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citizens, he departed crowned with the senate, the whole city having gathered for the spectacle, with those who inhabited the main thoroughfare hanging out golden and silver vessels and robes and other gold-embroidered fabrics, and being eager in their acclamations even to pour out their very souls, if it were possible. Enticed by these things, the wretch, supposing that these things were happening out of goodwill, upon returning to the great palace, informs the patriarch to go to his monastery in the Stenos and to expect him on the next day, giving him also four pounds of gold for the reception that would perhaps be held for him; but at night he drags the empress from the throne and banishes her to Prinkipo, ordering those who were taking her to shear her and to bring her hair to him. And those who were sent did as they were ordered, but at dawn he, having written a report and given it to the prefect of the city, ordered it to be read to the citizens in the Forum of the great Constantine; and the re 2.537 port declared that Zoe, having shown herself disloyal toward my reign, has been exiled by me, and Alexios, being of the same mind with her, was expelled from the church. But you, my people, if you maintain your goodwill toward me, you will obtain great honors and goods and you will live a life without sorrow and pure. So when the prefect read the report in the hearing of the people, a certain voice was heard, though no one who had cried out was found, saying "We do not want a Caulker, a crucifier of his benefactor, as emperor, but the original and heir and our mother Zoe." And immediately, as if with one voice, the whole populace cried out, "May the bones of the Caulker be dug up." And each one taking up stones and benches and any wood at hand, they almost killed the prefect (he was Anastasios, a patrician who had served Zoe's father), had he not resorted to flight and secured his own safety; but they, running to the great church—for the patriarch also happened to have secured his return, and was denouncing the emperor, and was demanding the restoration of the empress; then all the eunuchs of her father ran up, and Constantine Kabasilas the patrician and the whole remaining multitude of the senate, and by common counsel they sent for and brought Theodora from Petrion to the great church, and having dressed her in the royal purple, they acclaim her as empress along with Zoe her sister. And rushing toward the palace, they were eager to bring Michael down from the palace. 2.538 But he, having grown cowardly at the anger and commotion of the people, immediately sent for and brought Zoe into the palace, and stripping her of her monastic clothes, he dressed her in royal garments. So, leaning out from the seat in the hippodrome, and attempting to address the people that the empress had been brought back and that everything was well for them according to their aim, he was not permitted, being showered with insults from all sides and being pelted with stones and arrows from below. And finally, despairing, he had decided to go to the monastery of Stoudios and be tonsured. But the domestic of the schools did not allow him, saying not to abandon the rule so easily and withdraw, but to resist bravely and either to prevail completely or to die magnanimously and royally as is fitting for an emperor. And when this opinion prevailed, he himself armed all those in the palace as the occasion allowed, and the nobelissimos also, having summoned all his own armed people from his own house (and it happened that the general Katakalon Kekaumenos had also just arrived from Sicily, bringing the good news from Messina) bravely held on to power. And with the populace having been divided into three parts, one part attacking at the Hippodrome, another at the Exkoubita, and the remainder at the Tzykanisterion, those around the emperor also, having divided their own force into three, defended themselves mightily. And there was a great slaughter of the

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πολιτῶν, ἀπῆλθεν ἐστεφανωμένος μετὰ τῆς συγκλήτου, πάσης τῆς πόλεως ἀθροι σθείσης εἰς τὴν θέαν, σκεύη χρύσεα καὶ ἀργύρεα τῶν τὴν λεω φόρον κατοικούντων ἀποκρεμαννύντων καὶ πέπλους καὶ ἄλλα ὑφά σματα χρυσοϋφῆ, κἀν ταῖς εὐφημίαις προτεθυμημένων καὶ αὐτάς, εἰ οἷόν τε, ἐκκενῶσαι τὰς ψυχάς. οἷς δελεασθεὶς ὁ δείλαιος τῷ ἐξ εὐνοίας ὑπολαβεῖν ταῦτα γίνεσθαι, ὑποστρέψας ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ παλατίῳ τῷ μὲν πατριάρχῃ μηνύει ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐν τῷ Στενῷ μονὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ προσδέχεσθαι αὐτὸν τῇ ἐπαύριον, δοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ χρυσίου λίτρας τέσσαρας διὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν εἰς αὐτὸν γενέσθαι τάχα ὑποδοχήν· νυκτὸς δὲ τὴν βασιλίδα κατασπᾷ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ περιορίζει εἰς Πρίγκιπον, ἀποκεῖραι τοῖς ἄγουσι κελεύσας αὐτὴν καὶ διακομίσαι τούτῳ τὰς τρίχας αὐτῆς. καὶ οἱ μὲν πεμφθέντες ἐποίησαν ὡς ἐκελεύσθησαν, ἕωθεν δ' οὗτος ἀναφορὰν γράψας καὶ τῷ τῆς πόλεως ἐπάρχῳ δοὺς ἀναγνῶναι ἐν τῷ τοῦ μεγάλου Κωνσταντίνου φόρῳ τοῖς πολίταις ἐκέλευσεν· ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ ἀνα 2.537 φορὰ ὅτιπερ κακόνους ἡ Ζωὴ περὶ τὴν βασιλείαν μου φανεῖσα ἐξώρισται παρ' ἐμοῦ, συμφρονῶν δὲ ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ Ἀλέξιος ἐξε βλήθη τῆς ἐκκλησίας. ὑμεῖς δὲ ὁ ἐμὸς λαός, εἰ τὴν ἐμὴν εὔ νοιαν διατηροίητε πρὸς ἐμέ, μεγάλων τιμῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν τεύξεσθε καὶ ζωὴν ἄλυπον καὶ καθαρὰν ζήσεσθε. ἀναγνόντος οὖν τοῦ ἐπάρχου τὴν ἀναφορὰν εἰς ἐπήκοον τοῦ λαοῦ, φωνή τις ἐξηκού σθη, μηδενὸς εὑρεθέντος τοῦ κεκραγότος, ὡς ἡμεῖς σταυροπά την καλαφάτην βασιλέα οὐ θέλομεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχέγονον καὶ κληρονόμον καὶ ἡμετέραν μητέρα Ζωήν. καὶ εὐθὺς ὡς ἐκ μιᾶς φωνῆς ἅπας ὁ λαὸς ἐβόων "ἀνασκαφείη τὰ ὀστᾶ τοῦ καλαφάτου." καὶ ἀναλαβόντες ἕκαστος λίθους καὶ βάθρα καὶ τὰ παρατυχόντα ξύλα τὸν μὲν ἔπαρχον (ἦν δὲ Ἀναστάσιος πατρίκιος ὁ τῷ πατρὶ τῆς Ζωῆς ὑπηρετησάμενος) μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν, εἰ μὴ φυγῇ χρησάμενος ἐπορίσατο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν· αὐτοὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν μεγάλην δραμόντες ἐκκλησίαν-ἔτυχε γὰρ καὶ ὁ πατριάρχης τὴν αὐτοῦ ὑποστροφὴν ὠνησάμενος, καὶ τὸν μὲν βασιλέα ἐδυσφή μει, τὴν δὲ τῆς βασιλίσσης ἐζήτει ἀνακομιδήν· προσέδραμον τοί νυν πάντες οἱ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς εὐνοῦχοι καὶ Κωνσταντῖνος πα τρίκιος ὁ Καβάσιλας καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἅπαν πλῆθος τῆς συγκλήτου, καὶ κοινῇ συμβουλῇ πέμψαντες ἄγουσι τὴν Θεοδώραν ἀπὸ τοῦ Πετρίου εἰς τὴν μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ ἐνδύσαντες αὐτὴν ἁλουρ γίδα βασιλικὴν ἄνασσαν εὐφημοῦσι σὺν Ζωῇ τῇ ταύτης ἀδελφῇ. καὶ ὁρμήσαντες πρὸς τὸ παλάτιον καταγαγεῖν ἠπείγοντο τῶν ἀνα 2.538 κτόρων τὸν Μιχαήλ. ὁ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ὀργὴν τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ τὴν κίνησιν ἀποδειλιάσας, εὐθὺς ἀποστείλας ἤγαγε τὴν Ζωὴν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ, καὶ ἀποδύσας αὐτὴν τὰ μοναχικὰ μετημφίασε βασιλικοῖς περιβλήμασι. προκύψας οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρομίῳ καθίσμα τος, καὶ δημηγορῆσαι πειραθεὶς πρὸς τὸν λαὸν ὅτι τε ἡ βασιλὶς ἤχθη καὶ ὅτι πάντα καλῶς ἔχει αὐτοῖς τὰ κατὰ σκοπόν, οὐ συν εχωρήθη, ὕβρεσί τε πανταχόθεν πλυνόμενος καὶ λίθοις κάτωθεν καὶ τόξοις βαλλόμενος. καὶ λοιπὸν ἀπογνοὺς ἐγνώκει εἰς τὸ μο ναστήριον ἀπελθεῖν τῶν Στουδίου καὶ ἀποκείρασθαι. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν ὁ δομέστικος τῶν σχολῶν, εἰπὼν μὴ οὕτω ῥᾳδίως καταλιπεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ὑποχωρῆσαι, ἀλλὰ γενναίως ἀντιστῆναι καὶ ἢ πάντως ὑπερισχῦσαι ἢ μεγαλοψύχως καὶ βασιλικῶς ὡς πρέ πον ἐστὶν ἀποθανεῖν βασιλέα. ταύτης δὲ τῆς γνώμης ἐπικρατη σάσης, τοὺς ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ πάντας ὡς ὁ καιρὸς ἐδίδου καθοπλί σας αὐτός, καὶ ὁ νωβελίσσιμος δὲ πάντα τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου μεταπεμψάμενος ἔνοπλον (ἔτυχε δὲ ἐκ Σικελίας ἄρτι ἐλθὼν καὶ ὁ στρατηγὸς Κατακαλὼν ὁ Κεκαυμένος, τὰ ἐκ Μεσή νης εὐαγγέλια κομίσας) γενναίως ἀντείχετο τῶν πραγμάτων. τοῦ δὲ δήμου τριχῇ διαιρεθέντος, καὶ μέρους μὲν ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ προσ βαλόντος, ἑτέρου δὲ κατὰ τὰ ἐξκούβιτα, τοῦ δὲ λοιποῦ κατὰ τὸ τζυκανιστήριον, καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν βασιλέα εἰς τρία τὴν ἑαυτῶν διε λόντες δύναμιν ἠμύνοντο κραταιῶς. καὶ γίνεται φόνος πολὺς τῶν