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the same and the descent. (76) And at that time this most beautiful and conspicuous temple was being built, which we are accustomed to call the new imperial church, which was being erected in the name of our savior Jesus Christ and Michael the first of the angels and Elijah the Tishbite. And the woman, having taken the measurements of this interior space, had made and sent great felt carpets, which among us bear their name from prayer, by which the entire floor, made of various precious stones, fitted together like mosaics, composed together, imitating the variety and beauty of peacocks, was to be covered, worthy of wonder in size and beauty. But also each year, as long as the emperor lived, she sent not less than what was brought from her. But since it happened that she lived a long life 320 and her life was extended longer than the life of the emperor, and while that prophetic monk was still alive she heard from him that after a second year she was to depart from life, she desired to go up and see his son Leo, who had already received the imperial rule, and again in the former manner, being carried by chosen young men, she traversed so great a distance of the road easily and without weight. And having seen the most wise and gentle emperor Leo, and having brought wondrous gifts to him and having made him heir of her own property (for her son John had already happened to have departed this life), and having requested that an imperial official be sent who was to make an inventory and take possession of her estate, she departed again, having taken leave of the good emperor, for the soil of her fatherland which had nourished her, so that in it she might also lay down the dust of her flesh. And indeed, having gone down, after a short time she died. (77) But the protospatharios Zenobios, who had been appointed and sent to fulfill all things requested and stipulated by the old woman, having now arrived at the fortress of Naupaktos, learned from Daniel her grandson of her departure to the life beyond. And having come to her house and taken a copy of her will into his hands, he administered everything according to her wish and disposition. And he found very much gold in coins and other property 321 in both silver plate and gold plate and clothing and bronze and slaves and cattle, all surpassing the wealth of a private citizen, but rather little inferior even to that of tyrants. And since her household slaves were of an infinite number, by imperial command three thousand souls from among them were sent as if to a colony in freedom to the theme of Langobardia. And the rest of her properties and money and little souls were distributed as she had determined in her will, and there were also left to her heir the emperor for his own possession, apart from the others, eighty suburban estates. Although these things, in point of time, happened some of them much earlier than the matters and times being narrated in the present section, and others not a little later, and did not seem especially necessary to the history, nevertheless for the sake of the said old woman and as a demonstration of her wealth and nobility and purpose, let it be set down here as a digression. 78 But the Christ-loving. Emperor Basil, in the midst of his military struggles, which he often directed as necessary through those under his command, as if presiding over games, many of the sacred and divine temples, which had been rent by previous earthquakes and had either been completely cast down or were showing that they would suffer a swift collapse from their cracks, with continuous care and with an abundant supply and provision of necessities 322 for the need, he raised up those that had fallen, adding security and beauty, and strengthened the weakness of others through the application and correction of what was needed so that they would not fall down but again to their prime

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τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν κάθοδον. (76) κατὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ ὁ περικαλλὴς ουτος ναὸς καὶ περίοπτος ᾠκοδομεῖτο ον νέαν βασιλικὴν ἐκκλησίαν λέγειν εἰώθαμεν, ος ἐπ' ὀνόματι τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Μιχαὴλ τοῦ πρώ- του τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ̓Ηλιοὺ τοῦ Θεσβίτου ἠγείρετο. λαβοῦσα δὲ μέτρα τοῦ ενδον τούτου χωρήματος ἡ γυνὴ εἰργάσατο καὶ ἀπέ- στειλε νακοτάπητας μεγάλους, τοὺς παρ' ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τῆς εὐχῆς τὸ ἐπώνυμον φέροντας, ὑφ' ων απαν τὸ εδαφος, ἐκ διαφόρων ἐντί- μων λίθων, ψηφίδων δίκην ἐνηρμοσμένων, πρὸς ἀλλήλους συν- τεθειμένων, ποικιλίαν καὶ κάλλος ταώνων μιμούμενον, καλύπτε- σθαι εμελλε, θαύματος ἀξίους μεγέθει καὶ ὡραιότητι. ἀλλὰ καὶ καθ' εκαστον χρόνον, εως εζη ὁ βασιλεύς, οὐκ ἐλάττονα τῶν παρ' αὐτῆς εἰσαχθέντων ἀπέστελλεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ετυχε μακρόβιον 320 γενέσθαι αὐτὴν καὶ πλέον τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως ζωῆς τὴν ἐκείνης ἐπεκταθῆναι ζωήν, ζῶντος δὲ ετι καὶ τοῦ προορατικοῦ ἐκείνου μοναχοῦ ηκουσε παρ' αὐτοῦ οτι μετὰ δεύτερον χρόνον μέλλει ἀπαίρειν τοῦ ζῆν, ἐπεθύμησε καὶ τὸν ἐκείνου υἱὸν Λέοντα, ηδη τὴν αὐτοκράτορα λαβόντα ἀρχήν, ἀνελθοῦσα ἰδεῖν, καὶ πάλιν κατὰ τὸν τρόπον τὸν πρότερον ὑπὸ νεανίσκων ἐκκρίτων αἰρομένη τὸ τοσοῦτον διάστημα τῆς ὁδοῦ διήνυσεν εὐμαρῶς καὶ ἀβαρῶς. ἰδοῦσα δὲ τὸν σοφώτατον καὶ πρᾶον βασιλέα Λέοντα, καὶ θαυ- μαστὰ δῶρα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον εἰσαγαγοῦσα καὶ κληρονόμον αὐτὸν τῆς οἰκείας ποιησαμένη ὑπάρξεως (ηδη γὰρ ὁ ταύτης υἱὸς ̓Ιωάν- νης ἐτύγχανε τὸν βίον ἀπολιπών), αἰτησαμένη δὲ καὶ βασιλικὸν ἀποσταλῆναι τὸν ἀπογράψασθαι καὶ παραλαβεῖν ὀφείλοντα τὴν περιουσίαν αὐτῆς, ἀπῆρεν αυθις συνταξαμένη τῷ χρηστῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς πατρίδος θρεψάμενον εδαφος, ὡς αν ἐν τούτῳ καὶ τὸν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀπόθηται χοῦν. καὶ δὴ κατελθοῦσα μετὰ μικρὸν ἐτε- λεύτησεν. (77) ὁ δὲ πρωτοσπαθάριος Ζηνόβιος, ος ην ὁρι- σθεὶς καὶ ἀποσταλεὶς πρὸς τὸ πάντα τὰ παρὰ τῆς γραὸς αἰτη- θέντα καὶ διατυπωθέντα ἀποπληρῶσαι, εἰς τὸ κάστρον Ναυπά- κτου ηδη καταλαβὼν ἀνέμαθε παρὰ ∆ανιὴλ τοῦ ἐκγόνου αὐτῆς τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἐκεῖθεν βίον ἐκδημίαν αὐτῆς. ἀφικόμενος δὲ εἰς τὸν οικον αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ ισον τῆς διατάξεως αὐτῆς ἐπὶ χεῖρας λα- βὼν κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνης βούλησιν καὶ διάταξιν τὰ πάντα διῴκησεν. ευρε δὲ καὶ χρυσὸν ἐν νομίσμασι πάμπολυν καὶ αλλην περιουσίαν 321 εν τε ἀργυρώμασι καὶ χρυσώμασιν ἐσθῆτί τε καὶ χαλκῷ καὶ ἀν- δραπόδοις καὶ κτήνεσι, πάντα ἰδιωτικὸν ὑπερβαίνουσαν πλοῦτον, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τυραννικῶν ὀλίγον καταδεέστερον. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ οἰ- κετικὰ ταύτης ἀνδράποδα εἰς πλῆθος απειρον ην, κελεύσει βασι- λικῇ ἐκ τούτων ωσπερ εἰς ἀποικίαν ἐπ' ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐστάλησαν εἰς τὸ θέμα Λαγοβαρδίας τρισχίλια σώματα. διενεμήθη δὲ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ταύτης κτήματα καὶ χρήματα καὶ ψυχάρια ὡς ἐκείνη κατὰ τὴν διάταξιν αὐτῆς διωρίσατο, καὶ κατελείφθη καὶ τῷ κληρονόμῳ ταύτης βασιλεῖ εἰς ιδιον κλῆρον τῶν αλλων χωρὶς προάστεια ὀγ- δοήκοντα. Ταῦτα εἰ καὶ πολὺ τοῖς χρόνοις τὰ μὲν ἐτύγχανε πρότερα τῶν ἱστορουμένων κατὰ τὸ προκείμενον μέρος πραγμάτων τε καὶ καιρῶν, τὰ δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγον υστερον, καὶ οὐδὲ σφόδρα ἀναγκαῖον ἐδόκει τῇ ἱστορίᾳ, ἀλλ' ομως εἰς χάριν τῆς εἰρημένης γραὸς καὶ ενδειξιν τοῦ πλούτου καὶ τῆς εὐγενείας αὐτῆς καὶ τῆς προαιρέσεως ἐνταῦθα κείσθω κατὰ παρέκβασιν. 78 ̔Ο δὲ φιλόχριστος. Βασίλειος ὁ βασιλεὺς μεταξὺ τῶν πολεμικῶν ἀγώνων, ους διὰ τῶν ὑπὸ χεῖρα πολλάκις ωσπερ ἀγω- νοθετῶν πρὸς τὸ δέον κατηύθυνε, πολλοὺς τῶν ἱερῶν καὶ θείων ναῶν, ἐκ τῶν προγεγονότων διαρραγέντας σεισμῶν καὶ η κατα- βληθέντας παντελῶς η πτῶσιν ἀπὸ τῶν ῥηγμάτων σύντομον ὑπο- μεῖναι δηλοῦντας, ἐπιμελείᾳ τε διηνεκεῖ καὶ τῶν πρὸς τὴν χρείαν 322 ἐπιτηδείων ἀφθόνῳ χορηγίᾳ καὶ παροχῇ τοὺς μὲν τοῦ πτώματος ηγειρε, τῇ ἀσφαλείᾳ καὶ κάλλος προσθείς, τῶν δὲ τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἐνισχύσας διὰ τῆς τῶν δεόντων ἐπιβολῆς καὶ ἐπανορθώσεως τοῦ μὴ καταρρυῆναι ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἀκμὴν αυθις