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34. Concerning the ruler of the Laz, John, and how the emperor made him his son-in-law. And it was the emperor's concern not only to bring his own affairs into fitting order, but also to restrain with haste those who, though in no way related by any lordship, had exceeded the measures. And some he forced by brandishing the spear to use moderate measures, since they had learned that, while they possessed autonomy by chance and circumstance, it was otherwise dangerous for themselves to leap over the bounds and to be puffed up with the rights of royalty. But to John, the ruler of the Laz, who paraded with royal insignia, though he had no part in royalty at all, he often sent messages announcing that he might freely have his own authority as he wished, but should refrain from royal names and insignia; for it was not right, while he himself was emperor on his own imperial throne and in his city, that certain others should also be famed for the greater and supreme dignity, but rather that he, being a part, should be joined to the whole, and not thus bring confusion to the imperial order. Doing this many times, therefore, he accomplished nothing more than to seem to accomplish nothing. For, 655 being a barbarian, he was arrogant and disregarded the command, and fabricated some pretexts that he had not initiated this transgression, but had it from his fathers. Furthermore, he said that his men would not allow him to curtail a paternal dignity in this way, which had come down to him from of old, nor that they themselves should be without glory, since he would be deprived of his share of royal renown; for there was less envy in purple-dyed sandals and the name of royalty for one who possessed greater things. These were, as he said, suspicion and servile petition and peaceful treaties concerning what had been conceded on all points. The emperor therefore decided for these reasons to deal with John in another way, especially because he was being established in his rule as a young man. Therefore, planning to make him a kinsman by marriage and to remove the suspicion that he wished to curtail his authority for other reasons and was not ordering the change of dress in accordance with the very right of imperial power—for with one's own children, he would not wish for there to be any yielding of their rights, first he decided to carry out embassies to him with the greatest magnates and wise men, so that at the same time, by the dignity of the persons, he might show that his words were sufficient to inspire trust, and at the same time, by their own knowledge of arguments, they might persuade by what they said and dispel every evil suspicion. For these reasons, the great logothete Acropolites, while still living, was sent, and the great oikonomos of the great church, Xiphilinos, to mediate the matters of the marriage—for the emperor had a third daughter, Eudokia, whom he indeed wished to join in marriage to John—and to persuade both him and his entourage, that they should permit the young man's journey to the emperor, and that he himself, having sure hopes that he was being summoned for good things, should come with courage. So the emperor did these things. But neither did they permit it at all, nor was he himself eager to come; for many years before, they had intermarried with their rulers from among their neighbors and had been on their own, learning the emperor's affairs from the stars and choosing their own moderate circumstances before the beautiful and greatest things from him. When, therefore, the ambassadors did not persuade them with their varied counsels, saying that they placed everything second to their own will, they returned to the emperor, having accomplished nothing at all. However, the emperor did not cease trying to the end, but, sending embassies frequently, he sometimes threatened, 657 and sometimes enticed them with the good things that would come to them from him, if only they would be persuaded and come. Finally, he sends the logothete of the oikeiakoi, Iatropoulos, and with him a presbyter of the church, the one on account of the honor of the one being summoned and the message of good things from the emperor, the other for some assurance and faith in what was being said, so that on these matters the church was also acting as ambassador, knowing nothing, as was likely, as he persuaded them by saying, of the things on which he might agree to be false, so that, setting aside suspicions, they might judge by the facts themselves whether at once a child

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λδʹ. Τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν Λαζῶν Ἰωάννην καὶ ὅπως αὐτὸν ὁ κρατῶν ἐπεγάμβρευσεν. Βασιλεῖ δὲ οὐ μόνον τῶν αὐτοῦ μετῆν εἰς κόσμον σφᾶς ἄγειν τὸν πρέποντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς μηδὲν προσήκοντας κατά τινα δεσποτείαν, ὑπερῃρμένους τὰ μέτρα, συστέλλειν διὰ σπουδῆς ἦν. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους, δόρυ κινῶν, ἠνάγκαζε τοῖς μετρίοις χρῆσθαι, τὸ μὲν αὐτόνομον ἐκ τύχης ἔχοντας σφᾶς καὶ συμβάματος, τὸ δ' ἄλλως ὑπὲρ τὰ ἐσκαμμένα πηδᾶν καὶ βασιλείας δικαίοις κατωφρυῶσθαι κινδυνῶδες ἑαυτοῖς μαθόντας. Τῷ δέ γε τῆς τῶν Λαζῶν ἄρχοντι Ἰωάννῃ, παρασήμοις βασιλικοῖς ἐμπομπεύοντι, οὐ μετὸν ὅλως βασιλείας ἐκείνῳ, πέμπων πολλάκις ἐπήγγελλε τῆς μὲν καθ' αὑτὸν ἐξου σίας ἀνέδην ἔχειν ὡς βούλεται, ὀνομάτων δὲ καὶ παρασήμων βασιλικῶν φείδεσθαι· μηδὲ γὰρ ἄξιον, αὐτοῦ βασιλέως ὄντος ἐπ' αὐτοῦ βασιλείου θώκου καὶ πόλεως, καί τινας ἄλλους ἐπὶ τοῦ μείζονός τε καὶ ὑπερτάτου φημί ζεσθαι ἀξιώματος, ἀλλά, μέρος ὄντα κἀκεῖνον, ἐπισυνάπτειν τῷ ὅλῳ, μηδ' οὕτως βασιλικῇ τάξει τὴν σύγχυσιν ἐπιφέρειν. Τοῦτο γοῦν πολλάκις ποιῶν, οὐδὲν πλέον ἤνυτεν ἢ τὸ δοκεῖν μηδὲν ἔχων ἀνύτειν. Ὑπερηφάνει γάρ, 655 βάρβαρος ὤν, καὶ ὑπερεώρα τὴν πρόσταξιν καί τινας προφάσεις τοῦ μὴ αὐτὸν κατάρξαι τῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις παραβασίας, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ πατέρων ἔχειν, ἐπλάττετο. Προσέτι δὲ μηδὲ τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐᾶν ἔλεγε κολούειν οὕτως ἀξίωμα πατρικόν, ἐκ πλείστου καὶ ἐς αὐτὸν κατιόν, μηδ' ἀκλεεῖς καὶ αὐτοὺς εἶναι, τὸ μέρος εὐκλείας στερηθέντος ἐκείνου βασιλικῆς· μείω γὰρ φθόνον πεδίλων μετεῖναι κοκκοβαφῶν καὶ βασιλείας ὀνόματος τῷ τὰ μείζω ἔχοντι. Τὰ δ' ἦν, ὡς ἔλεγεν, ὑπόπτωσίς τε καὶ δουλικὴ ἐντυχία καὶ εἰρηνικαὶ σπονδαὶ πρὸς τὸ συγκεχωρηκὸς ἐφ' ἅπασιν. Ἔγνω γοῦν ὁ κρατῶν διὰ ταῦτα μετελθεῖν ἄλλως τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅτι καὶ νέον ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς καθίστατο. Κήδει γοῦν θέμενος εἰσποιή σασθαι καὶ τὸ δι' ὑποψίας εἶναι τοῦ κολούειν ἄλλως θέλειν τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ μὴ κατ' αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας δίκαιον ἐπαγγέλλειν τὴν μεταμφίασιν ἀναιρεῖνπαισὶ γὰρ οἰκείοις μὴ ἂν ἔχειν χώραν βούλεσθαι τὸ τῶν δικαίων σφίσι καθυφεικός, πρῶτον μὲν ἐκ πλείστου μεγιστᾶσι καὶ σοφοῖς τὰς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον πρεσβείας ἐκπληροῦν ἔγνω, ὡς ἂν ἅμα μὲν τῷ τῶν προσώπων ἀξιωματικῷ ἱκανοὺς τὰ ἐς πίστιν ἔχοι τοὺς λόγους δεικνύειν ὄντας, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τῇ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἐπιστήμῃ τῶν λόγων πείθειν οἷς λέγοι καὶ πᾶσαν χειρίστην ἐκκρούειν ὑπόνοιαν. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα καὶ ὁ μέγας λογοθέτης ὁ Ἀκροπολίτης, ἔτι ζῶν, ἀπεστέλλετο, καὶ ὁ τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας μέγας οἰκονόμος ὁ Ξιφι λῖνος, μεσολαβήσοντες μὲν καὶ τὰ τοῦ κήδουςἦν γὰρ καὶ τρίτη θυγάτηρ τῷ βασιλεῖ Εὐδοκία, ἣν δὴ συναρμόζειν εἰς γάμους τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἠβούλετο, πείσοντες δὲ αὐτὸν δὴ καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτόν, ἐκείνους μὲν ἐφεῖναι τῷ νέῳ τὴν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἄφιξιν, αὐτὸν δέ, πιστὰς ἔχοντα τὰς ἐλπίδας ὡς ἐπὶ καλοῖς προσκαλούμενον, ἀπαντᾶν μετὰ θάρρους. Ὁ μὲν οὖν βασιλεὺς ταῦτα. Τοὺς δὲ μήτ' ἐκείνους ἐφιέναι τὸ παράπαν, μήτ' αὐτὸν προθυμεῖν ἥκειν· πολλοῖς γὰρ πρότερον χρόνοις τοὺς ἐκ γειτόνων πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας αὐτῶν ἐκγαμίζεσθαι καὶ καθ' αὑτοὺς εἶναι, τὰ βασιλέως ἐν ἄστροις μανθάνοντας καί γε πρὸ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτῆς καλῶν καὶ μεγίστων τὰ κατὰ σφᾶς αἱρουμένους μέτρια. Ὡς γοῦν ποικίλαις συμβουλίαις οἱ πρέσβεις οὐκ ἔπειθον λέγοντες πάντα δεύτερα τιθεμένους τῆς σφῶν θελήσεως, πρὸς βασιλέα ὑπέστρεφον, μηδὲν τὸ παράπαν ἀνύσαντες. Οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ ἐς τέλος πειρᾶν διαφῆκεν ὁ βασιλεύς, ἀλλά, προσαποστέλλων συχνάκις, τὸ μὲν ἠπείλει, 657 τὸ δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ γενησομένοις ἐκείνοις καλοῖς ἐδελέαζεν, ἂν μόνον πεισθέντες ἥκοιεν. Τέλος στέλλει τὸν λογοθέτην τῶν οἰκειακῶν Ἰατρόπουλον, σὺν αὐτῷ δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρεσβύτερον, τὸν μὲν κατὰ τιμὴν τοῦ προσκα λουμένου καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως καλῶν ἀγγελίαν, τὸν δὲ κατά τινα πληροφορίαν καὶ πίστιν τῶν λεγομένων, ὡς ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρεσβευούσης, μηδὲν εἰδυίας κατὰ τὸ εἰκός, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἔπειθε λέγων, ἐφ' οἷς ἂν καὶ συνομολογοίη ψεύδεσθαι, ὥστε, παρέντας τὰς ὑποψίας, αὐτοῖς τοῖς πράγμασι κρίνειν εἰ παῖδ' ἅμα