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Michael in the palace of Saint Mamas, in the year #22τοʹ, at the third hour of the night, having ruled with his mother for 14 years, and having been sole ruler for 11 years. but even though he lived so dissolutely and crudely, he was not entirely without praiseworthy deeds; for he offered a chalice and paten to the Great Church, and many-lighted chandeliers that far surpassed the former ones.

When Michael was done away with, as we have said, Basil assumed the power of the empire. Who this man was and whence he came, and for what reason he ascended to the imperial station, having sprung from a humble and obscure fortune, the account, taking it up from the beginning, 2.183 will make clear. The land of the Macedonians, then, bore him, but he drew his lineage from the Armenians, being descended from the very illustrious line of the Arsacids, from which alone it was the custom for the Parthians and Medes and Armenians to be ruled, on account of the glory of the first Arsaces, who recovered for the Parthians the kingdom that had been usurped by the Persians. And it happened that for a long time the descendants of Arsaces ruled the said nations. But Artabanus, the last to be cast out from the ancestral kingdom, and his brother Klienes, arrived as fugitives in Byzantium; Leo the Great was at that time directing the empire of the Romans. He, then, having received the men and honored them worthily, assigned them a suitable dwelling in the queen of cities. When the king of the Persians learned this, he summoned them by letters, promising to establish them in their paternal dominion. But when they received the letters and were deliberating about what should be done, everything was revealed to the emperor by one of their attendants, and that these wanderers and new-comers were of the most notable sort. And he settles them with their wives and children in a certain small city of Macedonia named Nike. Then again, when the Persian kingdom was overthrown by the Saracens, the amermoumnes of that time did similar things, and by letters he summoned the descendants of the Arsacids in Macedonia. But when this plot was also discovered by the emperor Heraclius, and that the summons was not made out of goodwill towards them, but so that through them the race of the Armenians and Par 2.184 thians might be made subject, he resettles them in Philippi (this is one of the Macedonian cities), and then again from there to Adrianople. And since the place seemed suitable to the foreigners, they grew into a multitude, keeping their race unmixed. But some time later, when Constantine was reigning with his mother Irene, a certain man named Maïktes, tracing his lineage to the Arsacids, came to the ruling city on some business, who by chance met a kinsman named Leo, and entering into conversation with him, became entirely his friend. And when he learned that he too was of the blood of the Arsacids, living in Adrianople, he preferred another's family to his own on account of the man's virtue, and welcoming a marriage connection with him, he took one of his daughters; from whom was born the father of the subject of this history, excelling in strength and in the rest of his bodily constitution; whom a certain noble woman, descended, as they say, from the line of Constantine the Great, took as a son-in-law for her own very comely daughter, from whom was born Basil, bearing many symbols of royalty even before his birth. Brought forth from such parents, Basil was raised as a freeman. But when Krum, the ruler of the Bulgarians, puffed up by his victories against the Romans, gathered a great army and besieged Adrianople, while no one dared to raise a hand against him, being irresistible on account of his preceding successes, after besieging the city for a sufficient time, he brought it to terms on account of the lack of necessities, 2.185 and he transferred all those within it, among whom was numbered also the chief priest of the city, Manuel, to Bulgaria. It happened with the

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Μιχαὴλ κατὰ τὰ ἀνάκτορα τοῦ ἁγίου Μάμαντος, ἐν ἔτει τῷ #22τοʹ, ὥρᾳ γʹ τῆς νυκτός, ἄρξας μετὰ τῆς μητρὸς μὲν ἔτη ιδʹ, ιαʹ δὲ μοναρχήσας. ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτως ἐκμελῶς καὶ ἀναγώγως βιώσας οὐ παντάπασιν ἠμοίρησε τῶν ἐπαι νετῶν· δισκοποτήριον γὰρ προσήνεγκε τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ πολυκάνδηλα τὰ πρῴην λίαν ὑπερελάσαντα.

Ἀναιρεθέντος δ', ὡς εἴπομεν, τοῦ Μιχαὴλ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ἀνεδήσατο κράτος ὁ Βασίλειος. ὅστις δὲ οὗτος ἦν καὶ ὅθεν ὥρ μητο, κἀκ ποίας αἰτίας εἰς τὴν βασίλειον ἀνῄει περιωπὴν ἐκ τα πεινῆς καὶ ἀλαμποῦς ὁρμώμενος τύχης, ἄνωθεν διαλαβὼν ὁ λόγος 2.183 διατρανώσει. ἤνεγκε τοίνυν ἡ τῶν Μακεδόνων χώρα αὐτόν, εἷλκε δὲ τὸ γένος ἐξ Ἀρμενίων, ἐκ πάνυ λαμπρᾶς καταγόμενος τῆς τῶν Ἀρσακιδῶν σειρᾶς, ἐξ ἧς μόνης νόμος ἦν βασιλεύεσθαι Πάρθοις καὶ Μήδοις καὶ Ἀρμενίοις διὰ τὸ κλέος τοῦ πρώτου Ἀρσάκου τοῦ ἀνακτησαμένου τοῖς Πάρθοις τὴν βασιλείαν ὑπὸ Περσῶν ἐσφετε ρισμένην. καὶ συνέβη μέχρι πολλοῦ τοὺς τοῦ Ἀρσάκου ἀπογό νους βασιλεύειν τῶν εἰρημένων ἐθνῶν. ἔσχατος δὲ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκπεσὼν Ἀρτάβανος τῆς προγονικῆς, καὶ ὁ τούτου ἀδελφὸς Κλιέ νης, φυγάδες εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον παραγίνονται· Λέων ὁ μέγας τότε τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἴθυνε βασιλείαν. οὗτος οὖν τοὺς ἄνδρας ὑπο δεξάμενος καὶ ἀξιοπρεπῶς τιμήσας οἴκησιν τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐν τῇ βασιλίδι ἀπένειμεν. ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς γράμ μασιν αὐτοὺς μετεκαλεῖτο, εἰς τὴν πατρῴαν ὑπισχνούμενος ἡγε μονίαν ἐγκαταστῆσαι. δεξαμένων δ' ἐκείνων τὰ γράμματα καὶ περὶ τοῦ πρακτέου διασκοπουμένων, μηνύεται διά τινος τῶν ὑπηρε τουμένων αὐτοῖς πάντα τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ὅτι οἱ πλανῆται οὗτοι καὶ ἐπήλυδες τῶν ἐπισημοτέρων εἰσί. καὶ εἴς τινα πολίχνην τῆς Μα κεδονίας Νίκην ὀνομαζομένην μετὰ γυναικῶν καὶ τέκνων αὐτοὺς κατοικίζει. εἶτα πάλιν τῆς Περσῶν βασιλείας ὑπὸ τῶν Σαρακη νῶν ἀνατραπείσης, τὰ παραπλήσια καὶ ὁ τηνικαῦτα ἀμερμουμνῆς διεπράξατο, καὶ γράμμασι μετεκαλεῖτο τοὺς ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ τῶν Ἀρσακιδῶν ἀπογόνους. φωραθέντος δὲ καὶ τούτου τοῦ δράματος Ἡρακλείῳ τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ εὐνοίᾳ τῇ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἡ με τάκλησις γίνεται, ἀλλ' ὥστε δι' αὐτῶν τὸ τῶν Ἀρμενίων καὶ Πάρ 2.184 θων γένος ὑπήκοον γενέσθαι, εἰς Φιλίππους αὐτοὺς (μία δὲ αὕτη τῶν Μακεδονικῶν πόλεων) μετοικίζει, εἶτα πάλιν ἐκεῖθεν εἰς Ἀδριανούπολιν. εὐθέτου δὲ τοῦ τόπου φανέντος τοῖς ξένοις, εἰς πλῆθος κατέστησαν, ἀσύγχυτον τὸ γένος φυλάσσοντες. χρόνοις δὲ ὕστερον, ἡνίκα Κωνσταντῖνος σὺν Εἰρήνῃ τῇ μητρὶ ἐβασίλευ σεν, ἀνήρ τις Μαΐκτης τοὔνομα, εἰς τὸ τῶν Ἀρσακιδῶν ἀναφέρων γένος, κατά τινα χρείαν εἰσῄει εἰς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν, ὃς ἀνδρὶ περιτυγχάνει τυχαίως ὁμογενεῖ Λέοντι τοὔνομα, καὶ εἰς ὁμιλίαν αὐτῷ καταστὰς ὅλος τῆς τούτου φιλίας ἐγένετο. ὡς δὲ κατενόησε καὶ αὐτὸν τοῦ τῶν Ἀρσακιδῶν αἵματος εἶναι, ἐν Ἀδριανουπόλει οἰκοῦντα, προκρίνει τῆς ἰδίας τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀρετήν, καὶ τὸ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀσπασάμενος κῆδος μίαν τῶν αὐτοῦ θυγατέρων ἠγάγετο· ἐξ ὧν ὁ τοῦ ἱστορουμένου προῆλθε πατήρ, ῥώμῃ τε διαφέρων καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ τοῦ σώματος θέσει· ὃν γυνή τις εὐγενής, τῆς τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου, ὥς φασι, καταγομένη σειρᾶς, γαμβρὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἄγεται θυγατρὶ λίαν εὐπρεπεστάτῃ, ἐξ ἧς ἐτέχθη Βασίλειος, πολλὰ πρὸ τῆς γεννήσεως φέρων τὰ τῆς βασιλείας σύμβολα. ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων γεννητόρων προαχθεὶς ὁ Βασίλειος ἐλευθερίως ἀνήγετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ Κροῦμος ὁ τῶν Βουλγά ρων ἄρχων, ταῖς κατὰ Ῥωμαίων νίκαις πεφυσημένος, μέγα στρα τόπεδον ἀγείρας ἐπολιόρκει τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν, μηδενὸς χεῖρα ἀντᾶραι τούτῳ τολμῶντος ἀνυποστάτῳ τυγχάνοντι διὰ τὰς προη γησαμένας εὐτυχίας, χρόνον τῇ πόλει περικαθίσας ἐφ' ἱκανὸν ὡμολόγει ταύτην διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἔνδειαν παραστήσασθαι, 2.185 πάντας τε τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ, οἷς ἠριθμεῖτο καὶ ὁ τῆς πόλεως ἀρχιε ρεὺς Μανουήλ, εἰς Βουλγαρίαν μετέστησε. συνέβη μετὰ τῶν