Editing Isaac I Komnenos (section)

====Negotiations and downfall of Michael VI====
Michael&nbsp;VI then attempted to negotiate with the rebels, sending Psellos, Leo Alopos, and the former ''[[mesazon]]'' of Constantine IX, [[Constantine Leichoudes]], to Isaac's camp. Michael offered to adopt Isaac as his son and to grant him the title of ''[[Caesar (title)|Caesar]]'', making him effectively his successor, but this was rejected in a public audience. Psellos claims that Isaac was inclined to accept, but the pressure of the assembled troops, who vocally refused it, forced him to agree with his supporters. At a private meeting afterwards Isaac insisted that he had accepted the title of emperor only under the pressure of his followers, and secretly accepted the offer provided that Michael would also share "some, at any rate, of his imperial power", so that he could make appointments and reward his followers, especially in the military.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2017|p=218}}{{sfn|Sewter|1953|pp=215–224}} 

The envoys returned to Constantinople, and rapidly secured Michael's consent to the proposal; the Emperor explicitly agreed to pardon Isaac's followers, and to accord Isaac additional honours above those of ''Caesar'', setting him up almost as a co-emperor (''[[symbasileus]]''). As a sign of good faith, furthermore, Paraspondylos was dismissed from office. When the envoys returned to Isaac with this news, he publicly accepted the proposal and prepared to enter the capital.{{sfn|Sewter|1953|pp=224–226}} 

Back in Constantinople, however, a crowd of officials assembled in the [[Hagia Sophia]] and began protesting that by making a deal, the Emperor was forcing them to renounce their oaths to oppose the rebels. Going a step further, they began themselves acclaiming Isaac as emperor. After a short while, on 30 August, Michael Keroularios and the clergy joined their cause, raising suspicions that this "spontaneous" assembly had been planned by the ambitious and wily Patriarch all along. Pressured by Keroularios and wanting to avoid bloodshed in the city, Michael agreed to abdicate. He was quickly [[tonsure]]d and retired to a monastery.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2017|pp=218–219}}{{sfn|Sewter|1953|pp=226–227}}{{sfn|Kaldellis|Krallis|2012|pp=101, 103, 105, 107}} On the next day, 31 August, Isaac and his entourage crossed the [[Bosporus]] into Constantinople and entered the palace; on 1 September, he was crowned emperor by the Patriarch in the Hagia Sophia.{{sfn|Kaldellis|2017|p=219}}