Entrance of Passage From The Stairway in “The Tower of Anemas” To Chamber D In “The Tower of Isaac Angelus.” (For this view I am indebted to the late Dr. Ledyard.)

Free to act, Andronicus made terms both with the Sultan and the Genoese, and relying upon their favour, suddenly appeared before the capital. As the emperor and his son Manuel happened to be staying at the Palace of the Pegè, outside the walls, they were easily captured, and upon the surrender of the city they were, in their turn, sent, along with Theodore, to the Tower of Anemas, “as Zeus cast his father Chronos and his brothers Pluto and Poseidon into the nether world.”

Corridor in the Original Western Terrace Wall of the Palace of Blachernæ (Looking South-West). (See Plan facing page [131].)

Bajazet advised Andronicus to establish his position by putting the prisoners to death, but to that depth of inhumanity the rebellious son would not descend. Matters remained in this condition for two years, and then the captives managed to escape. Precisely how they found their way out of the tower is a question upon which authorities differ. According to Phrantzes, it was by some deception practised on their Bulgarian guards. Ducas ascribes the escape to the skill of a certain Angelus, surnamed Diabolus, and known by the soubriquet of Diabol-angelus; but whether the deliverance was effected through the angelic power or the satanic cunning of the man, the historian is unable to decide. Chalcocondylas says that the Imperial captives broke through the walls of their dungeon with an iron tool, furnished by the servant who brought their food. According to Venetian authorities, two ineffectual attempts to save the emperor were made by Carlo Zen, on the condition that the island of Tenedos would be granted to the Republic of Venice, thus rescinding the concession of the island to the Genoese by Andronicus. The first attempt, it is said, failed because the emperor refused to escape without his sons; the second, owing to the detection of the plot to deliver him.[[554]] Once out of prison, John Palæologus and his son Manuel repaired to the Court of Bajazet, prevailed upon him to espouse their cause, and so compelled Andronicus to surrender the throne.[[555]]

Thus the history of the Tower of Anemas reflects the civil broils, the tyranny, the ecclesiastical dissensions, the political feebleness, and the inability to withstand foreign aggression, which marked the decline and fall of the Byzantine Empire.

CHAPTER XII.
THE WALL OF THE EMPEROR HERACLIUS: THE WALL OF THE EMPEROR LEO THE ARMENIAN.

The fortifications extending from the north-western angle of the enclosure around the Palace of Blachernæ to the Golden Horn consist of two parallel lines, connected by transverse walls, so as to form a citadel beside the Golden Horn. The inner wall belongs to the reign of Heraclius; the outer is an erection of Leo V., the Armenian.

The Heraclian Wall was constructed in 627, under the following circumstances:—[[556]]

Until that year the quarter of Blachernæ, at the foot of the Sixth Hill, was a suburb immediately outside the fortifications.[[557]] The fact that the suburb and its celebrated Church of the Theotokos, containing, it was believed, the girdle of the Blessed Virgin, were thus exposed to the attacks of an enemy did not occasion serious concern. In the opinion of the devout citizens of Constantinople, the shrine, so far from needing protection, formed one of the strongest bulwarks of the capital. At the worst, when danger threatened, the treasures of the sanctuary could be readily transported into the city, as was done in the reign of Justinian the Great.[[558]]