Ibn Battuta part 73

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He convinced the emperor to pronounce him Caesar, and before he was adopted by empress Zoe. But not a lot of time has been passed and because of his illness he appeared more rare and became to weaken. For that he left for the monastery in the Kosmodion, who had constructed for regret and since and before he liked the monk’s dress, he became suddenly a monk. After a while, since he lived as a monk, that who loved most, he left for the God.

* The “anargyroi”, or saints who worked without money was a title applied to a number of sainted doctors, in this case Kosmas and Damian.

Michael V [1041-1042], who was called Kalaphates, was nephew, and was emperor for four months. Michael was young and the royal duties were to heavy for his shoulders and the badness has been inside his soul, for that two things he lost the emperorship and his both eyes.

Eparchos and by royal order

As soon as he became imperator, first his uncle, the eunuch John, stripped from all his titles and duties, afterwards using as advisors some young children who had the same mind with him, by force drive Theodora in a monastery, and Zoe who from her the useless had became emperor, drive her with her tears in exile on the opposite inland with monk dresses. As soon the people heard that (because he himself has announced that official through the Eparchos and by royal order) appeared dreadful and immediately with voices and holding in their hands stones and clubs and whatever other handy they had found, they went to the palace and they were as emperor for their empress.

The root emperor, closed the doors of the palace and immediately recalled Zoe with many honours and he tried to calm down the people. But the unrest continuously has been spread and by violence the whole Demos tried to break in the Palace, then the Emperor left and he started bargaining for his salvation, since by a ship he went to the sacred monastery of Stoudios. But nobody heard him, as soon the people heard where he went, they went to the monastery, they arrested him and they drive him to a place named Siginas, near the Pege(Spring) where they extract his eyes by knife and together with him they blind and one of his uncles. By this way both empresses they took the royal power [1042].

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