Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

(6) And the sixteenth day of the month of Hecatombaion saw that splendid and royal ceremony. And on the next day, as for Theophano, who had also been anointed with the divine myrrh and honored with the name of the grandmother of the new emperor and empress (for she was renamed Theodora from Theophano), after a time they were preparing to send her as a bride to the son of the western sebastocrator John, who was also himself a sebastocrator (for his brother was so proclaimed by rank, while Michael was shut up in the city), and they were sending her from home under faithful agreements with a dowry of many talents; but Thessalonica received her, having died in the meantime.

7. From this point and again the emperor 207 made an attempt on the Arsenites, hoping that they too would make peace because of the patriarch's peace towards all, in certain habits of mind which are superior to all strife and contentiousness. Therefore, gathering them together, he spoke and requested that they make peace. For he also had his uncle, the blind Isaac Raoul, together with his sister the protostratorissa, whom he had detached from their faction, in complete peace, and he cherished them with all kinds of care, so as even to honor with fitting annual memorials the protostrator Andronicus Palaiologos, who had died long ago in prison on account of the scandals that had previously befallen the church. And besides, honoring their sufferings and admiring their long mistreatment, he requested that they just make peace; for there was no longer a sufficient reason for the scandal of so many and such men. But since, though he said many things, he seemed to be singing to the deaf and making signs to the blind, as they again brought forward those things which they had also brought forward before (and they again had Hyacinthus completely with them out of some faintheartedness that had occurred), he arrested these men and let them go, having ordered them to keep quiet, but Hyacinthus he again shut up in prison. Tarchaneiotes, however, having brought him out of prison, he kept peaceably otherwise, even if 208 he was not received into the church, having permitted his wife, the despoina, to be well disposed to him and to care for him, as he might choose, in fitting ways. 8. The affairs of the church, then, even up to that day, had arrived at this conclusion, but the affairs of the Roman state had grown completely weak. For it became a disadvantage for us in the present times that most things were being done for pay to the mediators and for profits. This practice curtailed the honors for many who were distinguished in office, either because they did not deign to pay (for this was by no means a small amount, inasmuch as they demand to receive) or were perhaps unable to, but to others who gave, it gave confidence, as they hoped to possess them. Secondly, in addition to these things, was the fact that the assigned stipends were paid deficiently to those in the fortresses, mostly through the wickedness of the governors, who wished to be squeezed by what was given from there everywhere in arrears, so that they might make a profit. These things indeed came together. For the steadiness of the ruler and his sympathetic and gentle nature toward judgments and punishments worked a great and altogether unbearable evil for those who suffered. Meanwhile, as the emperor’s impulse had it, 209 while the strength of the sinews still existed (and these were the funds), he did not hesitate, by sending, to make the movements of the whole body of the Roman state stronger. But little by little he checked the growing terror by sending men worthy to be leaders and who held out as they were able, with the fighters from Crete also being added to the local forces, whom, having come over to the emperor from Crete as not accepting the rule of the Italians, he had settled in the east and, providing for them with assigned annual stipends, he used them as faithful allies. And frequent was the joint contribution on account of the lack of funds, as they said, being levied without restraint. And this was, as was said before, the tenth of each pronoia. But even so, with them being weakened, the loss fell upon the paroikoi. And the wretched ones were burdened, but they did not know in what way and to what complete extent they were going to be burdened; for if they had certainly known in what way they were going to suffer after a little while, and all their life

(6) καὶ εἶδε τὴν λαμπρὰν ἐκείνην καὶ βασίλειον τελετὴν ἡμέρα ἑξκαιδεκάτη Ἑκατομβαιῶνος μηνός. τὴν δέ γε ὑστέραν Θεοφανώ, καὶ αὐτὴν τῷ θείῳ μύρῳ χρισθεῖσαν καί γε τιμηθεῖσαν τῷ τῆς μάμμης τοῦ νέου βασιλέως καὶ δεσποίνης ὀνόματι (Θεοδώρα γὰρ ἐκ Θεοφανοῦς μετεκλήθη), μετὰ καιρὸν τῷ τοῦ δυτικοῦ σεβαστοκράτορος Ἰωάννου παιδὶ σε βαστοκράτορι καὶ αὐτῷ ὄντι (καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς γὰρ οὕτως ἐξ ἀξιώ ματος ἐφημίζετο, τοῦ Μιχαὴλ κατὰ πόλιν ἐγκεκλεισμένου) ἑτοι μάζουσι μὲν πέμπειν ὡς νύμφην, καὶ ὑπὸ πισταῖς ὁμολογίαις μετὰ προικὸς πολυταλάντου οἴκοθεν ἔπεμπον· ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ με ταξὺ τελευτήσασαν ἡ Θεσσαλονίκη δέχεται.

7. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ αὖθις τῶν Ἀρσενιατῶν ἀπεπειρᾶτο ὁ βα 207 σιλεύς, εἰρηνεύσειν κἀκείνους ἐλπίζων ἐκ τῆς πρὸς πάντας εἰρή νης τοῦ πατριάρχου ἔν τισι γνώμης ἤθεσι μάχης ἁπάσης καὶ φι λονεικίας ὑπερτεροῦσιν. ὅθεν καὶ συνάγων ὡμίλει καὶ εἰρηνεύειν ἠξίου. εἶχε γὰρ καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ θεῖον τὸν Ῥαοὺλ καὶ τυφλὸν Ἰσαάκιον συνάμα τῇ ἀδελφῇ πρωτοστρατορίσσῃ ἀποσπάσας τῆς ἐκείνων ξυμμορίας ἐν εἰρήνῃ παντοίᾳ, καὶ περιέθαλπε θερα πείαις ἁπάσαις, ὥστε καὶ τὸν ἐν εἱρκτῇ τὸ πάλαι τελευτήσαντα πρωτοστράτορα τὸν Παλαιολόγον Ἀνδρόνικον διὰ τὰ προγεγονότα τῆς ἐκκλησίας σκάνδαλα ἐτησίαις μνήμαις ἀξιοπρεπῶς τιμᾶν. κἀκείνων ἄλλως καὶ τὰ πάθη τιμῶν καὶ τὴν πολυετῆ κακουχίαν θαυμάζων ἠξίου μόλις καὶ εἰρηνεύειν· μηδὲ γὰρ εἶναι λοιπὸν τὸ ἀποχρῶν εἰς τόσων καὶ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν σκάνδαλον. ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλὰ λέγων κενὴν ψάλλειν ἐῴκει καὶ διανεύειν τυφλοῖς, ἐκεῖνα καὶ πάλιν προβαλλομένων ἃ δὴ καὶ πρότερον προεβάλλοντο (εἶ χον δὲ πάλιν ἔκ τινος μικροψυχίας συμβάσης καὶ τὸν Ὑάκινθον ὅλως μεθ' ἑαυτῶν), τούτους κρατῶν ἀφίησι παραγγείλας ἡσυ χάζειν, τὸν δ' Ὑάκινθον αὖθις ἐγκλείει τῇ φυλακῇ. τὸν μέντοι Ταρχανειώτην τῆς φυλακῆς ἐξαγαγὼν εἰρηνικὸν εἶχεν ἄλλως, εἰ 208 καὶ μὴ ἐπ' ἐκκλησίαν συνήγετο, ἐφεὶς καὶ τῇ συζύγῳ δεσποίνῃ εὐμενῶς οἱ ἔχειν καὶ θεραπεύειν, ὡς αἱροῖτ' ἂν ἐκεῖνος, τὰ εἰκότα. 8. Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ ἐς ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐς τόδε τέλους κατηντήκει, τὰ δὲ τῆς Ῥωμαΐδος ἐξησθενήκει τέ λεον. πλεονέκτημα γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐγένετο τοὺς παρόντας χρόνους μισθοῦ τοῖς μεσιτεύουσι καὶ λημμάτων τὰ πολλὰ πράττεσθαι. τοῦτο πολλοῖς μὲν τοῖς ἐς ἀρχὴν εὐδοκίμοις ἢ μὴ καταδεχομένοις καταβάλλειν (πολλῷ γὰρ οὐχ ἥκιστα τοῦτο, ὅσῳ καὶ ἀξιοῦσι λαμβάνειν) ἢ μὴ δυναμένοις ἴσως ἐκόλουε τὰς τιμάς, ἄλλοις δὲ παρρησίαν ἐδίδου διδοῦσιν, ὡς ἕξειν ἐλπίζουσι. δεύτερον ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ τὸ ἐλλιπῶς τὰς ἀποτεταγμένας ἀποδίδοσθαι ῥόγας τοῖς ἐν ταῖς ἄκραις, ἡγεμόνων τὸ πλέον κακότητι, θελόντων τοῖς ἐντεῦθεν ὑπερημέρως πάντῃ διδομένοις στραγγεύεσθαι, ὡς κερδαίνοιεν. ταῦτα δὴ ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ συναχθέντα. τὸ γὰρ τοῦ βασιλεύοντος εὐσταθὲς καὶ τὸ πρὸς κρίσεις τε καὶ κολάσεις συμ παθητικόν τε καὶ ἥμερον μέγα τι τὸ κακὸν καὶ οὐκ οἰστὸν ὅλως τοῖς παθοῦσιν εἰργάζετο. τέως δ' ὡς εἶχεν ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως ὁρμή, 209 τῆς δυνάμεως ἐνούσης ἔτι τῶν νεύρων (τὰ δ' ἦσαν τὰ χρήματα) πέμπων τὰς τῆς ὁλομελείας κινήσεις τῆς Ῥωμαΐδος εὐρωστοτέρας ποιεῖν οὐκ ἀπώκνει. κατ' ὀλίγον δὲ τὸ δεινὸν ἐπαῦξον ἀνέστελλε πεμπομένων καὶ τῶν εἰς κεφαλὰς ἀξίων καὶ ὡς οἷόν τ' ἦν σφίσιν ἀντεχόντων, προσκειμένων καὶ τῶν ἐκ Κρήτης μαχίμων ταῖς το πικαῖς δυνάμεσιν, οὓς Κρήτηθεν προσχωρήσαντας βασιλεῖ ὡς μὴ καταδεχομένους τὴν ἐκ τῶν Ἰταλῶν ἐπικράτειαν, ἐπ' ἀνατο λῆς κατοικίσας καὶ ῥόγαις ἐτησίοις ἀποτεταγμέναις ἐξικανῶν ὡς πιστοῖς συμμάχοις ἐχρῆτο. ἦν δὲ συχνὸν τὸ τῆς συνδοσίας διὰ τὴν σπάνιν τῶν χρημάτων, ὡς ἔλεγον, ἀνέδην τελούμενον. τὸ δ' ἦν, ὡς ἐρρέθη τὰ πρότερα, τὸ τῆς ἐφ' ἑκάστου προνοίας δέκατον. πλὴν καὶ οὕτω σφῶν ἐκνευριζομένων ἡ ζημία τοῖς πα ροίκοις περιίστατο. καὶ ἐπεβαρύνοντο μὲν οἱ ταλαίπωροι, οὐκ ᾔδεσαν δὲ ὅπῃ καὶ ἐς τὸ παντελὲς ἔμελλον βαρυνθῆναι· ἦ γὰρ ἂν εἰ πάντως ᾔδεσαν ᾗπερ πάσχειν μετὰ μικρὸν ἔμελλον, καὶ πάντα τὸν βίον