313

having fled, they became suppliants. The tyrant, having dragged them away from there, separated them from each other, and Michael he made an exile in the monastery on the island of Prote, where, having put aside his worldly hair, he completed the rest of his life's time, but Theophylact, the eldest of his sons, he castrated and sent into exile together with his mother and brothers. 2.49 It is perhaps not superfluous to relate also how the loss of his emperorship was revealed beforehand to the emperor Michael. There was a certain serving-girl, born in the house of Michael; she, during the conjunctions of the moon, was seized by a fit of madness. So whenever she was seized by the fit, coming to a place in which a stone bull and lion are set up (and from these the place has its name, being called 2.50 Boukoleon) she would cry out in a very loud voice to the emperor, "Come down, come down, withdraw from what is another's." This, happening often, caused astonishment in the emperor, and cast him into no ordinary cares. Therefore he consulted about the matter with one of his associates and relatives, Theodotos, the son of the patrician Michael Melissenos, whom they also nicknamed Kassiteras, and he hastened to make a test of what was being said. And he gave the following advice, that whenever 2.51 the girl should become possessed by madness, she should be seized and questioned as to whom the house of the palace belongs, and what his distinguishing mark might be. This was done, with Theodotos assisting in the deed. And the possessed woman, on being questioned, revealed both the name of Leo and his character and appearance, and added that he should go to the acropolis, where he would meet two men, of whom the one riding on the mule would certainly ascend to the imperial throne. So she spoke, and Theodotos, going to the said place, investigated, and he discovered the man from the distinguishing marks, and knew that the woman was in no way mistaken. To the emperor, then, he reported none of the things he had learned, but called the woman's words empty talk and nonsense bearing no trace of truth. But taking Leo by the hand, and entering the church of Paul the Apostle at the orphanage, and giving and receiving pledges from him, he revealed the secrets, revealing the truth, but saying he had been fully informed by a divine revelation that Leo would certainly become master of the Roman empire. And when the prophecy came to pass, he demanded that his good news should not be unrewarded. And Leo promised that if the word should turn into deed, he would not fail in what he asked. But these things were thus agreed upon. It happened also for other reasons that the aforesaid war between the Romans and the 2.52 Bulgars was rekindled, but not least also 2.52 for the reason about to be told. Some Bulgars, having left their ancestral homes, came over to the Romans with all their kin, and having been received by the emperor Michael, were settled in various places. And some Romans, who had been taken captive in the previous wars, having broken their bonds, returned to their own fatherlands. Krum, the leader of the Bulgars, demanded that all these be handed over to him. Now to some of the Romans the extradition seemed praiseworthy, to which both the emperor and some notable monks agreed; for they thought that through the extradition of the fugitives they would be delivered from barbarian plundering. But some were displeased with this opinion, the leaders of whom happened to be Nikephoros the patriarch and the magistros Theoktistos, who was then preeminent in virtue and intelligence, and not a few others, saying they should entrust their affairs to God, and not, by the extradition of fugitives, having forsaken the all-powerful help of God, propitiate the arrogance of the barbarian. And since this demand of Krum was in no way met, the aforesaid war was rekindled, and the rout and great destruction of the Romans followed, as God, it seems, was preordaining something else.

313

προσφυγόντες ἱκέται γίνονται. οὓς ἐκεῖ θεν ἀποσπάσας ὁ τύραννος ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διέστησε, καὶ Μιχαὴλ μὲν ὑπερόριον ἐν τῷ κατὰ τὴν νῆσον Πρώτην μοναστηρίῳ ἐποιή σατο, ἐν ᾧ τὴν κοσμικὴν ἀποθέμενος τρίχα τὸν λοιπὸν τῆς ζωῆς διήνυσε χρόνον, Θεοφύλακτον δὲ τὸν πρεσβύτερον τῶν τούτου υἱῶν ἐκτεμὼν συνάμα τῇ μητρὶ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐξορίᾳ παρέπεμ 2.49 ψεν. οὐ παρέλκον δὲ ἴσως ἱστορῆσαι καὶ ὅπως τῷ βασιλεῖ Μιχαὴλ προδεδήλωται ἡ τῆς βασιλείας ἀποβολή. Παιδίσκη τις ἦν οἰκογενὴς τῷ Μιχαήλ· αὕτη κατὰ τὰς σε ληνιακὰς συνόδους πάθει μανίας ἡλίσκετο. ὁπότε γοῦν ἁλῴη τῷ πάθει, εἰς τόπον ἐρχομένη ἐν ᾧ βοῦς τε καὶ λέων ἵδρυνται λίθινοι (κἀκ τούτων ἔχει τὴν προσηγορίαν ὁ τόπος, Βουκολέων ὀνομαζό 2.50 μενος) ἐβόα γεγωνοτέρᾳ φωνῇ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα "κάτελθε, κάτελθε, ὑποχώρει τῶν ἀλλοτρίων." τοῦτο πολλάκις γινόμενον θάμβος ἐνεποίει τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ εἰς φροντίδας οὐ τὰς τυχούσας ἐνέβαλε. διὸ καὶ κοινολογεῖται περὶ τοῦ πράγματος τῶν συνήθων τινὶ καὶ οἰκείων Θεοδότῳ τῷ υἱῷ Μιχαὴλ πατρικίου τοῦ Μελισσηνοῦ, ὃν δὴ καὶ Κασσιτηρᾶν κατωνόμαζον, καὶ διάπειραν ἔσπευσε τῶν λε γομένων λαβεῖν. ὁ δὲ γνώμην δίδωσι τοιάνδε, ἵν' ἐπειδὰν κάτο 2.51 χον τῇ μανίᾳ γένηται τὸ κοράσιον κατασχεθῇ, καὶ διερωτηθῇ τίνι προσήκουσα ἡ οἰκία τοῦ παλατίου ἐστί, καὶ ὁποῖον εἴη τούτῳ τὸ γνώρισμα. ἐγένετο τοῦτο, τοῦ Θεοδότου τῇ πράξει ὑπηρετοῦν τος. καὶ τὸ τῇ κατοχῇ κατάσχετον γύναιον ἐρωτηθὲν τήν τε κλῆ σιν ἐμφαίνει τοῦ Λέοντος καὶ τὸν χαρακτῆρα καὶ τὴν μορφήν, προστίθησί τε ἀπελθεῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, ἐν ᾗ συναντήσειε δυσὶν ἀνδράσιν, ὧν ὁ τῷ ἡμιόνῳ ἔποχος ἐπιβήσεται πάντως τῆς βασιλείας. ἡ μὲν οὖν εἶπε, καὶ Θεόδοτος ἠκριβώσατο εἰς τὸν εἰρημένον ἀπελθὼν τόπον, τὸν ἄνδρα τε κατεφώρασεν ἐκ τῶν γνωρισμάτων, καὶ κατ' οὐδὲν διαψεύδεσθαι ἔγνω τὴν ἄνθρωπον. τῷ μὲν οὖν βασιλεῖ ἀπήγγειλε τῶν ἐγνωσμένων οὐδέν, κενολογίαν δὲ τὰ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐκάλει ῥήματα καὶ φλυαρίαν μηδὲν ἴχνος φέ ρουσαν ἀληθείας. τὸν Λέοντα δὲ λαβὼν τῆς χειρός, καὶ εἰς τὸν ναὸν εἰσελθὼν Παύλου τοῦ ἀποστόλου κατὰ τὸ ὀρφανοτροφεῖον, καὶ πίστεις δοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ λαβών, ἀνακαλύπτει τὰ ἔκφορα, τὴν μὲν ἀλήθειαν ἀποκαλύψας, εἰπὼν δ' ἐκ θείας ἀποκαλύψεως πε πληροφορῆσθαι ὡς τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας πάντως ὁ Λέων γενή σεται ἐγκρατής. ἐκβεβηκυίας δὲ τῆς προρρήσεως ἐζήτει μὴ ἄμι σθον αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. καὶ ὁ Λέων, εἰ ὁ λόγος εἰς ἔργον ἐκβαίη, ὑπέσχετο ὧν δέοιτο μὴ ἀτυχήσειν αὐτόν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν συνετίθετο οὕτως. Συνέβη δὲ καὶ δι' ἄλλας μὲν αἰτίας Ῥωμαίοις τε καὶ Βουλ 2.52 γάροις ἀναρριπισθῆναι τὸν προρρηθέντα πόλεμον, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ 2.52 καὶ διὰ τὴν ῥηθήσεσθαι μέλλουσαν. Βούλγαροί τινες ἐξ ἠθῶν ἀναστάντες τῶν πατρῴων τὴν Ῥωμαίων καταλαμβάνουσι παγγενεί, καὶ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως προσδεχθέντες Μιχαὴλ ἐν διαφόροις ἐγκατ οικίζονται χώραις. καί τινες δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι τῶν ἐν τοῖς προηγησα μένοις αἰχμαλωτισθέντων πολέμοις τὰ δεσμὰ διαρρήξαντες εἰς τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἐπανῆκον πατρίδας. τούτους ἅπαντας ὁ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἀρχηγὸς Κροῦμος ἐκδοθῆναί οἱ ἀπῄτει. τισὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν Ῥω μαίων ἐπαινετὴ ἐδόκει ἡ ἔκδοσις, ᾗ τινὶ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς καί τινες ἀξιόλογοι συγκατετίθεντο μοναχοί· ᾤοντο γὰρ διὰ τῆς τῶν προσ φύγων ἐκδόσεως τῆς βαρβαρικῆς ἀπαλλαγήσεσθαι λεηλασίας. τινὲς δ' ἀπηρέσκοντο πρὸς τὴν γνώμην, ὧν κορυφαῖος ἐτύγχανε Νικηφόρος ὁ πατριάρχης καὶ ὁ μάγιστρος Θεόκτιστος ἐπ' ἀρετῇ καὶ συνέσει πρωτεύων τῷ τότε, καὶ ἄλλοι δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγοι, ἐφεῖναι λέγοντες τὰ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ, καὶ μὴ διὰ προσφύγων ἐκδό σεως τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ παραλιπόντας παναλκῆ βοήθειαν τὴν τοῦ βαρ βάρου ἐξευμενίζεσθαι ἀλαζονείαν. μηδαμῶς δὲ συμβάσης τῆς τοιαύτης ἐπιτάσεως τοῦ Κρούμου, ὁ προλεχθεὶς ἀνερριπίσθη πό λεμος, καὶ ἡ τροπὴ καὶ ὁ πολὺς φθόρος τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπηκολού θησεν, ἄλλο τι τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ἔοικε προοικονομοῦντος.