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she took up residence in the Palace of Eleutherios, which she herself had built, and in which she had also hidden most of her money. In the same month a fire broke out, and the triclinium of the patriarchate, called the Thomaites, was burned, and the Quaestorium and many other houses as far as the Milion. In the month of April, Constantine, campaigning against the Bulgars, came to the so-called Fortress of Probatus, to the stream of St. George; and having encountered Kardam, the ruler of Bulgaria, after a small battle took place around evening, the Romans became cowardly, fled during the night and returned ingloriously; and the Bulgars, also becoming afraid, returned. βʹ. ζʹ. κγʹ. ηʹ. In this year, in the month of September, the emperor campaigned against the Arabs, and departing from Amorion proceeded towards Tarsus of Cilicia. But having come to the Anydrous Towers, he turned back again empty-handed in the month of October, the 15th indiction. On the 15th of the month of January, the emperor, having been entreated by his own mother and many of those in high office, proclaims her again, and she is acclaimed together with him as from the beginning, of Constantine and Irene. And all obey, but the Armeniakon theme, objecting to this, revolted and demanded Alexios, who a short time before had been their general, whom the emperor had at that time honorably summoned, honored with the rank of patrikios and kept at his side. Therefore, because of this demand and certain rumors circulating about him, that he was about to become emperor, he had him flogged and tonsured in the Praetorium and imprisoned him. In the month of July he campaigned against the Bulgars and built the fortress of Marcellae; and on the twentieth of the month of July Kardam, the ruler of Bulgaria, came out with all his force and took up a position in the fortifications. But the emperor, becoming hot-headed and persuaded by false prophets that the victory would be his, joined battle rashly and without order and was severely defeated. And he returns as a fugitive to the city, having lost many men, not only of the 468 common people, but also of those in high office, among whom were Michael Lachanodrakon, the magistros, and Bardas the patrikios, and Stephen Chameas, the protospatharios, and Niketas and Theognostos, who had been generals, and not a few imperial men, and Pancratius the false prophet and astronomer, who had prophesied that he would be victorious. They also took the baggage train, both money and horses, and the imperial tent with all the imperial service. And when the tagmata had been gathered in the city, they planned to bring out Nicephorus, one of the Caesars, and make him emperor. Constantine, learning this, sent men and brought out both the sons of Constantine, his grandfather, at St. Mamas; and he blinded Nicephorus, and he cut out the tongues of Christopher and Niketas, and Anthimos and Eudokimos; and along with them he also blinded Alexios, the aforementioned patrikios, persuaded by the suggestions of his mother and of Staurakios, the aforementioned patrikios, that if he did not blind this man, they would proclaim him emperor. And their punishment took place in the month of August, on a Saturday, in the 15th indiction, at the ninth hour. But not for long did the justice of God leave this unjust deed unavenged. For after a period of five years, in the same month, and on the same day, a Saturday, the same Constantine was blinded by his own mother. γʹ. ηʹ. κδʹ. θʹ. In this year the Armeniakoi, having heard about the patrikios Alexios, that he had been blinded, imprisoned their general Theodore, the patrikios Kamoulianos. And when the emperor learned this, he sent the protospatharios Constantine Artaser, and Chrysocheres, general of the Boukellarioi, with troops from the other themes, to seize them. But they, having joined battle with them, seized both and blinded them, and many were slain 469 from both sides in the month of November of the 1st indiction; and on the 25th of the month of December, at the second hour,

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ἐκάθισεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ τῶν Ἐλευθερίου, ὃ αὐτὴ ᾠκοδόμησεν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὰ πλεῖστα χρήματα ἦν κατακρύψασα. ἐγένετο δὲ τῷ αὐτῷ μηνὶ ἐμπυρισμός, καὶ ἐκάη ὁ τρίκλινος τοῦ πατριαρχείου, ὁ λεγόμενος Θωμαΐτης, καὶ τὸ κυαιστώριον καὶ ἄλλαι οἰκίαι πολλαὶ ἕως τοῦ Μιλίου. τῷ δὲ Ἀπριλλίῳ μηνὶ ἐπιστρατεύσας Κωνσταντῖνος κατὰ Βουλγάρων ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ ἐπιλεγόμενον Προβάτου κάστρον, εἰς τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Γεωργίου ῥυάκιν· καὶ συναντήσας Καρδάμῳ, τῷ κυρῷ Βουλγαρίας, μικροῦ πολέμου περὶ τὴν ἑσπέραν γεγονότος, δειλανδρήσαντες οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς ἔφυγον καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν ἀδόξως· καὶ οἱ Βούλγαροι δὲ φοβηθέντες ὑπέστρεψαν. βʹ. ζʹ. κγʹ. ηʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει μηνὶ Σεπτεμβρίῳ ἐπεστράτευσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς κατὰ Ἀράβων, καὶ ἀπάρας ἐκ τοῦ Ἀμωρίου ἀπῄει. ἐπὶ Ταρσὸν τῆς Κιλικίας. ἐλθὼν δὲ εἰς Ἀνύδρους πύργους πάλιν ἀνθυπέστρεψε κενὸς μηνὶ Ὀκτωβρίῳ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιεʹ. τῇ δὲ ιεʹ τοῦ Ἰαννουαρίου μηνὸς παρακληθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας μητρὸς καὶ πολλῶν τῶν ἐν τέλει ἀναγορεύει αὐτὴν πάλιν, καὶ συνευφημίζεται σὺν αὐτῷ ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς, Κωνσταντίνου καὶ Εἰρήνης. καὶ πάντες μὲν πειθαρχοῦσιν, τὸ δὲ τῶν Ἀρμενιάκων θέμα ἐνστάντες πρὸς τοῦτο στασιάζουσι καὶ ἐπιζητοῦσιν Ἀλέξιον, τὸν πρὸ μικροῦ στρατηγήσαντα αὐτῶν, τὸ τηνικαῦτα τοῦ βασιλέως μετὰ λόγου προσκαλεσαμένου αὐτὸν καὶ τῇ τοῦ πατρικίου ἀξίᾳ τιμήσαντος καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν κατασχόντος. τοῦτον οὖν διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπιζήτησιν καί τινας λόγους περὶ αὐτοῦ ῥεσκομένους, ὡς μέλλειν αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν, δείρας καὶ κουρεύσας ἐν τῷ πραιτωρίῳ ἀπέθετο. τῷ δὲ Ἰουλίῳ μηνὶ ἐπεστράτευσε κατὰ Βουλγάρων καὶ ἔκτισε τὸ κάστρον Μαρκέλλων· καὶ τῇ εἰκάδι τοῦ Ἰουλίου μηνὸς ἐξῆλθε Κάρδαμος, ὁ κῦρις Βουλγαρίας μετὰ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔστη ἐν τοῖς ὀχυρώμασιν. θερμοπνοήσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὑπὸ ψευδοπροφητῶν πεισθείς, ὡς αὐτοῦ ἔσται ἡ νίκη, ἀσκόπως καὶ ἀτάκτως συνέβαλε πόλεμον καὶ ἡττᾶται σφοδρῶς. ἐπανέρχεται δὲ φυγὰς ἐν τῇ πόλει πολλοὺς ἀποβαλών, οὐ μόνον τοῦ 468 κοινοῦ λαοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει, ἐν οἷς καὶ Μιχαὴλ μάγιστρον τὸν Λαχανοδράκοντα, καὶ Βάρδαν πατρίκιον, καὶ Στέφανον πρωτοσπαθάριον, τὸν Χαμέα, Νικήταν τε καὶ Θεόγνωστον στρατηγοὺς γεγονότας, καὶ ἀνθρώπους βασιλικοὺς οὐκ ὀλίγους, καὶ Παγκράτιον τὸν ψευδοπροφήτην καὶ ἀστρονόμον, ὅστις καὶ νικᾷν αὐτὸν προεφήτευσεν. ἐπῆραν δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦλδον χρήματά τε καὶ ἵππους καὶ τὴν κόρτην μετὰ πάσης τῆς βασιλικῆς ὑπουργίας. τῶν δὲ ταγμάτων ἐπισυναχθέντων ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἐβουλεύσαντο ἐξαγαγεῖν Νικηφόρον, τὸν ἀπὸ καισάρων, καὶ στῆσαι εἰς βασιλέα. τοῦτο γνοὺς Κωνσταντῖνος, ἀποστείλας ἐξήγαγεν ἀμφοτέρους τοὺς υἱοὺς Κωνσταντίνου, τοῦ πάππου αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ Μάμαντι· καὶ τὸν μὲν Νικηφόρον ἐτύφλωσεν, Χριστοφόρον δὲ καὶ Νικήταν, Ἄνθιμόν τε καὶ Εὐδόκιμον ἐγλωσσοκόπησεν· σὺν αὐτοῖς δὲ καὶ Ἀλέξιον, τὸν προλεχθέντα πατρίκιον, ἐξετύφλωσε πεισθεὶς ταῖς μητρικαῖς εἰσηγήσεσι καὶ Σταυρακίου, τοῦ προρρηθέντος πατρικίου, ὡς, εἰ μὴ τοῦτον ἐκτυφλώσειεν, εἰς βασιλέα αὐτὸν ψηφίζονται. ἐγένετο δὲ ἡ τούτων ποινὴ μηνὶ Αὐγούστῳ, ἡμέρᾳ σαββάτῳ, ἰνδικτιῶνι ιεʹ, ὥρᾳ θʹ. ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ δίκη ἀνεκδίκητον εἴασε τὴν ἄδικον ταύτην πρᾶξιν. μετὰ γὰρ πενταετῆ χρόνον, τῷ αὐτῷ μηνί, καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου, τυφλοῦται ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας μητρὸς ὁ αὐτὸς Κωνσταντῖνος. γʹ. ηʹ. κδʹ. θʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει ἀκούσαντες οἱ Ἀρμενιάκοι περὶ τοῦ πατρικίου Ἀλεξίου, ὅτι ἐτυφλώθη, ἐφυλάκισαν τὸν στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν Θεόδωρον καὶ πατρίκιον, τὸν Καμουλιανόν. καὶ μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπέλυσε τὸν πρωτοσπαθάριον Κωνσταντῖνον, τὸν Ἀρτασήρ, καὶ τὸν Χρυσοχέρην, στρατηγὸν τῶν Βουκελλαρίων, μετὰ λαοῦ τῶν λοιπῶν θεμάτων, τοῦ πιάσαι αὐτούς. οἱ δὲ κροτήσαντες πόλεμον πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπίασαν ἀμφοτέρους καὶ ἐτύφλωσαν, καὶ ἐσφάγησαν πολλοὶ 469 ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν μερῶν μηνὶ Νοεμβρίῳ τῆς αʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος· τῷ δὲ ∆εκεμβρίῳ μηνὶ κεʹ, ὥρᾳ δευτέρᾳ,