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he was building other things with imperial funds; then he adorned the divine precinct with veils and sacred vessels to make it more seemly; and he also added lands to the church, having previously added others for the maintenance of the hymn-writers, so that they would not be neglectful, lacking in necessities. The high priest for his part generally accepted these things as being done for the honor of the divine, but he thought it reasonable to acknowledge a special favor, as if they were done for his own sake. For this reason he wished to crown the giver and wanted to forget what had been done to the high priests, and having yielded all things of the high priesthood to those ordained by Nicephorus, except only for concelebrating, he made use of them in all other matters; for he thought that what had been done against him was considered just and that he himself concurred, if he should accept their communion at the bema. And since it was necessary to confer about crowning the emperor a second time, he readily granted this too. And indeed the appointed day arrived, and he crowned him magnificently in the sacred precinct; but there was no mention at all of John, but rather an additional honor was bestowed upon the Caesar Alexios, that, as it was through him that the city was captured, he should be commemorated in the litanies after the emperors and the patriarch. 235

3. How the emperor sent embassies to the Tocharoi, making a marriage alliance, and to the Ethiopians. Then, when the affairs of the emperor were settled well and as he wished, embassies were also sent to those far away, on the one hand to the ruler of the Tocharoi, Halaou, and on the other to the sultan of the Ethiopians. For he had with him Azatines of the Persians, who was living indolently in the city, spending his days in revels and drunkenness in every street; for since the city was still empty of people, it happened that the streets were like deserts, in which he sat unrestrained with his large and great retinue, and held orgies to Dionysus and got drunk. At any rate, he had to send embassies to them and in turn to receive embassies from there. Therefore, he gave in marriage to Halaou his illegitimate daughter Maria, of Diplobatatzina, accompanied by the monk and priest Prinkips. And Prinkips, who was then archimandrite of the Pantokrator monastery, conveyed the girl with great pomp and luxury, along with all sorts of wealth, bringing also a portable chapel made of heavy silk cloths, which had the images of the saints worked in gold, supported by poles and ropes, and precious sacred vessels for the need of the holy sacrifice. And thus the marriage contract was arranged with greater magnificence, and even though Halaou had died before they arrived, the girl, arriving later, was married to his son Apaga, who had been left as successor to the rule. 237 But another need compelled the emperor to make a treaty with the sultan of the Ethiopians; for he, being from the Cumans, one of those sold into slavery, sought his lineage for an intelligent reason that was also praiseworthy. For the opposite climates of the earth, the northern and the southern, are affected in opposite ways by certain natural forces in both their physical and mental disposition, just as in their temperaments, in which one might find clear differences not only between irrational animals and similar animals, but also between men and men; for in the north the animals are whitened, while in the south they are blackened; but men in the north are unintelligent, being understood to be rational in other respects and with difficulty, among whom there are no rational sciences, no studies of nature, no knowledge, no prudence, no management of life and practice of arts and the other things by which men are distinguished from irrational animals, but they have reckless impulses and are ready for battle, so that they rush readily if someone urges them on, raging against each other with a certain reckless and Bacchic fury and pouring libations to Ares. But in the south it is all the opposite; for those people are otherwise naturally gifted and exceedingly intelligent and excellent in matters of statecraft and arts and rational studies and counsels on every matter, but they are sluggish in their impulses and

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ἄλλ' ἄττα βασιλικαῖς ἐξόδοις ἀνῳκοδόμει· εἶτα πέπλοις καὶ σκεύεσιν ἱεροῖς τὸ θεῖον τέμενος καθίστα πρὸς τὸ εὐπρε πέστερον· ἔτι τε καὶ χώρας προσετίθει τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, φθάσας προσθεῖναι καὶ ἄλλας εἰς τὴν τῶν ὑμνοπόλων οἰκονομίαν, ὡς μὴ ἐνδεῶς τε τῶν ἐπιτη δείων ἔχοντες ἀμελοῖεν. Ὁ δ' ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ ὡς εἰς τιμὴν μὲν τοῦ θείου ταῦτα γινόμενα συνόλως προσαπεδέχετο, εἰδέναι δὲ καὶ χάριν ἰδίως, ὡς χάριν αὐτοῦ γίνοιντο, τῶν εἰκότων ἐνόμιζεν. Ὅθεν καὶ στέφειν ἤθελε τὸν διδόντα καὶ ἀμνημονεῖν τῶν πραχθέντων τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἠβούλετο, τοῖς δέ γε παρὰ τοῦ Νικηφόρου χειροθετηθεῖσιν ἐκχωρήσας τὰ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἅπαντα, παρὰ μόνον τὸ συλλειτουργεῖν, ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐχρῆτο· εἶναι γὰρ νομίζεσθαι δίκαια τὰ εἰς ἐκεῖνον πραχθέντα καὶ αὐτῷ συνδοκεῖν, εἰ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἐκείνων κοινωνίαν καταδέχοιτο. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἔδει καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἐκ δευτέρου στέφειν τὸν βασιλέα κοινολογεῖσθαι, ἑτοίμως καὶ ταῦτ' ἐδίδου. Καὶ μὲν δὴ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἡμερῶν κυρία παρῆν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τεμένους μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἔστεφε· μνήμη δ' οὐκ ἦν τὸ σύνολον Ἰωάννου, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ τῷ καίσαρι Ἀλεξίῳ προσεπεφιλοτίμητο, ὡς δι' αὐτοῦ ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως, τὸ μετά τε τοὺς βασιλεῖς καὶ τὸν πατριάρχην ἐν ταῖς συναπταῖς μνημονεύεσθαι. 235

γʹ. Ὅπως ὁ βασιλεὺς διεπρεσβεύετο πρὸς Τοχάρους, κήδη ποιῶν, καὶ πρὸς Αἰθίοπας. Τότε δὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν πραγμάτων καλῶς καὶ ὡς ἤθελε καταστάντων, ἐξήγοντο καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μακρὰν πρεσβεῖαι, τοῦτο μὲν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Τοχάρων Χαλαού, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸν τῶν Αἰθιόπων σουλτάν. Τὸν γὰρ τῶν Περσῶν μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ εἶχε τὸν Ἀζατίνην, ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως βλακικῶς διάγοντα, κώμοις καὶ μέθαις ἀνὰ πᾶσαν διημερεύοντα ἄμφοδον· κενῆς γὰρ οὔσης ἀνθρώπων ἔτι τῆς πόλεως, συνέβαινε τὰς ἀμφόδους ὡς ἐρημίας εἶναι, ἐφ' αἷς ἐκεῖνος ἀνέδην καθήμενος σὺν τοῖς ἀμφ' αὑτόν, πολλοῖς καὶ μεγάλοις οὖσιν, ὠργίαζέ τε τῷ ∆ιονύσῳ καὶ ἐμεθύσκετο. Πρὸς γοῦν ἐκείνους εἶχε διαπρεσβεύεσθαι καὶ αὖθις λαμβάνειν ἐκεῖθεν πρέσβεις. Τῷ μὲν οὖν Χαλαοὺ μετὰ τοῦ μοναχοῦ καὶ ἱερέως Πρίγκιπος ἐξεδίδου τὴν ἐκ τῆς ∆ιπλοβατατζίνης ἐκ νοθείας παῖδα Μαρίαν. Καὶ ὁ Πρίγκιψ, ἀρχιμανδρίτης ὢν τότε τῆς τοῦ Παντοκράτορος μονῆς, ὑπὸ μεγάλαις φαντασίαις τε καὶ ἁβρότησι συνάμα καὶ πλούτῳ παντοδαπῷ τὴν κόρην ἐκόμιζεν, ἐπιφερόμενος καὶ σκηνικὸν νεὼν ἐκ πέπλων στιβαρῶν ἐκ μετάξης, τὰς δέ γε τῶν ἁγίων μορφὰς χρυσῷ πεποιημένας ἔχοντα, σταυροῖς καὶ σχοίνοις ἐρηρεισμένον, καὶ ἅγια σκεύη πολύτιμα κατὰ χρείαν τῆς ἱερᾶς θυσίας. Καὶ οὕτω μὲν πρὸς τὸ μεγαλειότερον τὸ συνάλλαγμα ἐξηρτύετο, κἂν τοῦ Χαλαοὺ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γεγονότος πρὶν ἐκείνους φθάσαι, ἡ κόρη τῷ υἱεῖ ἐκείνου Ἀπαγᾷ, διαδόχῳ γε τῆς ἀρχῆς καταλειφθέντι, ἐν ὑστέρῳ φθάσασα ἐνηρμόζετο. 237 Τὸν δέ γε τῶν Αἰθιόπων σουλτὰν ἄλλη τις χρεία τῷ βασιλεῖ σπένδεσθαι κατηνάγκαζεν· ἐκ Κομάνων γὰρ ὢν ἐκεῖνος, εἷς τῶν εἰς δουλείαν ἀποδεδο μένων, τὸ γένος ἐζήτει κατ' αἰτίαν συνετὴν ὅτι καὶ ἐπαίνων ἐγγύς. Τὰ γὰρ ἀντικρὺ ἀλλήλων κλίματα τῆς γῆς, τό τε βόρειον καὶ τὸ νότιον, ἐμφύτοις τισὶ δυνάμεσιν ἐπί τε σωματικῇ καὶ ψυχικῇ διαθέσει ἀντιπεπόνθασιν, ὥσπερ δῆτα καὶ κράσεσιν, ἐν αἷς οὐ μόνον ζῴων ἀλόγων πρὸς ὅμοια ζῷα διαφορὰς εὕροι τις ἐμφανεῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἀνθρώπων· βορείοις γὰρ τὰ ζῷα λελεύκωται, νοτίοις δὲ μεμελάνωται· ἄνθρωποι δὲ ἐν μὲν βορείοις ἀσύνετοι, ἄλλως καὶ μόλις λογικοὶ καταλαμβανόμενοι, ἐν οἷς οὐ λογικαὶ ἐπιστῆμαι, οὐ μαθήματα φυσικά, οὐ γνῶσις, οὐ φρόνησις, οὐ περὶ τὸν βίον οἰκονομίαι καὶ τεχνῶν ἐργασίαι καὶ τἆλλα οἷς τῶν ἀλόγων ἄνθρωποι διαστέλλονται, ὁρμὰς μέντοι παραβόλους καὶ πρὸς μάχην ἑτοίμους ἔχοντες, ὡς ἑτοίμως ὁρμήσοντες, ἤν τις ἐποτρύνοι, παράβολόν τι καὶ βακχικὸν θύοντες ἐπ' ἀλλήλοις καὶ τῷ Ἄρει σπένδοντες. Ἐν δὲ νοτίοις τοὐναντίον ἅπαν· ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ εὐφυεῖς μὲν ἄλλως καὶ ἄγαν συνετοὶ καὶ ἄριστοι τὰ ἐς πολιτείαν καὶ τέχνας καὶ λογικὰ μαθήματα καὶ βουλὰς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ, νωθροὶ δὲ τὰ ἐς ὁρμὰς καὶ