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having been sole ruler for fifty years; for the other years he was co-emperor with his father, then with Phokas and after him with Tzimiskes. So Basil died an old man, and his brother immediately took possession of the power, I mean Constantine, being a little younger than him in age. Being of an indolent and dissolute character, or rather having acquired the habit of an idle life (for his brother had not shared with him any imperial business), when he became sole ruler he conducted himself in the same way, placing the administration of public affairs in the hands of others, and these not men who had already given proof of themselves, but men who were not only not of noble birth, but not even of free station, but foreigners unable to speak correctly, but who spoke with a heavy foreign accent. He himself gave himself over to luxury; for he was a slave to his stomach and to sensual pleasures and was mad for dice and 570 the spectacles, but also for hunting. He was large in physical bulk and most noble in strength, but cowardly in his soul's disposition, for which reason he decided not to quell the incursions of the barbarians with wars, but rather with gifts and dignities. He punished his subjects even on bare suspicion and readily gave ear to slanders, and he was quick to anger, but he did not rage like his brother, nor did he persist in his anger, but rather easily changed to the opposite disposition and was distressed when he had ill-treated someone. In punishing many people he deprived most of them of their sight, putting out their eyes, and he judged this punishment lighter than others and used it more, as it rendered inactive those condemned to it. Having married in his youth a wife, Helene, the daughter of Alypios, a man who was then exceedingly prominent, he had three daughters by her; and one he lost to death, but the girls were being raised in the palace. Of these the eldest, Eudokia, whose beauty was marred by a pestilential disease, was consecrated to God by his will; but the remaining ones were with their father when he became sole 571 ruler, who gave no thought to what was a father's duty concerning them. Being generous with his hand, he did not use this virtue correctly, for which reason he fell into the opposite vices. For to those around him, who were barbarians, slaves whom he himself had acquired and castrated and possessed as chamberlains and bed-fellows, whom he also deemed worthy of the highest honors and offices, he supplied money by whole wagon-loads, but to others he extended his hand sparingly. Such, then, were the characteristics of this emperor's mind. But let my account now narrate the external events. The Patzinaks, who are Scythians as was said before, crossing the Ister did no small damage to the land of Bulgaria. But Constantine Diogenes, the governor of Sirmium, who was also named doux of Bulgaria, came out against them, routed them and forced them to be quiet after crossing the Ister. When the emperor Basil died, two years' worth of taxes were uncollected (for he used to grant a postponement to the collections, sparing his subjects); but this one pitilessly collected both those of the past years and those of the three years during which he himself ruled, 572 and this though a great drought had occurred throughout the whole time of his reign; wherefore the poor were worn down. A fleet of the Hagarenes that had sailed out against the so-called Cyclades islands was defeated by the strategos of Samos, who captured twelve ships with their crews and caused the rest to be scattered. But the emperor, having now reached a ripe old age and suffering from the decay resulting from this and from some disease that had also attacked his body, was considering who should succeed to the throne. He decided, therefore, to make the patrikios Constantine Dalassenos his son-in-law through one of his daughters and successor to the empire, and he sends for him, as he was making his residence in the Armeniakon theme; but before that man arrived, Constantine changes his mind and chooses a certain man of the court, noble by blood and raised to the office of eparch, for the

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αὐταρχήσας δὲ ἐπὶ πεντήκοντα ἔτεσι· τοὺς γὰρ ἄλλους συνεβασίλευε τῷ πατρί, εἶτα τῷ Φωκᾷ καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνον τῷ Τζιμισκῇ. Τέθνηκε μὲν οὖν γηραιὸς ὁ Βασίλειος, τῆς δ' ἐξουσίας εὐθὺς ὁ ἐκείνου σύγγονος ἐπελάβετο, τὸν Κωνσταντῖνόν φημι, μικρόν τι ἐκείνου κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τῆς ζωῆς ἐλαττούμενος. ῥᾳθύμου δὲ πεφυκὼς ἤθους καὶ ἀνειμένου ἢ καὶ εἰς ἕξιν ἐλθὼν βίου ἀργοῦ (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκοινώνει αὐτῷ βασιλείου τινὸς ὁ σύγγονος πράξεως), καὶ αὐταρχήσας τοιαύτην εἶχε διαγωγήν, ὑπ' ἄλλοις μὲν τὴν τῶν κοινῶν διοίκησιν θέμενος, καὶ τούτοις οὐ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἤδη παρασχομένοις δοκίμιον, ἀλλ' ἀνδράσιν οὐχ ὅτι τῶν εὖ γεγονότων, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐλευθέρας τύχης τυγχάνουσιν, ἐθνικοῖς δὲ καὶ μὴ δυναμένοις ὀρθοεπεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀκριβῶς βαρβαρίζουσιν. ἐκεῖνος δὲ τρυφαῖς ἐξέδωκεν ἑαυτόν· ἥττητο γὰρ γαστρὸς καὶ ἀφροδισίων καὶ ἐμεμήνει περὶ τοὺς κύβους τε καὶ 570 τὰ θέατρα, ἀλλὰ μέντοι καὶ περὶ τὰ κυνηγέσια. ἦν δ' εὐμεγέθης μὲν τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὴν ἀλκὴν γενναιότατος, δειλὸς δὲ τὴν ἕξιν τὴν ψυχικήν, ὅθεν οὐδὲ πολέμοις κατευνάζειν ἔκρινε τὰς τῶν βαρβάρων ὁρμάς, δωρεαῖς δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἀξιώμασι. τοὺς δ' ὑπηκόους καὶ ἐκ ψιλῆς ὑπονοίας ἐκόλαζε καὶ διαβολαῖς ῥᾳδίως ὑπεῖχε τὸ οὖς, καὶ πρὸς θυμὸν ὑπῆρχεν ὀξύρροπος, οὐ κατὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν δ' ἐμηνία, οὐδ' ἐνέμενε τῇ ὀργῇ, ἀλλὰ ῥᾷον εἰς τὴν ἀντίρροπον διάθεσιν μετετίθετο καὶ ἠνιᾶτο κακῶς τινα διαθέμενος. πολλοὺς δὲ τιμωρούμενος τοῦ φωτὸς ἐστέρει τοὺς πλείονας, ἐκκόπτων σφίσι τὰ ὄμματα, καὶ κουφοτέραν τῶν ἄλλων ταύτην τὴν κόλασιν ἔκρινε καὶ ταύτῃ ἐκέχρητο μᾶλλον, ὡς ἀπράκτους ποιούσῃ τοὺς καταδικαζομένους αὐτῇ. Γυναικὶ δὲ νέος ὢν συζυγεὶς Ἐλένῃ τῇ θυγατρὶ Ἀλυπίου, ἀνδρὸς τῶν ὑπὲρ λίαν τότε τυγχάνοντος, τρία ἐξ ἐκείνης ἔσχε θυγάτρια· καὶ τὴν μὲν θανάτῳ ἀπέβαλεν, αἱ δὲ παῖδες αὐτῷ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις ἦσαν τρεφόμεναι. ὧν ἡ μὲν πρεσβυτέρα Εὐδοκία λοιμικῷ τὸ κάλλος λωβηθεῖσα νοσήματι θελήματι τῷ θεῷ καθιέρωτο· αἱ δέ γε λοιπαὶ ἦσαν παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ αὐταρ571 χήσαντι, μηδέν τι περὶ αὐτῶν πατρὶ προσῆκον λογισαμένῳ. τὴν χεῖρα δ' ὢν ἐλευθέριος οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἐχρῆτο τῇ ἀρετῇ, ὅθεν καὶ εἰς τὰς ἀντιθέτους κακίας ἐξέπιπτε. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ περὶ αὐτόν, οἳ βάρβαροι ἦσαν, ἀνδράποδα, ἅπερ αὐτὸς ἐκτήσατο καὶ ἐξέτεμε καὶ θαλαμηπόλους καὶ κατευναστῆρας ἐκέκτητο, ὃς καὶ τιμῶν καὶ ἀρχῶν τῶν πρώτων ἠξίωσεν, ἁμάξαις ὅλαις ἐχορήγει τὰ χρήματα, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις πεφεισμένως τὴν χεῖρα προέτεινε. τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς γνώμης οὕτως εἶχε τούτῳ τῷ αὐτοκράτορι. Τὰ δ' ἐκτὸς συμπεσόντα διεξίτω ὁ λόγος. οἱ Πατζινάκαι, Σκύθαι δ' οὗτοι ὡς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, διαβάντες τὸν Ἴστρον τῇ χώρᾳ τῆς Βουλγαρίας οὐ μικρῶς ἐλυμήναντο. ἀλλὰ τούτοις ἀντεπελθὼν Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ ∆ιογένης ὁ τοῦ Σιρμίου κρατῶν, ὃς καὶ δοὺξ ὠνομάσθη τῆς Βουλγαρίας, ἐτρέψατό τε αὐτοὺς καὶ ἠρεμεῖν ἠνάγκασε τὸν Ἴστρον διαπεράσαντας. τοῦ βασιλέως δὲ Βασιλείου θανόντος δύο ἐνιαυτῶν ἦσαν φόροι ἀνείσπρακτοι (ἐδίδου γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὑπέρθεσιν ταῖς εἰσπράξεσι, φειδόμενος τῶν ὑποτελῶν)· οὗτος δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν παρελθόντων ἐνιαυτῶν καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐφ' οἷς αὐτὸς ἦρξε τριῶν ὄντων ἀσυμπαθῶς εἰσεπράξατο, 572 καὶ ταῦτα αὐχμοῦ συμβάντος πολλοῦ ἐφ' ὅλῳ τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ· ὅθεν οἱ πένητες ἐξετρίβησαν. στόλον δὲ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν κατὰ τῶν λεγομένων Κυκλάδων νήσων ἐκπεπλευκότα ὁ τῆς Σάμου στρατηγὸς κατηγωνίσατο, δώδεκα μὲν νῆας αὐτάνδρους ἑλών, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς σκεδασθῆναι πεποιηκώς. Ἤδη δ' εἰς γῆρας ἐλάσας ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ βαθὺ καὶ τῷ ἐκ τούτου μαρασμῷ καὶ νόσον τινὰ συνεισπεσοῦσαν τῷ σώματι ἐσχηκὼς περὶ τοῦ διαδεξομένου τὸ κράτος ἐσκέπτετο. ἔγνω τοίνυν τὸν πατρίκιον Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ∆αλασσηνὸν ἐπὶ μιᾷ τῶν θυγατέρων κηδεστὴν ποιήσασθαι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας διάδοχον, καὶ στέλλει τὸν αὐτὸν ἄξοντα, ἐν τῷ τῶν Ἀρμενιακῶν θέματι τὴν κατοικίαν ποιούμενον· ἀλλὰ μήπω τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐκείνου ἀφικομένου ἑτέρας γίνεται γνώμης ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος καί τινα τῶν ἐν τέλει ἄνδρα εὐγενέτην τε τὰ ἐξ αἵματος καὶ ἀνηγμένον εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἐπάρχου ἀρχὴν αἴρει πρὸς τὴν