75

there was no money. And it was not there because the imperial treasuries had been emptied for no necessary purpose by the previous emperor, Nikephoros Botaneiates, to such an extent that the gates of the treasuries were not even locked, but were freely trodden upon by anyone who wished to pass through them; for it had been drunk away. Therefore the whole state was reduced to helplessness, with weakness and poverty together oppressing the Roman dominion. 5.1.5 Then, indeed, then what was the new emperor, who had just taken hold of the rudders of the empire, to do? Certainly, either, being completely at a loss, to abandon everything and abdicate from power, so that, although innocent, someone might accuse him of being inexperienced in war and an ignorant leader, or, out of necessity, as was possible, both to summon allies and to gather the money that would suffice for them from wherever he could, and to recall by means of donatives the soldiers of the army scattered everywhere, so that from this, acquiring greater hopes, they themselves might persevere with him, and those who were absent might become more eager to return, and thus they might be able to stand more nobly against the Celtic multitudes. Therefore, wishing to do nothing unworthy and inconsistent with his knowledge of military affairs and his courage, he looked to these two things: to summon allies from all quarters, cleverly enticing them with the hope of many gifts, and to ask his mother and his brother to procure money for him from wherever they could and send it out.

5.2.1 And they, finding no other source of revenue, first gathered all their own property, as much as was in gold and silver, and sent it to the imperial mint. First of all, the empress, my mother, contributed whatever she possessed from both her maternal and paternal inheritance, thinking thereby to stir others to do the same; for she feared for the emperor, seeing his affairs in very dire straits. Then, also from others, as many as were more favorably disposed towards these emperors, who had spontaneously offered to contribute, they procured as much gold and silver as each was willing to give, and sent it out, some to the allies, and some to the emperor. 5.2.2 But since this was by no means sufficient for the pressing need, with some asking for favors as if they had fought alongside him, and others, the mercenaries, demanding their pay more lavishly, he pressed again, calling upon others also because he had despaired of the goodwill of the Romans. And they, being at a loss and having revolved many thoughts both privately and in common, since they had also learned that Robert was arming again, not knowing what to do, looked to the long-established laws and the canons concerning the alienation of sacred things. And among other things they found that for the ransom of captives it is permitted to alienate the sacred things of the holy churches of God (and they saw that of the Christians, as many as in Asia were under the barbarian hand and as many as had escaped the slaughter were being defiled through their association with the infidels), a few of the long-disused and ruined sacred objects, as contributing to no need, but only providing an occasion for sacrilege and impiety among the many, they considered converting such things into money as material for coinage for the pay of the soldiers and allies. 5.2.3 This, then, having been agreed upon, the sebastokrator Isaac went up to the great temple of God, having assembled the synod and the whole body of the church. And the members of the holy synod, sitting in church with the patriarch, seeing him, were astonished and asked why he had come. And he said, "I have come to say something to you that is useful in this violent crisis of affairs and will be the salvation of the army." And at the same time he recited the canons concerning unused sacred objects and spoke at length about these matters

75

χρημάτων οὐκ ἐνῆν. Τὰ δὲ οὐ παρῆν τῶν βασιλικῶν ταμιείων ἐπὶ μηδενὶ δέοντι κενωθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ προβεβασιλευκότος Νικηφόρου τοῦ Βοτανειάτου τοσοῦτον ὡς μηδὲ τῶν ταμιείων κεκλεῖσθαι τὰς πύλας, ἀλλ' ἀνέτως πατεῖσθαι παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ δι' αὐτῶν ὁδεύειν· προπέποτο γάρ. Ἔνθεν τοι καὶ ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ τὸ πᾶν καθίστατο ἀσθενείας καὶ πενίας ὁμοῦ συμπιεζούσης τὴν ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίους. 5.1.5 Τότε δὴ τότε τί τὸν νέον βασιλέα καὶ ἄρτι τῶν τῆς βασι λείας οἰάκων ἐπιβεβηκότα ἐχρῆν διαπράξασθαι; Πάντως ἢ ἐξαπορούμενον τὸ πᾶν καταλιπόντα ἐκστῆναι τῆς ἀρχῆς, ὡς μὴ ἀναίτιον ὄντα αἰτιῷτό τις αὐτὸν ὡς ἀπειροπόλεμον καὶ ἀνεπιστήμονα ἀρχηγόν, ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὡς ἐνὸν καὶ συμμάχους μετακαλέσασθαι καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἐπαρκέσοντα χρήματα ὅθεν δήποτε συναγαγεῖν καὶ τοὺς ἁπανταχῆ διασπαρέντας τοῦ στρατεύματος διὰ δωρεῶν ἀνακαλεῖσθαι, ἵν' ἐντεῦθεν μείζους ἐλπίδας κτησάμενοι αὐτοί τε μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐγκαρτερήσαιεν καὶ οἱ ἀπόντες πρὸς τὸ ἐπανέρχεσθαι προθυμότεροι γένοιντο καὶ οὕτω γενναιότερον πρὸς τὰ Κελτικὰ πλήθη ἀντικαταστῆναι δυνήσαιντο. Ἀνάξιον μὲν οὖν καὶ ἀσύμφωνον τῆς αὐτοῦ περὶ τὰ στρατιωτικὰ ἐπιστήμης ὁμοῦ καὶ τόλμης μηδὲν πεπραχέναι βουλόμενος πρὸς δύο ταῦτα ἀπέβλεψε, συμμάχους τε ἁπανταχόθεν μεταπέμψασθαι ἐλπίσι πολλῶν δωρεῶν εὐμηχάνως τού τους ὑποσυρόμενος, τὴν δέ γε μητέρα καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αἰτήσασθαι χρήματά οἱ ξυμπορισαμένους ὅθεν δήποτε ἐκπέμψαι.

5.2.1 Οἱ δὲ πόρον πορισμοῦ μὴ ἐφευρίσκοντες ἕτερον πρότερον μὲν ἅπαντα τὰ αὐτῶν συναγαγόντες χρήματα, ὁπόσα ἐν χρυσῷ καὶ ἀργύρῳ τῇ βασιλικῇ χωνείᾳ παραπε πόμφασι. Πρώτη δὲ πάντων ἡ βασιλὶς καὶ μήτηρ ἐμὴ ὁπόσα ἔκ τε μητρῴου καὶ πατρῴου κλήρου ἐνυπῆρχον αὐτῇ κατεβάλετο καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐντεῦθεν πρὸς τοῦτο ἐρεθίσαι οἰομένη· ἐδεδίει γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἐν στενῷ κομιδῇ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ὁρῶσα. Εἶτα δὴ καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων, ὁπόσοι εὐνοϊκώτερον πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς τούτους διέκειντο, αὐθαιρέτως προτεθυμηκότων κατα βαλέσθαι, ὁπόσον ἕκαστος εἶχε προθέσεως χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου πορισάμενοι ἐξέπεμψαν τὸ μέν τι τοῖς συμμά χοις, τὸ δέ τι πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα. 5.2.2 Ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἐπικειμένην χρείαν μηδαμῶς ἐξαρκούντων, τῶν μὲν χάριτας αἰτούντων ὡς συναγωνισαμένων δῆθεν, τῶν δέ, ὁπόσον μισθοφορικόν, δαψιλέστερον τὸν μισθὸν ἐξαιτου μένων, ἐνέκειτο αὖθις καὶ ἕτερα ἀνακαλούμενος διὰ τὸ ἀπεγνωκέναι τὴν Ῥωμαίων εὔνοιαν. Οἱ δὲ ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ γεγονότες καὶ πολλοὺς λογισμοὺς ἀνελίξαντες ἰδίᾳ τε καὶ κοινῇ, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν Ῥομπέρτον αὖθις ὁπλιζόμενον μεμα θήκεσαν, μὴ ἔχοντες ὅ τι καὶ δράσαιεν εἰς τοὺς πάλαι κειμένους νόμους καὶ τοὺς κανόνας περὶ τῆς τῶν ἱερῶν ἐκποιήσεως ἀπέβλεψαν. Καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων εὑρηκότες ὅτιπερ ἐπ' ἀναρρύσει αἰχμαλώτων τὰ τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκλησιῶν ἱερὰ ἔξεστιν ἐκποιεῖσθαι (ἑώρων δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ὅσοι περὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν ὑπὸ τὴν βαρβαρικὴν ἐτέλουν χεῖρα καὶ ὁπόσοι τὴν σφαγὴν ἐξέφυγον ἐμιαίνοντο διὰ τὴν μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων συναναστροφήν), ὀλίγ' ἄττα τῶν πάλαι ἠργηκότων ἱερῶν καὶ καταλελυμένων ὡς εἰς μηδεμίαν χρείαν συντελοῦντα, ἀλλ' ἀφορμὴν μόνον ἱεροσυ λίας καὶ ἀσεβείας ἅμα τοῖς πολλοῖς παρεχόμενα ὡς ὕλην χαράγματος εἰς μισθὸν τοῖς στρατιώταις καὶ συμμάχοις τὰ τοιαῦτα χρηματίσαι ἐσκέψαντο. 5.2.3 Τούτου γοῦν συνδόξαντος ἀνέρχεται ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ Ἰσαάκιος εἰς τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ μέγα τέμενος τὴν σύνοδον ἐκκλησιάσας καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἅπαν πλήρωμα. Θεασάμενοι δὲ τοῦτον οἱ τῆς ἱερᾶς συνόδου ἐπ' ἐκκλησίας συνεδριάζοντες τῷ πατριάρχῃ ἔκθαμβοι γεγονότες ἠρώτων ὅτου χάριν παρεγένετο. Ὁ δέ· «Λέξων ἥκω τι πρὸς ὑμᾶς χρήσιμον τῇ βιαίᾳ τῶν πραγμάτων παρεμπτώσει καὶ σωστικὸν τοῦ στρατοῦ.» Ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοὺς περὶ τῶν μὴ χρησιμευόντων ἱερῶν κανόνας ἀπεστομάτιζε καὶ πολλὰ περὶ τούτων δημηγορή σας