ABSTRACT
Alexius first directed his attention to the most urgent question and spent the rest of that day and the whole of the night in anxiety about the crowd of soldiers dispersed throughout Byzantium. And the Caesar, John Ducas, was anxious to get rid of Queen Maria, and drive her out of the palace as quickly as possible, and thus allay people's unjust suspicions, so first Alexius tried in divers ways to win over the Patriarch Cosmas, imploring him to be on their side and to turn a deaf ear to the suggestions of the Comneni's mother. Secondly, Alexius very sensibly advised the Queen to ask the Emperor for a letter to assure her own and her son's safety and then to leave the palace, and in this instance he used what is called the 'Patroclus' excuse.
