476

he set free. And he blinded Romanos Kourkouas, who was the brother-in-law of Prousianos through his sister, and Bogdanos and Glabas and Goudeles. And he also cut out the tongue of the monk Zacharias, the kinsman of the Vestes Theudatos, fabricating that these men had conspired against him. In this year the Patzinaks also made an invasion against Bulgaria, and they slaughtered and took captive a great many people and generals and tagmatarchs; for this reason, the emperor Constantine made Diogenes, who was archon of Sirmium, doux of Bulgaria, who, having frequently engaged them while they were scattered, routed them and forced them, after they crossed the Ister, to keep the peace. 2.484 And during all the years of his reign there was a very great drought, so that the ever-flowing springs and the rivers dried up. And since the emperor Basil, out of pity for the poor, did not collect the public taxes in a timely manner but granted a suspension and postponement to the demands, it happened that when he died, two years' taxes were still in arrears; which Constantine collected at once. He also collected those of the other three years (for his reign extended for so long a time), and not only the poor and destitute were crushed but also the well-to-do, having provided five tax-payments in three years. Therefore a fleet of Agarenes also came out against the Cyclades islands; engaging them, George Theodorokanos, the strategos of Samos, together with Beriboes, the strategos of Chios, routed them, and captured twelve ships with their crews, and scattered the rest.

And on the ninth of the month of November, of the 12th indiction, in the year 6537, Constantine, having been seized by a sudden illness and given up by the physicians, was considering whom he might leave as successor to the empire. It therefore seemed best to him to summon the patrikios Constantine Dalassenos, who was at leisure in his own house in the Armeniakon theme, and to make him a son-in-law through one of his daughters and proclaim him emperor. And indeed a certain one of the most trusted eunuchs, the one called Ergodotes, was sent to bring him. But through the efforts of Symeon, who was friendly towards the patrikios Romanos Argyros, this decision was disregarded, and someone was sent swiftly 2.485 by the emperor to Dalassenos, ordering him to wait there wherever the letter should find him, and Romanos was brought to the palace. And when he was brought, two choices were put before him: either to be divorced from his lawful wife and be joined to the emperor's daughter and be proclaimed emperor, or to have his eyes put out. And as he was reeling and hesitating at each of these, his wife, fearing for her husband, lest he suffer some evil, voluntarily put off her worldly hair, and granted to her husband both his sight and the empire. Now Constantine had three daughters by the daughter of the patrikios Alypios, whom he had married while Basil was still alive. The first in age, Eudokia, had taken the tonsure, and the third, Theodora, refused to be married to Romanos, either because of their kinship, as they say, or because his wife was still alive. But the second in age, Zoe, gladly accepted the arranged proposal concerning the marriage. And when the issue concerning their kinship was raised, and the church with the patriarch resolved the doubtful point, Romanos was wedded to Zoe and was proclaimed emperor autokrator. And after three days Constantine died, having lived in all for 70 years of his life, and having reigned for three years less one month. Thus, against all hope and expectation, having escaped the danger of being blinded, Romanos girt himself with the power of the empire, and was proclaimed emperor autokrator together with Zoe, the daughter of Constantine. Therefore, as soon as he sat on the imperial throne, at the same time with good prefaces and praiseworthy accession-speeches 2.486 he received his subjects, beginning first from piety

476

ἠλευ θέρωσεν. ἐτύφλωσε δὲ καὶ Ῥωμανὸν τὸν Κουρκούαν, ἐπ' ἀδελ φῇ ὄντα γαμβρὸν τοῦ Προυσιανοῦ καὶ τὸν Βογδάνον καὶ τὸν Γλα βᾶν καὶ τὸν Γουδέλην. ἐγλωσσοτόμησε δὲ καὶ τὸν μοναχὸν Ζαχαρίαν τὸν συγγενῆ τοῦ Βέστου Θευδάτου, συσκευάσασθαι τούτους πλασάμενος κατ' αὐτοῦ. Τούτῳ τῷ ἔτει καὶ Πατζινάκαι εἰσβολὴν ἐποιήσαντο κατὰ Βουλγαρίας, καὶ πλεῖστον λαὸν καὶ στρατηγοὺς καὶ ταγματάρχας ἔσφαξαν καὶ ἐζώγρησαν· διὸ ὁ βασιλεὺς Κωνσταντῖνος τὸν ∆ιογέ νην ἄρχοντα Σιρμίου ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δοῦκα τῆς Βουλγαρίας ἐποίη σεν, ὃς συμπλακεὶς πολλάκις αὐτοῖς διεσπαρμένοις ἐτρέψατο καὶ ἠνάγκασε περαιωθέντας τὸν Ἴστρον ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν. ἐγένετο δὲ 2.484 καὶ ἐφ' ὅλους τοὺς τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ χρόνους μέγιστος αὐχμός, ὡς ἀποξηρανθῆναι τὰς ἀεννάους πηγὰς καὶ τοὺς ποταμούς. τοῦ βασιλέως δὲ Βασιλείου φειδοῖ τῶν πενήτων μὴ ἐγκαίρως τὰς δη μοσίας εἰσπραττομένου συντελείας ἀλλ' ἀνακωχὴν καὶ ὑπερημερίαν διδόντος ταῖς ἀπαιτήσεσιν, ἐκείνου τελευτήσαντος συνέβη δύο ἐνιαυ τῶν φόρους ἔτι ἠρτῆσθαι· οὓς ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος εὐθὺς εἰσεπράξατο. εἰσεπράξατο δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑτέρων τριῶν ἐνιαυτῶν (ἐς τοσοῦτον γὰρ χρόνον ἡ ἀρχὴ αὐτῷ ἐξετάθη), καὶ συνετρίβησαν οὐχ οἱ πένητες μόνον καὶ ἄποροι ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ εὐπόρως ἔχοντες, ἐν τρισὶ χρόνοις πέντε παρασχόντες δασμοφορίας. ἐξῆλθεν οὖν καὶ στόλος Ἀγα ρηνῶν κατὰ τῶν Κυκλάδων νήσων· οἷς συμπλακεὶς ὁ στρατηγὸς Σάμου Γεώργιος ὁ Θεοδωροκάνος, ἅμα Βεριβόῃ τῷ στρατηγοῦντι τῆς Χίου, ἐτρέψατο, καὶ δώδεκα μὲν αὔτανδρα εἷλε, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ διεσκέδασεν.

Ἐννάτῃ δὲ Νοεμβρίου μηνός, τῆς ιβʹ ἐπινεμήσεως, ἐν ἔτει #22φλζʹ, αἰφνιδίῳ νόσῳ ληφθεὶς ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἀπαγορευθεὶς ἐσκέπτετο τίνα ἂν καταλίποι διάδοχον τῆς βασιλείας. ἔδοξεν οὖν αὐτῷ τὸν πατρίκιον Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ∆αλασσηνὸν μεταστείλασθαι, κατὰ τὸν Ἀρμενιακὸν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ οἴκῳ σχολάζοντα, γαμβρόν τε ποιήσασθαι ἐπὶ μιᾷ τῶν θυγατέρων καὶ ἀναγορεῦσαι βασιλέα. καὶ δὴ πέμπεται ἄξων αὐτὸν εὐνοῦχός τις τῶν πιστικωτάτων, ὁ λεγόμενος Ἐργοδότης. σπουδῇ δὲ τοῦ Συμεὼν φιλίως διακειμένου πρὸς τὸν πατρίκιον Ῥωμανὸν τὸν Ἀργυρὸν αὕτη μὲν παρωράθη ἡ γνώμη, καὶ στέλλεταί τις τάχα ε᾿̣ 2.485 βασιλέως ἐς τὸν ∆αλασσηνόν, ἐκεῖσε προσμένειν κελεύοντος αὐτὸν ὅπῃ ἂν ἡ γραφὴ καταλήψηται, ἄγεται δὲ ὁ Ῥωμανὸς πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια. ἀχθέντι δὲ δύο προτίθενται γνῶμαι, ἢ διαζυγῆναι τῆς νομίμου γυναικὸς τῇ βασιλέως τε θυγατρὶ συναφθῆναι καὶ βασι λέα ἀναγορευθῆναι, ἢ πηρωθῆναι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. τοῦ δὲ ἰλιγγιῶντος καὶ ἀναδυομένου πρὸς αὐτῶν ἑκάτερον, ἡ σύνοικος δείσασα περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρός, μή τι καὶ πάθῃ φλαῦρον, τὴν κοσμικὴν ἑκουσίως ἀπέθετο τρίχα, καὶ τῷ συζύγῳ πρὸς τῇ ὄψει ἐχαρίσατο καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν. οὐσῶν δὲ τῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ θυγατέρων τριῶν ἐκ τῆς θυγατρὸς τοῦ πατρικίου Ἀλυπίου, ἣν ἔτι ζῶντος τοῦ Βα σιλείου ἡρμόσατο, ἡ μὲν καθ' ἡλικίαν πρωτεύουσα Εὐδοκία ἀπε κείρατο, ἡ τρίτη δὲ Θεοδώρα ἀπηνήνατο συζυγῆναι τῷ Ῥωμανῷ, ἢ διὰ τὸ συγγενές, ὥς φασιν, ἢ διὰ τὸ ἔτι τὴν ἐκείνου σύζυγον ζῆν. ἡ δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ δευτέρα Ζωὴ τὸν περὶ τῆς συνοικίας λόγον συνενεσθέντα ἀσπασίως ἐδέξατο. λόγου δὲ περὶ τῆς συγγενείας κινηθέντος, καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας σὺν τῷ πατριάρχῃ λυσάντων τὸ ἀμφίβολον, ἱερολογεῖται ὁ Ῥωμανὸς τῇ Ζωῇ καὶ αὐτοκράτωρ ἀνα γορεύεται βασιλεύς. καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας Κωνσταντῖνος ἀπέ θανε, ζήσας μὲν τὸν ἅπαντα τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ χρόνον οʹ ἔτη, ἐπὶ τρεῖς δὲ ἑνὸς δέοντος μηνὸς βεβασιλευκώς. Οὕτω δὲ παρὰ πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα καὶ προσδοκίαν τὸν τῆς πηρώ σεως κίνδυνον διαδρὰς ὁ Ῥωμανὸς τὸ τῆς βασιλείας περιζώννυται κράτος, καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτοκράτωρ ἅμα Ζωῇ τῇ τοῦ Κωνσταντίνου ἀναγορεύεται θυγατρί. ἅμα τε οὖν ἐπὶ τὸν βασίλειον ἐκάθισε θρόνον, καὶ ἅμα προοιμίοις ἀγαθοῖς καὶ ἐπιβατηρίοις ἐπαινετοῖς 2.486 ἐδεξιοῦτο τοὺς ὑπὸ χεῖρα, ἀπὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας πρότερον ἀρξάμενος