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When Basil died and his son Leo succeeded to the rule, the old woman entered again with similar gifts, and having greeted him and having written him as heir of her property, she went down to her own place and after a short while, died. But these things later. But Basil the emperor also deemed worthy of his care many of the divine churches that were cracked and shaken by previous commotions, and some even completely cast down, raising some anew, strengthening the weakness of others, and bestowing beauty and elegance upon others. For first, the great and lofty western arch of the great church of the Wisdom of God, which had cracked in many places and was in danger of falling, he strengthened with the expertise of craftsmen and made it safe and stable; in which he also had depicted the icon of the Mother of God holding the infant 2.238 in her arms, and he set up Peter and Paul, the chief of the apostles, on either side. And he also repaired the remaining cracks and the weaknesses of the walls. And he remedied the reduced revenues, because of which the sacred lamps were in danger of being extinguished from lack of oil, by the gift of a very large estate which is called Mantia, and he supplied an unquenchable light for the lamps and caused the wages of the hymn-singers of the divine church to be supplied more lavishly from the revenue of the estate. And the divine church of the Apostles, which had fallen from its former beauty, he secured with buttresses and supports for its weakened parts, making it a youthful temple in its construction. And the church of the Theotokos at Pege, which had lost its ancient beauty, he renovated. And the other church of the Theotokos, which is named the Sigma, 2.239 which had been completely thrown down by an earthquake, he rebuilt from its foundations and made it more stable and beautiful than before. And the church of Stephen the protomartyr in Aurelianae, which had fallen to the ground, he raised up from its foundations. And the two shrines of the Baptist both in Strobelos and in Macedonianae, one he raised from its foundations, and the other he rebuilt for the most part. And that of the apostle Philip, and the one lying to its west of Luke the evangelist, which had suffered a terrible fall, he rebuilt from their foundations. He also restored the great sanctuary of Mokios the martyr, and its inner shrine, which was cast down to the ground, so that it even broke the holy table, he deemed worthy of his care and raised from its ruin. And the nearby church of Andrew the first-called, which had fallen, he raised to its ancient beauty. And that of saint Romanos and that of saint Anna in the Deuteron and that of the great-martyr Demetrios and that of the martyr Aemilianos at the Rhabdos he made new from old. In addition to these he also raised the fallen church of saint Nazarios. And in the porticoes of Domninos, having repaired the most beautiful church of the Resurrection of Christ and of Anastasia the martyr, he made it splendid, having constructed the roof of stone instead of wood. And he raised the fallen church of Plato, great among martyrs, and he restored the nearby church of the triumphant martyrs Hesperos and Zoe. And 2.240 the church of the martyr Akakios in the Heptaskalon, which was threatening to fall, he repaired and snatched from ruin. Similarly he also splendidly rebuilt the church of the prophet Elijah at the Petrion. He also raised up anew in the imperial courts churches in the name of the Lord and Savior Christ and of Michael the first of the angels and of Elijah the prophet. Furthermore, he also built this most beautiful church of the Mother of God and of Nicholas renowned among hierarchs, which they call the New Church, leaving to no other any superiority or comparison in its magnificence, beauty, and elegance, and he appointed sufficient revenues both for illumination and for the need of those who offer praise. And why must I lengthen this by going on further? The work itself presents to its viewers its own beauty and costliness. And others also

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Βασιλείου ἀποθανόντος καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ Λέοντος διαδεξαμένου εἰσῆλθε πάλιν ἡ γραῦς μεθ' ὁμοίων τῶν δώρων, καὶ τοῦτον ἀσπασαμένη καὶ κληρονόμον τῆς ὑπάρξεως γράψασα, κατελθοῦσα εἰς τὰ ἴδια μετὰ μικρὸν ἐτελεύ τησεν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὕστερον. Βασίλειος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τῶν θείων ναῶν πολλοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν προηγησαμένων κλόνων διαρραγέντας τε καὶ κατασεισθέντας, τινὰς δὲ καὶ τελέως καταβληθέντας ἐπιμελείας ἠξίωσε, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ καινῆς ἀναστήσας, τοῖς δὲ τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἐπιρρώσας, τοῖς δὲ κάλλος καὶ ὡραιότητα χαρισάμενος. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας σοφίας τὴν πρὸς δύσιν ἁψῖδα τὴν μεγά λην τε καὶ μετάρσιον εἰς πολλὰ διαρραγεῖσαν καὶ πεσεῖν κινδυ νεύουσαν, ἐμπειρίᾳ τεχνιτῶν περισφίγξας, ἀσφαλῆ καὶ μόνιμον ἀπειργάσατο· ἐν ᾗ καὶ τὴν τῆς θεομήτορος εἰκόνα βρέφος ἠγκα 2.238 λισμένην ἀνιστόρησε, καὶ Πέτρον καὶ Παῦλον τοὺς κορυφαίους τῶν ἀποστόλων παρ' ἑκάτερα ἀνεστήλωσε. καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ ῥήγματα καὶ τὰ σαθρώματα τῶν τοίχων ἐπηνωρθώσατο. παρε μυθήσατο δὲ καὶ τὰς προσόδους ἐλαττωθείσας, ἐνδείᾳ ἐλαίου τῶν ἱερῶν λύχνων ἀποσβεσθῆναι κινδυνευόντων, δωρεᾷ μεγίστου κτή ματος ὃ προσαγορεύεται Μαντία, τοῖς τε λύχνοις τὸ φῶς ἄσβεστον ἐχορήγησε καὶ τοῖς ὑμνοπόλοις τοῦ θείου ναοῦ δαψιλέστερον χορη γεῖσθαι ἐποίησε τὰ ὀψώνια ἐκ τῆς προσόδου τοῦ κτήματος. καὶ τὸν θεῖον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων ναὸν τῆς προτέρας εὐπρεπείας διαπε σόντα ἐρείσμασι καὶ ταῖς τῶν πεπονηκότων βοηθείαις κατοχυρώσας θῆκε νεὼν ἡβώοντα κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν. καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ Πηγῇ δὲ τῆς θεοτόκου ναὸν τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀποβαλόντα κάλλος ἀνενεώσατο. καὶ τὸν ἕτερον δὲ τῆς θεοτόκου ναόν, ὃς τὸ Σίγμα κατονομάζεται, 2.239 τέλεον ὑπὸ σεισμοῦ καταπεσόντα ἐκ βάθρων ἀνῳκοδόμησε καὶ ἑδραῖον καὶ ὡραιότατον ἢ πρότερον ἀπειργάσατο. καὶ τὸν ἐν Αὐρηλιαναῖς Στεφάνου τοῦ πρωτομάρτυρος ἄχρις ἐδάφους κατα πεσόντα ἐκ θεμελίων ἀνήγειρε. καὶ τοὺς δύο δὲ τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ σηκοὺς ἔν τε τῇ Στροβήλῳ καὶ Μακεδονιαναῖς, τὸν μὲν ἐκ βάθρων ἀνήγειρε, τοῦ δὲ τὸ πλεῖστον ἀνῳκοδόμησε. καὶ τὸν τοῦ ἀπο στόλου δὲ Φιλίππου, καὶ τὸν πρὸς ἑσπέραν αὐτοῦ κείμενον τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ Λουκᾶ, πτῶμα πεσόντας δεινὸν ἐκ βάθρων ἀνέκτι σεν. ἐπεποιήσατο δὲ καὶ τὸ μέγα τέμενος Μωκίου τοῦ μάρτυρος, καὶ τὸ ἄδυτον τούτου καταβληθὲν ἄχρι γῆς, ὡς καὶ τὴν ἱερὰν κατεάξαι τράπεζαν, ἐπιμελείας ἠξίωσε καὶ τοῦ πτώματος ἤγειρε. καὶ τὸν πλησιάζοντα δὲ τούτῳ Ἀνδρέου τοῦ πρωτοκλήτου ναὸν πεσόντα εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον κάλλος ἀνήγειρε. καὶ τὸν τοῦ ἁγίου Ῥω μανοῦ καὶ τὸν τῆς ἁγίας Ἄννας ἐν τῷ ∆ευτέρῳ καὶ τὸν τοῦ μεγα λομάρτυρος ∆ημητρίου καὶ τὸν τοῦ μάρτυρος Αἰμιλιανοῦ τὸν ἐν τῇ Ῥάβδῳ ἐκ παλαιῶν νέους εἰργάσατο. ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ τὸν τοῦ ἁγίου Ναζαρίου καταπεσόντα ἀνέστησε. κἀν τοῖς ἐμβόλοις τοῦ ∆ομνίνου τὸν τῆς Χριστοῦ ἀναστάσεως καὶ Ἀναστασίας τῆς μάρτυρος περικαλλῆ ναὸν ἐπισκευάσας ἐλάμπρυνε, λιθίνην ἀντὶ ξυλί νης τὴν ὀροφὴν ἐργασάμενος. καὶ Πλάτωνος τοῦ μεγάλου ἐν μάρτυσι πεσόντα ἀνέστησε, καὶ τὸν ἐγγίζοντα τούτῳ τῶν καλλι νίκων μαρτύρων ναὸν Ἑσπέρου τε καὶ Ζωῆς ἐπεποιήσατο. καὶ 2.240 τὸν τοῦ μάρτυρος Ἀκακίου ἐν τῷ Ἑπτασκάλῳ πτῶσιν ἀπειλοῦντα ἐπισκευάσας τοῦ πτώματος ἥρπασε. παραπλησίως καὶ τὸν τοῦ προφήτου Ἠλίου κατὰ τὸ Πετρίον ἀνεκτήσατο λαμπρῶς. ἀνή γειρε δὲ καὶ ἐκ καινῆς ἐν ταῖς βασιλείοις αὐλαῖς εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ δεσπότου σωτῆρος Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν ἀγγέλων Μιχαὴλ καὶ Ἠλίου τοῦ προφήτου. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῆς θεομήτορος καὶ Νικο λάου τοῦ περιωνύμου ἐν ἱεράρχαις τὸν περικαλλῆ τουτονὶ ναόν, ὃν νέαν ἐκκλησίαν κατονομάζουσιν, εἰς εὐπρέπειαν καὶ κάλλος καὶ ὡραιότητα μηδενὶ ἑτέρῳ ὑπερβολὴν ἢ σύγκρισιν καταλιμπάνοντα, προσόδους τε ἔταξεν ἱκανὰς εἴς τε φωταγωγίαν καὶ χρείαν τῶν δοξολογούντων. καὶ τί δεῖ διεξιόντα ἐπὶ πλέον μηκύνειν; αὐτὸ τὸ ἔργον τοῖς θεωμένοις παρίστησι τὴν οἰκείαν καλλονὴν καὶ πολυ τέλειαν. καὶ ἄλλους δὲ