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Thus for these reasons he was so familiar with the emperor that every opportunity was his for entry and audience with him. And were not the men's quarters so disposed to him, but the women's quarters were closed off to him? But that too was unrestricted for him and accessible whenever he wished, and wealth flowed to the man from both sides, and having been snatched from the crossroads he was raised to the very pinnacle of the senate. But having prospered in this manner, he was not content, but he also lusted for the imperial power and plotted to assign it to himself by killing the emperor. And to those whom he knew to be ill-disposed to the emperor, he revealed his secret. And those who accepted his proposal he spurred on to the deed, raising them up with great hopes. But if some were displeased at the proposition, he would say he brought up the matter as a test, so that he might know their loyalty to the 646 emperor, and he would praise the men for their disposition and swore to make it known to the emperor that they were loyal to him. Thus he approached the majority in this way, and those who conspired with him thought the plan could be most easily accomplished. For not only was access to the imperial bedchamber unrestricted for him, whether the emperor happened to be sleeping or sleeping with the empress, but he was also entrusted with the keys to the secret entrances. And the plot would have been carried out, if one of those who shared in the scheme had not informed the emperor himself. Therefore he was caught red-handed, holding the very sword with which he was about to slay the emperor. But he, on account of the ruler's foolishness, suffered nothing unpleasant, but those who were privy to the plot with him did not remain unpunished. This emperor, wishing to seem ambitious and generous, but not pursuing virtue as he should have, transformed this into vice. For instead of magnificence, he had degenerated into profligacy, providing the public funds neither to whom he should, nor as much as he should, nor when it was necessary. And while build647ing the monastery of the Mangana (and it is said that he began the building because of his mistress, Scleraina I mean, so that he could visit her continuously, as she was then dwelling in the house of the Kynegion, having the construction of the venerable precinct as a pretext) he exhausted the imperial or common treasuries, whence, being in need of funds, he did not even abstain from forbidden sources of revenue. But there were also lands, which did not pay tribute to the emperors, but instead of all tribute-paying they guarded difficult passes and walled off passage for the barbarians into the lands subject to the Romans; he, by imposing taxes on the lands, disbanded the guards. And from this, passage for the barbarians into the Roman lands became very easy. Therefore that man will be judged by those who reason dispassionately as responsible for the eastern portion being overcome by a barbarian spear. When the Empress Zoe ended her life in deep old age (for her lifespan was extended beyond seventy years), he did not mourn in a manly way, but rather boyishly. And it is said that he even compared her to the angels, since 648 a mushroom somehow sprouted from her tomb from some moisture, and he called this a sign ordained from above, so that it might not be unknown that the empress was ranked with the intelligible powers. And when she died, as has been said, the emperor, still inflamed with passions, introduces into the palace a certain girl, given as a hostage to the Romans from the Alans, the child of one of their chiefs, and having named her Sebaste he assigned to her an imperial retinue and a supply of wealth. And if he had not held the Empress Theodora in respect, or rather was ashamed of the unlawfulness of a fourth marriage, he would have proclaimed this mistress empress and adorned her with a diadem. But when he died, her good fortune did not remain with the Sebaste, but she returned to her former state of a hostage. Now it is time to relate also the end of this emperor. Not a long time had been measured out since he had become master of the Roman empire, when a gouty disease befell him, which formerly in his feet that flux upon649

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οὕτως διὰ ταῦτα τῷ βασιλεῖ προσῳκείωτο ὡς πάντα καιρὸν εἶναι αὐτῷ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰσόδου καὶ τῆς ἐντεύξεως. καὶ οὐχ οὕτως αὐτῷ τὰ περὶ τὸν ἀνδρῶνα διέκειτο, ἡ δὲ γυναικωνῖτίς οἱ ἀπεκέκλειστο; ἀλλ' ἄνετος ἦν αὐτῷ κἀκείνη καὶ ὅτ' ἐβούλετο βάσιμος, καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος ἐπέρρει τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἑκατέρωθεν, καὶ ἐκ τῶν τριόδων ἀναρπασθεὶς εἰς αὐτὴν ἀνήχθη τὴν συγκλητικὴν κορυφήν. ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠγάπα τοῦτον εὐδαιμονήσας τὸν τρόπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐρᾷ καὶ μελετᾷ ταύτην ἑαυτῷ προσνεῖμαι, κτείνας τὸν αὐτοκράτορα. καὶ οὓς ᾔδει δύσνους τῷ βασιλεῖ, τούτοις τὸ ἀπόρρητον ἀνεκάλυπτε. καὶ τοὺς μὲν τὸν λόγον προσιεμένους μεγάλαις ἐλπίσιν ἐξαίρων πρὸς τοὖργον ἐρρώννυεν. εἰ δέ τινες καὶ πρὸς τὴν προσβολὴν ἐδυσχέραινον, ὁ δὲ πεῖραν ἔλεγε τὸν λόγον προσαγαγεῖν, ἵνα γνῷ τὴν ἐκείνων πίστιν τὴν πρὸς τὸν 646 αὐτοκράτορα, καὶ ἐπῄνει τοὺς ἄνδρας τῆς διαθέσεως καὶ γνωρίσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ εὔνους αὐτῷ τυγχάνειν διώμνυτο. ὁ μὲν οὖν οὕτω μετῄει τοὺς πλείονας, καὶ οἱ ἐκείνῳ συνομοσάμενοι ῥᾷστα τὸ βούλευμα ᾤοντο γενέσθαι ἀνύσιμον. οὐ μόνον γὰρ ἡ πρὸς τὸν βασιλικὸν κοιτωνίσκον πάροδος ἐκείνῳ ἄνετος ἦν, κἂν ἔτυχεν ὑπνώττων ὁ βασιλεὺς κἂν τῇ βασιλίδι συνίαυεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀπορρήτων εἰσόδων κλεῖς ἐμπεπίστευτο. καὶ ἤχθη ἂν εἰς ἔργον τὸ διαβούλιον, εἰ μή τις αὐτῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ κατεμήνυσε τῶν κοινωνησάντων τοῦ σκέμματος. ἥλω τοίνυν ἐπ' αὐτοφώρῳ καὶ τὸ ξίφος αὐτὸ κατέχων ᾧ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ἔμελλεν αὐτίκα διαχειρίσασθαι. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν διὰ τὸ τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἀβέλτερον οὐδὲν ὑπέστη ἀνιαρόν, οἱ δὲ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐκείνῳ συνίστορες οὐκ ἔμειναν ἀτιμώρητοι. Οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς φιλότιμος δοκεῖν ἐθέλων καὶ ἐλευθέριος, μὴ μετιὼν δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὡς ἐχρῆν, εἰς κακίαν ταύτην μετήνεγκεν. ἀντὶ γὰρ μεγαλοπρεπείας εἰς ἀσωτίαν μετακεκύλιστο, οὔτε οἷς ἔδει παρέχων τὰ δημόσια χρήματα οὔτε ὅσαπερ ἔδει οὔθ' ὅτε χρεών. καὶ τὴν μονὴν τὴν τῶν Μαγγάνων οἰκοδο647 μῶν (λέγεται δὲ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς ἄρξασθαι διὰ τὴν ἐρωμένην αὐτῷ, τὴν Σκλήραιναν λέγω, ἵν' ἐκείνῃ προσφοιτᾷ συνεχῶς, ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ Κυνηγίου ἐχούσῃ τότε δὴ τὴν κατοίκησιν, πρόφασιν ἔχων τοῦ σεμνείου τὴν δόμησιν) ἐξήντλησε τοὺς βασιλείους ἢ κοινοὺς θησαυρούς, ὅθεν χρημάτων δεόμενος οὐδὲ τῶν ἀπειρημένων πορισμάτων ἀπείχετο. ἀλλὰ καὶ χωρῶν οὐσῶν, αἳ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν οὐ δασμοὺς συνεισέφερον, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ πάσης δασμοφορίας δυσχωρίας ἐφρούρουν καὶ τοῖς βαρβάροις τὴν εἰς τὰς Ῥωμαίοις ὑποκειμένας χώρας ἀπετείχιζον πάροδον, ἐκεῖνος φόρους ταῖς χώραις ἐπιτάξας ἐσχόλασε τὰς φρουράς. κἀντεῦθεν ἡ πρὸς τὰς Ῥωμαΐδας χώρας ῥᾴστη τοῖς βαρβάροις ἐγένετο πάροδος. ἐκεῖνος τοίνυν ὁ ἀνὴρ αἴτιος τοῖς ἀπαθῶς λογιζομένοις κριθήσεται τοῦ τὴν ἑῴαν μοῖραν δουρὶ κυριευθῆναι βαρβαρικῷ. Τῆς δὲ βασιλίδος Ζωῆς ἐν γήρει βαθεῖ (ὑπὲρ γὰρ τὰ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη παρεξετάθη αὐτῇ τὸ βιώσιμον) καταλυσάσης τὴν ζωήν, οὐκ ἀνδρικῶς ἐκεῖνος ἐθρήνησεν, ἀλλὰ μέντοι γε μειρακιωδῶς. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἀγγέλοις αὐτὴν παρεξισοῦν, ἐπειδή 648 που τοῦ μνήματος ἐκείνης μύκης ἔκ τινος ὑγρότητος ἀνεβλάστησε, καὶ τοῦτο καλεῖν σημεῖον ἄνωθεν οἰκονομηθέν, ἵνα μὴ ἀγνοῆται ἡ βασιλὶς ταῖς νοεραῖς συντεταγμένη δυνάμεσι. τῆς δέ, ὡς εἴρηται, θανούσης, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔτι φλεγμαίνων περὶ τοὺς ἔρωτας ἐπεισάγει τοῖς βασιλείοις μείρακά τινα, ὅμηρα δοθεῖσαν Ῥωμαίοις ἐξ Ἀλανῶν, παῖδά τινος τῶν παρ' ἐκείνοις ἀρχηγετούντων, καὶ ταύτην Σεβαστὴν ὀνομάσας βασίλειον αὐτῇ θεραπείαν καὶ πλούτου χορηγίαν ἀπέταξε. καὶ εἰ μὴ τὴν βασιλίδα Θεοδώραν πεποίητο δι' αἰδοῦς ἢ μᾶλλον τὸ τῆς τετραγαμίας ᾐσχύνετο ἄθεσμον, καὶ βασίλισσαν ἂν τὴν ἐρωμένην ταύτην ἀνεῖπε καὶ διαδήματι κατεκόσμησεν. ἐκείνου δὲ θανόντος, οὐ παρέμεινε τῇ Σεβαστῇ τὸ εὐτύχημα, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν προτέραν τῆς ὁμηρείας τύχην ἐπανελήλυθεν. Ἄρτι δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ τέλους ἱστορητέον τούτου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. οὐ μακρὸς ἐξεμετρήθη χρόνος, ἐξ ὅτου τῆς ἡγεμονίας τῶν Ῥωμαίων γέγονεν ἐγκρατής, καί οἱ νόσος ἀρθρῖτις ἐνέσκηψεν, ἣ πρότερον τοῖς ποσὶν ἐκείνου τοῦ ῥεύματος ἐπ649