Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

not only were many others envious, but the emperor himself also understood nothing of their dealings; "Since he does not rejoice with us in our successes, as one might infer from the facts," he said, "what hope at all is left for us if we should fail?" Saying these things, and winning over the forces by touching upon deeper matters and by making his own intention more manifest that he would revolt with them, if they wished (for thus they would live at ease for the future, if, toiling for themselves, they themselves would reap the rewards of their dangers), immediately, and while still stringing his words together, and attacking the rulers on most points as not 218 being able to defend themselves even a little should they (the soldiers) defect, being altogether arrogant and boastful in these affairs, he found them at once so obedient that they even began to shout from that point and to say many defiant things against the emperor, renouncing their servitude under him and wishing to be ranked under himself. Wherefore, having also encouraged one another that they would change nothing of what they had decided, they compelled him to accept the command, since all would even be ready to die for him, if they should come into any necessity. And may this happen; for having once broken loose, they were not to be of two minds about him at all, but they demanded that he too stand firm in his resolutions and not sacrifice through indecision any of the things that brought aid to his cause. For it was not just that they, on the one hand, should flock to him immediately with full rein and cleave to him alone, while he, on the other hand, should be ready to give in and slacken either from flatteries or from fears. For some have seen this also in the case of attackers, that if all do not push back a chance weight at the same time with vigor and from one and the same resistance, they are in danger, if some give way, that from this all will suffer the worst. And this 219 contest was no less great, and required a common resistance from all, as was fitting. As they said these things and gave him courage with the confidence among them, he reluctantly yielded and took up the name of commander. And from this point on it was clear from the many things he did that he held military command and unaccountable power, but he did not yet dare to be called by the insignia or the name, although in most things he was urged on by the leaders in the army. He had taken a more authoritarian grasp of affairs, and nothing from which he might have feared seemed to exist for him, nor did he henceforth submit to obey others at all, but was himself the leader in all things both among his own men and wherever he went. For at that time the neighboring peoples also shuddered at the conspiracy, and all the more because the Persian element was large, whom indeed he used as his faithful bodyguard and felt confident in, and it was only for him to command, as they would immediately run together and act according to his will. Therefore, the name of the emperors was extinguished there, except to be mentioned for contempt and abuse. But he was to them both ruler and leader and held the dignity, if not the name, of an emperor. And as many of the garrisons there as he had previously taken control of as the emperor's prefect, these he now brought under 220 himself in a different manner by sending men to hold them, as one who would henceforth rule despotically. And if he should come near any monasteries (and these were many and very great), it was not the emperor's name that was commemorated, but his own alone by some ruling and autocratic power. From which also he despotically took many things and gave them to the soldiers, with the owners gladly putting them down for this reason: that having fallen into such times, they were not suffering what was fitting for the times, but remained unplundered and undisturbed. And his first stratagem was to send men to seize the emperor's brother Theodore, who was staying somewhere there; whom indeed, after seizing him, they brought and shut up in the fortress at Ephesus. Then taking up the campaign, with matters having come together for them contrary to expectation, they encamped together in the places around Nymphaion. And indeed he was assembling the cavalry and honoring them with all sorts of rewards, but having mounted the foot-soldiers on horses, as many as were competent hoplites

μόνον πολλῶν φθονούντων ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ βασιλέως αὐτοῦ μηδὲν ἐπαΐοντος πρὸς τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν· "οὗ δὴ μὴ συνηδομένου, ὡς ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων ἄν τις καὶ συλλογίσαιτο," ἔλεγε "κατορ θοῦσιν ἡμῖν, σφαλεῖσί γε πάντως τίς ἐλπὶς ὑπολέλειπται;" ταῦτα λέγων, καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις καταδημαγωγῶν τῷ καὶ βαθυτέρων ἅπτεσθαι καί γ' ἐμφανεστέραν τὴν αὐτοῦ γνώμην ποιεῖν ὡς ἀπο στατησείοντος σὺν αὐτοῖς, εἰ βούλοιντο (οὕτω γὰρ ἂν καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ εὐμαρῶς διάξειν, εἰ καθ' αὐτοὺς πονοῦντες αὐτοὶ τῶν κινδύνων τὰ ἆθλα καρπίζοιντο), εὐθὺς καὶ ἔτι συνείρων τοὺς λόγους, καὶ τῶν κρατούντων τὰ πολλὰ καθαπτόμενος ὡς μηδ' 218 οἵων τ' ἐσομένων ἑαυτοῖς ἀμύνειν μηδὲ βραχὺ ἐκείνων ἀποκλι νάντων, ὑπερηφανῶν ὅλως καὶ μεγαλιζόμενος ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν, ἐκείνους εὕρισκε παραυτὰ πειθηνίους ἐς τόσον ὥστε καὶ βοᾶν ἀπεν τεῦθεν καὶ πόλλ' ἄττα λέγειν ἀπόφημα κατὰ βασιλέως, ἀπο προσποιουμένους τὴν ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ δουλείαν καὶ ὑπ' αὐτῷ τάττε σθαι θέλοντας. ὅθεν καὶ ἀλλήλους παρακροτήσαντες ὡς οὐδὲν ὧν ἔγνωσαν μεταβληθησόμενοι, αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν δέχε σθαι κατηνάγκαζον ὡς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ γε καὶ τεθνηξομένων ἁπάν των, εἰ εἰς ἀνάγκην τινὰ κατασταῖεν. καὶ τοῦτο συμβαίη· μηδὲ γὰρ ἔχειν ἐντεῦθεν ὅλως ἀφηνιάσαντας ἀμφιγνωμονεῖν ἐπ' ἐκείνῳ, ἀλλ' ἀξιοῦν ἐρρωμένως καὶ τοῦτον στῆναι τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ὅσα φέρει τοῖς καθ' αὑτὸν ἀρωγὴν ταῖς ἀμφινοίαις καταπροΐζεσθαι. μηδὲ γὰρ δίκαιον αὐτοὺς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆ μα ὅλαις ἡνίαις αὐτῷ προσρυῆναι καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου ἔχεσθαι, καὶ ἢ θωπείαις ἢ φόβοις ἕτοιμον εἶναι ἐνδιδόναι τε καὶ ὑποχαλᾶν. τοῦτο γὰρ ἰδεῖν τινὰς καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐνοχλούντων, βάρος τὸ προσ τυχὸν εἴπερ οὐχ ἅμα πάντες ἐρρωμένως οὐδ' ἀπὸ μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀνωθοῖεν ἐνστάσεως, κινδυνεύειν, εἴ τινες καθυφεῖντο, ἐντεῦθεν πάσχειν τὰ ἔσχατα ξύμπαντας. μέγαν δ' εἶναι καὶ τοῦ 219 τον οὐχ ἧττον τὸν ἆθλον, καὶ κοινῆς τῆς ἀπὸ πάντων δεόμενον κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον ἐνστάσεως. ταῦτα λεγόντων τε καὶ τῷ πιστῷ κατὰ σφᾶς θάρρει διδόντων, εἴκει μόλις ἐκεῖνος καὶ τὸ τῆς ἡγε μονίας ἀναδέχεται ὄνομα. καὶ δῆλος ἦν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκ πολλῶν ὧν ἔπραττε στρατηγίαν φέρων καὶ ἀρχὴν ἀνυπεύθυνον, οὔπω δὲ ἢ παρασήμοις ἢ μὴν ὀνόματι ἀπεθάρρει κλεΐζεσθαι, καί τοι τὰ πολλὰ παρὰ τῶν προυχόντων ἐν τῷ στρατῷ βιαζόμενος. ἐξου σιαστικώτερον δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπείληπτο, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐδόκει οἱ ἐξ οὗπερ ἂν καὶ ὠρρώδει, οὐδ' ἄλλοις ὑπακούειν ὅλως τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὑφίστατο, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἡγεμὼν ἐν πᾶσι καὶ παρὰ σφίσι καὶ ὅπῃ παρῄει. ἔφριξαν γὰρ τότε καὶ οἱ περίοικοι τὴν ἐπισύστασιν, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅτι τὸ Περσικὸν πολὺ ἦν, οἷς δὴ καὶ πιστοῖς ἐχρῆτο καὶ παρασπίζουσιν ἀπεθάρρει, καὶ μόνον κελεύειν ἦν ὡς συνδρα μουμένοις αὐτίκα καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἐκείνου δρασείουσι θέλημα. ἀπέ σβεστο τοιγαροῦν ἐκεῖσε τὸ βασιλέων ὄνομα, παρὰ μόνον τὸ εἰς περισυρμὸν μεμνῆσθαι καὶ λοιδορίαν. αὐτὸς δ' ἦν ἐκείνοις καὶ ἄρχων καὶ ἡγεμὼν καὶ βασιλέως φέρων, εἰ καὶ μὴ ὄνομα, ἀλλ' ἀξίωμα. καὶ ὅσων τῶν ἐκεῖ φρουρίων ὡς ὕπαρχος βασιλέως ἐπείληπτο πρότερον, ταῦτ' ἀποστείλας τοὺς καθέξοντας ὑφ' 220 ἑαυτὸν ἄλλως καθίστη ὡς δεσποτικῶς τοὐντεῦθεν ἄρχοντα. ἢν δέ που καὶ μοναῖς παραβάλλῃ (πολλαὶ δ' αὗται καὶ μέγισται), οὐ βασιλέως ἦν ὄνομα τὸ μνημονευόμενον, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ γε καὶ μόνου κατά τι κράτος ἀρχοντικὸν καὶ αὐτοδέσποτον ὄνομα. ἀφ' ὧν καὶ πολλὰ δεσποτικῶς ἀφαιρούμενος τοῖς στρατιώταις παρεῖ χεν, ἀσμένως τῶν ἐχόντων κατατιθεμένων παρ' αἰτίαν ταύτην ὅτι τοιούτοις καιροῖς ἐμπεσόντες οὐ τὰ προσήκοντα τοῖς καιροῖς ἔπασχον, ἀλλ' ἄσκυλτοι διέμενον καὶ ἀτάραχοι. πρῶτον δ' ἦν ἐκείνου στρατήγημα τὸ ἐκεῖ που τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ βασιλέως Θεό δωρον διατρίβοντα ἀποστεῖλαι τοὺς κατασχόντας· ὃν δὴ καὶ κα τασχόντες τῷ κατ' Ἔφεσον φρουρίῳ φέροντες ἐγκατέκλεισαν. ἔπειτα τὴν στρατείαν ἀναλαβών, συνεωσμένων σφίσι παρ' ἐλπίδα καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Νύμφαιον τόποις ἅμ' ἠυλί ζοντο. καὶ δὴ συνεκρότει μὲν τοὺς ἱππεῖς καὶ φιλοτιμίαις ἤγαλ λε πάσαις, τοὺς δέ γε πεζοὺς ἐπιβήσας ἵππων ἱκανοὺς ὁπλίτας