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in the six thousand four hundred and sixty-ninth year, leaving Romanos as emperor and Helena Augusta the mother of Romanos.

{1REIGN OF ROMANOS SON OF CONSTANTINE THE PORPHYROGENNETOS.}

1 The emperor Romanos was left as emperor by his father Constantine Porphyrogennetos, being about twenty-one years of age, while Basil Porphyrogennetos was one year old, together with his mother Helena and Theophano his wife, on the sixth of the month of November, in the sixth indiction, in the six thousand four hundred and sixty-ninth year from the creation of the world; and straightway, having honored the cubicularii and men of his father with the ranks of patrikios and protospatharios and having promoted them to other dignities and enriched them with gifts, he brought them down from the imperial apartments of the palace. He chose and preferred as his chief ministers and first men of the senate Joseph, a patrikios, praipositos, and droungarios of the fleet, whom after a short time he also promoted to parakoimomenos, and entrusted to him all authority and care for his subjects. 470 He appointed the protospatharios John called Choirinas as patrikios and megas hetaireiarches to guard the emperor from suspected persons. And he appointed the protospatharios Sisinnios, the former sakellarios, as Eparch of the City, an eloquent man and suitable for the public good, whom after a short time he also appointed patrikios and genikos logothetes, and in his place he made the patrikios Theodore, former logothetes tou stratiotikou, called Daphnopates, Eparch of the City; which Sisinnios distinguished himself in the eparchy with good governance and justice and adorned the sacred praetorium. And it was a sight to see those present at his tribunal, as he repelled and slapped away the retrials and reversals of the litigants; and each person became a judge of his own case against the wrongdoer. But the emperor also gave assistants to the Eparch, by the choice and testimony of Joseph the patrikios and parakoimomenos and of the Eparch Sisinnios: Theophylact the asekretis called Matzitzikos, and Joseph a spatharokandidatos and judge, whom he made logothetes of the praetorium; who through the good counsel of the Eparch acted well for the state. 2 It is necessary, then, to speak also of the emperor's concerns for the common good. Immediately upon his friendly letters being sent to every ruler of the Romans and imperial general and of the nations of Bulgaria and the West and East, all acclaimed his fortune and 471 his friendship for the emperor as most excellent and confessed friendly treaties. It is necessary, then, to speak also of the citizens. The emperor Romanos so loved the city that bore him as the one who gave him birth, and held the families in it in high esteem. For this reason, he selected the noble and pure of families, and some he illuminated with the honors of office, others he honored with magnificent gifts. Sometimes also making them his dining companions, providing silver, he rather increased and kindled their affection, and preferred their goodwill to many bodyguards and sentinels. 3 But his sisters Zoe and Theodora and Agatha and Theophano and Anna he brought down from the imperial apartments to the house of Kanikleios, in which Sophia the Augusta, the wife of Christophoros the emperor, was a tonsured nun, and he tonsured them as nuns, while Helena, the mother of Romanos, and they themselves lamented and wept much, and by the hand from one another

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ἑξακισχιλιοστῷ τετρακοσιοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ ἐννάτῳ, καταλείψας αὐ- τοκράτορα τὸν ̔Ρωμανὸν καὶ ̔Ελένην Αὐγούσταν τὴν μητέρα ̔Ρωμανοῦ.

{1ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΑ ΡΩΜΑΝΟΥ ΥΙΟΥ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΡΦΥΡΟΓΕΝΝΗΤΟΥ.}

1 ̔Ρωμανὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς κατελείφθη αὐτοκράτωρ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ πορφυρογεννήτου Κωνσταντίνου ἐτῶν ὡς εικοσι καὶ ἑνός, τοῦ πορφυρογεννήτου Βασιλείου ἐνιαυσιαίου οντος, αμα καὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ ̔Ελένῃ καὶ Θεοφανῷ τῇ συνεύνῳ αὐτοῦ, μηνὶ Νοεμβρίῳ εκτῃ ἰνδικτιῶνος εκτης, ετους ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου ἑξα- κισχιλιοστῷ τετρακοσιοστῷ ἑξηκοστῷ ἐννάτῳ· καὶ παρευθὺς τοὺς κοιτωνίτας καὶ ἀνθρώπους τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ πατρικάτα καὶ πρω- τοσπαθαράτα τιμήσας καὶ ἐν ἑτέροις ἀξιώμασιν ὑπερβιβάσας καὶ δώροις καταπλουτίσας τῶν βασιλικῶν δόμων τοῦ παλατίου κατή- γαγεν. ἐξελέξατο δὲ καὶ προέκρινεν παραδυναστεύοντας καὶ πρώ- τους τοὺς τῆς συγκλήτου ̓Ιωσὴφ πατρίκιον πραιπόσιτον καὶ δρουγ- γάριον τῶν πλωΐμων, οντινα καὶ μετὰ βραχὺ παρακοιμώμενον προανεβίβασεν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν καὶ φροντίδα τοῦ ὑπηκόου 470 ἀνατέθεικεν. τὸν δὲ πρωτοσπαθάριον ̓Ιωάννην λεγόμενον τὼ Χοιρινᾶν πατρίκιον καὶ μέγαν ἑταιρειάρχην προεβάλετο τοῦ φυ- λάττειν τὸν ανακτα ἀπὸ τῶν ὑποπτευομένων προσώπων. καὶ τὸν πρωτοσπαθάριον Σισίνιον τὸν ἀπὸ σακελλίου επαρχον πόλεως ἐχει- ροτόνησεν, ανδρα λόγιον καὶ πρὸς τὸ κοινὸν ἐπιτήδειον, οντινα καὶ μετὰ βραχὺ πατρίκιον καὶ γενικὸν λογοθέτην προεβάλετο, καὶ ἀντ' αὐτοῦ επαρχον πόλεως τὸν πατρίκιον Θεόδωρον τὸν ἀπὸ στρατιωτικῶν τὸν λεγόμενον ∆αφνοπάτην ἐποίησεν· οστις Σισί- νιος τῇ ἐπαρχίᾳ διέπρεψεν εὐνομίᾳ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν πραιτώριον κατηγλάϊσεν. καὶ ην ἰδεῖν παρισταμένων τῷ ἐκείνοι βήματι, καὶ ἀποκρούων καὶ ἀπορραπίζων τὰς παλινδικίας καὶ παλιμβολίας τῶν δικαζομένων· καὶ δικαστὴς δι' ἑαυτοῦ εκαστος τῆς δίκης τῷ ἠδικηκότι ἐγίνετο. ἀλλὰ καὶ συμπόνους τῷ ἐπάρχῳ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ δέδωκε, τῇ ἐκλογῇ καὶ μαρτυρίᾳ ̓Ιωσὴφ πατρικίου καὶ παρακοιμωμένου καὶ τοῦ ἐπάρχου Σισινίου, Θεοφύλακτον ἀση- κρῆτιν τὸν λεγόμενον Ματζίτζικον καὶ ̓Ιωσὴφ σπαθαροκανδιδάτον καὶ κριτήν, οντινα λογοθέτην τοῦ πραιτωρίου ἐποίησεν· οιτινες τῇ εὐβουλίᾳ τοῦ ἐπάρχου καλῶς τῇ πολιτείᾳ ἐνήργουν. 2 Χρὴ ουν καὶ περὶ τῶν κοινῶν φροντίδων τοῦ ανακτος ἐξειπεῖν. εὐθὺς πρὸς πάντα ἀρχηγὸν ̔Ρωμαίων καὶ βασιλικὸν στρατηγὸν καὶ τῆς Βουλγαρίας καὶ τῆς δύσεως καὶ ἑῴας ἐθνῶν ἀποστελλομένων φιλικῶν γραμμάτων αὐτοῦ, πάντες τῇ τύχῃ καὶ 471 φιλίᾳ αὐτοῦ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος κράτιστον ἀνύμνουν καὶ φιλικὰς σπονδὰς ὡμολόγουν. δεῖ ουν καὶ περὶ τῶν πολιτῶν ἐξειπεῖν. ὁ βασιλεὺς ̔Ρωμανὸς ουτως ἐφίλησε τὴν ἐνεγκαμένην ὡς τὴν γεννη- σαμένην, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ γένη περὶ πολλοῦ ἐποιήσατο. διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τὰ εὐγενῆ καὶ καθαρὰ τῶν γενῶν ποιεῖται δι' ἐκλογῆς, καὶ ους μὲν ἀξιωμάτων καταλαμπρύνει τιμαῖς, ους δὲ μεγαλοπρεπέσι φιλοτιμεῖται δωρεαῖς. εσθ' οτε καὶ συνεστίους ποιούμενος, ἀργύ- ρια παρέχων, τὸ φίλτρον μᾶλλον ἐνηύξει καὶ ὑπανέφλεγεν, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων ευνοιαν ἀντὶ πολλῶν φρουρῶν καὶ φυλάκων προέ- κρινεν. 3 Τὰς δὲ ἀδελφὰς αὐτοῦ Ζωὴν καὶ Θεοδώραν καὶ ̓Αγά- θην καὶ Θεοφανὼ καὶ Ανναν ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν δόμων εἰς τὰ Κα- νικλείου, ἐν οις Σοφία ἡ Αὐγοῦστα ἡ τοῦ Χριστοφόρου καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ην ἀποκεκαρμένη μοναχή, κατήγαγεν καὶ μοναχὰς ἀπέ- κειρεν, πολλὰ καὶ τῆς ̔Ελένης τῆς μητρὸς Ῥωμανοῦ καὶ αὐτῶν ἀπολοφυρομένων καὶ ἀποκλαιουσῶν, καὶ τῇ χειρὶ παρ' ἀλλήλων