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or Maria of the Alans, who had been married to his predecessor. He therefore sends to summon Eudocia; and she, as the story goes, did not refuse, but the emperor was prevented from this by certain monks. And he marries the empress Maria, committing no less a transgression than if he had married Eudocia; for what was dared was shameless adultery. Therefore, the one who performed the sacred rite for them was deposed from the priesthood. However, the previous emperor Michael, as has been said, having had his hair tonsured, 723 was ordained metropolitan of Ephesus by synodical vote and having gone there once, he returned and took up his residence in the monastery of Manuel. But after Botaneiates had been deposed from the empire, this Michael, as he was dying, at the earnest entreaty of the empress Maria, who by then had also become a nun, granted her pardon and prayed for forgiveness for her from God. But the protoproedros Nikephoros Basilakios, who had become the successor to Bryennios at Dyrrachion, himself conceived a desire for the empire, and gathering an army, he marched with it toward Thessalonica. There, learning that Botaneiates had become emperor, he wrote to him servilely, but secretly he contrived his rebellion and summoned the Patzinaks for an alliance. When Botaneiates learned this, he sent him a golden bull, at once granting him immunity for what he had dared, and at the same time bestowing upon him the rank of nobelissimos; but he was inflexible. Wherefore Alexios Komnenos was also sent against him, having been honored as sebastos, and arriving at Thessalonica and engaging Basilakios, he routed 724 his men, and when Basilakios fled to the acropolis of Thessalonica, he captured him by siege and put out the man's eyes by imperial command. And there were others who had taken up arms against this emperor, but chastened by the events concerning Bryennios and those concerning Basilakios, they laid down their weapons. And as the Turks were ravaging the East, the emperor sent against them Constantine, the son of the previous emperor Constantine Doukas, with a formidable army, having appointed him general of the army against the Turks. But he, having crossed over to the city called Chrysopolis, immediately instigated a revolt and was proclaimed emperor by the multitude of soldiers who were there. But the emperor won over some of the soldiers with gifts, made others his own with the honors of high office, and dealt with others in other ways; and Constantine, having been seized by them, was handed over to the emperor. The young man was therefore tonsured and exiled to an island; and the story goes that the man was also ordained a priest. And when the patriarch of Antioch, Aemilianus, departed this life, another was appointed, Nikephoros, called Maus. 725 This emperor, then, partly because of advanced old age, 725 and partly because of a natural indolence, did not much concern himself with the administration of affairs, but he also took on the metropolitan of Side and entrusted the care of public matters to him. This emperor also had two servants, one of whom was named Borilos, and the other Germanos; these, then, managed and carried on all things as they wished, even their own master and lord, on account of whom he came to be hated by those in authority, as the servants behaved toward them rather arrogantly and insolently. As has already been said, the logothete Nikephoros, having gone over to Rousselios, was kept in chains by him. But Rousselios died suddenly, giving rise to the suspicion that he had been killed by poison by the logothete. Therefore, having been handed over to Botaneiates by the relatives of Rousselios, he was exiled to one of the islands lying before the queen of cities. But those around the emperor, fearing that if he should come into the emperor's sight, he would be taken into favor and would sideline everyone, suggested 726 to Botaneiates that the logothete possessed immense wealth, and that this ought to be brought into the imperial treasury. Therefore, the

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ἢ τὴν ἐξ Ἀλανῶν Μαρίαν, τὴν τῷ πρὸ αὐτοῦ συνοικήσασαν. στέλλει γοῦν τὴν Εὐδοκίαν μετακαλούμενος· ἡ δέ, ὡς λόγος, οὐκ ἀπηνήνατο, ἐκωλύθη δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς παρά τινων μοναχῶν. καὶ ἄγεται τὴν βασιλίδα Μαρίαν, οὐδὲν ἧττον παρανομήσας ἢ εἰ τὴν Εὐδοκίαν ἠγάγετο· μοιχεία γὰρ ἦν ἀπηρυθριασμένη τὸ τολμηθέν. διὸ καὶ ὁ τὴν ἱερολογίαν τετελεκὼς ἐπ' αὐτοῖς τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐκπέπτωκεν. ὁ μέντοι προβεβασιλευκὼς Μιχαήλ, ὡς εἴρηται, τὴν τρίχα καρείς, 723 ψήφῳ συνοδικῇ μητροπολίτης Ἐφέσου κεχειροτόνητο καὶ ἅπαξ φοιτήσας ἐκεῖ ἐπανῆλθε καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Μανουὴλ μονῇ ἐποιεῖτο τὴν δίαιταν. μετὰ δὲ τὸ τὸν Βοτανειάτην τῆς βασιλείας ἐκπεπτωκέναι θνήσκων οὗτος ὁ Μιχαήλ, πολλὰ δεηθείσης αὐτοῦ τῆς βασιλίσσης Μαρίας, ἤδη κἀκείνης μοναχῆς γεγονυίας, συγγνώμην ἔνειμε ταύτῃ καὶ συγχώρησιν ἐπηύξατο ἐκ θεοῦ. Ὁ δὲ πρωτοπρόεδρος Νικηφόρος ὁ Βασιλάκιος, τοῦ Βρυεννίου γενόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ ∆υρραχίῳ διάδοχος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἔρωτα τῆς βασιλείας ἐνεκυμόνησε καὶ στρατιὰν ἀθροίσας σὺν αὐτῇ πρὸς Θεσσαλονίκην ἀνῄει. ἔνθα μαθὼν ὡς ὁ Βοτανειάτης βεβασιλεύκει, ἐκείνῳ μὲν ἐπέστειλε δουλικῶς, λάθρᾳ δὲ τὰ τῆς ἀποστασίας ἐτύρευε καὶ πρὸς συμμαχίαν μετεπέμπετο Πατζινάκας. ὃ γνοὺς ὁ Βοτανειάτης χρυσόβουλλον αὐτῷ στέλλει γραφήν, ἅμα μὲν περιποιοῦσαν αὐτῷ ἐφ' οἷς ἐτόλμησε τὸ ἀμέριμνον, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τιμὴν αὐτῷ νωβελισίμου βραβεύουσαν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος ἄτεγκτος ἦν. ὅθεν καὶ κατ' αὐτοῦ ὁ Κομνηνὸς Ἀλέξιος στέλλεται, τιμηθεὶς σεβαστός, καὶ κατὰ Θεσσαλονίκην γενόμενος καὶ τῷ Βασιλακίῳ συμμίξας τοὺς περὶ ἐκεῖνον κατ724 ετροπώσατο κἀκεῖνον εἰς τὴν τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης συμφυγόντα ἀκρόπολιν πολιορκίᾳ ἐζώγρησε καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξέκοψε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς κελεύσει βασιλικῇ. καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ ἀντάραντες ἦσαν χεῖρας τούτῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν Βρυέννιον συμβάντων καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Βασιλάκιον σωφρονισθέντες τὰ ὅπλα κατέθεντο. Τῶν Τούρκων δὲ τὴν ἑῴαν κατατρεχόντων, στέλλει κατ' αὐτῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς σὺν ἀξιομάχῳ στρατεύματι Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ προβεβασιλευκότος Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ ∆ούκα, ἐκεῖνον στρατάρχην τῆς κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων στρατιᾶς προστησάμενος. ὁ δὲ πρὸς τὴν καλουμένην Χρυσόπολιν διαπεραιωθεὶς νεωτερίζει εὐθὺς καὶ παρὰ τῆς ἐκεῖσε οὔσης στρατιωτικῆς πληθύος ἀναγορεύεται βασιλεύς. ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν τῶν στρατιωτῶν δώροις ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπηγάγετο, τοὺς δ' ἀξιωμάτων τιμαῖς ᾠκειώσατο, ἄλλους δ' ἄλλως μετεχειρίσατο· καὶ παρ' αὐτῶν συσχεθεὶς ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος παρεδόθη τῷ βασιλεῖ. κείρεται τοίνυν ὁ νεανίας καὶ εἰς νῆσον περιορίζεται· λόγος δ' ἔχει καὶ ἱερέα χρισθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον. τοῦ πατριάρχου δὲ Ἀντιοχείας τοῦ Αἰμιλιανοῦ τὸν βίον μετηλλαχότος προκεχείριστο ἕτερος Νικηφόρος ὁ Μαῦρος λεγόμενος. 725 Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ μέν τι καὶ διὰ γῆρας βαθύ, 725 τὸ δέ τι καὶ διὰ φυσικὴν χαύνωσιν οὐ πάνυ τι τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἥπτετο διοικήσεως, ἀλλὰ τὸν Σίδης μητροπολίτην καὶ οὗτος προσλαβόμενος ἐκείνῳ τὴν τῶν κοινῶν ἀνέθετο πρόνοιαν. ἦσαν δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τούτῳ καὶ δύο δοῦλοι, ὧν ὁ μὲν Βορίλος, ἅτερος δὲ Γερμανὸς ὠνομάζοντο· οὗτοι τοίνυν ἦγον τὰ πάντα καὶ ἔφερον ὡς ἐβούλοντο καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν κρατοῦντα καὶ κύριον ἑαυτῶν, δι' οὓς καὶ μισεῖσθαι τοῦτον παρὰ τῶν ἐν τέλει συνέβαινε, προσφερομένων τῶν δούλων ἐκείνοις ἀλαζονικώτερον καὶ θρασύτερον. Ὡς ἤδη δὲ εἴρηται, ὁ λογοθέτης Νικηφόρος προσχωρήσας τῷ Ῥουσελίῳ ὑπὸ δεσμοῖς παρ' ἐκείνου τετήρηται. ἀλλ' αἰφνίδιον θανὼν ὁ Ῥουσέλιος ὑποψίαν παρέσχεν ὡς παρὰ τοῦ λογοθέτου φαρμάκῳ ἀνῄρηται. διὸ καὶ παρὰ τῶν τῷ Ῥουσελίῳ προσηκόντων τῷ Βοτανειάτῃ παραδοθεὶς εἰς μίαν τῶν πρὸ τῆς βασιλίδος τῶν πόλεων κειμένων νήσων περιορίζεται. οἱ δέ γε περὶ τὸν βασιλέα δεδοικότες ὡς, εἰ εἰς ὄψιν ἐλεύσεται τῷ βασιλεῖ, προσληφθήσεται καὶ πάντας παραγκωνίσεται, ὑποτιθέασι 726 τῷ Βοτανειάτῃ ἀμυθήτων εὐπορεῖν χρημάτων τὸν λογοθέτην, καὶ ταῦτα τῷ βασιλικῷ χρῆναι προσενεχθῆναι ταμείῳ. στέλλεται τοίνυν ὁ