Certainty: 1 Psellos received the first beautiful letters of Aimilianos, patriarch of Antioch
Psellos wrote to Aimilianos, patriarch of Antioch, thanking him for his impressive first letter. He had thought Aimilianos would for ever be silent, wasting his talent and forgetting that closeness to God involved duty ro inferiors. But this deafening letter confirmed his well-known virtues and left Psellos blushing. Aimilianos accepted success modestly, communing with God and the great of the earth yet remembering Psellos. Psellos admitted defeat in the contest of mutual encomia with Aimilianos, thanking him for his gift and asking (unnecessarily) for a reward for Joseph. The eloquent Joseph too praised Aimilianos for his recent progress in virtue. Psellos' second letter added further praise for Aimilianos' first. It amazed everyone, adding to Psellos' prestige as an educator in the East and spreading Aimilianos' fame for virtue. He must write more to confirm his status
1066
Certainty: 1 Aimilianos, patriarch of Antioch, praised Psellos' letter, apart from its excessive praise; Psellos denied it was excessive Certainty: 1
1073
Certainty: 1 Psellos took up the case of the monk Nikolaos, exiled from Antioch by the patriarch Aimilianos Certainty: 1
Certainty: 1 The patriarch Aimilianos had cowed the monks of the Thaumatourgos monastery; Psellos would help monks visiting the capital Certainty: 1
Certainty: 1 An Antiochene whom Amilianos & Psellos had helped, once told Psellos about Antioch; now he only had Aimilianos stories Certainty: 1
Certainty: 1 Psellos had worked hard with the emperors on behalf of Aimilianos of Antioch, & urged him to write Certainty: 1
Certainty: 1 Psellos tried to maintain correspondence with Aimilainos of Antioch, glad of news from anywhere, as Aimilainos rarely wrote
A monk brought news of the spiritual welfare of Aimilianos of Antioch, enthusing Psellos, as he had no such soothing music from Aimilianos himself. Psellos replied, asking Aimilianos to write as he wished: Psellos would read his letters in his own way. Another letter complained of the lack of replies, claiming that Psellos once got perfume and letters from Antioch: if the perfume had stopped, why should Aimilianos' more valuable letters stop too? A third letter tried another approach. Psellos lamented the cessation of letters from Aimilianos requesting advice. Now with Socratic boldness, Psellos discoursed on Aimilianos and Antioch with generalised advice, answering out of total ignorance questions which had not been asked. He was not close to the capital's expert on Antioch. A fourth was a letter of clichés, apparently elicited by letter-carriers. Psellos was well and happy; memories made him want conversation with Aimilianos, but as this was impossible, distance imposed letters. Aimilianos should write whenever possible, to reassure Psellos on his health, but also perform patriarchal duties of prayer, especially for Psellos. In a fifth, Psellos claimed to be always thinking of Aimilianos (though he rarely wrote), boasting of strong support by Michael VII. By adding sophistic to philosophy, Psellos had a high reputation, which he would try in time to deserve
1074
Certainty: 1 Expulsion of patriarch Aimilianos from Antioch by doux Isaakios Komnenos
Isaakios Komnenos (brother of the future Alexios I) was appointed doux of Antioch with instructions from Michael VII and Nikephoritzes to expel from the city its patriarch Aimilianos, held responsible for the unrest that broke out there. Isaakios was received with much honour and initially pretended to be favourably disposed towards the patriarch in order to avoid trouble in the divided city. Later, pretending to be unwell, he was invited to the patriarch's country estate to hunt hare. But once there, he used the excuse of going hunting to return to the city, and sent the imperial order to the patriarch ordering him to leave at once. Aimilianos, though very angry, could only go to Laodikeia, spend a few days there until his luggage was brought from Antioch, and then sail to Constantinople
1078
Certainty: 3 The people in Hagia Sophia proclaimed Nikephoros Botaneiates (still at Lampe) emperor Certainty: 3
Certainty: 2 Nicaea sided with rebel Nikephoros Botaneiates, & proclaimed him emperor Certainty: 2