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they rushed in. But when all had scattered for plunder, the Komnenoi were left alone with a very small number around them and having reached the Taurus, they did not dare to go further. For they were so stripped of a fighting force 730 that if anyone had come against them then, they would have easily captured them and brought them in chains to Botaneiates; but what had already been decreed by God was not to be turned aside. And so Botaneiates, learning of the Komnenoi's entry, immediately departed from the palace, casting off somewhere the purple-colored sandals he wore, and having gone to the monastery of the Peribleptos, of which he had become the second founder after that emperor Romanos of the Argyros family, he had his hair shorn and changed his garment, putting on a monk's coarse cloak. There, having survived for some time, he returned dust to dust, being buried beside it. The Komnenoi, with no one opposing them, approached the palace, entering it without hardship and smoothly, with great ease. Such was their arrival, such their entry into the queen of cities, such their accession to the imperial throne. Now being in a secure position, the Komnenoi summoned their mother and their wives from the monastery of Kanikleios to 731 the palace. For when they had attempted rebellion, the women had immediately approached the great sanctuary of the Sophia, the Word of God. From there they were moved by Botaneiates to the aforementioned monastery, so that they could not communicate with the rebels, but he inflicted no other hardship on them. And having scarcely yet set foot in the palace, they immediately decreed the nullification of many of Botaneiates's acts, and not from the time they had attempted the usurpation did they bring about the abrogation of things done by him, but they even overleapt this period, and many things done by him imperially, they annulled tyrannically with a short-worded command. Then Alexios assumed the imperial diadem, and to Isaac was allotted the second place of honor, with a new title proclaimed for him; for he was called sebastokrator and was superior to the Caesar. But their mother, not partaking of the imperial insignia because of her monastic habit, nor indeed of the acclamations and proclamation, partook only of the name of empress, but she herself took up the entire administration of affairs. Thus then, the affairs of the empire were distributed among the mother and both 732 the brothers. And the emperor had two other brothers, younger in age, of whom he honored Adrianos as protosebastos and grand domestic, and Nikephoros as sebastos and drungarius of the fleet. He also had as brothers-in-law Nikephoros Melissenos and Michael Taronites. Taronites, therefore, who was married to the first of the sisters, who was very much loved by their mother and honored by them, they named panhypersebastos, innovating this dignity also. But Melissenos, who had also contemplated rebellion against Botaneiates in the east and was still engaged in it, they honored with the title of Caesar by agreement and assigned to him the city of Thessalonica as a residence, and they further designated a stipend of money for him and for all their relatives by birth, analogous to such a fortune and such a mass of dignities. From this, with the imperial revenues, or rather to say the common and public ones, thus distributed, the imperial treasury 733 or the common state office was straitened. And the emperor, lacking money, cut off the annual grants that had from of old pertained to the dignities and proceeded to confiscate the properties of the senators. He also crowned his life's partner Irene and named her Augusta; she was the granddaughter of Caesar John Doukas. And the former empress Maria from Alania, with her own son Constantine, whom she had borne in the purple to Michael Doukas, who had been crowned by his own father while still a baby,

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ἐπέδραμον. οἱ δὲ Κομνηνοὶ εἰς τὴν προνομὴν σκεδασθέντων πάντων μόνοι σὺν εὐαριθμήτοις σφόδρα τοῖς περὶ αὐτοὺς κατελείφθησαν καὶ ἕως τοῦ Ταύρου γενόμενοι προσωτέρω ἀπιέναι οὐκ ἐπεθάρρουν. τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἐψίλωντο ἀξιομάχου δυνάμεως 730 ὡς εἰ τότε τούτοις ἐπῆλθόν τινες, ῥᾷον ἂν εἷλον αὐτοὺς καὶ δεσμίους τῷ Βοτανειάτῃ προσήγαγον· ἀλλὰ τὸ δόξαν ἤδη θεῷ μετατραπῆναι οὐκ ἦν. ἔνθεν τοι ὁ μὲν Βοτανειάτης μαθὼν τῶν Κομνηνῶν τὴν εἰσέλευσιν, ἄπεισιν αὐτίκα τῶν βασιλείων, αὐτοῦ που ῥίψας ἃ ὑπεδεῖτο φοινικόχροα πέδιλα, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῆς Περιβλέπτου μονὴν ἀπελθών, ἧς ἐκεῖνος μετὰ τὸν κατὰ τοὺς Ἀργυροὺς Ῥωμανὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν αὐτοκράτορα κτήτωρ δεύτερος ἐχρημάτισε, κείρεταί τε τὴν τρίχα καὶ μεταμφιέννυται τὴν στολήν, τριβώνιον κατὰ μονάζοντας ἐνδυσάμενος. ἔνθα καὶ χρόνον ἐπιβιούς τινα τὸν χοῦν ἀπέθετο τῷ χοΐ, ταφεὶς παρ' αὐτῇ. Οἱ δὲ Κομνηνοὶ μηδενὸς αὐτοῖς ἀντιβαίνοντος τοῖς ἀνακτόροις προσπεφοιτήκασιν, ἀταλαιπώρως τούτοις ἐπιβάντες καὶ ὁμαλῶς μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς λειότητος. τοιαῦτα σφίσι τὰ προσόδια γέγονε, τοιαῦτα τὰ εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν πόλεων εἰσιτήρια, τοιαῦτα τὰ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιβατήρια. Ἤδη δ' ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ γεγονότες οἱ Κομνηνοὶ καὶ τὴν μητέρα σφῶν καὶ τὰς ὁμευνέτιδας ἐκ τῆς μονῆς τοῦ Κανικλείου πρὸς 731 τὰ βασίλεια μετεστείλαντο. ἐκείνων γὰρ ἐπικεχειρηκότων ἀποστασίᾳ, εὐθὺς αἱ γυναῖκες εἰς τὸ μέγα τέμενος τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου Σοφίας προσπεφοιτήκασιν. ὅθεν παρὰ τοῦ Βοτανειάτου εἰς τὴν ῥηθεῖσαν μονὴν μετηνέχθησαν, ἵνα μὴ ἔχοιεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστατήσαντας διαπέμπεσθαι, οὐδὲν δ' ἕτερον ἀνιαρὸν ἐκείναις ἐπήνεγκε. μήπω δὲ σχεδὸν τοὺς πόδας τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἐρείσαντες αὐτίκα πολλῶν τοῦ Βοτανειάτου πράξεων σχολὴν κατεψηφίσαντο, καὶ οὐδ' ἐξότου ἦσαν ἐπικεχειρηκότες τῇ τυραννίδι τὴν ἀθέτησιν τοῖς παρ' ἐκείνου πραχθεῖσιν ἐπήνεγκαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτον ὑπερήλαντο τὸν καιρόν, καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἐκείνῳ πεπραγμένων βασιλικῶς ἀνῃρήκασιν οὗτοι ῥήματι βραχυσυλλάβῳ τυραννικῶς. εἶτα ὁ μὲν Ἀλέξιος βασιλικὸν ἀναδεῖται διάδημα, τῷ δ' Ἰσαακίῳ τὰ δευτερεῖα νενέμηνται τῆς τιμῆς, καινοῦ αὐτῷ ἐπιφημισθέντος ὀνόματος· σεβαστοκράτωρ γὰρ ἐπεκλήθη καὶ ὑπερεῖχε τοῦ Καίσαρος. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ τούτων, παρασήμων μὴ μετασχοῦσα βασιλικῶν διὰ τὸ ἔνδυμα τὸ μοναχικὸν μήτε μὴν εὐφημίας καὶ ἀναρρήσεως, μόνου μετεῖχε τοῦ τῆς βασιλείας ὀνόματος, αὐτὴ δὲ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων πᾶσαν διοίκησιν ἀνεζώσατο. οὕτω μὲν οὖν τὰ τῆς βασιλείας παρὰ τῇ μητρὶ νενέμηντο καὶ ἀμφοῖν 732 τοῖς ὁμαίμοσιν. ἤστην δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ ἑτέρω διττὼ ἀδελφὼ νεωτέρω τὴν ἡλικίαν, ὧν τὸν μὲν πρωτοσεβαστὸν ἐτίμησε καὶ μέγαν δομέστικον, τὸν Ἀδριανόν, τὸν Νικηφόρον δὲ σεβαστὸν καὶ τοῦ στόλου δρουγγάριον. εἶχε δὲ καὶ ἐπ' ἀδελφαῖς κηδεστὰς τὸν Μελισσηνὸν Νικηφόρον καὶ Μιχαὴλ τὸν Ταρωνίτην. τὸν μὲν οὖν Ταρωνίτην τῇ πρώτῃ συνεζευγμένον τῶν ἀδελφῶν, πάνυ στεργομένῃ πρὸς τῆς μητρὸς καὶ πρὸς αὐτῶν τιμωμένῃ, πανυπερσέβαστον ὠνόμασαν, καὶ τοῦτο καινίσαντες τὸ ἀξίωμα. τὸν δέ γε Μελισσηνόν, ἀποστασίαν κἀκεῖνον κατὰ τοῦ Βοτανειάτου ἐν τῇ ἑῴᾳ φρονήσαντα καὶ ἔτι ταύτης ἐχόμενον, ἐπὶ συμβάσει τετιμήκασι Καίσαρα καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῷ Θεσσαλονίκης εἰς κατοικίαν ἀπένειμαν, καὶ χορηγίαν χρημάτων καὶ τούτῳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς αὐτοῖς κατὰ γένος προσήκουσι τύχῃ τοιᾷδε καὶ ἀξιωμάτων ὄγκῳ τηλικῷδε ἀνάλογον προσαφώρισαν. ἐντεῦθεν τῶν βασιλείων προσόδων, μᾶλλον δ' εἰπεῖν τῶν κοινῶν καὶ δημοσίων, οὕτω διανεμηθεισῶν τὸ βασιλικὸν ταμεῖον 733 ἢ τὸ κοινὸν πρυτανεῖον ἐστένωτο. καὶ ὁ κρατῶν σπανίζων χρημάτων τάς τε τοῖς ἀξιώμασιν ἀνηκούσας ἀνέκαθεν ἐτησίας δόσεις ἐξέκοψε καὶ τὰς τῶν συγκλητικῶν οὐσίας προσαφῃρεῖτο. ἔστεψε δὲ καὶ τὴν κοινωνὸν αὐτῷ τοῦ βίου Εἰρήνην καὶ Αὐγούσταν ὠνόμασεν· ἡ δ' ἦν ἐγγόνη τοῦ Καίσαρος Ἰωάννου τοῦ ∆ούκα. ἡ δὲ πρῴην βασίλισσα ἡ ἐξ Ἀλανῶν Μαρία σὺν τῷ ἰδίῳ υἱῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ, ὃν τῷ ∆ούκᾳ Μιχαὴλ ἐν τῇ πορφύρᾳ ἐγείνατο, στεφθέντι παρὰ τοῦ οἰκείου πατρὸς ἔτι βρεφυλλίῳ τυγχάνοντι