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being carelessly disposed and rising up more hotly than was necessary and having often attempted to flee, after the second year of his fall from the imperial power, having murdered the one guarding him, he himself is also slaughtered by the rest. And in the month of July of the 3rd indiction, Romanos, their father, also paid his debt, and is buried in the Myrelaion. But the Porphyrogennetos, having removed the suspects from his midst, and alone girding himself with imperial rule, at the holy Pascha of the same indiction also places the diadem on his son Romanos, while Theophylaktos the patriarch performed the prayers. And seeming to appear noble and to take hold more carefully of the things pertaining to the empire, if he should rule alone, he was seen to be weaker than the expectation, having shown nothing worthy of the expectation placed in him. For he was overcome by wine, and preferred the easiest things over the laborious, and he was inexorable in punishments and an unsympathetic punisher, and indifferent towards the promotions of leaders, not 2.326 wanting these to be directed according to merit and by selection, which is the work of magnificent authority, but entrusting rule, perhaps a military command or a civil office, to whomever was at hand, without examination, so that as a result of this it happened that every common and disreputable person was appointed to the greatest of the civil offices, with both Helene his wife and Basil the parakoimomenos contributing much to this, preparing to make the offices for sale.

But Constantine was not entirely without good deeds. For the deed about to be mentioned, being admirable and wonderful, was able to overshadow and obscure many of his faults. For by his own zeal he restored the sciences—arithmetic, music, astronomy, geometry, stereometry, and philosophy which presides over them all—which had been lost for a long time through the neglect and ignorance of the rulers, having sought out and found the best and most proven men in each of these and appointed them as teachers, and both accepting and supporting the zealous. Therefore, having driven out irrationality, in not a long time he reformed the state to be more rational. He also took care of the mechanical and manual arts, and brought these too to a great state of progress. And he was also pious and generous towards God, never in his formal visits to the divine temples appearing empty and fruitless before God, but presenting him with magnificent offerings befitting a Christ-loving emperor. He 2.327 also rewarded those who had cooperated with him in the deposition of his brothers-in-law with these benefactions, honoring Bardas Phokas as magistros and domestikos of the schools of the east, and appointing his sons Nikephoros and Leo, the one, Nikephoros, as strategos of the Anatolics, and the other, Leo, of Cappadocia, and the other of his sons, Constantine, of Seleucia, and Basil Peteinos as exarch of the great hetaireia, and Marianos Argyros as count of the stable and Manuel Kourtikes as droungarios of the vigla. He also castrated Romanos, the son of Stephen, who later became sebastophoros, and also Basil who was born to the elder Romanos from a slave woman; and he tonsured Michael, the son of the emperor Christopher, as a cleric. Having secured the empire, as he thought, with adamantine bonds and shaken off all suspicion, and having seemed to be established in safety, he almost ran into danger, having fallen into two very great conspiracies. For Theophanes the parakoimomenos planned to bring the elder Romanos from the island of Prote to the palace, having not a few other accomplices; and certain others, namely Leo Kladon, Gregory the Macedonian and Theodosios the first of Stephen's grooms and John the rhaiktor, plotted to bring Stephen from Mytilene and establish him in the imperial power. but

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ὀλιγώρως διατεθεὶς καὶ θερμότερον τοῦ δέοντος κατεξανιστάμενος καὶ πολλάκις ἐπι χειρήσας φυγεῖν, μετὰ δεύτερον χρόνον τοῦ τῆς βασιλείας ἐκπε σεῖν τὸν φυλάττοντα τοῦτον δολοφονήσας ὑπὸ τῶν περιλοίπων καὶ αὐτὸς ἀποσφάττεται. Μηνὶ δὲ Ἰουλίῳ τῆς ʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος καὶ Ῥωμανὸς ὁ τούτων πατὴρ ἀπέτισε τὸ χρεών, καὶ ἐν τῷ Μυρελαίῳ θάπτεται. ὁ δὲ πορφυρογέννητος τὰ ὕποπτα περιελὼν ἐκ μέσου, καὶ μόνος τὴν αὐτοκράτορα περιζωσάμενος ἀρχήν, κατὰ τὸ θεῖον πάσχα τῆς αὐτῆς ἰνδικτιῶνος καὶ τῷ υἱῷ Ῥωμανῷ περιτίθησι τὸ διάδημα, τελέσαντος δὴ τὰς εὐχὰς Θεοφυλάκτου τοῦ πατριάρχου. δοκῶν δέ τις γενναῖος ἀναφανῆναι καὶ τῶν τῇ βασιλείᾳ διαφερόντων ἐπι μελέστερον ἀντιλήψεσθαι, εἰ μόνος κατάρξοι, μαλακώτερος ὤφθη τῆς ὑπολήψεως, μηδὲν ἄξιον τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν προσδοκίας ἐπιδειξά μενος. οἴνου τε γὰρ ἥττητο, καὶ τῶν ἐπιπόνων τὰ ῥᾷστα προέ κρινε, δυσπαραίτητός τε ἦν ἐν τοῖς πταίσμασι καὶ ἀσυμπαθὴς κολαστής, ἀδιάφορός τε πρὸς τὰς προβολὰς τῶν ἀρχηγῶν, οὐκ 2.326 ἀριστίνδην ταύτας ἰθύνεσθαι καὶ κατ' ἐπιλογὴν ἐθέλων, ὅπερ ἔργον ἐστὶ μεγαλοπρεποῦς ἐξουσίας, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρατυχόντι ἀρχὴν ἐμπιστεύων, στρατηγίαν τυχὸν ἢ πολιταρχίαν, ἀδοκιμάστως, ὡς ἐκ τούτου συμβῆναι πάντα τινὰ χυδαῖον καὶ διαβεβλημένον εἰς τὰς μεγίστας τῶν πολιτικῶν ἀρχῶν προχειρίζεσθαι, πολλὰ πρὸς τοῦτο συνεργούσης καὶ Ἑλένης τῆς αὐτοῦ γαμετῆς καὶ Βασιλείου τοῦ πα ρακοιμωμένου, ὠνίους τὰς ἀρχὰς ποιεῖν παρασκευαζόντων.

Οὐ παντάπασι δὲ ἄμοιρος ἦν καὶ πράξεων ἀγαθῶν ὁ Κων σταντῖνος. ἡ γὰρ ῥηθῆναι μέλλουσα ἀξιάγαστος οὖσα καὶ θαυ μαστὴ ἐπισκιάσαι ἴσχυσε καὶ ἀμαυρῶσαι πολλὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐλατ τωμάτων. τὰς γὰρ ἐπιστήμας, ἀριθμητικὴν μουσικὴν ἀστρονο μίαν γεωμετρίαν στερεομετρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν πάσαις ἔποχον φιλοσο φίαν, ἐκ μακροῦ χρόνου ἀμελείᾳ καὶ ἀμαθίᾳ τῶν κρατούντων ἀπολωλυίας οἰκείᾳ σπουδῇ ἀνεκτήσατο, τοὺς ἐφ' ἑκάστῃ τούτων ἀρίστους τε καὶ δοκίμους ἀναζητήσας καὶ εὑρὼν καὶ διδασκάλους ἐπιστήσας, καὶ τοὺς σπουδαίους ἀποδεχόμενός τε καὶ συγκροτῶν. διὸ καὶ τὴν ἀλογίαν ἀπελάσας οὐκ ἐν μακρῷ τῷ χρόνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ λο γικώτερον μετερρύθμισε τὸ πολίτευμα. ἐπεμελήθη δὲ καὶ τῶν βαναύσων καὶ χειρωνάκτων τεχνῶν, καὶ εἰς ἐπίδοσιν μεγάλην καὶ ταύτας ἀνήνεγκεν. ἦν δὲ καὶ τὰ πρὸς θεὸν εὐσεβὴς καὶ φιλότι μος, μηδέποτε ἐν ταῖς πρὸς θεὸν τυπικαῖς τῶν θείων ναῶν προσε λεύσεσι κενὸς καὶ ἄκαρπος ὀφθεὶς τῷ θεῷ, ἀλλ' ἀναθήμασι δω ρούμενος μεγαλοπρεπέσι καὶ φιλοχρίστῳ βασιλεῖ πρέπουσιν. ἠμεί 2.327 ψατο δὲ καὶ τοὺς συνεργήσαντας αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν τῶν γυναικαδέλ φων καθαίρεσιν ταῖσδε ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις, Βάρδαν μὲν τὸν Φωκᾶν μάγιστρον τιμήσας καὶ δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν τῆς ἀνατολῆς, Νικηφόρον δὲ καὶ Λέοντα τοὺς τούτου υἱούς, τὸν μὲν τῶν ἀνα τολικῶν στρατηγόν, τὸν Νικηφόρον, τὸν δὲ τῆς Καππαδοκίας, τὸν Λέοντα, προχειρισάμενος, καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον θάτερον τῶν υἱῶν τῆς Σελευκείας, Βασίλειον δὲ τὸν Πετεινὸν ἔξαρχον τῆς μεγάλης ἑταιρείας, Μαριανὸν δὲ τὸν Ἀργυρὸν κόμητα τοῦ στάβλου καὶ τὸν Κουρτίκην Μανουὴλ τῆς βίγλας δρουγγάριον. ἐξευνούχισε δὲ καὶ Ῥωμανὸν τὸν τοῦ Στεφάνου υἱόν, τὸν μετέπειτα σεβαστο φόρον γενόμενον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ Βασίλειον τὸν ἐκ δούλης ἀποτεχθέντα Ῥωμανῷ τῷ γέροντι· Μιχαὴλ δὲ τὸν υἱὸν Χριστοφόρου τοῦ βα σιλέως ἀπέκειρε κληρικόν. Ἀδαμαντίνοις δ', ὡς ᾤετο, δεσμοῖς τὴν βασιλείαν ἀσφαλι σάμενος καὶ πᾶσαν ὑποψίαν ἀποσεισάμενος, καὶ δόξας ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ καθεστάναι, μικροῦ δεῖν ἐκινδύνευσε δυσὶ μεγίσταις ἐπι βουλαῖς περιπεσών. Θεοφάνης τε γὰρ ὁ παρακοιμώμενος ἐβου λήθη τὸν πρεσβύτην Ῥωμανὸν ἐκ τῆς νήσου Πρώτης εἰς τὸ παλά τιον ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ ἄλλους οὐκ ὀλίγους ἔχων συνίστορας· καί τινες δὲ ἕτεροι, ἤτοι Λέων ὁ Κλάδων, Γρηγόριος ὁ Μακεδὼν καὶ Θεο δόσιος ὁ πρῶτος τῶν τοῦ Στεφάνου ἱπποκόμων καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ ῥαίκτωρ, τὸν Στέφανον ἐβουλεύσαντο ἐκ Μιτυλήνης ἀγαγεῖν καὶ τῇ βασιλείᾳ ἐγκαθιδρῦσαι. ἀλλ'