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of the roof, both the part around the bema and the part that was built up in the middle. And the bronze statue of the archistrategos there, resting on a columnar base, having at its feet the Emperor Michael carrying the city and offering it up to him and entrusting its protection to him, such a statue, then, and the city in the hands of the emperor, the one is deprived of its head, the other slips from the hands of the one holding it, and both fall to the ground. When these things 235 had happened, therefore, the whole city at daybreak, running to the great church, was occupied with supplications and litanies; but the emperor, being found outside the city, as we have said, and realizing how terrible it was, feared for the whole city, lest it had been swallowed up, and he feared even more for the great church, so that he even sent many at that very hour so that, seeing from afar, they might know if it was standing. And for the time being, taking this as an unfavorable omen for his expedition, he decided to return, and he crossed over in the morning, astonished at what had happened, and considering that terrible event a divine wrath, which indeed it was.

16. He therefore hastened to propitiate the divinity by his own actions, for which he thought it was right to do so. And the right of a kingdom is justice and incorruptibility in judgments, nothing broken by either gifts or favors, since "the honor of a king loves justice." And this seemed to have been overlooked until then, out of some negligence or even bribery of the judges, as he himself thought. And indeed, having proclaimed a litany to all the people, he himself also comes together with many other officials, as was often customary, and he allowed the patriarch and the bishops to do their part, namely fervent prayers and psalmodies and other things by which the divinity is naturally 236 appeased; but he himself, having composed an oration suitable for the occasion, wishing to hold the attention of those gathered at close quarters, confining the litany as far as the Hippodrome as a place that would hold everyone, with the icon of the Theotokos standing opposite, he delivered a long and continuous oration to the people, suggesting that what had happened was a divine wrath, and also touching upon them as living carelessly and unrepentantly toward divine laws and ordinances, yet concluding the whole matter with injustice, as there was not, as there should be, judgment in each case, which he, being the emperor, judged it was right for him to care about. From there, therefore, and from this point he promised to compose a chrysobull edict concerning judgment, and to select judges from among the bishops and from other clergy and from the senators, so that all of them would amount to twelve, to whom, having sworn an oath that they would deliver judgments without taking bribes and without partiality, from his own mother and lady down to the most common person, he would use them as faithful judges in the palace. And having exhorted them on many other things, he dismissed the people.

(17) But a few days later the chrysobull edict was composed, and suitable men were chosen, and a gathering took place again in the 237 palace of the empress, since the emperor was residing there at that time. And the emperor delivered a suitable speech, and the chrysobull edict was read. An oath was also administered to some of the judges, those who had been chosen from the senate for their preeminence in legal experience and intelligence. And a formidable court was established, delivering judgments equally to great and small, even if it did not last for long, but little by little, like the striking of musical strings, it weakened and became discordant.

18. Then, after a short time, on the twenty-second of the month of Anthesterion, the Venetians with seventy-five long ships, having passed through the Hellespont, suddenly attack the city of Constantine. And it was the Lord's day, when they, approaching close to the walls of the city, with the greatest Italian insolence and arrogance, rowing against the local current, were being brought up, while the emperor, having mounted a horse earlier with those around him, in the of the

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ὀροφῆς, ὅση τε περὶ τὸ βῆμα καὶ ὅση περὶ μέσον ἀνῳκοδόμητο. καὶ ὁ ἐκεῖσε χαλκοῦς ἀνδριὰς τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου, ὁ ἐπὶ κιονώδους μὲν ἐρηρεισμένος τοῦ ἀναστήματος, ἐς πόδας δ' ἔχων τὸν ἄνακτα Μιχαὴλ τὴν πόλιν φέροντα κἀκείνῳ προσανατιθέντα καὶ τὴν ταύτης φυλακὴν ἐπιτρέποντα, ὁ τοιοῦτος οὖν ἀνδριὰς καὶ ἡ ἀνὰ χεῖρας τῷ βασι λεῖ πόλις, ὁ μὲν τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀφαιρεῖται, ἡ δὲ τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἐξολισθαίνει, καὶ πρὸς γῆν ἄμφω πίπτουσι. τούτων 235 οὖν συμβάντων ἡ μὲν πόλις πᾶσα ὑπ' αὐγὰς ἡμέρας, τῷ μεγά λῳ νεῷ προσδραμόντες, ἱκεσίαις ἐσχόλαζον καὶ λιταῖς· ὁ δέ γε βασιλεὺς εὑρεθεὶς ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, ὡς εἰρήκαμεν, καὶ τὸ δει νὸν ἐννοήσας ὁποῖον, ἐδεδίει μὲν καὶ περὶ τῇ πόλει πάσῃ μή πως κατεπόθη, ἐδεδίει δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ περὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ ναῷ, ὥστε καὶ συχνοὺς τῆς αὐτῆς ὥρας πέμπειν ὡς γνῶσιν μακρόθεν ἰδόν τες εἰ ἵσταται. τέως δὲ καὶ τὴν ἔξοδον οὐκ ἀγαθὴν ἐντεῦθεν οἰωνισάμενος ὑποστρέφειν ἔγνω, καὶ ἀντιπεραιοῦται πρωΐας ἐκ θαμβούμενος οἷον, καὶ μήνιμα θεῖον, ὅπερ καὶ ἦν, τὸ δεινὸν ἐκεῖνο ποιούμενος.

16. Ταῦτ' ἄρα καὶ ἔσπευδε θεραπεύειν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸ θεῖον, ἐφ' οἷς καὶ δίκαιον ἔχειν ἥγητο. δίκαιον δὲ βασιλείας τὸ περὶ ταῖς κρίσεσι δίκαιον καὶ ἀδέκαστον, μηδὲν παρατε θραυσμένον ἢ δώροις ἢ χάρισιν, εἴπερ καὶ τιμὴ βασιλέως κρίσιν ἀγαπᾷ. ἐδόκει δὲ τοῦτο καὶ παρορᾶσθαι τῷ τέως ἔκ τινος ἀμε λείας ἢ καὶ δωροδοκίας τῶν κρινόντων, ὡς αὐτὸς ᾤετο. καὶ δὴ λιτανείαν παραγγείλας παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, συνέρχεται καὶ αὐτὸς ἅμ' ἄρχουσι πολλοῖς ἄλλοις, ὡς πολλάκις εἴθιστο, καὶ πατριάρχῃ μὲν καὶ ἀρχιερεῦσι τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἐφῆκε ποιεῖν, εὐχὰς ἐκτενεῖς δη λονότι καὶ ψαλμῳδίας καὶ ἄλλ' ἄττα, οἷς τὸ θεῖον ἐξευμενίζε 236 σθαι πέφυκεν· αὐτὸς δὲ σχεδιάσας δημηγορίαν πρέπουσαν τῷ καιρῷ, παρακατέχειν βουλόμενος ἐκ τοῦ σύνεγγυς τοὺς συνει λεγμένους, μέχρι καὶ τοῦ Ἱπποδρομίου τὴν λιτανείαν περιορίσας ὡς χωρήσοντος ἅπαντας, κατεναντίον ἱσταμένης τῆς εἰκόνος τῆς θεομήτορος, μακρὰν καὶ διωλύγιον τῷ λαῷ κατετείνετο τὴν δη μηγορίαν, ὑποδηλῶν μὲν καὶ μήνιμα θεῖον τὸ γεγονός, παραπτό μενος δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν ὡς ἀμελῶς διαγόντων καὶ ἀνεπιστρόφως ἐχόν των πρὸς νόμους θείους καὶ δικαιώματα, τὸ πᾶν μέντοι γε εἰς ἀδικίαν συγκλείων ὡς μὴ οὔσης κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον τῆς ἐφ' ἑκά στῳ κρίσεως, ἧς δὴ καὶ αὐτῷ μέλειν βασιλεῖ γε ὄντι ὡς εἰκὸς ἔκρινεν. ἔνθεν τοι καὶ τοὐντεῦθεν καθυπισχνεῖτο συντάττειν λόγον χρυσοβούλλειον περὶ κρίσεως, καὶ δικαστὰς ἐκλέξασθαι ἔκ τ' ἀρχιερέων ἔκ τ' ἄλλως ἱερωμένων καὶ ἐκ τῶν συγκλητικῶν, ὡς συμποσοῦσθαι τοὺς πάντας εἰς δώδεκα, οἷς δὴ καὶ ὁρκωμοτήσα σιν ἦ μὴν ἀδωροδοκήτως καὶ ἀπροσωπολήπτως τὰς κρίσεις ἐκφέ ρειν ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς αὐτοῦ μητρὸς καὶ δεσποίνης ἄχρι καὶ εἰς αὐ τὸν τὸν τυχόντα, πιστοῖς χρήσαιτ' ἂν κριταῖς κατὰ τὰ ἀνάκτορα. καὶ πλεῖστ' ἄλλα παραινέσας ἀπέλυε τὸν λαόν.

(17) ὀλίγαις δ' ὕστερον ἡμέραις καὶ ὁ χρυσοβούλλειος μὲν συντάττεται λόγος, οἱ δ' ἐκλέγονται πρόσφοροι, καὶ σύναξις πάλιν αὖθις κατὰ τὰ 237 τῆς δεσποίνης ἀνάκτορα γίνεται, τῇδε τότε τοῦ κρατοῦντος σκη νοῦντος. καὶ δημηγορεῖ βασιλεὺς τὰ εἰκότα, καὶ ὁ χρυσοβούλ λειος λόγος ἀναγινώσκεται. προέβη δὲ καί τισιν ὅρκος τῶν δικα στῶν, ὅσοι δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου πείρᾳ νομικῇ καὶ συνέσει προφέροντες ἐκλελέχατο. καὶ φοβερὸν καθίστατο δικαστήριον μεγάλῳ τε καὶ μικρῷ ἐπ' ἴσης τὰς κρίσεις ἐκφέρον, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐς μακρὰν διετέλεσεν, ἀλλὰ κατ' ὀλίγον, κατὰ τὰς τῶν μουσικῶν χορδῶν κρούσεις, ἐξησθενηκὸς διαπεφωνήκει.

18. Τότε δὲ μετ' ὀλίγον, εἰκοστῇ δευτέρᾳ τοῦ Ἀνθεστη ριῶνος μηνός, Βενετικοὶ μακραῖς ναυσὶ πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον διελθόντες ἐξαπιναίως τῇ Κωνσταντίνου προσ βάλλουσι. καὶ ἡμέρα κυριώνυμος ἦν, ὅτ' ἐκεῖνοι μὲν προσελῶν τες ἐν χρῷ τῶν τῆς πόλεως τειχῶν, μεθ' ὅτι πλείστης κορύζης Ἰταλικῆς καὶ φρυάγματος, πρὸς τὸ τοπικὸν ῥεῦμα ἀντωθοῦντες ταῖς κώπαις ἀνήγοντο, βασιλεὺς δὲ πρωϊαίτερον ἐπιβὰς ἵππου σὺν τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτόν, ἐν τῇ τοῦ