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13.1.1 We were all amazed then at the stature of the emperor’s soul. But he, though outwardly he seemed to react contemptuously to that message on account of those present at the time, inwardly his mind was much tossed about by this. And indeed he reasoned that he must again go forth from Byzantium; and though he again perceived that things at home were not well disposed towards him, nevertheless having arranged matters well in the palace and the queen of cities, and having appointed as guards both the Grand Drungarius of the fleet and eunuch Eustathios Kymineianos and Nikephoros, called 'of the Dekanos', thus he went out from Byzantium with a few of his kinsmen on the first day of the month of November of the first indiction, occupying the purple-dyed and royal tent at the outer Geranion. 13.1.2 But he was afraid because as he was leaving, the Mother of God did not show the customary miracle in Blachernae. For this reason, after delaying there for about four days, at sunset, he made his way back with the empress herself, he entered secretly with a few men into the sacred precinct of the Mother of God, and having performed the customary hymnody and offered more earnest prayers, when the customary miracle had then been performed, so he went forth from there with good hopes. 13.1.3 On the day after, he set out for Thessalonica; and having reached Choirobacchoi, he appointed John Taronites as prefect. This man was of the nobility, taken on by him from childhood and having served as his under-secretary for a long time, being of most vigorous spirit and learned in Roman laws, and proclaiming the emperor's commands with lofty speech, whenever he was ordered to do things worthy of imperial magnanimity, having a free tongue and not one sharpened for shameful reproach, but such as the Stagirite advises the dialectician to be. 13.1.4 Retreating from there, he sent out continuous letters to both Isaac, the duke of the fleet, and those with him, I mean Doukas Exazenos and Hyaleas, that they should be ever vigilant and prevent those sailing from Lombardy to Bohemond. When he had reached Mestos, the Augusta wished to return to the palace, but the emperor compelled her to proceed further. And indeed both of them, having crossed the river called Euros near Psyllos, pitched their tents. 13.1.5 And having escaped one murder, he would have nearly fallen victim to another, if some divine hand had not prevented those murderers from the deed. For a certain man, partly tracing his lineage to those Aarons, though he was of illegitimate birth, incited the rebellious part of the emperor's retinue to murder; and he shared the secret also with his own brother Theodore. Whether any others of the rebels were privy to such a plot, I do not wish to say; nevertheless, they prepared a Scythian slave named Demetrios as the perpetrator of the murder (and indeed his own master was Aaron) setting the empress's departure as the end of their design, so that from this point the Scythian, seizing the opportunity, might thrust his sword into the emperor's side, either meeting him in a narrow place or surprising him while he slept. 13.1.6 And Demetrios, breathing murder, sharpened his blade and prepared his murderous right hand. But here too Justice stages a new drama. For since the empress did not quickly part from the emperor, but followed him day after day as the emperor drew her along, those murderers the emperor's sleepless guard, I mean the empress, still

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13.t.1 ΑΛΕΞΙΑΣ ΙΓʹ

13.1.1 Ἐξεπλάγημεν οὖν ἅπας τότε τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἀνάστημα. Ὁ δέ, κἂν καταφρονητικῶς πρὸς τὴν ἀγγελίαν ἐκείνην διὰ τοὺς τηνικαῦτα παρόντας τῷ φαινομένῳ ἐδόκει διατεθείς, ἀλλ' ἐντὸς πολλὰ περὶ τούτου ἐκυμαίνετο τὸν λογισμόν. Καὶ δὴ δεῖν ἐλογίσατο αὖθις τοῦ Βυζαντίου ἐξεληλυθέναι· μηδὲ τὰ κατ' οἶκον αὐτοῦ καλῶς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔχοντα πάλιν διαγνούς, ὅμως τὰ κατὰ τὰ ἀνά κτορα καὶ τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν πόλεων εὖ διαθέμενος, καὶ φύλακας ἐπιστήσας τόν τε μέγαν δρουγγάριον τοῦ στόλου καὶ ἐκτομίαν Εὐστάθιον τὸν Κυμινειανὸν καὶ Νικηφόρον τὸν τοῦ ∆εκανοῦ καλούμενον, οὕτως ἐκεῖνος ἔξεισι τοῦ Βυζαντίου μετ' ὀλίγων καὶ τῶν καθ' αἷμα τούτῳ προσηκόν των πρώτην ἄγοντος μηνὸς Νοεμβρίου ἐπινεμήσεως πρώ της, κατὰ τὸ ἔξω Γεράνιον τὴν ἐρυθροβαφῆ καὶ βασιλικὴν καταλαβὼν σκηνήν. 13.1.2 Ἐδεδίει δὲ ὅτι ἐξερχομένῳ τὸ σύνηθες θαῦμα ἡ Θεομήτωρ ἐν Βλαχέρναις οὐκ ἐπεδείξατο. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τέσσαρσιν αὐτοῦ που ἐμβραδύνας ἡμέραις, ἡλίου δύνοντος σὺν αὐτῇ δεσποίνῃ παλίντροπον τὴν πορείαν ποιησάμενος, εἴσεισιν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Θεομήτορος τέμενος μετ' ὀλίγων λεληθότως, καὶ τὴν συνήθη τελέσας ὑμνῳδίαν καὶ ἐκτενεστέρας τὰς δεήσεις ποιησάμενος, τηνικαῦτα τελεσθέντος τοῦ συνήθους θαύματος, οὕτως μετὰ χρηστῶν ἔξεισιν ἐκεῖθεν τῶν ἐλπίδων. 13.1.3 Τῇ δὲ μετ' αὐτὴν τῆς πρὸς Θεσσαλονίκην ἥψατο· καταλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς Χοιρο βάκχους ἔπαρχον Ἰωάννην τὸν Ταρωνίτην προὐβάλετο. Ἀνὴρ δὲ οὗτος τῶν εὐγενῶν, νηπιόθεν πρὸς αὐτοῦ προσληφ θεὶς καὶ ὑπογραμματεύσας αὐτῷ ἐπὶ πολύ, φρονήματος μὲν ὢν δραστικωτάτου καὶ νόμων ῥωμαϊκῶν ἐπιστήμων καὶ τὰ βασιλέως προστάγματα μεγαληγορῶν, ὁπηνίκα προστάττοιτο βασιλικῆς μεγαλοφροσύνης ἐπάξια, ἐλευθέραν ἔχων τὴν γλῶτταν καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ ψόγῳ ἀναισχυντίας στομούμενος, ἀλλ' ὁποῖον ὁ Σταγειρίτης τὸν διαλεκτικὸν εἶναι παρακε λεύεται. 13.1.4 Ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ὑποχωρῶν συνεχῆ τὰ γράμματα πρός τε τὸν δοῦκα τοῦ στόλου Ἰσαάκιον καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ, τὸν ∆ούκαν φημὶ Ἐξαζηνὸν καὶ τὸν Ὑαλέαν, ἐγρηγορέναι τούτους διὰ παντὸς καὶ ἀπείργειν τοὺς ἀπὸ Λογγιβαρδίας πρὸς τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον διαπλῳζομένους ἐξέπεμπεν. Ἐπὰν δὲ τὸν Μέστον κατειλήφει, ἡ μὲν Αὔγουστα πρὸς τὰ βασί λεια ἐπαναστρέψαι ἠβούλετο, ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ προσωτέρω ταύτην βαδίζειν παρεβιάζετο. Καὶ δὴ περάσαντες ἄμφω τὸν Εὖρον καλούμενον ποταμὸν κατὰ τὸν Ψύλλον τὰς σκηνὰς ἐπήξαντο. 13.1.5 Ὁ δὲ ἄλλον φόνον πεφευγὼς ἑτέρῳ μικροῦ περιπέπτωκεν ἄν, εἰ μή τις θεία χεὶρ τοὺς μιαιφό νους ἐκείνους ἀπεῖρξε τοῦ δράματος. Ἀνὴρ γάρ τις ἐς Ἀρωνίους ἐκείνους ἀπὸ μέρους ἀνέλκων τὸ γένος, κἂν ἐκ νόθων κατήγετο, πρὸς φόνον τὸ στασιάζον τοῦ αὐτοκρά τορος μέρος παρέθηγε· κεκοινώνηκε δὲ τοῦ ἀπορρήτου καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφὸν Θεόδωρον. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν στασιαζόντων συνίστορες τοῦ τοιούτου δράματος ἦσαν, λέγειν οὐ βούλομαι· ὅμως δὲ Σκύθην ἀργυρώνητον τὴν κλῆσιν ∆ημήτριον αὐτουργὸν τοῦ φόνου παρεσκευάσαντο (καὶ αὐτὸς δὴ ὁ τούτου δεσπότης Ἀαρών) πέρας τοῦ σκοπου μένου τὴν τῆς βασιλίδος ὑποχώρησιν θέμενοι, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν εὐκαιρίας ὁ Σκύθης δραξάμενος κατὰ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως λαγόνων ὠθήσῃ τὸ ξίφος ἢ ἐν στενῷ περιτυχὼν ἢ καὶ ὑπνώττοντι λαθών. 13.1.6 Καὶ ὁ ∆ημήτριος φόνιον πνέων τὸ σιδήριον ἔθηγε καὶ τὴν μιαιφόνον δεξιὰν ηὐτρέπιστο. Ἀλλά τι καινὸν κἀνταῦθα ἡ ∆ίκη δραματουργεῖ. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπεὶ οὐ ταχὺ τοῦ βασιλέως ἡ βασιλὶς ἐχωρίζετο, ἀλλὰ συνείπετό οἱ ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος αὐτὴν ὑποσύροντος, οἱ μιαιφόνοι ἐκεῖνοι τὸν ἀνύστακτον τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος φύλακα, τὴν βασιλίδα φημί, ἔτι