426

They razed most of the citizens' houses, of which the most notable was that of Joseph; for not only were the houses of prominent and political men who seemed to oppose them destroyed, but also those of many other more humble men, whose number was countless; for whoever had a dispute with someone, bringing a disorderly crowd with him, with no one hindering, destroyed that person. And many people were murdered in such disorder. And while doing these things in the broad public streets of the city, both in the marketplaces and in the narrow alleys, they hailed Nikephoros Kallinikos. This deed drives out from the great church Bardas the father of Phokas, a pitiful fugitive and one who was all but awaiting danger, and in his place it brings into it Joseph the parakoimomenos, who before this was puffing himself up and arrogant, as a pitiful suppliant and one having his own safety in doubt. And the circle of the parakoimomenos Basil, having prepared triremes and having taken the imperial dromon with the entire fleet, cross over to Chrysopolis, and taking up Nikephoros from there, they lead him to the Hebdomon, and from there, both they and all the people of the city, with acclamations and applause and trumpets and cymbals, a public procession having been made, 2.351 they lead him through the Golden Gate into the Queen of Cities. And having arrived in the great church, they prepared Polyeuktos the patriarch to crown him with the imperial diadem. Polyeuktos therefore crowns him on the ambo of the great church of God, and the day was Sunday the 10th of the current month of August, of the indiction. And sending the monk and synkellos Antony the Stoudite, he brings Theophano down from the palace and sends her out to the palace of Petrion. And after a short time he sends the parakoimomenos Joseph into exile in Paphlagonia, and again after not a long time he transfers him to a certain monastery called 'of the Asekretis', in Pythia; who, having stayed there for two whole years, died. And he also appointed his own father Bardas as Caesar. And on the 20th of the month of September, having put aside the mask and the pretense, he takes Theophano as his lawful wife. And then he tasted meat, having previously abstained from eating meat ever since Bardas, the son born to him from his first wife, died, having been unintentionally struck with a spear while riding on horseback in the field and playing with his own cousin Pleuses. And whether he did this practicing self-control or pretending in order to deceive the rulers, only he would know, after God. And when the marriage 2.352 was celebrated in the new church in the palace, since an entrance into the sanctuary was about to take place, Polyeuktos, holding him by the hand and approaching the sacred railings, entered the holy of holies himself, but pushed him back, saying that he would not be permitted to enter the sanctuary before he accepted the penances for those marrying a second time. And in this he grieved Nikephoros, and he did not cease to be angry with him until his death. And a rumor had also spread everywhere, which disturbed the church not a little, that Nikephoros had become the godfather from holy baptism for one of Theophano's children. And Polyeuktos, seizing upon this rumor as a plausible pretext, fought for him either to be separated from his wife according to the canon, or to withdraw from the church. which he indeed did, staying away from Theophano. And having summoned the bishops resident in the city and the leading men of the senate, he proposed a deliberation about this. And all these said that the law was from Copronymus, and they judged that it was not necessary for it to be observed. Therefore, having signed a document of release, they gave it to him. But as Polyeuktos was still delaying to give communion to the emperor, the Caesar informed him that he had not become godfather. But also Stylianos the protopapas of the great palace, from whom

426

ἐξηδάφισαν οἰκίας πλείστας τῶν πολιτῶν, ὧν ἐπισημοτέρα ἦν ἡ τοῦ Ἰωσήφ· οὐ γὰρ μόνον τῶν ἀντιβαίνειν δοκούντων ἐμφανῶν καὶ πολιτικῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῶν ἄλλων εὐτελεστέρων, ὧν οὐκ ἀριθμητὸν ἦν τὸ πλῆ θος, κατεστράφησαν οἰκίαι· ᾧ γάρ ποτε διαφορὰ μετά τινος ἦν, πλῆθος ἀτάκτων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐπαγόμενος μηδενὸς κωλύοντος τοῦ τον ἠφάνιζε. πολλοὶ δ' ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ἀταξίᾳ καὶ ἄνθρωποι ἐφονεύθησαν. ταῦτα δὲ ποιοῦντες ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις τῆς πόλεως λεωφόροις ἔν τε ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἔν τε τοῖς στενωποῖς Νικηφόρον ἀνευφήμουν Καλλίνικον. τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἐξάγει μὲν τῆς μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας Βάρδαν τὸν πατέρα τοῦ Φωκᾶ, φυγάδα οἰκτρὸν καὶ ὅσον οὐδέπω τὸν κίνδυνον ἐκδεχόμενον, τὸν δὲ Ἰωσὴφ τὸν παρα κοιμώμενον, τὸν πρὸ τούτου μεγάλα φυσῶντα καὶ ἐπαιρόμενον, εἰς αὐτὴν ἀντεισάγει ἱκέτην ἐλεεινὸν καὶ ἀμφίβολον ἔχοντα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν. οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν παρακοιμώμενον Βασίλειον τριήρεις κατασκευάσαντες καὶ τὸν βασιλικὸν εἰληφότες δρόμωνα μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στόλου περαιοῦνται ἐν Χρυσουπόλει, καὶ τὸν Νι κηφόρον ἐκεῖθεν ἀναλαβόμενοι ἄγουσιν εἰς τὸ Ἕβδομον, αὐτόθεν τε αὐτοί τε καὶ πᾶς ὁ δῆμος τῆς πόλεως μετ' εὐφημιῶν καὶ κρό των καὶ σαλπίγγων καὶ κυμβάλων δημοσίας γενομένης προόδου 2.351 διὰ τῆς χρυσῆς πόρτης εἰσάγουσιν εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα. γενόμενοι δὲ ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ Πολύευκτον παρεσκεύασαν τὸν πατριάρχην καὶ τῷ βασιλικῷ αὐτὸν ταινιῶσαι διαδήματι. στέφει οὖν τοῦτον ὁ Πολύευκτος ἐν τῷ ἄμβωνι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μεγάλης ἐκκλησίας, ἡμέρα δὲ ἦν κυριακὴ ιʹ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς ἄγοντος, τῆς ʹ ἰνδικτιῶνος. Ἀποστείλας δὲ τὸν μοναχὸν καὶ σύγκελλον Ἀντώνιον τὸν Στουδίτην τὴν Θεοφανὼ τῶν βασιλείων καταβιβάζει καὶ εἰς τὸ παλάτιον τοῦ Πετρίου ἐκπέμπει. μετ' ὀλίγον δὲ ἐξόριστον τίθησιν καὶ τὸν παρακοιμώμενον Ἰωσὴφ ἐν Παφλαγονίᾳ, καὶ αὖθις μετ' οὐ πολὺν χρόνον μεταβιβάζει ἔν τινι μοναστηρίῳ λεγομένῳ τοῦ Ἀσηκρῆτις, ἐν τοῖς Πυθίοις· ὃς ἐπὶ δύο ὅλους ἐκεῖσε ἐνδιατρίψας ἐνιαυτοὺς ἀπεβίω. χειροτονεῖ δὲ καὶ Βάρδαν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα Καίσαρα. τῇ δὲ κʹ τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνός, τὸ προσωπεῖον καὶ τὴν σκηνὴν ἀποθέμενος, ἄγεται νόμιμον γαμετὴν τὴν Θεοφανώ. τότε δὲ καὶ κρεῶν ἀπεγεύσατο, πρότερον ἀπεχόμενος κρεωδαισίας ἐξ ὅτου Βάρδας ὁ ἐκ τῆς προτέρας αὐτοῦ γυναικὸς ἀποτεχθεὶς αὐτῷ υἱός, ἱππαζόμενος ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ προσπαίζων ἀνεψιῷ τῷ Πλεύσῃ, μετὰ δόρατος βληθεὶς ἀκουσίως τέθνηκε. τοῦτο δὲ εἴτε ἐγκρατευόμενος ἐποίει εἴτε καὶ λαθεῖν τοὺς κρατοῦν τας ὑποκρινόμενος, μόνος ἂν εἰδείη μετὰ θεὸν ἐκεῖνος. τοῦ γά 2.352 μου δὲ τελεσθέντος ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὸ παλάτιον νέᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἐπείπερ ἤμελλεν εἴσοδος ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ γενέσθαι, τῆς χειρὸς κατέχων αὐτὸν ὁ Πολύευκτος καὶ ταῖς ἱεραῖς ἐγγίσας κιγκλίσιν, εἴσεισι μὲν αὐτὸς εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα, ἐκεῖνον δ' ἐξώθησεν ὄπισθεν, ἐπειπὼν μὴ πρότερον συγχωρηθήσεσθαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ θυσιαστήριον εἰσελθεῖν, πρὶν ἂν δέξηται ἐπιτίμια δευτερογαμούντων. ἐλύπησε δὲ ἐν τούτῳ τὸν Νικηφόρον, καὶ οὐ διέλιπεν ἐγκοτῶν αὐτῷ μέχρι τῆς τελευ τῆς. διεδέδοτο δὲ καὶ λόγος ἁπανταχοῦ, ὃς οὐ μικρῶς διετάραξε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ὅτιπερ ὁ Νικηφόρος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος ἀνάδοχος ἐγένετο τῶν τῆς Θεοφανοῦς ἑνὸς παίδων. ταύτης δὲ τῆς φήμης ὡς εὐλόγου ἀφορμῆς δραξάμενος ὁ Πολύευκτος ἢ χω ρισθῆναι αὐτὸν ἀπεμάχετο τῆς γυναικὸς κατὰ τὸν κανόνα ἢ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀναχωρεῖν. ὃ δὴ καὶ πεποίηκε, τῆς Θεοφανοῦς ἐξεχό μενος. συγκαλεσάμενος δὲ τοὺς ἐνδημοῦντας ἐπισκόπους ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ τοὺς τῆς συγκλήτου λογάδας, σκέψιν περὶ τούτου προέ θετο. πάντες δὲ οὗτοι τοῦ Κοπρωνύμου εἶναι τὸν νόμον ἔλεγον, καὶ δέον αὐτὸν μὴ φυλάττεσθαι ἔκριναν. τοῦτ' ἄρα καὶ λίβελλον ἀφέσεως ὑπογράψαντες τούτῳ ἐπιδεδώκασιν. ἔτι δ' ἀναβαλλό μενον τὸν Πολύευκτον κοινωνῆσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ ὁ Καῖσαρ ἐπληροφόρησεν ὡς οὐκ ἀνάδοχος γέγονεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ Στυλιανὸς ὁ πρω τοπαπᾶς τοῦ μεγάλου παλατίου, ἐξ οὗ