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Annales

CHRONICLE OF GEORGE AKROPOLITES.

1 The usefulness of history has been defined also by those who wrote before us, and what it occurred to them to say, these things we might also have to say; for what newer thought could we find, with so many having written histories and having revealed every good thing of history in their own writings? But perhaps what is more worthy to say than they in the matters now before us, this we might put forward from our own writing; and it is this: that, with newer events set before us, which no one has yet committed to writing, the useful part also happens to be newer, since those things have come to the knowledge of men, which common report does not represent truly. Those, therefore, who have written histories of our times have each made a different beginning; for some of them began from the creation of the world, others from some noteworthy beginning, either of the Persians or the Greeks or the Romans or any other of the nations, each composing his own work according to his own purpose. And for us, our writing will be completed in no less a way. For the events from the beginning of the world's creation have been narrated by many and many times, and it is not necessary to say even if most contradicted one another writing of the affairs of kings, and changes of countries and seditions of cities and clashes of wars and enslavements and victories and defeats and whatever such things happen in our times. For since these things are manifold and perhaps not even known by those who performed them, the attainment of the complete truth would scarcely happen for those who narrate them; rather, it is necessary for the narrator to adopt whatever is known by common report, unless he should wish to wrong the truth like those who deface obols with small change or even desire to counterfeit them. At any rate, it is necessary for the writer to write neither for favor nor for envy, nor for hatred nor for goodwill, but only for the sake of history and so that the deeds done by some, whether they happen to be good or bad, not be given over to the abyss of oblivion, which time knows how to beget. Let our beginning be the capture of the city of Constantine, being so famous and known to all that there is not one of the nations that did not know of it.

2 When Alexios Komnenos, being the brother of the previous emperor Isaac, both being named Angelos, was then directing the scepter of the Romans, those from Italy marched against Constantinople. The cause was as follows. The aforementioned Alexios deposed his brother Isaac from power and blinded him, and from then on was master of the Roman empire. Isaac had a son born from his first wife, now passing out of boyhood. He, vexed at the outrage to his father, contrived an escape and went to the region of Rome and cast himself before its high priest, and earnestly clinging to him, he sought vengeance for his paternal cause. Since at that time great multitudes of the Italians happened to have gathered into one place, some from Italy itself, some from the land of the Franks, others from the Venetians, and others from other places, and the pretext was to go for the liberation of Jerusalem, where the Lord's tomb is-and the one who had gathered them was he who pontifically presided over elder Rome, whom, as I had said, the son of Isaac was beseeching for his father's throne-the pope, moved by the entreaties of the boy, and especially by his promises-

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Αnnales

ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΗ.

1 Τὸ τῆς ἱστορίας χρήσιμον καὶ πρὸ ἡμῶν οἱ συγ γραψάμενοι διωρίσαντο, καὶ ἅπερ ἂν ἐκείνοις ἐπῆλθεν εἰπεῖν, ταῦτ' ἂν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐρεῖν ἔχωμεν· τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ εὕροιμεν καινότερον νόημα τοσούτων ἱστορησάντων καὶ σύμπαν καλὸν τῆς ἱστορίας ἀποφηναμένων ἐν τοῖς σφετέροις συγγράμ μασι; τάχα δέ, ὃ πλέον ἐκείνων ἐν τοῖς νῦν προκειμένοις ἡμῖν λέξειν ἄξιον, τοῦτό γε ἂν τῆς ἡμετέρας συγγραφῆς προβαλούμεθα· τὸ δέ ἐστιν ὅτι, καινοτέρων ἡμῖν προκει μένων πραγμάτων, ἃ μήπω τις γραφῇ παραδέδωκε, καινό τερον συμβαίνει εἶναι καὶ τὸ ὠφέλιμον, ἐκείνων ἐν γνώσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων γεγενημένων, ἅπερ ὁ χύδην ῥέων λόγος οὐκ ἀληθῶς ἀποφαίνεται. οἱ μὲν οὖν τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἱστο ρικῶς συγγραψάμενοι ἄλλην ἄλλος πεποίηνται τὴν ἀρχήν· οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου γενέσεως ἤρξαντο, οἱ δὲ ἐξ ἀξιολόγου τινὸς ἀρχῆς, ἢ Περσῶν ἢ Ἑλλήνων ἢ Ῥωμαίων ἢ ἄλλου οὑτινοσοῦν τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἕκαστος πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ σκοπὸν τὸ οἰκεῖον καταρτιζόμενος σύγγραμμα. καὶ ἡμῖν οὐχ ἥκιστα οὕτω τὰ τῆς συγγραφῆς τελεσθήσεται. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γεγενημένα τῆς τοῦ κόσμου γενέσεως πολλοῖς τε καὶ πολλάκις ἐξιστορήθη, οὐ χρὴ δὲ λέγειν καὶ εἰ πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ πλείους ἠναντιοφώνησαν τὰ τῶν βασιλέων συγγράφοντες, ἀλλοιώσεις τε χωρῶν καὶ πόλεων στάσεις καὶ πολέμων συρρήξεις καὶ ἀνδραποδισμοὺς καὶ νίκας καὶ ἥττας καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα συμβαίνει τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς. πολυσχιδῶν γὰρ τουτωνὶ τελούντων καὶ μηδὲ παρ' αὐτῶν ἴσως τῶν ἐνεργούντων γινωσκομένων, σχολῇ γε ἂν τοῖς ἐξιστοροῦσι τοῦ ἀληθοῦς παντάπασι γενήσεται ἡ ἐπίτευξις· ἐκ τοῦ μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ὅσα τῇ κοινῇ φήμῃ γνωρίζεται, ταῦτα τὸν ἐξιστοροῦντα παραλήψασθαι δέον, εἰ μὴ ἀδικεῖν οὗτος ἐθε λήσειε τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὡς οἱ τοὺς ὀβολοὺς κερματίοις ἐλλυ μαινόμενοι ἢ καὶ παραχαράττειν βουλόμενοι. οὔτε γοῦν πρὸς χάριν οὔτε πρὸς φθόνον, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ πρὸς μῖσος ἢ καὶ πρὸς εὔνοιαν συγγράφειν χρεών ἐστι τὸν συγγράφοντα, ἀλλ' ἱστο ρίας μόνον χάριν καὶ τοῦ μὴ λήθης βυθῷ, ἣν ὁ χρόνος οἶδε γεννᾶν, παραδοθῆναι τὰ ὑπό τινων γεγενημένα, εἴτ' ἀγαθὰ εἴτε φαῦλα τυγχάνοιεν. ἀρχὴ δὲ ἡμῖν γενέσθω ἡ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου πόλεως ἅλωσις, οὕτω τοι περιφανὴς καὶ γνώριμος οὖσα σύμπασιν ὡς μηδὲ ἓν εἶναι τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὃ μὴ ταύτην ἐγνώρισεν.

2 Ἀλεξίου τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ, ἀδελφοῦ τελοῦντος τοῦ προ βεβασιλευκότος Ἰσαακίου, Ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀμφοῖν ὀνομαζομένων, τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων τότε διιθύνοντος σκῆπτρα, οἱ ἐξ Ἰταλίας κατὰ τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως ἐξεστράτευσαν. ἡ δὲ αἰτία τοιάδε. κατέβαλε μὲν τῆς ἀρχῆς τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰσαάκιον ὁ προειρημένος Ἀλέξιος καί οἱ τὰς ὄψεις ἐπήρωσε, καὶ ἦν τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων κρατήσας ἀρχῆς. ὑπῆρχε δὲ τῷ Ἰσαακίῳ υἱὸς ἐκ τῆς προτέρας αὐτοῦ γυναικὸς γεννη θείς, τὸν μείρακα ἤδη ἀμείβων. ὃς δυσανασχετήσας τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς παροινίᾳ τὴν φυγήν τε μηχανησάμενος περὶ τὴν Ῥώμην χωρεῖ καὶ τῷ ταύτης ἀρχιερεῖ ἑαυτὸν προσρίπτει, λιπαρῶς τε τούτῳ προσκείμενος τὴν πατρικὴν ἐκδίκησιν ἐπεζήτει. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῷ τότε τύχοι πλήθη πολλὰ εἰς ἓν συν αχθῆναι τῶν Ἰταλῶν, οἱ μὲν ἐξ αὐτῆς Ἰταλίας, οἱ δὲ ἐκ τῆς τῶν Φράγγων ἀρχῆς, ἐκ δὲ Ἐνετῶν ἕτεροι καὶ ἐξ ἄλλων ἄλλοι καὶ ἡ πρόφασις εἰς ἐλευθερίαν τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἀπελθεῖν, ὅπου ὁ κυριακὸς τυγχάνει τάφος-ἦν δὲ ὁ τού τους συναθροίσας ὁ ἀρχιερατικῶς τῆς πρεσβυτέρας προϊστά μενος Ῥώμης, ὅν, ὡς προειρήκειν, ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρικῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ τοῦ Ἰσαακίου ἐξελιπάρει υἱός-ταῖς παρακλήσεσι τοῦ παιδὸς δυσωπηθεὶς ὁ πάπας, μάλιστα δὲ ταῖς ὑποσχέ σεσιν-