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that a man both stood by him and belonged purely to the ancient royal family, he entrusts the secret to one of those who knew better the family of Aaron. But he, having scrutinized his appearance more carefully with his eyes, then also knowing some indubitable sign belonging to him, demands to see this too. And this was a certain black mark around his right elbow and thick hair around it. Therefore, having seen this too and no longer having any doubt, he throws himself down before the man and embraces his feet. And he informs the others about the one from the royal family who has come to them. And many, breaking away from the one in doubt, attached themselves to the legitimate one, and the rule was divided. But since the kingdom itself would by no means be stable if the leaders were at odds with each other, they act in concert and 603 make a treaty, but they also suspected and plotted against each other. But Alousianos was found to be sharper at plotting and he anticipated the cunning of Doleanos. And having prepared a drinking party and taking his co-ruler as a drinking companion, he attacks him while he is feasting and gouges out the wretch's eyes, and from then on the Scythian [nation] came under a single rule. Then through secret messages he informs the emperor that he has decided to go over to him, if he should obtain his favor and not be deprived of suitable rewards. And he both received his petition and promised to reward him worthily. And he came at once and was honored as a magistros. And the emperor immediately advances against the nation, and it, being without a ruler and scattered, having been conquered not with difficulty, again submitted to the rule of the Romans, and the emperor returned to Byzantium and celebrated a triumph, leading many captives in it, and Doleanos himself, with his eyes put out. But the emperor was ill and already approached the dissolution of his frame. He therefore despises his rule and withdraws from the 604 palace and goes away to the monastery which he himself had founded before the walls of the city, which he had named after the wonder-working Anargyroi. Having arrived there, he takes off the purple robe and all the other insignia of royalty, he has his hair shorn and undergoes the sacred rite, he puts on the rags of humility in Christ and girds himself with the divine fleece, the symbol of voluntary mortification, he who was already being mortified even against his will. So when what had happened was announced to the empress, she departs from the palace on foot and came to him. But he bars the doors to her and prevents her entry to him, I know not whether ashamed of the things he had shown toward her, or having become wholly given to repentance and not wishing to be reminded of his former disposition toward her. She, therefore, not having met with Michael, returned; but he, having survived a short time after the change of his way of life, transferred his life to the eternal mansions, until his last breath lamenting what had been dared by him against the emperor Romanos, having become a mild and good emperor, as far as he himself was concerned, but his 605 family had attached itself to him like some stain, somehow soiling his goodness. And it is related by some that he held the Roman scepter for a seventh year, but by others for even some time beyond this. And the rule of the empire came to the Caesar, with his maternal uncle John accomplishing everything. For the emperor Michael had honored this man as Caesar, as has been written before, then, as if regretting it, he did not maintain a good disposition toward him. wherefore his dwelling was also appointed somewhere outside the city, and it was not permitted to him, unless he were commanded, to visit the emperor. But when the emperor departed from the palace, as has been said, his own brothers forge an imperial letter, permitting him passage to the palace. And so he entered. But the first of the brothers, the orphanotrophos, advised that they should not undertake any action without the consent of the empress. They therefore approach her and throw the Caesar at her feet and they propose the adoption and they give pledges and swear dreadful oaths that indeed of the name 606

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περιστῆναι ἄνδρα καὶ τῷ πάλαι βασιλείῳ γένει προσήκοντα καθαρῶς, πιστεύει τινὶ τὸ ἀπόρρητον τῶν μᾶλλον εἰδότων τὸ γένος τοῦ Ἀαρών. ὁ δὲ περιεργότερον αὐτῷ ἀνιχνεύσας τὸ εἶδος τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, εἶτα καί τι σημεῖον εἰδὼς προσὸν αὐτῷ ἀναμφίβολον, καὶ τοῦτο ἰδεῖν ἀπαιτεῖ. τὸ δ' ἦν περὶ τὸν δεξιὸν ἀγκῶνα χρῶμά τι μέλαν καὶ θρὶξ δασεῖα περὶ αὐτό. ἰδὼν οὖν καὶ τοῦτο καὶ οὐκέτι ἔχων ἐνδοιαστῶς καταβάλλει μὲν ἑαυτὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ περιπτύσσεται. διδάσκει δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τὸν ἐκ τοῦ βασιλείου γένους αὐτοῖς ἀφικόμενον. καὶ πολλοὶ τοῦ ἀμφιβόλου ἀπορραγέντες τῷ γνησίῳ προσέθεντο, καὶ μεμέριστο ἡ ἀρχή· ὡς δ' οὐ πάντως τῆς βασιλείας αὐτῆς στησομένης, εἰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ ἀρχηγοὶ διαφέροιντο, κοινοπραγοῦσι καὶ 603 σπένδονται, ἀλλήλους δὲ καὶ ὑπώπτευον καὶ ἐνήδρευον. ἀλλ' ὀξύτερος εὑρέθη ὁ Ἀλουσιάνος πρὸς τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ ∆ολιάνου προέφθασε δολιότητα. καὶ πότον ἑτοιμασάμενος καὶ συμπότην παραλαβὼν τὸν συνάρχοντα ἐπιτίθεταί οἱ συμποσιάζοντι καὶ ἐξορύττει τῷ ἀθλίῳ τὰ ὄμματα, καὶ εἰς μίαν ἐντεῦθεν ἀρχὴν τὸ Σκυθικὸν περιίσταται. εἶτα δι' ἀπορρήτων μηνύει τῷ βασιλεῖ βουλεύσασθαι προσχωρῆσαι αὐτῷ, εἰ εὐμενοῦς αὐτοῦ τεύξεται καὶ ἀναλόγων οὐκ ἀμοιρήσει τῶν ἀμοιβῶν. ὁ δὲ τὴν ἔντευξίν τε προσήκατο καὶ ἀξίως ἀμείψασθαι αὐτὸν ἐπηγγείλατο. καὶ ὃς αὐτίκα προσεληλύθει καὶ τετίμητο μάγιστρος. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἔπεισι τῷ ἔθνει εὐθύς, τὸ δὲ ἄναρχον ὂν καὶ διεσπαρμένον οὐ δυσέργως καταπολεμηθὲν αὖθις τῇ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίᾳ ὑπέκυψε, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸ Βυζάντιον ἐπανέζευξε καὶ κατήγαγε θρίαμβον, αἰχμαλώτους τε πολλοὺς διαγαγὼν ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν ∆ολιάνον αὐτὸν πεπηρωμένον τὰ ὄμματα. Εἶχε δ' ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ κακῶς καὶ ἤδη τῇ λύσει προσήγγισε τῆς συνθέσεως. καταφρονεῖ γοῦν τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐκ τῶν 604 βασιλείων μεταχωρεῖ καὶ ἄπεισιν εἰς ὅπερ αὐτὸς πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν τῆς πόλεως ἱδρύσατο ἀσκητήριον, ὃ ἐπὶ τῇ κλήσει τῶν θαυματουργῶν Ἀναργύρων ὠνόμασεν. ἔνθα δὴ γεγονὼς ἐκδιδύσκεται μὲν τὴν ἁλουργίδα καὶ τἆλλα πάντα τῆς βασιλείας γνωρίσματα, κείρεται δὲ τὴν τρίχα καὶ τελεῖται τὴν ἱερὰν τελετήν, ἐνδύεται δὲ τὸ ῥάκος τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ταπεινώσεως καὶ περιζώννυται τὸ θεῖον δέρας τὸ τῆς ἑκουσίου νεκρώσεως σύμβολον ὁ ἤδη καὶ ἄκων νεκρούμενος. ὡς οὖν ἠγγέλθη τῇ βασιλίσσῃ τὸ γεγονός, πεζῇ τῶν βασιλείων ὑπέξεισι καὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀφίκετο. ὁ δὲ ταύτῃ τὰς θύρας ἐπιζυγοῖ καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπείργνυσιν εἴσοδον, οὐκ οἶδα εἴτ' αἰδούμενος ἀνθ' ὧν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐνεδείξατο εἴθ' ὅλος τῆς μετανοίας γενόμενος καὶ μὴ θέλων εἰς μνήμην ἐλθεῖν τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνην παλαιᾶς διαθέσεως. ἡ μὲν οὖν μὴ ἐντυχοῦσα τῷ Μιχαὴλ ὑπενόστησεν· ὁ δὲ βραχύ τι τῇ μεταθέσει τῆς βιοτῆς ἐπιβιώσας πρὸς τὰς ἀϊδίους μονὰς μετέθετο τὴν ζωήν, μέχρις ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς τὸ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν αὐτῷ τολμηθὲν ἀπολοφυρόμενος, βασιλεὺς γεγονὼς ἐπιεικὴς καὶ χρηστός, ὅσον τὸ εἰς αὐτόν, τὸ συγ605 γενὲς δέ οἱ ὥσπερ τις κηλὶς προσεπεφύκει αὐτῷ ῥυπαίνουσά πως τὴν ἐκείνου χρηστότητα. ἱστόρηται δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἐπ' ἔτος ἕβδομον τὸ σκῆπτρον κατασχεῖν τὸ Ῥωμαϊκόν, τοῖς δὲ καί τι τούτου ἐπέκεινα. Ἧκε δ' ἡ τῆς βασιλείας ἀρχὴ πρὸς τὸν Καίσαρα, πάντα τοῦ μητραδέλφου αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἰωάννου ἀνύοντος. ὁ μὲν γὰρ βασιλεὺς Μιχαὴλ Καίσαρα τοῦτον ἐτίμησεν, ὡς προγέγραπται, εἶτα ὥσπερ μεταμελόμενος οὐ χρηστὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἐτήρει διάθεσιν. ὅθεν καὶ ἔξω που τῆς πόλεως ὥριστο αὐτῷ ἡ καταγωγή, καὶ οὐδ' ἐφεῖτο τούτῳ, εἰ μὴ κελευσθείη, πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα φοιτᾶν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῶν βασιλείων ὑπεξῆλθεν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ, ὡς εἴρηται, οἱ ἐκείνου αὐτάδελφοι βασίλειον πλάττονται γράμμα, ἐπιτρέπον ἐκείνῳ τὴν πρὸς τὰ ἀνάκτορα πάροδον. καὶ ὁ μὲν εἰσελήλυθεν· ὁ δὲ πρῶτος τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὁ ὀρφανοτρόφος μὴ δεῖν συνεβούλευσεν ἐπιχειρῆσαι πράξει τινὶ γνώμης τῆς βασιλίδος χωρίς. προσίασι τοίνυν αὐτῇ καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνης ποσὶ τὸν Καίσαρα καταβάλλουσι καὶ προΐσχονται τὴν εἰσποίησιν καὶ πίστεις διδόασι καὶ φρικώδεις ὅρκους ὀμνύουσιν ἦ μὴν τοῦ ὀνό606