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under guardians and with his mother for seven years, and together with Romanos his father-in-law, being in subjection, for another 20 years, and as sole ruler for fifteen years, so that the whole time of his reign was 55 years. The patriarch Nicholas, therefore, having taken power of the palace, since he himself was a guardian along with the magister Stephen and John Eladas, who was also a magister, undertook the care of the common good and had daily concern for matters pertaining to the empire. 2 While the empire was in this state, it was revealed to Constantine Doukas, who happened to be Domestic of the Schools, by some of the magnates in the city who loved him as a brave and intelligent man, well able to govern the empire, to enter and become master of it without a struggle. As some say, Patriarch Nicholas, too, unaware that he had been entrusted to be guardian of the imperial power by the commission of Alexander, having entrusted it to Artabasdos, for whom it was forbidden to act as priest, sent to Constantine Doukas, 382 urging him to enter the queen of cities, so that he might take possession of the empire; who, because of the delivery of the letter, has been chosen first of the consecrated of the renowned Hagia Sophia. For he was the father of Andreas, who in our own times brought the art of painting to its peak, just as Apelles and Agatharchos, Herakleides and Philoinos, the Byzantines, had established it. (3) But he, since he had previously dreamed of it and was always aspiring to the crown, as quickly as he could reached the reigning city along with the elite of his troops, who were sufficient in number. And having entered at night through a side-gate of the protovestiarios Michael, which was near the acropolis, he remained awake in the house of his father-in-law Gregoras with those who were with him. Niketas the asekretis, who later became protonotarios, reported the arrival of Constantine to the patrician and monk Constantine Eladikos; and both came to Doukas Constantine on the same night, and having made a plan before daybreak, they seized the gate of the hippodrome with torches and a great crowd and throng, acclaiming Constantine as emperor; there indeed his groom was killed, speared by those inside the gates of the hippodrome. Constantine therefore, not being received there but driven away, as if possessed by some demon and not having his reason under control because of his desire for the empire, withdrew into the hippodrome, gloomy 383 and dejected, judging the slaughter of his groom a bad omen. Thence, being acclaimed, he came as far as the Chalke, and having entered through the Iron Gate of the same Chalke, he arrived at the quarters of the Exkoubitors. The magister John Eladas therefore, having made a selection from both the Hetaireia and the sailors, sent them armed against Doukas. When they came to the Chalke, and battle was joined, many fell from both sides, becoming the work of the sword there, and so much so that the place was flooded with the blood flowing down like a river. And Gregoras the son of Doukas was also killed, and Michael his cousin, and Kourtikes the Armenian. When Doukas Constantine learned this, and since the greatest confusion had arisen, he was riding out of the hippodrome. But it, having slipped on the paving stones laid there, threw its rider to the ground. When someone found him thrown to the ground and alone (for all the others had scattered), he cut off his head with a sword, which was brought to the emperor as a clear deterrent to all of the treason. And this attempt of his was also revealed in another way. For a certain Nicholas, who had been entrusted with the collection of public revenues in Chaldia, arrived in Syria, having become a denier of our piety; who

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ἐπιτρόπων καὶ σὺν τῇ μητρὶ ετη ἑπτά, αμα δὲ ̔Ρωμανῷ πενθερῷ αὐτοῦ, ων ἐν ὑποταγῇ, ετερα ετη κʹ, μονοκράτωρ δὲ ετη πεντεκαίδεκα, ὡς ειναι τὸν πάντα χρόνον τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ετη νεʹ. λαβόμενος ουν τῆς τοῦ παλατίου ἐξουσίας ὁ πατριάρχης Νικόλαος, ωστε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίτροπος ων σὺν τῷ μαγίστρῳ Στεφάνῳ καὶ τῷ ̓Ελαδᾶ ̓Ιωάννῃ μαγίστρῳ καὶ αὐτῷ, τὴν τοῦ κοινοῦ πρόνοιαν ἐποιεῖτο καὶ τὴν φροντίδα ειχεν τῶν τῇ βασιλείᾳ πραγμάτων ἀνηκόντων ὁσημέραι. 2 ̓Εν τούτοις ουν τῆς βασιλείας ουσης, δηλοῦται Κων- σταντίνῳ τῷ ∆ουκί, δομεστίκῳ τυγχάνοντι τῶν σχολῶν, παρά τινων τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει μεγιστάνων φιλούντων αὐτὸν ὡς ἀνδρεῖον καὶ νουνεχῆ καὶ καλῶς δυνάμενον τὴν βασιλείαν κυβερνᾶν, εἰσελ- θεῖν καὶ ταύτης ἐγκρατὴς γενέσθαι ἀπονητί. ὡς δέ τινες, καὶ Νικόλαος πατριάρχης ἠγνοηκὼς ὡς κατ' ἐπιτροπὴν ̓Αλεξάνδρου αὐτῷ ἐγκεχείριστο τὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐπιτροπεῖν, ̓Αρταβάσδῳ ἐγχει- ρίσας, ῳ τὸ ἱερατεύειν ἐνείργητο, ἐξαπέστειλε πρὸς τὸν τοῦ ∆ου- 382 κὸς Κωνσταντῖνον, παρακελευόμενος εἰσεληλυθέναι τῇ βασιλίδι, ὡς τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιλάβηται· ος διὰ τὴν τοῦ γράμματος δια- πόρθμευσιν τῆς περιωνύμου Σοφίας πρῶτος τῶν ἱερωμένων κε- κλήρωται. ουτος γὰρ γεννήτωρ ̓Ανδρέου τοῦ ἐν χρόνοις τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς τὴν ζωγραφικὴν τέχνην εἰς ακρον ἐλάσαντος, ηπερ ̓Απελλῖς καὶ ̓Αγάθαρχος ̔Ηρακλείδης τε καὶ Φίλοινος οἱ Βυζάντιοι, καθ-εστήκει. (3) ὁ δέ, ατε καὶ πρότερον αὐτὴν ὀνειροπολῶν καὶ τοῦ στέφους ἀεὶ ἐφιέμενος, ὡς ειχε τάχος τὴν βασιλεύουσαν κατέλαβεν αμα τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ τῶν στρατευμάτων ἐγκρίτοις, ἱκανοῖς ουσι. καὶ νυκτὸς διὰ παραπυλίδος εἰσελθὼν τοῦ πρωτοβεστιαρίου Μι- χαήλ, ουσης πλησίον ἀκροπόλεως, ἐν τῷ οικῳ τοῦ πενθεροῦ αὐ- τοῦ Γρηγορᾶ αϋπνος μετὰ τῶν συνόντων αὐτῷ διετέλεσεν. Νική- τας δὲ ἀσηκρῆτις, ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα πρωτονοτάριος γεγονώς, τὴν Κωνσταντίνου αφιξιν τῷ πατρικίῳ Κωνσταντίνῳ καὶ μοναχῷ τῷ ̓Ελαδικῷ κατεμήνυσεν· καὶ αμφω τῇ αὐτῇ νυκτὶ πρὸς τὸν ∆οῦκα Κωνσταντῖνον παρεγένοντο, καὶ βουλὴν ποιησάμενοι ουπω τῆς ἡμέρας καταλαβούσης μετὰ λαμπάδων καὶ λαοῦ πολλοῦ καὶ οχλου τὴν τοῦ ἱπποδρόμου πύλην καταλαμβάνουσιν, Κωνσταντῖνον εὐφη- μοῦντες ὡς βασιλέα· ενθα δὴ ὁ τούτου ἱπποκόμος λογχευθεὶς παρὰ τῶν ἐντὸς τῶν τοῦ ἱπποδρόμου πυλῶν ἀνῃρέθη. μὴ δεχθεὶς ουν ἐκεῖσε ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος ἀλλ' ἀποσοβηθείς, ωσπερ ὑπό τινος ἐκβακχευόμενος δαίμονος καὶ μὴ ἐφεστηκότα εχων τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ τῆς βασιλείας ερωτι, ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρομίῳ ὑπεχώρησεν στυγνός 383 τε καὶ κατηφής, κακὸν οἰωνὸν τὴν τοῦ ἱπποκόμου κρίνας σφαγήν. ἐκεῖθεν ουν εὐφημούμενος ηλθεν μέχρι τῆς Χαλκῆς, καὶ διὰ τῆς Σιδηρᾶς πόρτης τῆς αὐτῆς Χαλκῆς εἰσεληλυθώς, μέχρι τῶν ̓Εξ- κουβίτων παρεγένετο. ὁ ουν μάγιστρος ̓Ιωάννης ὁ ̓Ελαδᾶς ἐκλο-γὴν τῶν τε τῆς ἑταιρείας καὶ τῶν ἐλατῶν ποιησάμενος μεθ' οπλων τούτους ἀπέστειλεν κατὰ τοῦ ∆ουκός. ἐλθόντων ουν μέχρι τῆς Χαλκῆς, καὶ πολέμου συστάντος, πολλοὶ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων επεσον τῶν μερῶν, εργον ἐκεῖσε μαχαίρας γενόμενοι, καὶ τοσοῦτον ωστε τὸν τόπον ἐνλιμνασθῆναι τῷ αιματι ποταμηδὸν καταρρέοντι. ἀνῃρέθη δὲ καὶ Γρηγορᾶς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ∆ουκὸς καὶ Μιχαὴλ ὁ ἐξ- άδελφος αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Κουρτίκης ὁ ἐξ ̓Αρμενίων. ταῦτα ὁ ∆οὺξ Κωνσταντῖνος μαθών, ταραχῆς οτι πλείστης γενομένης, τοῦ ἱπ- πικοῦ ἐξήλαυνεν. ὁ δὲ ταῖς ἐκεῖσε ὑπεστρωμέναις κατολισθήσας πλαξὶν εἰς γῆν τὸν ἐπιβάτην κατέβαλεν. ἐπεὶ δέ τις αὐτὸν κατὰ γῆς ἐρριμμένον καὶ μεμονωμένον κατέλαβεν (οἱ γὰρ αλλοι διεσκε- δάσθησαν απαντες), ξίφει τὴν τούτου ἀπέτεμε κεφαλήν, ητις τῷ βασιλεῖ προσενήνεκτο καταφανὴς απασι τῆς ἀπάτης εἰς ἀποτρό- παιον. τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον αὐτοῦ ἐγχείρημα κατά τινα καὶ αλλον τρό- πον ἐδεδήλωτο. Νικόλαος γάρ τις τὰς ἐν Χαλδίᾳ τῶν δημοσίων εἰσπράξεις ἐμπεπιστευμένος εἰς Συρίαν ἀφίκετο, τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς εὐσεβείας εξαρνος γεγονώς· ος