σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐν παλατίῳ ἡσύχαζον. ξύμβολον δὲ ἀλλήλοις ἐδίδοσαν οἱ δῆμοι τὸ νίκα, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἐς τόδε τοῦ χρόνου ἡ κατάστασις ἐκείνη προσαγορεύεται. 1.24.11 Τότε τῆς μὲν αὐλῆς ἔπαρχος Ἰωάννης ἦν ὁ Καππαδόκης, Τριβουνιανὸς δὲ, Πάμφυλος γένος, βασιλεῖ 1.24.12 πάρεδρος· κοιαίστωρα τοῦτον καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι. τούτοιν ἅτερος, Ἰωάννης, λόγων μὲν τῶν ἐλευθερίων καὶ παιδείας ἀνήκοος ἦν. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἐς γραμματιστοῦ φοιτῶν ἔμαθεν, ὅτι μὴ γράμματα, καὶ ταῦτα κακὰ κακῶς γράψαι· φύσεως δὲ ἰσχύϊ πάντων γέγονε 1.24.13 δυνατώτατος ὧν ἡμεῖς ἴσμεν. γνῶναί τε γὰρ τὰ δέοντα ἱκανώτατος ἦν καὶ λύσιν τοῖς ἀπόροις εὑρεῖν. πονηρότατος δὲ γεγονὼς ἀνθρώπων ἁπάντων τῇ τῆς φύσεως δυνάμει ἐς τοῦτο ἐχρῆτο, καὶ οὔτε θεοῦ λόγος οὔτε ἀνθρώπων αὐτὸν αἰδώς τις ἐσῄει, ἀλλὰ βίους τε αὐτῷ ἀνθρώπων πολλῶν ἀπολλύναι κέρδους ἕνεκα καὶ 1.24.14 πόλεις ὅλας καθελεῖν ἐπιμελὲς ἦν. χρόνου γοῦν ὀλίγου χρήματα μεγάλα περιβαλόμενος ἐς κραιπάλην τινὰ ἐκλελάκτικεν ὅρον οὐκ ἔχουσαν, ἄχρι μὲν ἐς τὸν τοῦ ἀρίστου καιρὸν ληιζόμενος τὰς τῶν ὑπηκόων οὐσίας, μέθῃ δὲ τὸ λοιπὸν καὶ σώματος ἔργοις ἀσελγέσιν 1.24.15 ἠσχολημένος· κατέχειν δὲ ἑαυτὸν οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυεν, ἀλλὰ τά τε βρώματα μέχρι ἐς τὸν ἔμετον ἤσθιε καὶ τὰ χρήματα κλέπτειν μὲν ἦν ἐς ἀεὶ ἕτοιμος, προΐεσθαι δὲ καὶ δαπανᾶν ἑτοιμότερος. Ἰωάννης μὲν οὖν τοιοῦτός