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scattered the Bulgarians and seized Ivatses. And having settled all affairs in Bulgaria, and having appointed generals in the themes, he entered the capital, bringing with him both Deleanus and Ivatses. Worn down by the disease that possessed him, and despairing of his own salvation from every side, he was tonsured a monk by the monk Cosmas Tzintziloukes, who was always with him and advised him on what was necessary. On the tenth of December of the year 6550, the 10th indiction, he died in repentance and confession, bewailing his sin against the 2.534 emperor Romanos, having reigned for 7 years and 8 months, a man in other respects gentle and good and seeming to live piously, except for his sin against the emperor Romanos. But this too many attribute to the orphanotrophos. When Michael met such an end, the entire power devolved as upon an heir to the empress Zoe. Therefore she also took hold of affairs more vigorously, having as collaborators and assistants her father's eunuchs, whom the account has often enumerated above. However, she did not remain of the same mind, but looking to the weight of the empire, and realizing that she would never be able on her own to conduct public affairs correctly, and considering it unprofitable for so great an empire to be without an emperor and without a ruler, and judging it necessary to appoint an emperor who would be able to take charge of affairs in arising circumstances, and after deliberating about this for three whole days, the emperor's nephew and namesake, the son of Stephen who had ruined affairs in Sicily, who was Caesar and seemed energetic and skillful in affairs, having first bound him with the most fearsome oaths that he would have her for his life as lady and mistress and mother, doing whatsoever she commanded, she takes as an adopted son and proclaims him emperor of the Romans, crowning him with the imperial 2.535 diadem, having first removed the orphanotrophos and exiled him to the monastery of the Monobatae, similarly also removing Constantine the domestic of the schools from his office and confining him to his estates of the apse in Opsikion, likewise also sending George the protovestiarios to his estates in Paphlagonia. At the very hour in which Michael was being bound with the diadem, he was seized with darkness and dizziness and came close to falling. They barely revived him with myrrhs and perfumes and other fragrant substances. And the earth was shaken throughout the entire four months of his reign. Meanwhile, having been crowned by the patriarch and established as emperor, he won over the senate with honors and offices and the populace with distributions of gifts. By intercession with the empress, he also recalled Constantine the domestic from exile and, having honored him as nobelissimos, kept him with himself. But thinking he stood on firm ground, he suddenly fell. For he was corrupted by the letters of the orphanotrophos and the counsels of the domestic, who said not to trust the empress often but to guard against her, so that he might not suffer the same things as both his uncle and emperor Michael and Romanos before him, who was done in by sorcery, as they claimed, and advising him, if possible, to get rid of her and to hasten lest he be anticipated, and making continuous 2.536 assaults concerning the same matter they were able to persuade him to plan a plot against her. It seemed best, therefore, to test the citizens first, what sort of opinion they had of him, and if they appeared to maintain a good disposition toward him and true friendship, then indeed to attempt the plan, but if the opposite, to keep quiet.

On the Sunday, therefore, after the holy Pascha, having proclaimed a public procession in the church of the Holy Apostles, and having decided to test through it the opinion of the

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Βουλγάρων ἐσκέδασε καὶ τὸν Ἰβάτζην κατέσχε. καὶ καταστησάμενος πάντα τὰ ἐν Βουλγαρίᾳ, καὶ στρατηγοὺς ἐν τοῖς θέμασι τάξας, εἴσεισιν ἐν τῇ βασιλίδι, ἐπαγόμενος μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ τόν τε ∆ελεάνον καὶ τὸν Ἰβάτζην. τῇ δὲ κατεχούσῃ τοῦτον νόσῳ ἐντρυχωθείς, καὶ πάντοθεν τῆς οἰκείας ἀπογνοὺς σωτηρίας, ἀποκείρεται μοναχὸς παρὰ τοῦ μοναχοῦ Κοσμᾶ τοῦ Τζιντζουλούκη, ὃς διὰ παντὸς συνῆν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐνου θέτει τὰ δέοντα. ∆εκεμβρίου δὲ δεκάτῃ τοῦ φνʹ ἔτους, ἰνδι κτιῶνος ιʹ, θνήσκει ἐν μετανοίᾳ καὶ ἐξομολογήσει, τὴν εἰς τὸν 2.534 βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν ἁμαρτάδα ἀποκλαιόμενος, βασιλεύσας ἐπὶ ἔτη ζʹ καὶ μῆνας ηʹ, ἀνὴρ τἆλλα μὲν ἐπιεικὴς καὶ χρηστὸς καὶ εὐλα βῶς δόξας βιοῦν, πλὴν τοῦ εἰς τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμανὸν ἁμαρτήμα τος. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο οἱ πολλοὶ τῷ ὀρφανοτρόφῳ προσάπτουσι. Τοιούτῳ δὲ τέλει χρησαμένου τοῦ Μιχαὴλ τὸ πᾶν κράτος περιέστη ὡς εἰς κληρονόμον τὴν βασιλίδα Ζωήν. τοιγαροῦν καὶ νεανικώτερον ἥπτετο τῶν πραγμάτων, συνεργοὺς ἔχουσα καὶ συλ λήπτορας τοὺς τοῦ πατρὸς εὐνούχους, οὓς ἄνωθεν ὁ λόγος πολ λάκις ἀπηριθμήσατο. πλὴν οὐ παρέμεινεν ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φρο νήματος, ἀλλ' ἀποβλέψασα πρὸς τὸν ὄγκον τῆς βασιλείας, καὶ διαγνοῦσα ὡς οὐκ ἄν ποτε καθ' ἑαυτὴν αὐτὴ δυνηθείη ὀρθῶς τὰ κοινὰ διεξάγειν, καὶ ἀλυσιτελὲς νομίσασα τὸ ἀβασίλευτον καὶ ἄναρχον τὴν τηλικαύτην εἶναι ἀρχήν, καὶ δέον εἶναι κρίνασα προχειρίσασθαι βασιλέα τὸν δυνάμενον ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν πραγμάτων ἐν ταῖς συμβαινούσαις περιστάσεσι, καὶ ἐπὶ τρεῖς ὅλας ἡμέρας περὶ τούτου διασκοπήσασα, τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀνε ψιὸν καὶ ὁμώνυμον, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Στεφάνου τοῦ ἐν Σικελίᾳ τὰ πράγματα διαφθείραντος, Καίσαρα ὄντα καὶ δραστήριον δοκοῦντα καὶ περὶ τὰ πράγματα δεξιόν, ὅρκοις πρότερον φρικωδεστάτοις καταλαβοῦσα ὡς κυρίαν αὐτὴν ἕξει διὰ βίου καὶ δέσποιναν καὶ μητέρα, πράττουσαν ἅττα δὴ καὶ κελεύει ποιεῖν, εἰσποιητὸν προσ λαμβάνει υἱὸν καὶ βασιλέα Ῥωμαίων ἀναγορεύει, τῷ βασιλικῷ 2.535 ταινιώσασα διαδήματι, πρότερον ἐκποδὼν ποιησαμένη τὸν ὀρφα νοτρόφον καὶ ἐς τὸ μοναστήριον τῶν Μονοβατῶν ἐξορίσασα, πα ραπλησίως καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν τῆς ἀρ χῆς παραλύσασα καὶ ἐν τοῖς τοῦ Ὀψικίου κτήμασιν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἁψῖδος τοῦτον περιορίσασα, ὡσαύτως καὶ Γεώργιον τὸν πρωτο βεστιάριον ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Παφλαγονίαν αὐτοῦ κτήμασι στείλασα. κατ' αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν ὥραν καθ' ἣν ἀνεδεῖτο τῷ διαδήματι ὁ Μι χαήλ, σκοτώσει καὶ ἰλίγγῳ ληφθεὶς ἐγγὺς ἦλθε τοῦ πεσεῖν. μόλις δ' οὖν ἀνεκαλέσαντο τοῦτον μύροις καὶ ἀρώμασι καὶ λοιποῖς ἄλ λοις εὐώδεσιν εἴδεσιν. ἐκλονεῖτο δὲ καὶ ἡ γῆ παρ' ὅλους τοὺς τέσσαρας μῆνας τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ. τέως δὲ στεφθεὶς παρὰ τοῦ πατριάρχου καὶ βασιλεὺς καταστὰς τιμαῖς καὶ ἀξιώμασι τὴν σύγ κλητον καὶ δωρεῶν διανομαῖς τὸ κοινὸν ἀνελάμβανεν. ἐντεύξει δὲ τῇ πρὸς τὴν δέσποιναν καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν δομέστικον μετακα λεσάμενος τῆς ὑπερορίας καὶ νοβελίσσιμον τιμήσας εἶχε μεθ' ἑαυ τοῦ. δόξας δὲ ἐν βεβαίῳ ἑστάναι αἰφνίδιον ἔπεσε. γράμμασι γὰρ τοῦ ὀρφανοτρόφου καὶ συμβουλίαις τοῦ δομεστίκου διαφθα ρείς, λεγόντων μὴ πολλάκις πιστεύειν τῇ δεσποίνῃ ἀλλὰ φυλάτ τεσθαι ταύτην, ἵνα μὴ παραπλήσια πάθῃ τῷ τε θείῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ βασιλεῖ Μιχαὴλ καὶ τῷ πρὸ αὐτοῦ Ῥωμανῷ, γοητείαις, ὡς ἔφα σκον, κατεργασθέντι, καὶ συμβουλευόντων, εἰ οἷόν τε, ἐκποδὼν θέσθαι αὐτὴν καὶ σπεῦσαι μὴ προληφθῆναι, καὶ συνεχεῖς τὰς 2.536 προσβολὰς περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ποιούμενοι πράγματος ἀναπεῖσαι ἴσχυ σαν ἐπιβουλὴν κατ' αὐτῆς μελετῆσαι. ἔδοξεν οὖν ἀποπειραθῆ ναι τῶν πολιτῶν πρότερον, οἵαν ἔχουσι περὶ αὐτοῦ γνώμην, καὶ εἰ μὲν χρηστὴν διάθεσιν φανῶσι φυλάττοντες εἰς αὐτὸν καὶ φιλίαν ὀρθήν, τότε δὴ καὶ ἐγχειρῆσαι τῇ μελέτῃ, εἰ δὲ τοὐναντίον, ἡσυ χίαν ἄγειν.

Τῇ κυριακῇ οὖν τῇ μετὰ τὸ ἅγιον πάσχα προέλευσιν δημοσίαν κηρύξας ἐν τῷ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ναῷ, καὶ δι' αὐ τῆς ἀποπειραθῆναι κρίνας τῆς γνώμης τῶν