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with no one to oppose him, but rather that they would easily open even the city gates for him, both because the eastern armies were preoccupied there with wars and because the people of the city also held the emperor in anger, as indeed one behaving not according to their will. Therefore, buoyed up by such hopes, he encamped before the city, to besiege it, if it did not receive him most readily. Therefore at dawn, having drawn up his forces and having come near the circuit wall of the city around 628 Blachernae, he demanded that those inside open the gates for him, encouraging them to the deed with splendid promises. But with them not even paying him any attention, but also mocking and jeering at him, he began the assault. And the emperor also drew up his forces against him with a few soldiers and a common mob and with certain other men serving some of the senate, all of them not numbering even a full thousand; and having stationed these before the circuit wall of the city to face those of the tyrant, he thought to strike the opposing force with terror. And the emperor himself sat in royal state in one of the royal chambers which projected from the others and was turned toward the plain before the city, so that he might see the enemy and be seen by them. But the Macedonians, being accustomed to buffoonery, upon seeing the emperor, some openly insulted him, while others, also forming choruses and improvising certain comic tunes, danced and sang these things, stamping the ground with their feet. Then, when a certain part of the enemy attacked the imperial troops stationed outside the wall, some rushed toward the gates, while others fell into the moat and were perishing. And so great a fear came upon all that both those stationed on the 629 walls threw themselves down from there and fled, and those guarding the entrances of the city immediately vanished, without even having barred the gates. If therefore the war at that time had one who knew how to be victorious, there was nothing to prevent Tornikes from immediately being inside the city and putting an end to the enterprise. But this indeed, since it had not been decreed by the administration from above, escaped the usurper. But the emperor at least almost came into danger; for one of the enemy aimed at him and shot an arrow at him, but it, having missed the emperor, struck a certain youth from among the chamberlains. But not even for that one was the wound from the arrow fatal. But those around the emperor at any rate, fearing, immediately moved him, and he himself moved the throne somewhere else. But in the way that has been described the good fortune escaped Tornikes, events turned to the contrary for him. For the city was again under guard, and the tyrant, having attacked again at dawn and having been repulsed, would also have perished by a narrow margin. For with talent-weight stones 630 being hurled from a machine against the enemy, one was aimed at the tyrant and did not hit him, but it created cowardice both in him and those around him, and having broken formation they returned to their own encampment and no longer attempted the siege. But after waiting for a few short days, the usurper, when he saw that some of his own men were going over to the emperor, while others were scattering and running away, he departed from the siege around the city, and went away as if to easily take control of the Thracian fortresses, but he was repulsed from those too. Meanwhile the forces of the east arrived, having been recalled by the emperor, and were sent against the usurper. And those who were organizing the revolt with him, when they learned this, fearing for themselves, but also with the commander of the eastern tagmata having encamped near the rebels and persuading some with speeches, and others also with letters to desert to the emperor, almost all of them, abandoning the usurper, went over to the imperial forces, and these were not only obscure soldiers, but also of the distinguished and those who had been generals and had been made glorious by offices, with only one of the notable men having remained with him, Vatatzes. When therefore

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οὔτινος αὐτῷ ἀντιστησομένου, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀναπετασόντων αὐτῷ εὐπετῶς καὶ τὰς πύλας τῆς πόλεως, ὅτι τε τὰ ἑῷα στρατεύματα πολέμοις ἐκεῖ προσησχόλητο καὶ ὅτι καὶ οἱ τῆς πόλεως δι' ὀργῆς ἐποιοῦντο τὸν αὐτοκράτορα, ὡς δή τι μὴ κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς προσφερόμενον. τοιαύταις οὖν αἰωρούμενος ταῖς ἐλπίσι στρατοπεδεύεται πρὸ τῆς πόλεως, πολιορκήσων αὐτήν, εἰ μὴ δέχοιτο ἑτοιμότατα. ἕωθεν οὖν παραταξάμενος καὶ ἀγχοῦ τοῦ περιβόλου τῆς πόλεως γεγονὼς περὶ 628 τὰς Βλαχέρνας ἀνοῖξαί οἱ τὰς πύλας ἠξίου τοὺς ἔνδον, ὑποσχέσεσι τούτους πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν παραθαρρύνων λαμπραῖς. τῶν δὲ μηδ' ἐπιστρεφομένων αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ χλευαζόντων καὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀποσκωπτόντων, ἐπεχείρει τῇ προσβολῇ. ἀντιπαρετάττετο δὲ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις καὶ ὄχλῳ δημοτικῷ καί τισιν ἄλλοις ἀνδράσιν ἐνίων τῶν τῆς γερουσίας θεραπεύουσι, τῶν πάντων οὐδ' εἰς ἀκριβῆ συναριθμουμένων χιλιοστύν· καὶ τούτους πρὸ τοῦ περιβόλου στήσας τῆς πόλεως ἀντιμετώπους τοῖς τοῦ τυράννου ᾤετο καταπλήξειν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀντίπαλον. καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἔν τινι τῶν βασιλικῶν θαλάμων προβεβλημένῳ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως ἐστραμμένῳ πεδίον καθῆστο βασιλικῶς, ἵν' ὁρῴη τοὺς ἐναντίους καὶ ὁρῷτο αὐτοῖς. οἱ δὲ Μακεδόνες βωμολοχίας ὄντες ἐθάδες, ἰδόντες τὸν βασιλέα, οἱ μὲν ἄντικρυς ἐξύβριζον εἰς αὐτόν, οἱ δὲ καὶ χοροὺς συνιστῶντες μέλη τέ τινα σχεδιάζοντες κωμῳδίας ὠρχοῦντο καὶ ᾖδον ταῦτα, τοῖς ποσὶν ἐπικροτοῦντες τὴν γῆν. εἶτα τοῖς ἔξω τοῦ τείχους προβεβλημένοις βασιλικοῖς μοίρας τινὸς ἐπελθούσης τῶν ἐναντίων, οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας ὥρμησαν, οἱ δ' ἐπὶ τὴν τάφρον ἐνέπιπτον καὶ ἀπώλλυντο. τοσοῦτον δ' ἅπασι τὸ δέος ἐγένετο ὥστε τούς τε τοῖς 629 τείχεσιν ἐφεστῶτας ἑαυτοὺς ἐκ τούτου καταβάλλοντας φεύγειν καὶ τοὺς τὰς εἰσόδους φρουροῦντας τῆς πόλεως φρούδους αὐτίκα γενέσθαι, μηδὲ τὰς πύλας ἐπιζυγώσαντας. εἰ οὖν εἶχεν ὁ τότε πόλεμος τὸν εἰδότα νικᾶν, οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ κωλῦον εὐθὺς τὸν Τορνίκην ἐντὸς γενέσθαι τοῦ ἄστεος καὶ τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ ἐγχειρήματι. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μέν, ἐπεὶ μὴ τῇ ἄνωθεν ἐδέδοκτο διοικήσει, τὸν τυραννοῦντα διέφυγεν. ὁ δέ γε βασιλεὺς μικροῦ ἂν ἐκινδύνευσε· τῶν γάρ τις ἐναντίων τόνδ' ἐπιτοξάζεται καὶ βέλος ἀφίησι κατ' αὐτοῦ, τὸ δ' ἀτευκτῆσαν τοῦ βασιλέως βάλλει μειράκιόν τι τῶν θαλαμηπολούντων. ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐκείνῳ καιρία γέγονεν ἡ ἐκ τοῦ βέλους πληγή· οἵ γε μὴν περὶ τὸν βασιλέα δείσαντες αὐτίκα μετέστησαν, κἀκεῖνος αὐτὸς ἄλλοσέ πῃ τὸν θῶκον μετήνεγκεν. ὃν δ' εἴρητο τρόπον διαφυγεῖν τὸν Τορνίκην τὸ εὐτύχημα, εἰς τοὐναντίον αὐτῷ τὰ πράγματα περιέτρεψεν. ἥ τε γὰρ πόλις αὖθις ὑπὸ φρουρὰν ἐγεγόνει καὶ ὁ τύραννος αὖθις ἕωθεν προσβαλὼν καὶ ἀποκρουσθεὶς παρὰ βραχὺ καὶ ἀπώλετο ἄν. λίθων γὰρ ἐκ μηχανῆς ταλαντιαίων 630 σφενδονουμένων κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων, εἷς ἐπὶ τὸν τύραννον ἵετο καὶ τοῦ μὲν οὐ καθίκετο, δειλίαν δὲ κἀκείνῳ καὶ τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐνεποίησε, καὶ λύσαντες τὴν παράταξιν ὑπενόστησαν εἰς τὴν σφετέραν παρεμβολὴν καὶ οὐκέτι τῇ πολιορκίᾳ ἐπικεχειρήκασιν. ἀλλά τινας βραχείας ἡμέρας προσμείνας ὁ τυραννῶν, ἐπεὶ ἑώρα τοὺς μὲν τῶν οἰκείων προσχωροῦντας τῷ βασιλεῖ, τοὺς δὲ σκιδναμένους καὶ ἐκδιδράσκοντας, ἀπανίσταται μὲν τῆς περὶ τὸ ἄστυ προσεδρείας, ἀπῄει δὲ ὡς εὐπετῶς τῶν Θρᾳκῴων κρατήσων φρουρίων, ἀλλ' ἀπεκρούσθη κἀκείνων. ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ παρῆσαν αἱ τῆς ἑῴας δυνάμεις ἀνακεκλημέναι παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος καὶ κατὰ τοῦ τυραννοῦντος ἀφείθησαν. οἱ δ' αὐτῷ τὴν ἀποστασίαν συγκροτοῦντες ὡς ἔγνων τοῦτο, δείσαντες περὶ σφίσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τῶν ἑῴων ταγμάτων ἐξάρχοντος παραστρατοπεδευσαμένου τοῖς ἀποστάταις καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὁμιλίαις, τοὺς δὲ καὶ γράμμασι πείθοντος αὐτομολῆσαι τῷ αὐτοκράτορι, πάντες σχεδὸν λιπόντες τὸν τυραννήσαντα προσήνωντο τοῖς βασιλικοῖς, καὶ οὐ τῶν ἀσήμων μόνον ἦσαν οὗτοι στρατιωτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν καὶ ἐστρατηγηκότων καὶ λαμπρυνθέντων ἀρχαῖς, ἑνὸς μόνου τῶν ἐπισήμων παραμεμενηκότος αὐτῷ τοῦ Βατάτζη. ὡς δ' οὖν