4

he encountered not a few and difficult ones. For the Italians, having made the passage to the east, made most of it their own. For the entire theme of Opsikion and the Aegean and even Atramytion itself had become the Italians', and Baris and Aulonia, Poimanenon and Lentiana as far as Lopadion itself acknowledged Italian masters, and indeed also all the parts of Thynia up to Nicomedia itself. From this, the emperor Theodore was much constrained. No less was he also hard-pressed by the Romans. For in the confusion of the capture of Constantinople, various men who happened to be leaders or who were prominent among the others made the land under them their own dominion, either having set out for this on their own or having been summoned by the inhabitants for the defense of the country. For example, Theodore, whom they also called Morotheodoros, was ruler of the city of Philadelphia. Another, Sabbas by surname, was master of the city of Sampson along with the neighboring places. David was in control of all Paphlagonia, being the brother of Alexios who had seized Trapezous, who was also called Grand Komnenos; they were grandsons of the emperor Andronikos, having been born to his son Manuel. But he easily dealt with Morotheodoros and Sabbas, and from then on he was safely master of all Kelbianon, Maeander, Philadelphia, and Neokastra.

8

But here let my account pause; for it wishes to narrate what happened to the emperor Alexios. He arrived, therefore, as I had said, in Thessalonica, and was received by his daughter-in-law, who came from Hungary, and had been married to the emperor Isaac after the death of his wife; those who saw her said that she was very beautiful in appearance. At any rate, with the Italians having partitioned the lands of Romania, and Baldwin, who came from Flanders, having been proclaimed emperor, while the Doge of Venice, who was present in person, received no small portion and was honored with the rank of Despot—and he held one quarter and a half of a quarter of the whole which the Frankish part acquired—since the Marquis had also contributed a considerable portion of the alliance, he was honored as king of Thessalonica by the man from Flanders, also taking the aforesaid Maria as his wife. By her Alexios was received. But a short time later, having been detected fomenting a revolution there, he was driven out together with his wife and his daughter Eudokia, whom, upon arriving in Corinth, he married to Sgouros. After spending a short time there, learning from some that he was about to be captured, he fled; but encountering some men from Lombardy, he was captured, while making his way to his first cousin Michael; for he too at that time had seized control of a certain part of old Epirus and was causing much trouble for the Italians who had arrived in those parts. And this man was the potentate of such a land, for he ruled Ioannina and Arta and as far as Naupaktos. When, at any rate, the emperor Alexios was captured by the Lombards, he was sold by them along with his wife. And having stayed for a short time with Michael, he decided to go to the sultan of Iconium, whom they called Iathatines; for he was acquainted with him. For the aforementioned Iathatines, having escaped the hands of his brother Azatines, who was then ruler of the Muslims, had come to this Alexios and was adopted by him, and he fled along with this emperor. But not many days passed, and a man came to him secretly announcing to him the death of his brother; and he, dressed in poor rags, arrives with him and, being recognized by his own people, is acclaimed as Persarch. This man also proved useful to the emperor Theodore by giving him an alliance; for he used to call the empress Anna sister.

4

προσέκυρσεν οὐκ ὀλίγαις καὶ χαλεπαῖς. οἵ τε γὰρ Ἰταλοὶ κατὰ τὴν ἑῴαν τὸν πόρον πεποιηκότες, τὰ πλείω ταύτης ὑφ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐποι ήσαντο. τό τε γὰρ ἅπαν θέμα Ὀψικίου καὶ Αἰγαίου καὶ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ Ἀτραμύτιον τῶν Ἰταλῶν ἐγεγόνει, Βάρις τε καὶ Αὐλωνία, Ποιμανηνόν τε καὶ Λεντιανὰ μέχρι τοῦ Λοπαδίου αὐτοῦ δεσπότας ἐγίνωσκον Ἰταλούς, ἀλλά γε δὴ καὶ τὰ τῆς Θυνίας πάντα μέχρι καὶ Νικομηδείας αὐτῆς. ἐντεῦθεν ἐστενοῦτο πολὺ ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεόδωρος. οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον καὶ πρὸς Ῥωμαίων κατεβιάζετο. ἐν γὰρ τῇ συγχύσει τῆς Κων σταντίνου ἁλώσεως ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος ἡγεμόνες εἶναι τυχόντες ἢ καὶ οἱ τῶν ἄλλων προύχοντες ὡς οἰκείαν ἀρχὴν τὴν ὑφ' αὑτοὺς ἐποιοῦντο χώραν, ἢ ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰς τοῦτο ὁρμήσαντες ἢ καὶ παρὰ τῶν οἰκητόρων μετακληθέντες εἰς τὴν τῆς χώρας δεφένδευσιν. αὐτίκα Θεόδωρος, ὃν καὶ Μωροθεόδωρον ἀπεκάλουν, ἄρχων ἦν τῆς Φιλαδέλφου πόλεως. ἕτερος δὲ Σάββας τοὐπίκλην τοῦ ἄστεος ἐδέσποζε τοῦ Σαμψὼν μετὰ καὶ τῶν πλησίον τυγχανόντων αὐτῷ. Παφλαγονίας δὲ πάσης ἐγκρατὴς ἦν ∆αυίδ, ἀδελφὸς ὢν Ἀλεξίου τοῦ τῆς Τραπε ζοῦντος κρατήσαντος, ὃς καὶ μέγας ὠνομάζετο Κομνηνός, οἳ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου ὑπῆρχον ἔγγονοι, Μανουὴλ τῷ τούτου τεχθέντες υἱῷ. ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Μωροθεόδωρον καὶ τὸν Σάββαν εὐχερῶς μετῆλθε, κἀντεῦθεν ἐδέσποζεν ἀδεῶς Κελβιανοῦ τε παντός, Μαιάνδρου, Φιλαδελφείας καὶ Νεοκάστρων.

8 Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθά μοι ὁ λόγος ἀναμεινάτω· ἱστορῆσαι γὰρ βούλεται τὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἀλεξίῳ συμβάντα. ἀφίκετο μὲν οὖν, ὡς εἰρήκειν, εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην, καὶ ὑπεδέχθη παρὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ νύμφης, ἣ ἐξ Οὔγγρων μὲν ὥρμητο, ἐπεγαμβρεύθη δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰσαακίῳ μετὰ τὴν τῆς γυναικὸς αὐ τοῦ τελευτήν, ἣν καὶ ὡραίαν πάνυ τῷ εἴδει οἱ κατιδόντες ἔφασκον εἶναι. τῶν γοῦν Ἰταλῶν εἰς πολυμέρειαν τὰ τῆς Ῥωμαΐδος κληρωσαμένων καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἐκ Φλάντρας ὡρμη μένου Βαλδουΐνου βασιλέως ἀναγορευθέντος, τοῦ δὲ δουκὸς Βενετίας, ὃς καὶ αὐτοπροσώπως συνῆν, μερίδα οὐ μικρὰν ἐσχηκότος καὶ δεσποτικῷ ἀξιώματι τιμηθέντος, ἔχειν τε ἐξ ὅλου πρὸς τὸ ὅλον, ὃ τὸ τῶν Φράγγων ἐκτήσατο μέρος, τὸ τέταρτον καὶ τοῦ τετάρτου τὸ ἥμισυ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ μαρκέσιος ἀξιόλογον μοῖραν τῆς συμμαχίας ἦν ἐνεγκάμενος, ῥὴξ Θεσσαλονίκης παρὰ τοῦ Φλάντρα τετίμηται, προσλαβόμενος καὶ γυναῖκα τὴν δηλωθεῖσαν Μαρίαν. ὑπὸ ταύτης ὑπεδέχθη Ἀλέξιος. μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ φωραθεὶς τοῖς ἐκεῖσε νεωτερί ζεσθαι, ἀπεδιώχθη συνάμα τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ Εὐδοκίᾳ, ἣν καὶ εἰς Κόρινθον ἀφικόμενος τῷ Σγουρῷ συνεζεύξατο. μικρὸν δὲ τοῖς ἐκεῖσε προσδιατρίψας, γνοὺς παρά τινων ὡς ἁλίσκεσθαι μέλλει, ἀπέδρα· ἐκ Λογγιβαρδίας δέ τισι ξυντυχὼν ἁλίσκεται, πρὸς τὸν πρωτεξάδελφον αὐτοῦ Μιχαὴλ τὰς κινήσεις ποιούμενος· ἦν γὰρ κἀκεῖνος τῷ τότε μέρους τινὸς παλαιᾶς Ἠπείρου κρατήσας καὶ πολλὰ τοῖς πρὸς τὰ ἐκεῖσε μέρη ἀφιγμένοις Ἰταλοῖς παρέχων πράγματα. καὶ ἦν οὗτος δυναστεύων τῆς τοιαύτης χώρας, Ἰωαννίνων γὰρ ἦρχε καὶ Ἄρτης καὶ μέχρι Ναυπάκτου. ὡς γοῦν ἑάλω παρὰ Λογγιβάρδων ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξιος, καὶ ἀπεμπολεῖται παρ' αὐτῶν συνάμα τῇ γυναικί. μικρὸν δὲ μετὰ τοῦ Μιχαὴλ προσκαρτερήσας βουλεύεται πρὸς τὸν Ἰκονίου σουλτὰν ἀπελθεῖν, ὃν Ἰαθατίνην ὠνόμαζον· ἦν γὰρ τούτῳ συνήθης. ὁ γὰρ εἰρημένος Ἰαθατίνης τὰς τοῦ ἀδελ φοῦ αὐτοῦ χεῖρας ἀποδρὰς Ἀζατίνου, κατάρχοντος τότε τῶν Μουσουλμάνων, ἐς Ἀλέξιον ἧκε τοῦτον καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ υἱοθετεῖται, ὃς καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τούτῳ συναπέδρα. ἀλλ' οὐ συχναὶ παρῆλθον ἡμέραι, καὶ ἀφικνεῖται πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνὴρ τὸν ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ μόρον μηνύων αὐτῷ κρύφα· ὃς καὶ ῥάκεσι πενιχροῖς ἐσταλμένος μετ' αὐτοῦ ἀφικνεῖται καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ καταστὰς γνώριμος περσάρχης ἐπιφημίζεται. οὗτος καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ Θεοδώρῳ χρήσιμος ἀνεφάνη συμμαχίαν δούς· ὡς ἀδελφὴν γὰρ τὴν βασιλίδα Ἄνναν ὠνόμαζεν.