A declamation to the emperor Romanus Diogenes before the citizens in the cletorium.
Now first I behold an soldier emperor, now first a see a general and emperor. Your head flashes with a golden crown, while no less in your right hand there is an awesome spear. With a gentle eye you regard us citizens, while with a piercing stare you strike fear into the barbarians. Your voice is sweet towards us, while it is a piercing cry to your opponents. Your face is joyous to us, while to your opponents it is an awesome, martial rebuke.
O emperor, soldier, and general, and any other resplendent noun. O holder of all merit, whether of the city, or of the commander. O universal benefit to soldiers and citizens, great advantage to the Queen of Cities, which was lowered to its knees, but now against hope is recovering and greatly concerned for you, lord and emperor, crowning you with your victories, proclaiming your routs, and speaking about them to not only you. O torch-bearing light, you shine down on me with boundless light. O radiant sun, returning from the east, you have come to the center of the day covering all the earth with your sparkling light.
Where were once and again you, the blush of imperial rule were away from me? You saw me an old woman, but now you have made me a young woman again and returned to the old beauty and strength of youth. Besides this, I kiss you on the eyes which have gone many time without sleep for me, caress your hands which you have covered many times with the slaughter of barbarians, and cling to your chest prominent with the scars of wounds which you received thrown at you. I bring to you them people I have given me names and fed, the citizens, who I put before and bring them forward before you as suppliants and dear ones. Embrace them for me kindly, be generous to them abundantly. They loves you and praise you , since you return to them many more times that.
This, most divine emperor, the city declaims to you. Let you rise up and change its standing changed for the worse to the better. Put away the beautiful and become beautiful with your struggles. It was a fading light, but its most divine lover and beloved, the man who showed the might of the Romans mightier than the barbarians, the man previously having the fact of imperial rule, not having the name as well, emperor of emperors, commander of commanders is truly the most marvelous fact and name of this great and most famous of cities.
34. PS pg. 134 adds: the Bulgarian, brother of the emperor's wife, who he married while he was still a private citizen
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35. ἐπισκέψει is something of a mystery to me. It appears in numerous monastic documents, but I cannot quite get the sense for what it is exactly. It would seem almost to refer to a suburb since there is the walled city (κάστρον) and also theἐπισκέψις At least perhaps it means the area around the walled part of the city. Melangeia means in modern terms ‘Black Lands’, so-named for the dark color of the soil.
36. PS pg. 135 adds: namely the Uz
37. PS pg. 136 adds: from the Brachami family
38. PS pg. 137: Munzarum
39. PS pg. 137: Celtzena| probably a scribal error.
40. PS pg. 137: The soldiers left behind with Philaretus, filled by abject fear of their opponents and seized by it, started to march behind the emperor leaving the places they had been entrusted to guard until they got to Anthiae. There the enemy suddenly appeared from behind took to flight without even a battle and came to the emperor in Celtzena by foot.
41. PS pg. 139 is more direct: When the emperor was informed of this he only seemed to be pleased hiding his envy.
42. PS pgs. 140-2 inserts the following paragraph: Previously, the attack and destruction of the nations subject to the Romans seemed to manifest divine anger against heretics such as the Armenians living in Iberia and Mesopotamia until Lycandus, Melitene, and the adjacent lands, as well as those worshiping after the Judaic mode of Nestorius and the heresy of the bishopless, since the lands of this heresy are numerous. However, when the orthodox suffered this misfortune, everybody worshipping after the mode of the Romans was stuck dumb and forced to examine what had happened and especially what happened to Amorium and to reckon and believe that only was their faith not correct, but also that their lifestyle did not compare to their faith. Because of this both the man erring in his faith and that imperfect in his life were receiving their punishment, while the doer and teacher was praised and blessed. When he heard this, the emperor had been eager to start off and help his own land, but he was prevented from doing so by his counselors and ignorance of the number of his opponents. They were Nicephorus Palaeologus, the most honored and counsel of philosopher Constantine Psellus, and above all the Caesar the brother of the previous emperor, who wanted him dead after this because oppressive to them and very beholden. They hated him for being a noble and courageous man and for dealing with the sons of Ducas as successors to the throne. Yet so they openly began to form a conspiracy against him.
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43. For a more detailed account of this episode, see the following except of Nicephorus Bryennius pgs 10-12
Encouraged by these words, the sultan sent a force of nearly twenty thousand men against the Romans making its commander the son of his brother Asan [Hasan], called Kophos, urging him to go in all haste to the land of Media and take possession of it if it would not submit to him. From there, the Turks initiated the war against the Romans, which they have continued to carry out until the present day. However, here let us return to the original track of my narrative. Manuel, as it was said, the curopalates, was appointed commander of the eastern legions by Diogenes and was staying near the lead of Chaldia guarding it against the raids of the Turks. When Turkish plans were announced to him for an army of Turks under the command of Chrysosculus, who was descended from the sultan, to seize and pillage the village-towns of the Armeniac theme, he took his forces and advanced against the Turks scattering them and routing them easily when he met them going on a foraging expedition. He got very close to the Turkish camp while pursuing them and fell into a sudden ambush resisting valiantly, while he was still able to, before the Roman phalanx was turned to flight and scattered him included being surrounded by the Turks and captured along with his two brother-in-laws Melissenus and Taronites. A few Romans also fell. Lead before Chrysosculus, he thought himself to have done nothing worthy of his race having taken flight. On this account when he decided to rebel against the sultan having won victory over him and desiring power over the Persians, Manuel decided he ought to make a trial of him. Coming before him all alone and having examined his position, he decided that this man was very afraid that he did not have a force worthy of the sultan, so he spoke to him with soft words softening his harsh resolution pushing him with energetic words towards a second essay. He said that since he was lacking in sufficient force it was impossible for him to resist the master of Persia, he would never succeed in his plans unless he desert to the emperor of the Romans and make him his ally in his venture. He took his counsel and made his guide swiftly coming to the capital prevailed over and conquered by the arms and cleverness of these words. This deed brought the curopalates great glory and was very praiseworthy. The emperor received them both warmly and honored them with many gifts.
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When spring was starting, he marched off against the Turks accompanied by Chrysosculus. When he reached Bithynia, the curopalates caught an ear-infection and died causing great grief to the emperor.
44. PS pg. 142: the day of Orthodoxy
45. For this rhetorical work see none other Michael Psellus's twenty-first and last public oration for Romanos Diogenes translated below:
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