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opposing her son and putting him to shame. Leo, bishop of Rome, for 8 years. 7. 12. 1. 13. In this year, in the month of September, the emperor went out with his mother to Prousa to take the baths; and on the 7th of the month of October, of the 5th indiction, a son was born to the emperor, whom he named Leo; and when the emperor learned of it, leaving his mother at the baths with the whole imperial retinue and the magistrates, he returned to the city in haste. And finding an opportunity, his mother spoke to and won over with gifts and promises the commanders of the tagmata, so as to depose her son and rule alone, fawning on some herself, and on others through her people, and she drew them all to herself and waited to find a suitable day. In Rome, after Pope Adrian died, Leo was ordained, a most honorable and in all things venerable man. In the month of March the emperor went out against the Arabs, having with him Staurakios the patrikios and other friends of his mother and a selection of 20,000 single-girdled soldiers from both themes. But Staurakios and his party, seeing the enthusiasm of the people and the emperor, were afraid that he might fight and win, and they would fail in their plot against him. And having bribed the men of the watch, they persuaded them to lie, that the Saracens had fled. So the emperor, greatly grieved, entered the city having accomplished nothing. And on the 1st of the month of May his son Leo died, and he mourned him greatly. On the 17th of the month of July, of the 5th indiction, on the 5th day, as the emperor was crossing over from a horse race at Saint Mamas, the aforementioned men of the tagmata moved against him, so as to seize him. But when he learned this, he entered his chelandion 472 and crossed to Pylae, wanting to take refuge in the Anatolic theme. And with him were also the friends of his mother, unrecognized by him. And his wife also went out as far as the Triton. And those with him, friends of his mother, having consulted, said to themselves: "If the people rally to him, he can no longer be overpowered, and we will not escape his notice, and he will destroy us." And his mother, having gathered at Eleutheriou the aforementioned men of the tagmata, entered the palace, and learning of the people's flocking to the emperor, she became very frightened, and considered sending bishops to him to come to terms and to retire into a corner. But she wrote secretly to her friends who were with him, that "if you do not contrive some way and hand him over, I shall report to the emperor the agreements which you have with me." And they, being afraid, detained him with entreaties, and having brought him into the chelandion, on Saturday morning they arrived in the city, on the 15th of the month of August, and they shut him up in the Porphyra, where he had also been born. And around the 9th hour they blinded him terribly and incurably so that he would die, by the will of his mother and her counselors. And the sun was darkened for 17 days and did not give its rays, so that ships went astray and were carried off course, and everyone said and confessed that because of the blinding of the emperor the sun withheld its rays; and so Irene, his mother, ruled. In the same year also in Rome, the relatives of the blessed Pope Adrian, having stirred up the people, revolted against Pope Leo, and seizing him, they blinded him; however, they were not able to extinguish his sight completely, as those who blinded him were humane and spared him. But he, having taken refuge with Charles, the king of the Franks, took bitter revenge on his enemies and restored him again to his own throne, Rome from that time on coming under the authority of the Franks. And he 473, in return for Charles, crowned him as emperor of the Romans in the church of the holy apostle Peter, anointing him with oil from head to toe and putting on him imperial raiment and a crown,

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υἱῷ αὐτῆς ἀντιταττομένους καὶ καταισχύνοντας αὐτόν. Ῥώμης ἐπίσκοπος Λέων ἔτη ηʹ. ζʹ. ιβʹ. αʹ. ιγʹ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει, μηνὶ Σεπτεμβρίῳ, ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς σὺν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ Προύσῃ θερμίσαι· καὶ τῇ ζʹ τοῦ Ὀκτωβρίου μηνὸς τῆς εʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἐτέχθη τῷ βασιλεῖ υἱός, ὃν ἐπωνόμασε Λέοντα· καὶ μαθὼν ὁ βασιλεύς, καταλιπὼν τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς θερμοῖς σὺν πάσῃ τῇ βασιλικῇ τάξει καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσι δρομαῖος ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ὑπέστρεψεν. εὑροῦσα δὲ διωρίαν ἡ τούτου μήτηρ προσελάλησε καὶ ὑπέσυρε δωρεαῖς καὶ ὑποσχέσεσι τοὺς τῶν ταγμάτων ἄρχοντας πρὸς τὸ καθελεῖν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς καὶ μονοκρατορῆσαι αὐτήν, τοὺς μὲν δι' ἑαυτῆς θωπεύσασα, τοὺς δὲ διὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων αὐτῆς, καὶ εἵλκυσε πάντας πρὸς ἑαυτὴν καὶ ἐξεδέχετο ἡμέραν εὑρεῖν ἐπιτήδειον. ἐν δὲ τῇ Ῥώμῃ τελευτήσαντος τοῦ πάπα Ἀδριανοῦ, χειροτονεῖται Λέων, ἀνὴρ τιμιώτατος καὶ κατὰ πάντα αἰδέσιμος. τῷ δὲ Μαρτίῳ μηνὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς κατὰ Ἀράβων ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ Σταυράκιον τὸν πατρίκιον καὶ λοιποὺς φίλους τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκλογὴν μονοζώνων στρατιωτῶν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων θεμάτων χιλιάδας κʹ. ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ περὶ Σταυράκιον τὴν προθυμίαν τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐφοβήθησαν, μήπως πολεμήσας νικήσῃ, καὶ ἀστοχήσωσι τῆς κατ' αὐτοῦ βουλῆς. καὶ δωροδοκήσαντες τοὺς τῆς βίγλας ἔπεισαν αὐτοὺς ψεύσασθαι, ὅτι ἔφυγον οἱ Σαρακηνοί. ὁ γοῦν βασιλεὺς πολλὰ λυπηθεὶς ἄπρακτος εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσῆλθεν. καὶ τῇ αʹ τοῦ Μαΐου μηνὸς τέθνηκεν ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Λέων, καὶ ἐθρήνησεν αὐτὸν σφόδρα. τῇ δὲ ιζʹ τοῦ Ἰουλίου μηνός, ἰνδικτιῶνος εʹ, ἡμέρᾳ εʹ, ἐξ ἱππικοῦ ἀγῶνος περάσαντος τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ Μάμαντι ἐπέρασαν κατ' αὐτοῦ οἱ τῶν ταγμάτων προλαλημένοι, ὥστε πιάσαι αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ τοῦτο μαθὼν εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ χελάνδιν αὐτοῦ 472 καὶ ἐπέρασεν εἰς Πύλας βουλόμενος εἰς τὸ θέμα τῶν ἀνατολικῶν προσφυγεῖν. συνῆσαν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ φίλοι ἀγνοούμενοι παρ' αὐτοῦ. ἐξῆλθε δὲ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἕως τοῦ Τρίτωνος. συμβουλευσάμενοι δὲ οἱ συνόντες αὐτῷ φίλοι τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ εἶπον πρὸς ἑαυτούς· "ἐὰν ἐπισωρευθῇ αὐτῷ λαός, οὐκέτι κυριεύεται, καὶ οὐ λανθάνομεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπολεῖ ἡμᾶς." καὶ ἡ μήτηρ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπισωρεύσασα ἐν τοῖς Ἐλευθερίου τοὺς τῶν ταγμάτων προλαληθέντας αὐτῇ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ, καὶ μαθοῦσα τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα συνδρομὴν ἐφοβήθη λίαν, καὶ ἐσκέπτετο ἀπολῦσαι ἐπισκόπους πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ λαβεῖν λόγον καὶ καθίσαι εἰς γωνίαν. ἔγραψε δὲ λάθρα πρὸς τοὺς συνόντας αὐτῷ φίλους αὐτῆς, ὅτι "εἰ μὴ ποιήσητέ τινα τρόπον καὶ παραδώσητε αὐτόν, τοὺς λόγους, οὓς ἔχετε μετ' ἐμοῦ, μηνῦσαι ἔχω τῷ βασιλεῖ." οἱ δὲ φοβηθέντες ἐκράτησαν αὐτὸν εἰς παράκλησιν, καὶ εἰσενέγκαντες εἰς τὸ χελάνδιν τῷ σαββάτῳ πρωῒ κατέλαβον ἐν τῇ πόλει, τῇ ιεʹ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνός, καὶ ἀπέκλεισαν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ Πορφυρᾷ, ἔνθα καὶ ἐγεννήθη. καὶ περὶ ὥραν θʹ ἐκτυφλοῦσιν αὐτὸν δεινῶς καὶ ἀνιάτως πρὸς τὸ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτόν, γνώμῃ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν συμβούλων αὐτῆς. ἐσκοτίσθη δὲ ὁ ἥλιος ἐπὶ ἡμέρας ιζʹ καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκε τὰς ἀκτῖνας αὐτοῦ, ὥστε πλανᾶσθαι τὰ πλοῖα καὶ φέρεσθαι, καὶ πάντας λέγειν καὶ ὁμολογεῖν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως τύφλωσιν ὁ ἥλιος τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἀπέθετο· καὶ οὕτω κρατεῖ Εἰρήνη, ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ. Τῷ δ' αὐτῷ ἔτει καὶ οἱ τῆς Ῥώμης, συγγενεῖς τοῦ μακαρίου πάπα Ἀδριανοῦ, συγκινήσαντες τὸν λαὸν ἐστασίασαν κατὰ Λέοντος τοῦ πάπα, καὶ κρατήσαντες ἐτύφλωσαν αὐτόν· οὐ μέντοι ἠδυνήθησαν τελέως σβέσαι τὸ φῶς αὐτοῦ, τῶν τυφλωσάντων αὐτὸν φιλανθρώπων ὄντων καὶ φεισαμένων αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ προσφυγὼν τῷ ῥηγὶ τῶν Φράγγων Καρούλῳ, ἠμύνατο τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ πικρῶς καὶ πάλιν ἀπεκατέστησεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ἴδιον θρόνον, γενομένης τῆς Ῥώμης ἀπ' ἐκείνου καιροῦ ὑπὸ τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῶν Φράγγων. ὁ δὲ 473 τὸν Κάρουλον ἀμειβόμενος ἔστεψεν αὐτὸν εἰς βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου Πέτρου, χρίσας ἐλαίῳ ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἕως ποδῶν καὶ περιβαλὼν βασιλικὴν ἐσθῆτα καὶ στέφος,