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embossed and gilded silver, so that the entire gift of the same Ktenas came to sixty pounds. Then the emperor made him a protospatharios, and he was given a roga at that time of one pound. The same Ktenas lived for two years after he was honored as protospatharios and died; and for the two years he was given a roga of one pound each. 51 Concerning in what manner the imperial dromon came to be, and concerning the protokaraba of the same dromon, and all that concerns the protospatharios of the phiale. It should be known that until the reign of Leo, the emperor of blessed memory and most wise, there was no imperial dromon, in which the emperor would embark, but he would embark in a red agrarion, except in the time of Basil, the Christ-loving master, when the same emperor went away to the hot springs of Prousa, and again when he went away to inspect the bridge of Rhegion, which was of course being built by his command and foresight, he embarked in a dromon, and another dromon followed behind. The oarsmen who embarked in it were from the imperial agrarion and from the naval forces of the Stenon. For in the old days the Stenon also had imperial naval chelandia, up to ten. But since the blessed emperor made all his more frequent journeys to Pege, because such palaces were also built by him, likewise also to the Hebdomon and to Hiereia and to Bryas, he would embark in an agrarion according to the old custom. But when he went away on a longer journey, such as to the hot springs of Prousa and for the inspection of the bridge of Rhegion, he would embark, as has been said before, in a dromon, and another dromon would follow because more officials would embark with the emperor, and the rest in the second dromon. But Leo, the emperor of blessed memory and most wise, being somehow more generously disposed toward the magistroi and patricians and his own senators and wishing always to share his pleasure with them, having reckoned that the agrarion was not sufficient for the reception of more officials, had a dromon made, and indeed he embarked in it unceasingly, wherever he might wish to go. And there came together with him whichever of the officials he wished, from both the magistroi and the patricians. For according to custom, in the agrarion no one else would embark with the emperor, except the droungarios of the watch and the droungarios of the fleet and the logothete of the drome and the hetaireiarches and the mystikos and the [official] of the petitions, and when he was present in the city, also the domestic of the schools and the parakoimomenos and the protovestiarios and from the koubitones, whomever the emperor commanded. Therefore for this reason Leo, the emperor of blessed memory and most wise, had the dromon made, and after some time he had another dromon made as well, which was called the second and was named the follower. For indeed this blessed emperor went on long journeys, such as to Nicomedia, to Olympos, to Pythia, and for this reason he contrived the two dromons for the service and repose of both himself and his officials. For often when he went out on nearby journeys, he would leave one vessel at the Hippodrome for the guarding of the palace because the tagma of the Arithmos, according to the prevailing old custom, travels with the domestic of the schools, and those remaining at the Hippodrome do not, according to custom, go out together with the emperors on journeys. That from the beginning and of old there was an imperial office for the protospatharios of the phiale; and this protospatharios of the phiale commanded and had under him all the oarsmen of the imperial agraria, both red and black, without the agraria of the Augusta; for the agraria of the Augusta, both the red and the black, were commanded and controlled by the [official] of the Augusta's table. But in the reign of Leo, the emperor of blessed memory and most wise, when the dromons were newly made by imperial command, the same protospatharios of the phiale had also the oarsmen of such dromons under his own authority. The aforesaid protospatharios of the phiale therefore each

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ἀνάγλυφον καὶ διάχρυσον ἀσήμιν, ὡς γενέσθαι τὸ πᾶν δόμα τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κτενᾶ λίτρας ἑξήκοντα. Τότε ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρωτοσπαθάριον, καὶ ἐρογεύθη τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ λίτραν μίαν. Ἔζησεν δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς Κτενᾶς μετὰ τὸ τιμηθῆναι αὐτὸν πρωτοσπαθάριον ἔτη δύο καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν· ἐρογεύθη δὲ τὰ δύο ἔτη ἀνὰ λίτραν μίαν. 51 Περὶ τοῦ, τίνι τρόπῳ γέγονεν τὸ βασιλικὸν δρομώνιον, καὶ περὶ τῶν πρωτοκαράβων τοῦ αὐτοῦ δρομωνίου, καὶ ὅσα περὶ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθαρίου τῆς φιάλης. Ἰστέον, ὅτι μέχρι τῆς βασιλείας Λέοντος, τοῦ ἀοιδίμου καὶ σοφωτάτου βασιλέως, οὐκ ἦν βασιλικὸν δρομώνιον, ἐν ᾧ εἰσήρχετο ὁ βασιλεύς, ἀλλ' εἰς ῥούσιον ἀγράριον εἰσήρχετο, πλὴν ἐπὶ Βασιλείου, τοῦ φιλοχρίστου δεσπότου, ὅτε ἀπῆλθεν ὁ αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς εἰς τὰ θέρμα τῆς Προύσης, καὶ πάλιν ὅτε ἀπῆλθεν θεάσασθαι τὸ γεφύριον τοῦ Ῥηγίου, δηλονότι τῇ κελεύσει αὐτοῦ καὶ προνοίᾳ κτιζόμενον, εἰς δρομώνιον εἰσῆλθεν, καὶ ἕτερον δρομώνιον ἠκολούθει ὄπισθεν. Οἱ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ εἰσελθόντες ἐλάται ὑπῆρχον ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ἀγραρίου καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν Στενιτῶν πλωΐμων. Τὸ γὰρ παλαιὸν εἶχεν καὶ τὸ Στενὸν χελάνδια βασιλικοπλώϊμα μέχρι τῶν δέκα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ μακάριος βασιλεὺς ὅλα τὰ πλείονα αὐτοῦ μεταστασίματα εἰς τὰς Πηγὰς ἐποίει διὰ τὸ καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθῆναι τὰ τοιαῦτα παλάτια, ὁμοίως καὶ εἰς τὸ Ἕβδομον καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἱερείαν καὶ εἰς τὸν Βρύαν, εἰσήρχετο εἰς ἀγράριον κατὰ τὸν παλαιὸν τύπον. Ὅτε δὲ εἰς μακρότερον ἀπῄει πρόκενσον, οἷον εἰς τὰ θέρμα τῆς Προύσης καὶ εἰς ἐπιτήρησιν τοῦ Ῥηγίου τῆς γεφύρας, εἰσῄει, καθὼς προείρηται, εἰς δρομώνιον, καὶ ἠκολούθει ἕτερον δρομώνιον διὰ τὸ καὶ πλείονας ἄρχοντας εἰσέρχεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοὺς ὑπολοίπους εἰς τὸ δεύτερον δρομώνιον. Ὁ δὲ ἀοίδιμος καὶ σοφώτατος Λέων ὁ βασιλεὺς φιλοτιμότερόν πως πρὸς τοὺς μαγίστρους καὶ πατρικίους καὶ οἰκείους συγκλητικοὺς διακείμενος καὶ θέλων ἀεὶ τούτοις συγχαίρεσθαι, λογισάμενος μὴ ἐπαρκεῖν εἰς ὑποδοχὴν πλειόνων ἀρχόντων τὸ ἀγράριον, ἐποίησεν δρομώνιον, καὶ δὴ ἀπαύστως εἰσήρχετο ἐν αὐτῷ, ὅπου δ' ἂν ἐβούλετο ἀπελθεῖν. Συνήρχοντο δὲ μετ' αὐτοῦ, οἵους ἂν ἐβούλετο τῶν ἀρχόντων, ἀπό τε μαγίστρων καὶ πατρικίων. Κατὰ τύπον γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀγραρίῳ οὐδεὶς ἕτερος εἰσήρχετο μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, εἰ μὴ ὁ δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλης καὶ ὁ δρουγγάριος τοῦ πλωΐμου καὶ ὁ λογοθέτης τοῦ δρόμου καὶ ὁ ἑταιρειάρχης καὶ ὁ μυστικὸς καὶ ὁ τῶν δεήσεων, καὶ ὅτε παρῆν ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ ὁ δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν καὶ ὁ παρακοιμώμενος καὶ ὁ πρωτοβεστιάριος καὶ ἐκ τῶν κοιτωνιτῶν, οὓς ἂν ἐκέλευσεν ὁ βασιλεύς. ∆ι' οὖν τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον ἐποίησεν Λέων, ὁ ἀοίδιμος καὶ σοφώτατος βασιλεύς, τὸ δρομώνιον, καὶ μετά τινα καιρὸν ἐποίησεν καὶ ἕτερον δρομώνιον, ὃ καὶ δεύτερον προσηγορεύθη καὶ ἀκόλουθος ὠνομάσθη. Καὶ γὰρ εἰς μακρόκενσα ἀπῄει ὁ μακάριος οὗτος βασιλεύς, οἷον εἰς Νικομήδειαν, εἰς τὸν Ὄλυμπον, εἰς τὰ Πύθια, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπετηδεύσατο τὰ δύο δρομώνια εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν καὶ ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ. Πολλάκις γὰρ ἐξερχομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ πλησίον πρόκενσα, τὴν μίαν οὐσίαν κατελίμπανεν εἰς τὸν ἱππόδρομον πρὸς φύλαξιν τοῦ παλατίου διὰ τὸ τὸ τάγμα τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἐπικρατήσαντα παλαιὸν τύπον μετὰ τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν ταξιδεύειν, καὶ ἐναπομένοντες εἰς τὸν ἱππόδρομον οὐ συνεξιοῦσι κατὰ τύπον τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν εἰς τὰ πρόκενσα. Ὅτι ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ἄνωθεν βασιλικὸν ὀφφίκιον ἦν τῷ πρωτοσπαθαρίῳ τῆς φιάλης· οὗτος δὲ ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος τῆς φιάλης ἐπεκράτει καὶ εἶχεν ὑπ' αὐτὸν πάντας τοὺς ἐλάτας τῶν βασιλικῶν ἀγραρίων, ῥουσίων τε καὶ μαύρων, ἄνευ τῶν ἀγραρίων τῆς αὐγούστης· τὰ γὰρ ἀγράρια τῆς αὐγούστης, τά τε ῥούσια καὶ μαῦρα, ἐπεκράτει καὶ ἐξουσίαζεν ὁ τῆς τραπέζης τῆς αὐγούστης. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς βασιλείας Λέοντος, τοῦ ἀοιδίμου καὶ σοφωτάτου βασιλέως, καινουργηθέντα τὰ δρομώνια κελεύσει βασιλικῇ, εἶχεν ὁ αὐτὸς πρωτοσπαθάριος τῆς φιάλης καὶ τῶν τοιούτων δρομωνίων τοὺς ἐλάτας ὑπὸ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐξουσίαν. Ὁ οὖν προρρηθεὶς πρωτοσπαθάριος τῆς φιάλης καθ' ἑκάστην