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he took extraordinary care of it and .... when it was present he always held it together from all sides and when it was absent he often stayed awake, so that it might return. And he himself was by nature peaceful, but when circumstances compelled, most warlike. And I for my part would say confidently concerning that man, that the royal character, which had for a long time abandoned the palaces of the Romans, had returned in him and him alone, in a certain way visiting the Roman empire then for the first time. 12.5.3 But as I was saying at the beginning of my account, I have cause to marvel at such a great flood of warlike events; for all affairs, both external and internal, could be seen surging from every side. But the emperor Alexios both perceived beforehand the unseen and hidden designs of his enemies and with all sorts of devices drove the dangers far away, and struggling against the tyrants within and the barbarians without, he always anticipated with sharpness of mind the plots of the conspirators and checked their assaults. And I for my part conjecture from the events themselves the Fortune of the empire, that dangers flowed in from all sides and the very body of the state was thrown into confusion and every foreign element raged against the Roman empire, as if someone were in such a bad way as to be warred upon by foreigners and to have his flesh torn and devoured by his own people, and that Providence raised this man up, in order that he might devise countermeasures against the evils from all sides, just as one indeed had to understand at that time. For Bohemond the barbarian, often mentioned by us, was preparing a very heavy army against the Roman scepters, and from another side this tyrannical multitude was stirred up in opposition, as has been stated in the preface of the account above. 12.5.4 There were four in all who were the leaders of the plot, Anemas by surname; by their given names one was called Michael, another Leo, the next ..., the other .... They were brothers both in body before and then in mind; for they all agreed on the same thing, both to kill the emperor and to seize the imperial scepters. And others of the nobles were drawn in with them, both the Antiochose, being of a distinguished family, and those called the Exazenoi, and Doukas and Hyaleas, men most eager for battles of any who had ever lived, and in addition Niketas the Kastamonites and a certain Kourtikios and Georgios Basilakios. These then were the leaders from the military roll, but from the senate, John Solomon. Whom Michael, the leader of the quartet of the Anemades, feigning, promised to anoint as emperor on account of his abundance of wealth and the splendor of his family. But this Solomon, holding the first rank of the select senate, was the shortest in stature and most frivolous in mind of not only the others but also of those who were deceived along with him. He thought he had reached the summit of both Aristotelian and Platonic studies; however, he was not well-versed in philosophical knowledge, but nevertheless was puffed up with pride through an abundance of frivolity. 12.5.5 Therefore he was inclining toward the imperial throne with all sails set, as if being blown by these Anemades. But it was all, it seems, a deception. For Michael and his companions did not have in mind to raise this man to the imperial throne, far from it, but they were exploiting the man's frivolity and wealth for their own enterprise. Always drawing something from that stream of gold and making him quite befuddled with hopes of the throne, they rendered him entirely docile to themselves. For they had this plan: that if their deeds should succeed and Fortune look upon them more favorably, they would push him aside, leaving him to drift on the sea, and they themselves would seize the scepters, after assigning some small glory and prosperity to him. The words of the plot to him, however, did not promise the murder of the emperor, nor did they make mention of drawn swords, nor of battle nor of wars, so that not

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ἐκτόπως ἐπε μελεῖτο καὶ .... παροῦσαν ἀεὶ πανταχόθεν συνεῖχε καὶ ἀπούσης ἐπηγρύπνει πολλάκις, ὅπως ἐπανέλθοι. Καὶ ἦν ὁ αὐτὸς κατὰ φύσιν μὲν εἰρηνικός, ἀναγκαζόντων δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων πολεμικώτατος. Καὶ ἔγωγ' ἂν φαίην θαρρούν τως περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐκείνου, ὡς ἄρα τοῦ βασιλικοῦ χαρακτῆρος, πολλοῦ χρόνου καταλελοιπότος τὰ τῶν Ῥω μαίων βασίλεια, ἐπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ μόνου ἐπανεληλυθέναι τρόπον τινὰ τότε πρώτως τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίᾳ ἐπιξενου μένου. 12.5.3 Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔλεγον τοῦ λόγου ἀρχομένη, ὅτι θαυμάζειν ἔχω τὴν τοσαύτην τῶν πραγμάτων τῶν πολε μικῶν ἐπίχυσιν· τά τε γὰρ ἔξω καὶ τἄνδον πάντα ἦν ἰδεῖν κυμαινόμενα πανταχόθεν. Ἀλλ' ὅ γε βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξιος καὶ τὰ ἀφανῆ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ κρύφια καὶ προῃσθάνετό τε καὶ παντοδαποῖς μηχανήμασι πόρρω τὰς βλάβας ἀπήλαυνε, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἔνδοθεν τυράννους καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν βαρβάρους ἀνταγωνιζόμενος ἀεὶ προφθάνων ὀξύτητι νοῦ τὰς τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων ἐπιβουλὰς καὶ ἀνακόπτων τὰς τούτων ὁρμάς. Καὶ ἔγωγε στοχάζομαι ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν τὴν Τύχην τῆς βασιλείας, ὅτι πανταχόθεν συνέρ ρευσε τὰ δεινὰ καὶ ἐτετάρακτο αὐτό τε τὸ σῶμα τῆς πολι τείας καὶ πᾶν ἀλλότριον ἐμεμήνει κατὰ τῆς βασιλείας Ῥωμαίων, ὡς εἴ τις οὕτως ἔχοι κακῶς, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοδαπῶν πολεμεῖσθαι καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων κατατρύχε σθαι τὰς σάρκας διαμασσώμενον, τοῦτον δὲ ἀνεγεῖραι τὴν Πρόνοιαν, ἵνα πρὸς τὰ πανταχόθεν κακὰ ἀντιμηχανῷτο, ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ τὸ τηνικαῦτα συνιδεῖν ἔδει. Ὅ τε γὰρ Βαϊ μοῦντος ὁ βάρβαρος ὁ πολλάκις ἡμῖν εἰρημένος ἐξηρτύετο κατὰ τῶν σκήπτρων Ῥωμαίων βαρύτατον στράτευμα ἐπα γόμενος καὶ τὸ τυραννικὸν τοῦτο πλῆθος ἑτέρωθεν ἀντε πηγείρετο, καθάπερ ἄνωθεν τοῦ λόγου πεπροοιμίασται. 12.5.4 Τέσσαρες μὲν ἦσαν οἱ ξύμπαντες οἱ τῆς βουλῆς καταρχόμενοι, Ἀνεμάδες τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν, τὰς κλήσεις ὁ μὲν Μιχαήλ, ὁ δὲ Λέων, ὁ ἕτερος ..., ὁ ἄλλος ... προσ ηγορεύετο. Ἀδελφοὶ δ' ἦσαν καὶ τὰ σώματα πρότερον καὶ τότε τὴν γνώμην· εἰς ταὐτὸ γὰρ ἅπαντες συνεφρόνησαν, ἀποκτεῖναί τε τὸν αὐτοκράτορα καὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν ἐπι λήψεσθαι σκήπτρων. Συνυπήγοντο δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν εὐγενῶν, οἵ τε Ἀντίοχοι γένους ὄντες περιφανοῦς καὶ οἱ Ἐξαζηνοὶ καλούμενοι, ὅ τε ∆ούκας καὶ ὁ Ὑαλέας, ἄνδρες ἐκθυμότατοι τῶν πώποτε γεγενημένων πρὸς μάχας, πρὸς δὲ καὶ Νικήτας ὁ Κασταμονίτης καὶ Κουρτίκιός τις καὶ ὁ Βασιλάκιος Γεώργιος. Οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἦσαν τοῦ στρα τιωτικοῦ καταλόγου πρωτεύοντες, τῆς δέ γε συγκλήτου ὁ Σολομῶν Ἰωάννης. Ὃν διὰ πλούτου περιουσίαν καὶ γένουςλαμπρότητα βασιλέα χρίσειν ὁ Μιχαὴλ ὁ καὶ κορυφαῖος τῆς τετρακτύος τῶν Ἀνεμάδων σχηματιζόμενος ἐπηγγέλ λετο. Ὁ δὲ Σολομῶν οὗτος τῆς συγκλήτου λογάδος τὰ πρῶτα φέρων οὐ μόνον τῶν ἄλλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν συνεξηπα τημένων αὐτῷ βραχύτατος μὲν ἦν τὴν ἡλικίαν, κουφότατος δὲ τὴν γνώμην. Ἀριστοτελικῶν τε καὶ Πλατωνικῶν μαθη μάτων ᾤετο εἰς ἄκρον ἐληλυθέναι· οὐ μὴν εὖ ἧκε τῆς φιλοσόφου εἰδήσεως, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐτετύφωτο διὰ περιουσίαν κουφότητος. 12.5.5 Λοιπὸν πρὸς τὴν βασιλείαν ὅλοις ἱστίοις ἀπένευε καθάπερ ὑπὸ τούτων τῶν Ἀνεμάδων ἐμπνεόμενος. Ἀλλ' ἦσαν ἄρα τὰ πάντα πλάνοι. Οὐ γὰρ εἶχον ἐν νῷ τοῦτον οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ ἐς τὸν βασιλικὸν θρόνον ἀναγαγεῖν, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ, ἀλλὰ τῇ κουφότητι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τῷ πλούτῳ πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ἐπιχείρησιν ἀπεχρῶντο. Ἀεί τι ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ χρυσοῦ ῥεύματος ἐπι σπῶντες καὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσι τῆς βασιλείας ποιοῦντες ὑπό τυφον ὅλον ἑαυτοῖς τιθασσὸν ἐποιήσαντο γνώμης τοιαύτης ἔχοντες, ὡς εἰ εὔοδα πράξαιεν καὶ ἡ Τύχη αὐτοῖς εὐνού στερόν πως ἐνατενίσειε, τὸν μὲν παραγκωνίσαιντο ἀφέντες ψαίρειν ἐπὶ πελάγους, αὐτοὶ δὲ τῶν σκήπτρων ἀνθέξοιντο μικράν τινα δόξαν καὶ εὐετηρίαν αὐτῷ ἀπονείμαντες. Οἱ μέντοι γε πρὸς ἐκεῖνον λόγοι τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς οὐ φόνον τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἐπηγγέλλοντο οὐδὲ ξιφουλκίας ἐμέμνηντο, οὐ μάχης οὐδὲ πολέμων, ἵνα μὴ