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his daughter seized and held, both her hands and her mouth and her speech; who, being bedridden, survived seeking her daily food until the time of Emperor Nikephoros the Victor. 2 So Alexander, having long had this as his practice, to be of luxurious habits and to devote himself to hunting on account of the contempt of his brother Leo, and to perform no imperial duties, but loving to live in luxury and to devote himself to debaucheries, ruling entirely alone, accomplished nothing noble or worthy of mention. For as soon as he became sole ruler, he made John the Papas (surnamed Lazanes 379) a raiktor; who also ended his life badly after the death of Alexander while playing ball in the Hebdomon. (3) Likewise, therefore, he also greatly enriched Gabrielopoulos and Basilitzes from Sclavinia and lavished upon them the palace's money. And they say that he often planned to appoint this same Basilitzes as emperor, and to castrate Constantine, the son of Leo; a plan which was scattered by those who were loyal to Leo, suggesting at one time that he was an infant, and at another that he was sickly. In his time a comet star appeared from the west; they called it a sword-star, which they said signified that a shedding of blood would occur in the city. 4 This Alexander, having given himself over to deceivers and sorcerers, was persuaded by them that the bronze boar standing in the hippodrome was his own element; for, they said, it fought against the lion of his brother, implying that the senseless man had the life of a pig. And he, deceived by these things, added anew genitals and tusks to the pig, as though it were lacking them. Trusting, therefore, in such a delusion, he held games in the hippodrome, and taking the holy veils and the lamps from the churches, he decorated the hippodrome, the wretched man giving the honor of God to idols. For this reason, he was also deprived of his honor by God very quickly. 5 And when Himerios the logothete returned from the defeat by the Hagarenes, he sent and confined him in the monastery of the 380 palace named Kampa, threatening him as one who had shown himself an enemy in the days of the reign of his brother Leo. And he, being confined for six months, died, terribly worn out by affliction. 6 And Symeon, the ruler of Bulgaria, sent ambassadors to Alexander concerning the peace, indicating that he would welcome it, and that he be treated kindly and honored, just as indeed under the emperor Leo. But he, overcome by senselessness and folly, sent the ambassadors away dishonorably, using threats against Symeon and thinking to intimidate him. The peace having therefore been broken, Symeon planned to move arms against the Christians. 7 But Alexander, having lunched and become drunk in the heat of the dog days, went down to play a game of ball. But being struck by a god-sent sword and having gone up, with much of his blood flowing from his nostrils and genitals, after two days he died, on the second of the month of June, on a Sunday, in the first indiction, leaving as regents Nicholas the patriarch and Stephen the magistros and John the magistros Eladas and John the raiktor and Euthymios and Basilitzes and Gabrielopoulos, handing over the empire to Constantine, the son of Leo. And they laid Alexander in the tombs of the emperors, and he was placed with his father Basil.

381 {1THE REIGN OF CONSTANTINE SON OF LEO.}

1 Constantine, when his father Leo died, being still a boy (for he was in the seventh year of his age) was left in the empire by his uncle Alexander, being under regents. He reigned therefore under his

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τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ ἐπειλημμένην καὶ κρατηθεῖσαν καὶ τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὴν λαλιάν· ητις καὶ κλινήρης ουσα διήρκεσε τὴν ἐφήμερον τροφὴν ζητοῦσα μέχρι Νικηφόρου βασιλέως τοῦ Νικητοῦ. 2 ̔Ο ουν ̓Αλέξανδρος καὶ πάλαι τοῦτο εργον εχων, τὸ ἁβροδίαιτος ειναι καὶ τοῖς κυνηγεσίοις προσέχειν διὰ τὰς ὑπερ- οψίας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ Λέοντος, καὶ μηδὲν βασιλέως εργον δια- πράττεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ τρυφᾶν καὶ ἀσελγείαις σχολάζειν ἠγαπηκώς, μονώτατος αρξας οὐδὲν γενναῖον η λόγου αξιον κατεπράξατο. αμα γὰρ τῷ γενέσθαι μονοκράτωρ ̓Ιωάννην παπᾶν (Λαζάνης τούτῳ 379 ἐπώνυμον) ῥαίκτωρα πεποίηκεν· ος καὶ κακῶς τὸ ζῆν ἀπέρρηξεν μετὰ θάνατον ̓Αλεξάνδρου ἐν τῷ ̔Εβδόμῳ σφαιρίζων. (3) ὡσαύ-τως ουν καὶ Γαβριηλόπουλον καὶ Βασιλίτζην τὸν ἀπὸ Σκλαβισίαν σφοδρῶς κατεπλούτισεν καὶ τοῖς τοῦ παλατίου περιήντλησε χρή- μασι. φασὶ δὲ καὶ βεβουλεῦσθαι αὐτὸν πολλάκις τὸν αὐτὸν Βα- σιλίτζην εἰς βασιλέα προχειρίσασθαι, τὸν δὲ Κωνσταντῖνον τοῦ Λέοντος υἱὸν εὐνουχίσαι· ητις βουλὴ καὶ διεσκεδάσθη παρὰ τῶν εὐνοούντων τῷ Λέοντι, ποτὲ μὲν ὡς νήπιός ἐστι ποτὲ δὲ ὡς ἀσθε- νὴς ὑποτιθεμένων. ἐπὶ τούτου ἀστὴρ ἐφάνη κομήτης ἐκ δύσεως· ξιφίαν αὐτὸν ἐκάλουν, ον αἱμάτων χύσιν προσημαίνειν ἐν τῇ πόλει γενέσθαι εφασαν. 4 Ουτος ̓Αλέξανδρος πλάνοις ἑαυτὸν καὶ γόησιν ἐκδεδω- κὼς ἐπείσθη ὑπ' αὐτῶν ὡς ὁ ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ σύαγρος χαλκοῦς ἑστη- κὼς στοιχεῖον αὐτοῦ ειη· λέοντι γὰρ τῷ αὐτοῦ, φασίν, ἀδελφῷ ἀντιμάχεται, χοιρόβιον τὸν ἀνόητον ὑπεμφαίνοντες. ὁ δὲ τούτοις ἀπατηθεὶς αἰδοῖα καὶ ὀδόντας τῷ χοίρῳ προσανενέωσεν ὡς λει- πομένους αὐτῷ. τῇ τοιαύτῃ ουν πλάνῃ πεποιθὼς ἱππικὸν πεποίη- κεν, καὶ τοὺς ἱεροὺς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν πέπλους καὶ τοὺς λαμπτῆρας ἀναλαβὼν τὸ ἱππικὸν κατεκόσμησεν, τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ τιμὴν τοῖς εἰδώ- λοις ὁ δείλαιος παρασχών. διὸ καὶ τὴν τιμὴν παρὰ θεοῦ ἀφῃρέθη ὡς τάχιστα. 5 ̔Ημερίου δὲ λογοθέτου ἐκ τῆς ηττης τῶν ̓Αγαρηνῶν ὑποστρέψαντος, ἀποστείλας περιώρισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ μονῇ τοῦ πα- 380 λατίου ῃ ἐπώνυμον Καμπᾶ, διαπειλησάμενος αὐτὸν ὡς ἐχθρὸν φανέντα ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ Λέον- τος. ὁ δὲ περιωρισμένος ἐπὶ μῆνας εξ ἐτελεύτησεν δεινῶς ὑπὸ θλίψεως κατεργασθείς. 6 ̔Ο δὲ αρχων Βουλγαρίας Συμεὼν πρέσβεις πρὸς ̓Αλέ-ξανδρον ἐξαπέστειλεν περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, μηνύων ὡς ταύτην ἀσπά- ζοιτο, καὶ τοῦ φιλοφρονεῖσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ τιμᾶσθαι, ωσπερ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως Λέοντος. ὁ δὲ ἀνοίᾳ καὶ ἀφροσύνῃ κρατηθεὶς τοὺς πρέσβεις ἀτίμως ἐξέπεμψεν, ἀπειλαῖς χρώμενος κατὰ Συμεὼν καὶ καταπλήττειν οἰόμενος. τῆς ουν εἰρήνης διαλυθείσης οπλα κατὰ Χριστιανῶν κινῆσαι Συμεὼν ἐβουλεύετο. 7 ̓Αλέξανδρος δὲ ἀριστήσας καὶ οἰνωθεὶς ἐν τοῖς ὑπὸ κύνα καύμασιν κατῆλθεν τῇ τῆς σφαιρᾶς χρήσασθαι παιδιᾷ. ῥομφαίᾳ δὲ θεηλάτῳ πληγεὶς καὶ ἀνελθών, αιματος αὐτοῦ πολλοῦ ἐκ τῶν ῥινῶν καὶ αἰδοίων καταφερομένου, μετὰ δύο ἡμέρας ἐτε- λεύτησεν, μηνὶ ̓Ιουνίῳ ʹ, ἡμέρᾳ κυριακῇ, ἰνδικτιῶνος πρώτης, ἐπιτρόπους καταλιπὼν Νικόλαον πατριάρχην καὶ Στέφανον μάγι- στρον καὶ ̓Ιωάννην μάγιστρον τὸν ̓Ελαδᾶν καὶ ̓Ιωάννην ῥαίκτωρακαὶ Εὐθύμιον καὶ τὸν Βασιλίτζην καὶ τὸν Γαβριηλόπουλον, τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ υἱῷ Λέοντος Κωνσταντίνῳ παραδούς. ἀπέθεντο δὲ ̓Αλέξανδρον ἐν τοῖς τάφοις τῶν βασιλέων, καὶ ἐτέθη μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Βασιλείου.

381 {1ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΥΙΟΥ ΛΕΟΝΤΟΣ.}

1 Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τελευτήσαντος Λέοντος παῖς ιτε τυγχάνων (εβδομον γὰρ ειχεν τῆς ἡλικίας ετος) ὑπὸ ̓Αλεξάν- δρου θείου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ καταλέλειπτο, ὑπὸ ἐπιτρόπους τελῶν. ἐβασίλευσεν ουν ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτοῦ