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A Roman [fleet] attacked and burned and destroyed most of the ships; 580 and those fleeing from the sea battle were destroyed by a great wave around the Sicilian sea. And again from Africa about a thousand ships sailed out and ravaged many of the islands and some of the coastal regions. But Roman ships, encountering their fleet, both killed many and took five hundred alive, who were brought to the emperor in bonds. But also the protospatharios George Maniakes, general of the cities along the Euphrates, took control of Edessa, where he also found the autograph letter of our God and savior Jesus Christ and sent it to the emperor. And when famine was oppressing Cappadocia and Armenia and Paphlagonia, and again a plague of locusts was devastating the east, many were forced to emigrate from their homelands, whom the emperor, having won them back by distributions of gold, persuaded to reoccupy their native lands. And when earthquakes occurred, both hostels were badly damaged and the men's quarters opposite Byzantium, which had long been appointed as a dwelling place 581 for those whose bodies were ravaged by the sacred disease and for lepers. But the emperor restored these as well, and when the aqueduct that brings water to the great city was ruptured, he took care of it. But now his life was drawing to a close, and how he died must be related. Having just attained the imperial power, he measured out for himself long years of both life and rule, and this although he was sixty years old when he took up the sceptre, and he imagined leaving a succession to the empire from his own loins, not even being able to see that the empress to whom he was married was fifty years old and past her prime and with a womb unable to receive seed. At first, therefore, he was zealous in amorous matters and exerted himself and used certain ointments and attached small stones to his wife, as if they had some effect on conception. And she endured both knots and incantations and accepted charms. But when the emperor realized that everything was happening in vain and despaired of what he desired, he was no longer disposed in the same way toward his wife, 582 but approached her less often. For he was also by nature sluggish and rather soft toward intercourse, and now time also had blunted his impulse. And when some years of his reign had been measured out, and he was averse to the empress, she, being scorned, was provoked to hatred and even more by the conversation of a man. There was a certain eunuch, a servant to the emperor even before his reign, and he had brothers, one of whom was Michael, a man whose face nature had carved into precise handsomeness. His brother, after the accession, presented him to Romanos to be taken on by him; and he assigned the young man to the chamberlains. The empress, seized by love for this man, was inflamed in her soul, and seeing his beauty each day rekindled the fire. And the eunuch, who had formerly been hated by her, was then summoned and deemed worthy of more genuine conversation, and then she would ask about his brother Michael. And when this had happened many times, he, being clever, understood the love and suggested to his brother both to approach the empress and, if she should make an attempt 583 on him, not to shrink back, but to touch and kiss and cling to her. And what need is there to say much? The matters of love came down even to sexual intercourse, and as time went on, the love affair concerning Michael broke out almost into the open; and it was being whispered about not only by those around the palace, but also by those in the public streets, and was unknown only to the emperor. Whence also, as he was lying with the empress in bed, Michael, being called in, was ordered to rub his feet. What then would one suppose other than that he also touched her feet then? And the emperor and bedfellow became, as it were, a procurer for both of them. But when his sister Pulcheria and others informed him about the affair and advised him to be on his guard, he did nothing else but call the man under suspicion and ask him if he was loved by the empress. And he

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Ῥωμαϊκὸς προσβαλὼν τὰ πλείω τῶν σκαφῶν ἐνέπρησε καὶ κατέκαυσεν· 580 οἱ δ' ἐκ τῆς ναυμαχίας ἀποδιδράσκοντες κλύδωνι περὶ τὸ Σικελικὸν διεφθάρησαν πέλαγος. καὶ αὖθις ἐξ Ἀφρικῆς περί που τὰς χιλίας νῆας ἐξέπλευσαν καὶ πολλὰς τῶν νήσων ἔνιά τε τῶν παραλίων ἐδῄωσαν. ἀλλὰ τῇ τούτων μοίρᾳ περιτυχοῦσαι νῆες Ῥωμαϊκαὶ καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνεῖλον καὶ πεντακοσίους εἷλον ζωούς, οἳ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑπὸ δεσμοῖς ἐκομίσθησαν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πρωτοσπαθάριος Γεώργιος ὁ Μανιάκης τῶν παρευφρατιδίων πόλεων στρατηγῶν τῆς Ἐδέσης ἐκράτησεν, ἔνθα καὶ τὴν αὐτόγραφον ἐπιστολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εὑρηκὼς τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐξαπέστειλε. λιμοῦ δὲ τὴν Καππαδοκίαν καὶ τὸν Ἀρμενιακὸν καὶ τὴν Παφλαγονίαν πιέζοντος, καὶ αὖθις ἀκρίδος τὴν ἑῴαν κεραϊζούσης, πολλοὶ μεταναστεῦσαι τῶν πατρίδων αὐτῶν ἠναγκάσθησαν, οὓς χρυσίου διανομαῖς ἀνακτησάμενος ὁ κρατῶν πέπεικεν αὖθις τὰς ἐνεγκούσας καταλαβεῖν. σεισμῶν δὲ γενομένων ξενῶνές τε κακῶς διετέθησαν καὶ οἱ ἀντίπορθμοι τῆς Βυζαντίδος ἀνδρῶνες, οἳ διαιτητήριον ἔκπαλαι 581 τοῖς τὰ σώματα λελωβημένοις ἐκ τῆς νόσου τῆς ἱερᾶς καὶ τοῖς λελεπρωμένοις τετάχαται. ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτους ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνεκαίνισε καὶ τοῦ τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς μεγαλόπολιν εἰσάγοντος ὁλκοῦ διαρρηχθέντος ἐπεμελήσατο. Ἤδη δέ οἱ πρὸς τέλος ἤγγικε τὸ βιώσιμον, τὸ δ' ὅπως ἀπεβίω διηγητέον. ἄρτι τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιτυχὼν χρόνους ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπεμέτρει μακρούς, καὶ ταῦτα ἑξηκοντούτης ὢν ὅτε τῶν σκήπτρων ἐπείληπτο, καὶ διαδοχὴν τῇ βασιλείᾳ καταλιπεῖν ἐκ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτοῦ ἐφαντάζετο, μηδ' ὅτιπερ ἡ βασιλὶς ᾗ συνῴκιστο πεντηκοντοῦτις ἦν καὶ ὑπέρακμος καὶ ἄνικμος τὴν νηδὺν πρὸς σπερμάτων ὑποδοχὴν δυνάμενος συνιδεῖν. πρότερον μὲν οὖν ἐσπουδάκει περὶ τὰ ἀφροδίσια καὶ κατέτεινεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ χρίσμασί τισιν ἐκέχρητο καὶ τῇ συνοίκῳ προσήρτα λιθίδια, ὡς δή τι ἐνεργοῦντα περὶ τὴν κύησιν. ἡ δὲ καὶ ἁμμάτων καὶ ἐπᾳσμάτων ἠνείχετο καὶ προσίετο ἐπῳδάς. ἐπεὶ δ' ἐγνώκει μάτην πάντα γινόμενα ὁ κρατῶν καὶ ἀπεγνώκει τὸ σπουδαζόμενον, οὐκέθ' ὁμοίως διέκειτο περὶ τὴν εὐνέτειραν, 582 ἀλλ' ἧττον αὐτῇ προσῄει. ἦν γὰρ καὶ φύσει νωθὴς πρὸς μίξιν καὶ μαλθακώτερος, ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὁ χρόνος αὐτῷ τὴν κίνησιν ἤμβλυνεν. ὡς δέ τινες αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἐξεμετρήθησαν ἐνιαυτοί, καὶ ἀποστρόφως εἶχε πρὸς τὴν βασίλισσαν, ἡ δὲ καὶ καταφρονουμένη πρὸς μῖσος ἠρέθιστο καὶ πλέον δι' ὁμιλίαν ἀνδρός. ἦν δέ τις καὶ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκτομίας ὑπηρέτης τῷ βασιλεῖ, τούτῳ δὲ ὁμαίμονες ἦσαν, ὧν εἷς ἦν καὶ ὁ Μιχαήλ, ἀνὴρ ᾧ τὴν ὄψιν ἡ φύσις ἀπέξεσεν εἰς ἀκριβῆ ὡραιότητα. τοῦτον ὁ ἀδελφὸς μετὰ τὴν βασιλείαν παρέστησε τῷ Ῥωμανῷ προσληφθησόμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ τοῖς θαλαμηπολοῦσι τὸν νεανίαν κατέταξε. τούτου τῷ ἔρωτι ἁλοῦσα ἡ βασιλὶς ἐπυρπολεῖτο τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἐκείνου κάλλος καθ' ἑκάστην ὁρώμενον ὑπανέφλεγε. μισούμενος δ' αὐτῇ πρῴην ὁ ἐκτομίας τότε καὶ προσεκαλεῖτο καὶ ὁμιλίας ἠξίωτο γνησιώτερον, εἶτα καὶ περὶ τοῦ Μιχαὴλ ἠρωτᾶτο τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ. πολλάκις δὲ τούτου γενομένου, δεινὸς ὢν ἐκεῖνος συνῆκε τὸν ἔρωτα καὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ ὑπέθετο καὶ προσιέναι τῇ βασιλίσσῃ, καὶ εἰ πειρῷτο ἐκείνη 583 αὐτοῦ, μὴ ὑποσταλῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἅψασθαι καὶ φιλῆσαι καὶ προσφῦναι αὐτῇ. καὶ τί δεῖ τὰ πολλὰ λέγειν; μέχρι καὶ συνουσιασμοῦ τὰ τοῦ ἔρωτος κατηντήκεσαν καὶ προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου εἰς προῦπτον σχεδὸν τὸ περὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ ἐξερράγη φίλτρον· καὶ ἦν ὑποψιθυριζόμενον οὐ τοῖς περὶ τὰ βασίλεια μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐν ταῖς τριόδοις, μόνῳ δ' ἠγνοεῖτο τῷ αὐτοκράτορι. ὅθεν καὶ συγκειμένῳ τῇ βασιλίσσῃ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς εὐνῆς ὁ Μιχαὴλ εἰσκαλούμενος ἀνατρίβειν οἱ τοὺς πόδας κεκέλευστο. τί οὖν ἄν τις οἰήσαιτο ἢ ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἐκείνης ἥπτετο τότε ποδῶν; καὶ οἷον προαγωγὸς ἀμφοῖν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁμευνέτης ἐγίνετο. ὡς δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀδελφὴ Πουλχερία καὶ ἕτεροι περὶ τοῦ δράματος αὐτὸν ἀνεδίδαξαν καὶ φυλάττεσθαι παρηγγύησαν, οὐδὲν ἐποίησεν ἕτερον ἀλλὰ τὸν ὑποπτευόμενον αὐτῷ καλέσας εἰ ἐρῷτο πρὸς τῆς βασιλίσσης ἠρώτα. ὁ δὲ