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The empress, plotting against the life of Romanos, is brought down from the palace, and is tonsured in the monastery of Saint Euphemia. Also expelled from the city were the patrikios Theophylaktos and Theodoros the emperor's tutor and his blood-brother Symeon, and they were ordered to live in the Opsikion, as allegedly plotting against Romanos. The one who aided in the ostracism of these men was the droungarios of the watch, Ioannes Kourkouas, suddenly arresting them and conveying them in boats to the other side. On the 24th of the month of September, Romanos is elevated to the rank of Caesar, and in the month of December he is crowned with the diadem of emperorship, by permission of the emperor Constantine, with Patriarch Nicholas crowning him. Romanos, having been bound with the imperial diadem, on the very day of the Holy Lights also crowns his own wife Theodora. And in the month of May 2.297 on the day of holy Pentecost he also crowns his own son Christophoros, through Constantine, supposedly, who on the surface was willing and accepting because of force, but in secret was distressed and bewailing his misfortune to himself. And the two alone went forth in such a procession. And in the month of July, of the 8th indiction, the union of the church occurred, with the unification of the dissenting metropolitans and clergy who had been divided from Patriarch Nicholas and Euthymios. And the emperor Romanos exiles the magistros Stephanos to the island of Antigonos as supposedly aspiring to the throne, and tonsures him a monk, and with him also Theophanes Teichiotes and Paulos the orphanotrophos, his closest associates. And while a prokensos was taking place in the tribunal, suddenly the emperors return to the palace, a plot having been revealed to them; and the leaders having been seized, both the patrikios Arsenios and the manglabites Paulos, having been blinded and their property confiscated, were exiled. And in this year the emperor Romanos also took a son-in-law for his daughter Agatha, Leon, the son of Argyros, a noble man, surpassing in beauty of body and appearance, and adorned with intelligence and prudence. And at the same time there also occurred the affair concerning Rentakios. This man, originating from Hellas, attempted to kill his own father. And he, fearing the lawlessness of his son, embarking on a ship was sailing towards Byzantium supposedly to ask the emperor that a stop be put to the indiscipline of his son. But while going up, he was seized 2.298 by the Saracens in Crete. And his son, having the paternal wealth under his control, having come up with it to the great city, took refuge in the divine precinct of the Wisdom of God, and taking up residence there he squandered his paternal substance. This did not escape Romanos, but upon learning of it he decided to bring him out of the church and punish him. But he, having been informed, forging imperial letters as if supposedly sent to Symeon, decided to desert to the Bulgarians. And having been convicted, he is deprived of both his substance and his eyes. And when Adralestos, the domestikos of the scholae, died, Pothos Argyros was appointed. And when the Bulgarians had driven as far as Katasyrtai, he himself also went out with the tagmata, and encamped at the so-called Thermopolis. And from there he sends out Michael, a tagmatarch, the son of the patrikios Moroleon, to reconnoiter the Bulgarians. But he, unexpectedly falling into the barbarian ambushes, since there was no escape, turned to brave defense, and having killed and routed many of the Bulgarians, but having himself also been struck a mortal blow, returned to the capital and after a short while died. And then also a plot against the emperor Romanos is revealed, having as its leader the sakellarios Anastasios, who supposedly was striving on behalf of the emperor; and the culprits having been seized, each was punished as seemed fit to the emperor Romanos, with Anastasios being tonsured a monk. For which reason also the

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βασιλὶς τῇ ζωῇ ἐπιβουλεύουσα τοῦ Ῥωμανοῦ, καὶ τοῦ παλατίου κατάγεται, κἀν τῇ τῆς ἁγίας Εὐφημίας μονῇ ἀποκείρεται. ἐξεβλήθη δὲ τῆς πόλεως καὶ Θεο φύλακτος πατρίκιος καὶ Θεόδωρος ὁ παιδαγωγὸς τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ὁ τούτου ὁμαίμων Συμεών, καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀψικίῳ διάγειν ἐτάχθησαν, ὡς τάχα κατὰ Ῥωμανοῦ μελετῶντες. ὑπούργησε δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἐξοστρακισμὸν τῶν τοιούτων ὁ δρουγγάριος τῆς βίγλας Ἰωάννης ὁ Κουρκούας, αἰφνίδιον συναρπάσας αὐτοὺς καὶ πλοίοις εἰς τὴν περαίαν διαβιβάσας. Τῇ δὲ κδʹ τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνὸς ἀνάγεται Ῥωμανὸς εἰς τὴν τοῦ Καίσαρος ἀξίαν, καὶ ∆εκεμβρίῳ μηνὶ τῷ τῆς βασιλείας δια δήματι στέφεται, ἐπιτροπῇ τοῦ βασιλέως Κωνσταντίνου, τοῦ πατριάρχου Νικολάου αὐτὸν ἀναδήσαντος. Ῥωμανὸς δὲ ταινιω θεὶς τῷ βασιλικῷ διαδήματι στέφει κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν τῶν ἁγίων φώτων καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σύζυγον Θεοδώραν. Μαΐῳ δὲ μηνὶ 2.297 κατὰ τὴν τῆς ἁγίας πεντηκοστῆς ἡμέραν στέφει καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν Χριστοφόρον διὰ Κωνσταντίνου τάχα, κατὰ μὲν τὸ φαινό μενον ἐθέλοντος καὶ καταδεχομένου διὰ τὴν βίαν, ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀφανεῖ ἀλύοντος καὶ τὴν συμφορὰν ἀποκλαιομένου εἰς ἑαυτόν. καὶ μόνοι οἱ δύο κατὰ τὴν τοιαύτην προῆλθον προέλευσιν. Ἰουλίῳ δὲ μηνὶ ηʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος ἡ τῆς ἐκκλησίας γέγονεν ἕνωσις, ἑνωθέντων τῶν διαφερομένων μητροπολιτῶν τε καὶ κληρικῶν τῶν ἀπὸ Νικολάου πατριάρχου καὶ Εὐθυμίου διεσχισμένων. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Ῥωμανὸς ἐξορίζει τὸν μάγιστρον Στέφανον εἰς τὴν Ἀντιγόνου νῆσον ὡς τῆς βασιλείας τάχα ὀριγνώμενον, καὶ μοναχὸν ἀποκείρει, σὺν αὐτῷ δὲ καὶ Θεοφάνην τὸν Τειχιώτην καὶ Παῦλον τὸν ὀρφανοτρόφον, τοὺς οἰκειοτάτους αὐτῷ. προκένσου δὲ γενομένου ἐν τῷ τριβουναλίῳ, αἰφνίδιον οἱ βασιλεῖς εἰς τὸ παλάτιον ὑποστρέφουσιν ἐπιβουλῆς μηνυθείσης αὐτοῖς· κατασχεθέντες δὲ οἱ ἔξαρχοι, ὅ τε πατρίκιος Ἀρσένιος καὶ ὁ μαγκλαβίτης Παῦλος, τυφλωθέντες καὶ δημευθέν τες ἐξωρίσθησαν. ἠγάγετο δὲ τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει καὶ γαμβρὸν ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ θυγατρὶ Ἀγάθῃ Ῥωμανὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς Λέοντα τὸν τοῦ Ἀργυροῦ, ἄνδρα γενναῖον καὶ κάλλει σώματος καὶ ἰδέᾳ ὑπερφέροντα, συνέσει τε καὶ φρονήσει κοσμούμενον. Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ῥεντάκιον. οὗτος ἐξ Ἑλλάδος ὡρμημένος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ γεννήτορα ἐπεχείρησεν ἀνελεῖν. δεδιὼς δ' ἐκεῖνος τὴν τοῦ υἱοῦ ἀταξίαν, πλοίου ἐπιβὰς ἔπλει πρὸς τὸ Βυζάντιον ὡς τάχα τοῦ βασιλέως δεησόμενος ἀνα κοπὴν γενέσθαι τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ ἀπαιδευσίας. ἀνιὼν δὲ κατεσχέθη 2.298 παρὰ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ. ὁ δὲ τούτου υἱὸς ὑπο χείριον ἔχων τὸν πατρῷον πλοῦτον, ἀνελθὼν μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν μεγαλόπολιν, τῷ θείῳ τεμένει τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας προσέδραμε, κἀν τούτῳ προσκαθήμενος τὴν πατρικὴν κατεσπάθα οὐσίαν. οὐκ ἔλαθε τοῦτο τὸν Ῥωμανόν, ἀλλὰ γνοὺς ἐβουλεύσατο ἐξαγαγεῖν τοῦτον τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ παιδεῦσαι. ὁ δὲ πληροφορίαν σχών, βασιλικὰ πλασάμενος γράμματα ὡς δῆθεν ἐκπεμφθέντα πρὸς τὸν Συμεών, αὐτομολήσειν ἐβουλεύσατο πρὸς τοὺς Βουλγάρους. καὶ ἐλεγχθεὶς τῆς τε οὐσίας καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν στερεῖται. Ἀδραλέστου δὲ τοῦ δομεστίκου τῶν σχολῶν ἀποθανόντος προεβλήθη Πόθος ὁ Ἀργυρός. καὶ τῶν Βουλγάρων ἄχρι τῶν Κατασυρτῶν ἐξελασάντων ἔξεισι καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ τῶν ταγμάτων, καὶ κατασκηνοῖ κατὰ τὴν λεγομένην Θερμόπολιν. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ Μι χαὴλ ταγματάρχην τὸν τοῦ πατρικίου Μωρολέοντος υἱὸν ἐπὶ κα τασκοπὴν τῶν Βουλγάρων ἐκπέμπει. ὁ δὲ ἀπροόπτως ταῖς βαρ βαρικαῖς ἐμπεσὼν ἐνέδραις, ἐπείπερ ἄφυκτα ἦν, τρέπεται πρὸς ἀλκήν, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν Βουλγάρων ἀνελὼν καὶ τρεψάμενος, και ρίαν δὲ τυπεὶς καὶ αὐτός, ἐπανῆκεν εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἐτελεύτησε. τότε δὲ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμανῷ ἐπιβουλὴ μηνύεται κατ' αὐτοῦ, προστάτην ἔχουσα τὸν σακελλάριον Ἀνα στάσιον, ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως δῆθεν ἀγωνιζόμενον· καὶ τῶν αἰτίων συσχεθέντων ἕκαστος κατὰ τὸ δόξαν ἐτιμωρήθη τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥω μανῷ, τοῦ Ἀναστασίου ἀποκαρέντος μοναχοῦ. ἐξ ἧς αἰτίας καὶ ὁ