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having left and secretly slipped away, they went to the emperor, carrying what had been written. And having read these things, he immediately sent Basil to Macedonia, perhaps for the distribution of spiritual gifts of his aunt Zoe, and he arrested the drungary of the watch through Stypeiotes, and also removed Nicholas the hetaireiarch from the city. Then, having brought Basil from Macedonia and interrogated him, and having paraded him in triumph through the middle of the city, he exiled him to Athens. And having summoned the whole senate before them, he read out what had been revealed by Samonas. They praised this man and declared him to be worthy of the greatest honor. And the emperor immediately deemed him worthy of the honor of protospatharios, and made him one of his own household. And when the patriarch Antony died, Nicholas the mystikos was appointed, seeming to be first in intelligence and wisdom. But the emperor Leo, being unable to perform the formal court invitations because there was no Augusta, crowned Anna the daughter of Zoe, 2.260 the daughter of Zaoutzes. And he also married a maiden from the Opsikion, fair and most beautiful, Eudokia by name, whom indeed he also crowned. But having become pregnant and being about to give birth, both she and the embryo died. And honoring his former wife Theophano, the emperor built a most beautiful church in her name near the Holy Apostles. He also erected another church in those parts in the name of Saint Lazarus, in which he transferred and deposited the body of the saint, and of his sister, Mary Magdalene, having transferred it from Ephesus. And while the fleet was occupied in such constructions, the fleet of the Agarenes besieged Taormina in Sicily, and a great slaughter of the Romans occurred. And the island of Lemnos was also captured by the Agarenes, and no small number of people were enslaved. When the customary procession took place on the day of Pentecost in the church of Saint Mocius, the emperor Leo also went out in procession. And as he was about to enter and draw near to the holy doors, a certain man, having leaped out from the ambo, struck him on the head with a thick and strong staff. And he would have killed him straightway, had not the tip of the staff, striking against the suspended lamp, been slightly checked from its violent force. And as copious blood flowed down from the emperor's head, there was panic and flight among the officials. But Alexander, the 2.261 emperor's brother, feigning illness, was not present at the entrance, and gave many cause to suspect that he himself had contrived this plot. But the one who struck the emperor, having been seized and having endured many tortures, since he confessed to no accomplice, had his hands and feet cut off and was burned in the Sphendone of the Hippodrome. And from that time on this procession ceased, even though the most wise monk Mark, being the steward of this monastery, who completed the tetraodion of Great Saturday of Kyr Kosmas, pleaded much with the emperor. For when he was pleading and the emperor was refusing, the monk said, "Be not angry nor vexed, O emperor; for it was forewritten that you should suffer this by the prophet David, who said, 'How much evil the enemy has done in your holy place, and those who hate you have boasted in the midst of your feast.' Therefore you must, master, hold the empire from now for another ten years." Which indeed happened; for he died on the very same day ten years later on which he had also been struck. The emperor Leo also took a fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, who lived with him for a long time uncrowned. And while the Bulgarians were wearing down the Romans with their raids, the descendants of Hagar, learning of this, equipped a fleet and sent it out against the coastal regions of the Roman dominion, having appointed as admiral of the fleet Leo of Attaleia, who had renounced the Christian faith, 2.262 and dwelt in Tripoli and took his surname from there. And the news about the man from Tripoli reached the emperor at the

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καταλιπόντες κρυφίως τε ὑπεξελ θόντες ἀπῆλθον πρὸς βασιλέα τὰ γραφέντα κομίζοντες. ἀνα γνοὺς δὲ ταῦτα τὸν μὲν Βασίλειον παραυτίκα εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἀπέστειλεν, ἐπὶ διανομῇ τάχα ψυχικῶν τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ Ζωῆς, κατέσχε δὲ καὶ τὸν τῆς βίγλας δρουγγάριον διὰ τοῦ Στυπειώτου, ὑπεξήγαγε δὲ καὶ τῆς πόλεως Νικόλαον τὸν ἑταιρειάρχην. εἶτα ἀγαγὼν ἀπὸ Μακεδονίας τὸν Βασίλειον καὶ ἀνακρίνας, ἐν μέσῃ τε θριαμβεύσας τῇ πόλει, ἐν Ἀθήναις ἐξώρισε. συγκαλεσάμενος δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν σύγκλητον ἐπ' αὐτῶν, ἀνέγνω τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαμωνᾶ μηνυθέντα. οἱ δὲ τοῦτον ἐπαινέσαντες μεγίστης εἶναι τιμῆς ἄξιον προσειρήκασι. καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς παραυτίκα τῇ τοῦ πρωτοσπαθα ρίου τοῦτον ἀξιοῖ τιμῇ, καὶ οἰκεῖον αὐτοῦ κατεστήσατο. Τελευτήσαντος δὲ καὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Ἀντωνίου προχειρί ζεται ὁ μυστικὸς Νικόλαος, ἐπὶ συνέσει καὶ σοφίᾳ δοκῶν πρω τεύειν. Λέων δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς μὴ δυνάμενος τὰ κατὰ τύπον ἐκτελεῖν κλητόρια Αὐγούστης μὴ οὔσης, στέφει Ἄνναν τὴν θυγατέρα Ζωῆς 2.260 τῆς τοῦ Ζαουτζᾶ. ἠγάγετο δὲ καὶ κόρην ἐκ τοῦ Ὀψικίου, ὡραίαν τε καὶ περικαλλῆ, τοὔνομα Εὐδοκίαν, ἣν δὴ καὶ ἔστεψεν. ἐγκύ μων δὲ γενομένη καὶ μέλλουσα τίκτειν ἀπέθανε καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ τὸ ἔμβρυον. τιμῶν δὲ τὴν προτέραν αὐτοῦ γαμετὴν Θεοφανὼ ὁ βα σιλεὺς ἐπ' ὀνόματι ταύτης ᾠκοδόμησε ναὸν ἀγχοῦ τῶν ἁγίων ἀπο στόλων περικαλλῆ. ἀνήγειρε δὲ καὶ ναὸν ἄλλον κατὰ τοὺς τόπους εἰς ὄνομα τοῦ ἁγίου Λαζάρου, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου μετακομίσας ἀπέθετο σῶμα, καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς, ἐξ Ἐφέσου μετακομίσας. τοῦ δὲ στόλου ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις κτίσε σιν ἀπασχολουμένου, ὁ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν στόλος τὸ ἐν Σικελίᾳ ἐξε πολιόρκησε Ταυρομένιον, καὶ πολὺς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐγένετο φόνος. κατεσχέθη δὲ καὶ ἡ νῆσος Λῆμνος ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν, καὶ ἠνδρα ποδίσθη λαὸς οὐκ ὀλίγος. Συνήθους δὲ προελεύσεως γενομένης κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ἐν τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου Μωκίου, ἀπῆλθε μετὰ προόδου καὶ Λέων ὁ βασιλεύς. ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλειν εἰσοδεύειν καὶ πλησίον γενέσθαι τῶν ἁγίων θυρῶν ἄνθρωπός τις ἐκπεπηδηκὼς ἐκ τοῦ ἄμ βωνος ῥάβδῳ παχείᾳ καὶ ἰσχυρᾷ ἔπαισεν αὐτὸν κατὰ κεφαλῆς. καὶ ἐθανάτωσεν ἂν παρευθύ, εἰ μὴ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ῥάβδου τῷ αἰω ρημένῳ λύχνῳ προσκεκρουκὸς τῆς βιαίας μικρὸν ἀνεσχέθη φορᾶς. αἵματος δὲ σφοδροῦ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως καταρρέοντος κεφαλῆς ταραχή τε καὶ φυγὴ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐγένετο. Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ ὁ τοῦ 2.261 βασιλέως ἀδελφὸς νόσον σκηψάμενος οὐ παρῆν ἐν τῇ εἰσόδῳ, καὶ δέδωκεν ὑπόνοιαν τοῖς πολλοῖς τὴν τοιαύτην ἐπιβουλὴν αὐτὸς συρ ράψαι. ὁ δὲ τὸν βασιλέα πλήξας κατασχεθεὶς καὶ πολλὰς ὑπο μείνας βασάνους, ἐπεὶ μηδένα καθωμολόγει συνίστορα, χεῖρας καὶ πόδας ἐκτμηθεὶς ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἱππικοῦ ἐκαύθη Σφενδόνῃ. ἐσχό λασε δ' ἔκτοτε καὶ ἡ τοιαύτη προέλευσις, κἂν ὁ σοφώτατος μονα χὸς Μάρκος, οἰκονόμος ὢν τῆς τοιαύτης μονῆς, ὁ τὸ τετραῴδιον τοῦ μεγάλου σαββάτου ἀναπληρώσας τοῦ κυροῦ Κοσμᾶ, πολλὰ κατεδεήθη τοῦ βασιλέως. τούτου γὰρ δεομένου καὶ τοῦ βασι λέως ἀπαναινομένου, φησὶν ὁ μοναχὸς "μὴ ὀργίζου μηδὲ χαλέ παινε, ὦ βασιλεῦ· προγεγραμμένον γὰρ ἦν παθεῖν σε παρὰ τοῦ προφήτου ∆αβίδ, εἰρηκότος «ὅσα ἐπονηρεύσατο ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ σου καὶ ἐνεκαυχήσαντο οἱ μισοῦντές σε ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἑορτῆς σου.» δεῖ οὖν σε, δέσποτα, ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἐπ' ἄλλα δέκα ἔτη κα τασχεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν." ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν· ἀπέθανε γὰρ κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν μετὰ δέκα χρόνους ἐν ᾗ καὶ ἐπλήγη. Ἠγάγετο καὶ τετάρτην γυναῖκα Λέων ὁ βασιλεύς, Ζωὴν τὴν Καρβωνοψίναν, ἥτις ἐβίω χρόνον συχνὸν μετ' αὐτοῦ ἀστεφής. τῶν δὲ Βουλγάρων ταῖς ἐφόδοις Ῥωμαίους ἐπιτριβόντων, οἱ ἐξ Ἄγαρ μαθόντες τοῦτο στόλον ἐξαρτύσαντες κατὰ τῶν παραλίων τῆς ἀρχῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐκπέμπουσιν, ἐπιστήσαντες τῷ στόλῳ ναύαρ χον Λέοντα τὸν Ἀτταλέα, τὴν Χριστιανῶν ἐξομοσάμενον πίστιν, 2.262 κἀν τῇ τριπόλει οἰκήσαντα κἀξ αὐτῆς εἰληφότα τὴν προσηγορίαν. ἔφθασε δὲ τὸν βασιλέα ἡ περὶ τοῦ Τριπολίτου ἀγγελία κατὰ τὸ