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to have taken her sister into the government. So Theodora came to the palace and shared in the rule with her sister; from there, those who had been blinded were condemned to exile, their reign having been curtailed to four months and five days, and would that it had been for a shorter time. The rule of the Romans had thus come down to the women's quarters, and no revolution was attempted against them, but all submitted to them, both the elite of the senate and the most distinguished of the generalship. And they both sat on the dais and the whole imperial ceremony was performed around them, and the formation of the bodyguard customary for emperors was maintained, and the leading senators 614 and those in authority all stood by with respect. And judicial inquiries and resolutions of public disputes and audiences with ambassadors and elections to office and the other things pertaining to the imperial power were conducted by them. But either fear that the imperial power might devolve upon her sister alone (for it was whispered by some that the rule was more fitting for her, since she was also the cause of the tyrant's deposition), or the desire for a man and for union persuaded Zoe to bring into the palace one who would rule and live with her. And Constantine Dalassenos was brought, as if summoned for some other purpose. But having used rather harsh words and seeming burdensome and difficult in his character, he was rejected. Then she inclined towards another, who was neither of the very nobly born, nor tested in the more brilliant dignities, nor in illustrious offices, but whose appearance was worthy of a sovereign and such as to attract to love even a soul not given to wantonness. So the empress set her sails fully for him, but a disease which suddenly snatched the man from life annulled her choice. And his wi615fe was also suspected of having contrived his death and of having mixed a deadly poison for him out of jealousy, so that she would not be deprived of her husband while he still lived and see another sleeping with him. So he thus fell from his hopes, and the empress from her purpose. But the votes turned to Constantine Monomachos, a man both of noble birth and of distinction, and one who had become a kinsman to Emperor Romanos by marriage to his niece (for he had married her in a second marriage), and most brilliant in appearance. To him Emperor Romanos had not yet shown any great magnificence, but because of his kinship with him he frequented the imperial courts, and from there became an intimate of the empress; and she was friendly towards the man and grew close to him and welcomed him with gifts of many talents, as she was unsparing with her hand and royal in her disposition, so that these things became a pretext for slander against them by the malevolent. Whence the emperor after Romanos, Michael, not being deaf to what was said, upon becoming emperor exiled the man to Lesbos on some fabricated charges, but the whole reason was jealousy. And he was in exile for the entire time of Michael's reign, and did not even find the sec616ond Michael any more favorable. But when the rule returned to Zoe, the man was released from exile and was brought to the queen of cities. But when he had come near, he was prevented from proceeding, and someone sent from the palace, having met him near the church of the Archistrategos in Damokraneia, clothed him in imperial robes, and departing from there with an imperial bodyguard, he entered the queen city. And the marriage ceremony was performed for the sovereigns by one of the priests; for the patriarch Alexios, on account of it being a third marriage, was cautious about personally performing the ceremony of union for them. On the next day, he undertook the ceremony of the imperial crown, and Monomachos was crowned and the Roman scepter was placed in his hand. From that point the rule of the sisters came to an end, having lasted for a third month, and the administration of common affairs passed to Monomachos. And he immediately, not with reason nor with any sensible management, made grants neither of dignities nor of money

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τοῦ κράτους προσειληφέναι τὴν ἀδελφήν. ἥκει τοίνυν καὶ ἡ Θεοδώρα πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια καὶ συμμετέχει τοῦ κράτους τῇ ἀδελφῇ· ἐντεῦθεν ὑπερορίαν οἱ πηρωθέντες τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς κατακρίνονται, τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ μῆνας τέσσαρας καὶ πέντε ἡμέρας συσταλείσης, ὡς εἴθε γε καὶ ἐπὶ βραχύτερον. Κατηντήκει τοίνυν περὶ τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν ἡ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχή, καὶ οὐδέν τι περὶ ταύτας νενεωτέριστο, ἀλλὰ πάντες αὐταῖς ὑπεῖκον, τό τε τῆς γερουσίας ἔξοχον καὶ τὸ τοῦ στρατηγίου ἐπισημότατον. αἱ δ' ἄμφω ἐκάθηντο ἐπὶ βήματος καὶ πᾶσα περὶ αὐτὰς ἐτελεῖτο ἡ τελετὴ ἡ βασίλειος καὶ τῇ δορυφορίᾳ τὸ ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέων σχῆμα τετήρητο, καὶ οἱ τῆς πρώτης 614 βουλῆς καὶ οἱ ἐν τέλει σὺν αἰδοῖ παρειστήκεισαν ξύμπαντες. καὶ ζητήσεις δικῶν καὶ λύσεις δημοσίων ἀμφισβητήσεων ἐντυχίαι τε πρεσβευτῶν καὶ ἀρχαιρεσίαι καὶ τἄλλα τὰ τῇ βασιλείᾳ προσήκοντα ἐγίνοντο παρ' αὐταῖς. ἀλλ' εἴτε φόβος μὴ τῇ ἀδελφῇ μόνῃ περισταίη τὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς (ὑπεψιθυρίζετο γάρ τισιν αὐτῇ μᾶλλον προσήκειν τὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἅτε καὶ τῆς τοῦ τυραννήσαντος καθαιρέσεως αἰτίᾳ), εἴτ' ἀνδρὸς ἐπιθυμία καὶ μίξεως ἀνέπεισαν τὴν Ζωὴν ἐπεισαγαγεῖν τοῖς βασιλείοις τὸν βασιλεύσοντα καὶ αὐτῇ συμβιώσοντα. καὶ ἤχθη μὲν ὁ ∆αλασσηνὸς Κωνσταντῖνος, ὡς ἐπ' ἄλλο τι μετακεκλημένος. ἀποτομώτερον δὲ τοῖς λόγοις χρησάμενος καὶ τὸ ἦθος φορτικός τις δόξας καὶ δυσχερὴς ἀπεδοκιμάσθη. εἶτα ἐπ' ἄλλον ἀπένευσεν οὔτε τῶν ἄγαν ὄντα εὐπατριδῶν οὔτε τῶν ἐν ἀξίαις λαμπροτέραις ἐξητασμένων οὔτε τῶν ἐν περιφανέσιν ἀρχαῖς, τὸ δὲ εἶδος ἄξιον τυραννίδος καὶ οἷον πρὸς ἔρωτας ἐφελκύσασθαι καὶ μὴ μαχλοσύνῃ προσκειμένην ψυχήν. ἐπ' ἐκεῖνον οὖν ὅλοις ἱστίοις ἔπνευσεν ἡ βασίλισσα, ἀλλ' ἠκύρωσε τὰς ψήφους αὐτῇ νόσος ἀθρόον τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς ζωῆς ἐξαρπάσασα. ὑπωπτεύθη δὲ καὶ ἡ συν615 οικοῦσα τούτῳ τὸν θάνατον σχεδιάσασα καὶ φάρμακον αὐτῷ διὰ ζηλοτυπίαν κεράσασα δηλητήριον, ἵνα μὴ ἔτι ζῶντος στερήσοιτο τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ ὁρῴη ἑτέραν αὐτῷ παριαύουσαν. ὁ μὲν οὖν οὕτω τῶν ἐλπίδων ἐκπέπτωκε καὶ τῆς ὁρμῆς ἡ βασίλισσα. αἱ δὲ ψῆφοι πρὸς τὸν Μονομάχον Κωνσταντῖνον ἀπέκλιναν, ἄνδρα καὶ εὐγενέτην καὶ τῶν ἐπισήμων καὶ κηδεστὴν τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμανῷ ἐπ' ἀδελφόπαιδι χρηματίσαντα (ταύτῃ γὰρ κατὰ δευτέρους γάμους ὡμίλησε) καὶ τὴν ὥραν ὑπέρλαμπρον. τούτῳ οὔπω μὲν μεγαλοπρεπές τι ὁ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς ἐνεδείξατο, διὰ δέ γε τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγχιστείαν περὶ τὰς βασιλείους αὐλὰς ἀνεστρέφετο κἀντεῦθεν συνήθης τῇ βασιλίδι ἐγένετο· κἀκείνη φιλίως πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα διέκειτο καὶ ᾠκειοῦτο αὐτὸν καὶ χάρισιν ἐδεξιοῦτο πολυταλάντοις, οἷα ἐκείνη τὴν χεῖρά τε ἀφειδὴς καὶ βασιλικὴ τὴν προαίρεσιν, ὥστε ταῦτα τοῖς κακοήθεσι καὶ λοιδορίας κατ' αὐτῶν ἐγένετο ἀφορμή. ὅθεν ὁ μετὰ τὸν Ῥωμανὸν αὐτοκράτωρ ὁ Μιχαήλ, οὐκ ὢν τῶν λεγομένων ἀνήκοος, βασιλεύσας εἰς Λέσβον περιορίζει τὸν ἄνδρα ἐπ' αἰτίαις δή τισι πεπλασμέναις, τὸ δ' ὅλον ἦν τὸ ζηλότυπον. καὶ ἦν τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Μιχαὴλ ὑπερόριος καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ δευ616 τέρου Μιχαὴλ εὐμενεστέρου τετύχηκεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ κράτος ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὴν Ζωήν, λύεται μὲν τῆς ὑπερορίας ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἤγετο πρὸς τὴν τῶν πόλεων βασιλεύουσαν. ὡς δ' ἐγγὺς ἐγεγόνει, ἐπεσχέθη τοῦ πρόσω, καί τις ἐκ τῶν βασιλείων πεμφθεὶς καὶ περὶ τὸν ἐν ∆αμοκρανείᾳ τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου ναὸν αὐτῷ ἐντετυχηκὼς στολὴν αὐτῷ ἐνδιδύσκει βασίλειον, καὶ σὺν δορυφορίᾳ βασιλικῇ ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάρας εἰσεληλύθει τὴν βασιλεύουσαν. καὶ τελεῖται μὲν τοῖς βασιλεῦσι παρά του τῶν ἱερέων ἡ ἱεροτελεστία ἡ γαμική· ὁ γὰρ πατριάρχης Ἀλέξιος διὰ τὴν τριγαμίαν ηὐλαβήθη τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ συναφείᾳ τελετὴν αὐτουργῆσαι αὐτοῖς. τῇ δ' ἑξῆς τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλείῳ στέφει μεταχειρίζεται τελετήν, καὶ ἀναδεῖται ὁ Μονομάχος καὶ τὸ σκῆπτρον τὸ Ῥωμαϊκὸν ἐγχειρίζεται. Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ μὲν τῶν αὐταδέλφων ἀρχὴ τέλος ἔσχεν, ἐπὶ τρίτον διαρκέσασα μῆνα, ἡ δὲ τῶν κοινῶν διοίκησις πρὸς τὸν Μονομάχον μετέπεσε. καὶ ὃς αὐτίκα οὐ σὺν λόγῳ οὐδὲ μετά τινος ἔμφρονος οἰκονομίας οὔτε τὰς τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ἐποιεῖτο τιμὰς οὔτε τὰς τῶν χρημάτων