1. After the emperor Nikephorus was slain in Bulgaria , his
son Staurakios, having survived mortally wounded in the capital, relinquished
both his life and his throne only two months later. The emperor`s
brother-in-law (who went by the name of Rangabe) found himself holding the
Roman sceptre at the behest of the senate and the people. He would have refused
the office, alleging that he was not competent to sustain the burden of such
great responsibilities. He was in fact prepared to relinquish the power in
favor of the patrician Leo the Armenian. This Leo gave the impression of being a
choleric and vigorous type of man. He was serving as commanding officer of the
Anatolikon army at that time and he had no desire to accept it, should it be
offered to him. He protested his unworthiness of the imperial throne; it was in
fact he who persuaded Michael that it was fitting for him to assume the power.
Leo took it upon himself to be [Michael`s] most faithful and vigorous servant
and adjutant for as long as he lived; these promises he confirmed with most
terrifying oaths.
2. Once Michael had thus, somewhat against his own
intention, come into possession of the reins of the empire, Krum, the ruler of
the Bulgars, puffed up by his previous successes, together with his subjects
(now become presumptuous on account of their victories) burnt and devastated
the western regions (i.e. the themes of Thrace and Macedonia, f.). So Michael
decided to mount a campaign against them, to do the best he could to restrain
and throw back the Bulgar foraging parties. He therefore quickly sent out
orders in all directions, and troops were hastily assembled. When Krum heard of
the emperor’s mobilization, he recall his own men from foraging and
concentrated them in one place. He established a heavily fortified camp there
and awaited the arrival of the emperor. When [Michael] arrived, he encamped
over against Krum, who was sitting near Adrianople .
There were frequent skirmishes and battles within archery range, and in all
these encounters, the Romans seemed to have the upper hand. This went to the
soldiers heads; they urged and yearned for hand-to-hand fighting and a general
engagement. Either out of cowardice (as they said in the ranks) or because he
was looking for the opportune moment, the emperor delayed and held back. The
host became mutinous and shouted at the emperor, to his face, threatening that,
if he did not lead them out, they would break down the palisade themselves and
fall upon the enemy. Overwhelmed by this argument, the emperor opened the gates
of the encampment and drew up his battle line. Krum did likewise; he got his
men into line and stood them over against the emperor. Each [ruler] harangued
his army at length; each spoke words of encouragement and praise, words capable
of inciting men to prowess in arms. Finally, they gave the signal with the
trumpets for battle to commence and each [side] the other. The Romans now
withstood the enemy with such heroism and fought so bravely, that the Bulgar
forces were wore down. The enemy would even have considered a general retreat,
for Krum himself was growing weary, riding in all directions and taking in hand
those [units] of the army which were being sorely pressed. And than Leo, the
strategos of Anatolikon theme (who wanted to be emperor) and with him, the
troops under his command (whom he had corrupted) broke ranks and took
themselves off in fight, for no reason whatsoever. The reminder of the army was
astounded at this sight; the men’s courage began to wither away. The Bulgars,
on the other hand, regained their courage and came howling at the Romans as
though the thought of retreat has never crossed their minds; and theirs now
became the winning side. The spirit of the Romans was broken by what had
happened. They did not wait for the Bulgars assault, but immediately turned and
fled. Many of the soldiers were killed; not a few of the commanders also fell.
The emperor only just menaged to find out refuge in Adrianople ,
together with a portion of the army still intact. From there, he proceeded to
the capital, leaving the above mentioned Leo and his entourage in Thrace . They
were to stand their ground against the plundering of the Bulgars and interrupt
their onslaught. Once he was alone, Leo brought out into the open the defection
which he had secretly nurturing within. He shared it with his fellow
enthusiasts, telling them the time was ripe to accomplish what they intended.
By the mouths of these people he spread the word throughout the whole army that
it was on account of emperor’s incompetence and his lack of training in
military studies that the Roman forces had been reduced [to fight] and that the
former glory and renown of the Romans had departed. Thus too he corrupted the
soldiers who, having been dispersed in the rout, came back on foot, devoid of
arms and equipment, to join the army that was with him; and thus he persuaded
them to accept the possibility of revolt. Suddenly they flocked around his
tent, hurling improper and shameless words against the emperor, calling him an
unmanly coward who had destroyed the Roman forces and besmirched the
distinction and glory of the empire by his incompetence. On the other hand,
they openly acclaimed Leo and declared him to be emperor if the Romans. When he
made light of it and would have rejected the [supreme] command, Michael of
Amorion, ‘the stammerer’, himself a commander of a unit of the Roman army, drew
his sword. He invited others who were party to the affair to do likewise and
then he threatened to execute Leo if he did not of his own free will accept the
[supreme] command. It was thus that the diadem was set on the brow of this man
and thus he was proclaimed emperor of the Romans.
3. Prior to this, as the emperor Michael was returning after
the army had been put to fight, he was met by John Exaboulios as he approached
the capital. He encouraged the emperor to endure the unfortunate occurrence in
a noble and magnanimous way; then he sought to know whom he had left in a
command of the army. The emperor replied that he had left Leo, the commander of
the Anatolkion theme, a very intelligent fellow and devoted to the empire. When
Exaboulios heard this, he said: ‘Oh emperor, it seems to me that you a very
much mistaken insofar as the intentions of this person are concerned’. That is
what he said, and even before the emperor arrived at the palace, the public
proclamation of Leo was reported. The sovereign was deeply disturbed by the
report. He was trying to decide what action to take when some of his entourage
urged him to do everything in his power to hold on to supreme command and to
resist the usurper to the full extent of his capability. But he was a man of
peace, with no wish to involve himself in an affair the outcome of which was
unpredictable. So he ordered those who were saying such things not to incite
him to engage in a murderous civil war. An he send off to Leo one of those
close to him, bearing the imperial insignia: the diadem, the purple robe and
the scarlet buskins. He undertook to cede the throne to Leo, for he judged it
better to pass from his own life than to see a shedding a single drop of
Christian blood. Leo should set aside all fear and uncertainty; let him come
and take possession of the palace [said the emperor]. The empress Procopia,
however, was opposed to what was being done. She said the empire was a fine
winding sheet, and when she failed to convince [the emperor], in order to have
a last word, she said it would be strange, indeed even more than merely
strange, if the upstart’s wife were to deck herself out in the imperial diadem.
She made fun of her alluding to her name, calling her ‘Barka’. Than she began
to think about her new situation. And that it what was going on around the
emperor.
The usurper, on the other hand, entered [the capital] by the
Golden gate, acclaimed by the army, the senate and the people. He proceeded to
the [monastery-] church of the Forerunner at Stoudios, and from there,
accompanied by a guard of honor, he arrived at the palace. As he was about to
offer to God a prayer on his return in the Chrysotriklinos, he took off the
over-garment he happened to be wearing and handed it to Michael, the head
groom, who promptly put it on himself. To those who saw it, this seemed to be
an omen that he would mount the imperial throne after Leo. The emperor than put
on another garment and set out for the church in the palace. Michael was
walking behind him without paying attention to where he was going. In this way
he recklessly stepped on the hem of the imperial vestment. Leo took this to be
a bad omen and he began to suspect that an insurrection would originate with
that man.
That is how the usurper entered the palace and came into a
possession of the throne which could have been his without a struggle. Instead,
he took it with considerable trouble and disturbance.
The emperor Michael, his wife Procopia and their children
now took a refuge in the church
of Mother island
of Prote
4. That is what happened;
…
(Cambridge
university press, a Synopsis of Byzantine history, excerpt)
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