497

2.539 of the citizens, as if naked and unarmed, fighting against armed men with sticks and stones and whatever things were at hand; for they say that on this day (it was the third day of Antipascha) about three thousand men perished. In the end, the citizens, being superior in number, were strong enough to become masters over the emperor's men. And breaking down the gates of the palace and getting inside, they plundered the gold stored in the Sectus and the other goods, and they also destroyed the public records, and they hastened to seize the emperor. But when he knew he was being overpowered, he boarded the imperial dromon with the nobilissimus and some of his closest associates, and leaving Zoe in the palace, he went as a fugitive to the monastery of Stoudios on Wednesday morning, and immediately he put on the monastic habit together with his uncle. And so the conflict, having begun from the second hour of the second day of Antipascha, ended on the night of the third day; and Zoe, becoming mistress of the empire again, wished to push aside her sister Theodora, but was prevented by the multitude, which requested that she too should reign with her. Therefore Theodora also comes, leaving the great church for the palace. And when the senate was also assembled, Zoe delivered a speech, first to the senate, and then from a certain high place to the multitude, to them she gave thanks, as was fitting, and prayers for their goodwill towards her, and she sought their opinion about the emperor, 2.540 what should be done with him. And all with one voice cried out, "Away with the murderer, do away with the sinner; let him be impaled, let him be crucified, let him be blinded." But she hesitated at the punishment and was sympathetic to the unfortunate one. But Theodora, filled with anger and frankness, commands the newly appointed prefect (who was Campanaris) to go with haste and to gouge out both his and his uncle's eyes; who, going out with the whole populace following him, went away to the Stoudios. And Michael and his uncle, when they perceived the presence of the people, took refuge in the inner sanctuary of the church of the Forerunner. But the populace, still inflamed with anger on account of those who had been killed, enters the divine church by force, and seizing them from there, they dragged them by their feet through the forum, and taking them up from the renowned monastery to the place called the Sigma, they blind them both, Michael having much beseeched that his uncle be blinded first, as being the originator and cause of all the evils that had happened; which was also done. Therefore, having been blinded, they are exiled, Michael to the monastery of Elegmoi on the twenty-first of the month of April, in the 10th indiction of the year 6550, having reigned for 4 months and 5 days, and all his relatives were scattered, each one to a different place. And when the rule had again rolled over to Zoe, having her sister Theodora 2.541 as co-ruler, as we have said, against her will, the senate on the one hand was honored with promotions and the populace with distributions of gifts, and affairs received the appropriate foresight, with letters and decrees being sent out everywhere, promising that offices would be obtained without purchase and not for sale as before, and decreeing that all injustice be driven from their midst. And when these things were settled as it seemed good to the rulers, the nobilissimus Constantine was also brought from exile, and being questioned about the public funds, terrified by the threats, he revealed fifty-three centenaria of gold hidden in a certain cistern in his house near the Holy Apostles. And this was brought to the empress, but exile received him again. And the empress appoints as domestic of the schools of the East Nicholas the proedros, her own father's eunuch, and as doux of the West Constantine the patrician, Cabasilas; and the patrician George Maniakes, who had already been released from prison by Michael,

497

2.539 πολιτῶν οἷα γυμνῶν καὶ ἀόπλων πρὸς ἐνόπλους ἀγωνιζομένων μετὰ ξύλων καὶ λίθων καὶ τῶν παρατυχόντων εἰδῶν· φασὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀπώ λοντο κατὰ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν (ἦν δὲ ἡ τρίτη τοῦ ἀντίπασχα) ἄνδρες ἀμφὶ τὰς τρεῖς χιλιάδας. τέλος ἴσχυσαν οἱ πολῖται τῷ πλήθει ὑπερτεροῦντες ἐπικρατέστεροι τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως γενέσθαι. καὶ διαρρήξαντες τὰς πύλας τοῦ παλατίου καὶ εἴσω γενόμενοι τό τε ἐναποκείμενον ἐν τῷ Σέκτῳ διαρπάζουσι χρυσίον καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ εἴδη, διαρρήσσουσι δὲ καὶ τὰς δημοσίας ἀπογραφάς, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα συλλαβεῖν ἔσπευδον. ὁ δὲ ἐπείπερ ἔγνω κατισχυόμενος, τῷ βασι λικῷ ἐπιβὰς δρόμωνι μετὰ τοῦ νωβελισσίμου καί τινων οἰκειοτά των αὐτῷ, καταλιπὼν ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ τὴν Ζωήν, ᾤχετο φυγὰς εἰς τὴν μονὴν τῶν Στουδίου τῇ τετράδι πρωΐας, καὶ εὐθὺς ἠμφιά σατο τὸ τῶν μοναχῶν σχῆμα συνάμα τῷ θείῳ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ μὲν πόλεμος, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ δευτέρας ὥρας τῆς δευ τέρας ἡμέρας τοῦ ἀντίπασχα, ἔληξε νυκτὸς τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας· ἡ δὲ Ζωὴ πάλιν ἐγκρατὴς γενομένη τῆς βασιλείας ἐβούλετο μὲν τὴν αὐτῆς ἀδελφὴν Θεοδώραν παρώσασθαι, ἐκωλύθη δὲ παρὰ τοῦ πλήθους συμβασιλεύειν αὐτῇ καὶ ταύτην αἰτησαμένου. ἔρχε ται οὖν καὶ ἡ Θεοδώρα ἀπὸ τῆς μεγάλης ἐξελθοῦσα ἐκκλησίας εἰς τὸ παλάτιον. συναθροισθείσης δὲ καὶ τῆς συγκλήτου, δημηγο ρήσασα ἡ Ζωὴ πρότερον μὲν πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον, εἶτα καὶ ἔκ τινος περιωπῆς πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος, αὐτοῖς μὲν εὐχαριστίας ὡς εἰκὸς ἀπέ δοτο καὶ εὐχὰς τῆς εἰς αὐτὴν εὐνοίας, τὴν περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως δὲ 2.540 γνώμην ἐζήτει, τί δεῖ γενέσθαι αὐτόν. καὶ πάντες ὁμοφώνως ἀνέκραγον "αἶρε τὸν παλαμναῖον, ποίησον ἐκ μέσου τὸν ἀλιτή ριον· ἀνασκολοπισθήτω, σταυρωθήτω, τυφλωθήτω." ἡ δὲ ὤκνει πρὸς τὴν τιμωρίαν καὶ συμπαθὴς τῷ δυστυχοῦντι ἐγίνετο. ἀλλ' ἡ Θεοδώρα ὀργῆς ὑποπλησθεῖσα καὶ παρρησίας τῷ νεωστὶ προβλη θέντι ἐπάρχῳ (ἦν δὲ ὁ Καμπανάρης) κελεύει μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀπελ θεῖν καὶ ἐξορύξαι αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ θείου αὐτοῦ ὀφθαλμούς· ὃς ἐξελθὼν συνεπομένου αὐτῷ καὶ τοῦ δήμου παντὸς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ Στουδίου. ὁ δὲ Μιχαὴλ καὶ ὁ τούτου θεῖος, ὡς ᾔσθοντο τὴν τοῦ λαοῦ παρουσίαν, ἐν τοῖς ἀδύτοις τοῦ ναοῦ τοῦ προδρόμου κατέ φυγον. ἀλλὰ φλεγμαίνων ἔτι τῷ θυμῷ διὰ τοὺς ἀναιρεθέντας ὁ δῆμος εἴσεισι πρὸς βίαν εἰς τὸν θεῖον ναόν, καὶ ἀφαρπάσαντες ἐκεῖθεν αὐτοὺς εἷλκον διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν, καὶ ἄνωθεν τῆς περιβλέπτου μονῆς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῷ καλουμένῳ Σίγματι ἀγα γόντες ἀποτυφλοῦσι καὶ ἄμφω, τοῦ Μιχαὴλ πολλὰ καθικετεύ σαντος πρότερον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τυφλωθῆναι θεῖον ὡς πάντων τῶν γενομένων κακῶν καὶ πρωτουργὸν καὶ αἴτιον· ὃ καὶ ἐγένετο. τυφλωθέντες οὖν ἐξορίζονται, ὁ μὲν Μιχαὴλ εἰς τὸ μοναστήριον τῶν Ἐλεγμῶν εἰκάδι πρώτῃ μηνὸς Ἀπριλλίου, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιʹ τοῦ φνʹ ἔτους, βασιλεύσας ἐπὶ μῆνας δʹ καὶ ἡμέρας εʹ, οἱ δὲ συγγε νεῖς αὐτοῦ πάντες ἄλλος ἀλλαχῇ διεσπάρησαν. Πάλιν δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς εἰς τὴν Ζωὴν μετακυλισθείσης, συμ βασιλεύουσαν ἔχουσαν, ὡς εἴπομεν, οὐχ ἑκοῦσαν καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν 2.541 Θεοδώραν, τιμῶν μὲν ἡ σύγκλητος προβιβασμοῖς ἐγεραίρετο καὶ δωρεῶν διανομαῖς τὸ κοινόν, καὶ τὰ πράγματα προμηθείας τῆς ἐνδεχομένης ἐτύγχανε, γραμμάτων ἁπανταχοῦ καὶ διαταγμάτων ἐκπεμπομένων, ἀπριάτην τε τὰς ἀρχὰς γίνεσθαι καὶ μὴ ὠνίους ὡς πρότερον ὑπισχνουμένων, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀδικίαν ἐκ μέσου διοριζομέ νων ἐλαύνεσθαι. τούτων δὲ καταστάντων ὡς τοῖς κρατοῦσιν ἐδόκει, ἤχθη καὶ ὁ νωβελίσσιμος Κωνσταντῖνος ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερορίας, καὶ περὶ τῶν δημοσίων ἀνακρινόμενος χρημάτων, τὰς ἀπειλὰς πτοηθείς, ὑπέδειξεν ἐν τῷ κατὰ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους οἴκῳ αὐ τοῦ κεκρυμμένα ἔν τινι κινστέρνῃ χρυσίου κεντηνάρια νʹ ἐπὶ τρισί. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν διεκομίσθη τῇ βασιλίδι, ἐκεῖνον δ' αὖθις ἡ ὑπερορία ἐδέξατο. προχειρίζεται δὲ ἡ βασιλὶς δομέστικον τῶν σχολῶν τῆς ἀνατολῆς Νικόλαον πρόεδρον τὸν εὐνοῦχον τοῦ ἰδίου πατρός, καὶ δοῦκα τῆς δύσεως Κωνσταντῖνον πατρίκιον τὸν Καβασίλαν· τὸν δὲ πατρίκιον Γεώργιον τὸν Μανιάκην, ἤδη παρὰ τοῦ Μιχαὴλ φθάσαντα τῆς φρουρᾶς ἀπολυθῆναι,