had been demonstrated, Doukas led him with every honor, calling him lord and emperor and deeming him worthy of precedence whenever he came to him; and he came frequently. He did not lead him alone with honor, but also his entire family, his wife and daughter and brother and the others; but Komnenos, having survived for a year after his proclamation, died. 1.6 But Doukas, having lawfully governed the empire of the Romans for seven years in all, also ended his life; his wife Eudokia succeeded to the empire with their sons Michael and Konstantios. For a short time after the death of Doukas, the kouropalates also survived and died, leaving behind eight children, as the narrative has already shown, five males and three females, all of whom their mother raised well and showed to be worthy of their family. But two of the daughters, while their father was still living, were joined to husbands of noble birth and boasting in wealth, the elder, Maria, to Michael Taronites, and the one after her, Eudokia, to Nikephoros Melissenos, a prudent and admirable man, who on his father's side traced his lineage to the Bourtzes family. But the last of all, Theodora, after her father's death, her mother later joined to Constantine, the son of Diogenes, after his father had been chosen to wield the scepter of the Romans, a man noble indeed and valiant in hand, but in character not at all praiseworthy, as later events showed. But thus were the matters concerning the daughters. Of the male children, Manuel, while his father was still living, began to campaign and, striving to imitate his ancestors, he hastened to become worthy of them. The one after him, Isaac, followed in his brother's footsteps. But the third, Alexios, was full of all kinds of graces; for a charm bloomed on his face such as no one had ever beheld in another, and he was always cheerful and full of goodness, and what could one say about him that words could equal the splendors of his character and the virtues of his soul? He was a thing of all-various natural and deliberate modesty and like a most beautiful offering to life composed of two opposites; for being the sharpest and most energetic of all whom we ourselves have seen, he showed so gentle a soul as almost to appear unmoved by anger. Not yet having passed puberty, he pressed his mother to send him out with his brother; and indeed he accompanied him on campaign and showed the signs of virtue before maturity, carrying a shield and brandishing a spear most expertly, and was straightforward with everyone in his speech. Let the matters concerning him therefore wait a little, and let the narrative keep to its original sequence; for thus proceeding in order it will arrive at his own deeds, having first mentioned the remaining brothers as well; these were Adrianos and Nikephoros, for whom their mother, as they were quite young, appointed teachers and commanded that they be educated in the general course of studies. 1.7 Just as Romanos Diogenes had taken hold of the rudders of the empire, the first of the brothers, Manuel, was made an intimate of the emperor and was appointed protostrator by him. Not much time had passed, and he was promoted to general-in-chief of the eastern armies. Having therefore crossed the Propontis, he was encamped around Galatia, as the Turks had already begun to plunder the lands of the east. Who the Turks are and from what land they set out, having previously ceased to border the Romans, it is necessary to narrate from the beginning. These people were allotted to dwell in the northern regions beyond the Tanais and the Bosporus, not very far from the Caucasian mountains; being an autonomous and milk-drinking nation from the beginning, very populous and most warlike, it has never been enslaved by any nation. When the Persian empire was dissolved into that of the descendants of Hagar, and the Saracen dominion was master not only of Persia and Media and Babylon and the Assyrians, but also already of Egypt and Libya and no small part of the

ἀποδέδεικτο, διὰ πάσης ἦγεν ὁ ∆ούκας τοῦτον τιμῆς κύριόν τε καὶ βασιλέα ἀποκαλῶν καὶ προεδρίας ἀξιῶν, ὁπηνίκα φοιτῶν ἦν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐφοίτα δὲ συνεχῶς. Οὐκ αὐτὸν δὲ μόνον ἦγε διὰ τιμῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τούτου συγγενὲς ἅπαν, γυναῖκα καὶ θυγατέρα καὶ ἀδελφὸν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Κομνηνὸς ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπιβιοὺς μετὰ τὴν τούτου ἀνάρρησιν ἐτελεύτα. 1.6 Ὁ δέ γε ∆ούκας ἐπὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτεσι τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐννόμως τὴν βασιλείαν Ῥωμαίων ἰθύνας τὸν βίον καὶ οὗτος κατέλυσε· διαδέχεται δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν ἡ τούτου σύνοικος Εὐδοκία σὺν Μιχαὴλ καὶ Κωνσταντίῳ τοῖς παισί. Βραχὺν δέ τινα χρόνον μετὰ τὸν τοῦ ∆ούκα θάνατον καὶ ὁ κουροπαλάτης ἐπιβιοὺς ἐτελεύτησε παῖδας ὀκτὼ καταλιπών, ὡς ὁ λόγος φθάσας ἐδήλωσε, πέντε μὲν ἄρρενας, τρεῖς δὲ θηλείας, οὓς ἡ μήτηρ ἅπαντας καλῶς ἀναθρεψαμένη ἀξίους τοῦ γένους ἀπέδειξεν. Ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν δύο τῶν θυγατέρων ἔτι τοῦ πατρὸς περιόντος ἀνδράσιν ἡρμόσθησαν τῶν εὖ γεγονότων καὶ πλούτῳ κομώντων, ἡ μὲν πρεσβυτέρα Μαρία τῷ Ταρωνίτῃ Μιχαήλ, ἡ δὲ μετ' ἐκείνην Εὐδοκία τῷ Μελισσηνῷ Νικηφόρῳ, ἀνδρὶ νουνεχεῖ τε καὶ θαυμασίῳ, ὃς πατρόθεν ἐς Βουρτζίους τὸ γένος ἀνέφερε. Τὴν δέ γε ὑστάτην πασῶν Θεοδώραν μετὰ τὸν τοῦ πατρὸς μόρον τῷ τοῦ ∆ιογένους υἱῷ Κωνσταντίνῳ, τοῦ πατρὸς ἤδη τὰ Ῥωμαίων σκῆπτρα διέπειν λαχόντος, ἡ μήτηρ συνήρμοσεν ὕστερον, ἀνδρὶ εὐγενεῖ μὲν καὶ κατὰ χεῖρα γενναίῳ, τὸν δέ γε τρόπον οὐ πάνυ τι ὄντι ἐπαινετέῳ, ὡς τὰ ὕστερον ἔδειξεν. Ἀλλ' οὕτω μὲν τὰ κατὰ τὰς κόρας συνέβη. Ἀρρένων δὲ παίδων ὁ μὲν Μανουήλ, πατρὸς ἔτι τούτου περιόντος, στρατεύειν τε ἤρξατο καὶ πρὸς μίμησιν τῶν προγόνων ἑαυτὸν ἀποξέων ἔσπευδεν ἀποβῆναι τούτων ἐπάξιος. Ὁ δὲ μετ' ἐκεῖνον Ἰσαάκιος τοῖς τἀδελφοῦ κατὰ πόδας εἵπετο ἴχνεσιν. Ὁ δ' αὖ τρίτος Ἀλέξιος παντοίων ἦν χαρίτων ἀνάπλεως· χάρις γὰρ ἐπήνθει τῷ προσώπῳ ὁποίαν οὔ τις ἐν ἄλλῳ ἐθεάσατο πώποτε καὶ φαιδρὸς ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ ἀγαθωσύνης ἀνάπλεως, καὶ τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τούτου ὡς δυνηθῆναι τοὺς λόγους ἐξισῶσαι ταῖς τῶν ἠθῶν ἀγλαΐαις καὶ ταῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ἀρεταῖς; Παντοδαπὸν ἦν χρῆμα φυσικῆς τε καὶ προαιρετικῆς κοσμιότητος καὶ οἷόν τι κάλλιστον τῷ βίῳ ἀνάθημα ἐκ δυοῖν τοῖν ἐναντίοιν συγκείμενον· ὀξύτατος γὰρ ὢν ξυμπάντων ὧν αὐτοὶ τεθεάμεθα καὶ δραστηριώτατος, οὕτω πρᾳοτάτην ἐδείκνυτο τὴν ψυχὴν ὡς μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ ἀκίνητον πρὸς ὀργὴν ἑαυτὸν ἀποφαίνειν. Οὔπω δὲ τὴν ἥβην ὑπερβὰς ἐβιάζετο τὴν μητέρα συνεκπέμπειν καὶ αὐτὸν τῷ ἀδελφῷ· ἀμέλει καὶ ξυνείπετο τούτῳ στρατηγοῦντι καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς πρὸ τῆς τελειότητος ἐδείκνυτο καὶ σάκος φέρων καὶ δόρυ κραδαίνων ὡς ἄριστα καὶ διὰ γλώττης ἦν ἁπάντων εὐθύς. Τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τοῦτον ἀναμεινάτω μικρόν, ὁ λόγος δ' ἐχέσθω τῆς ἀρχῆθεν ἀκολουθίας· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν καθ' εἱρμὸν προβαίνων εἰς τὰς ἑαυτοῦ καταντήσειε πράξεις, πρῶτον ἐπιμνησθεὶς καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀδελφῶν· ἤστην δὲ τούτω Ἀδριανός τε καὶ Νικηφόρος, οἷν ἡ μήτηρ κομιδῇ νέοιν ὄντοιν διδασκάλους ἐπιστήσασα τὴν ἐγκύκλιον ἐπέταττεν ἐκπαιδεύεσθαι παίδευσιν. 1.7 Ἄρτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ ∆ιογένους Ῥωμανοῦ τῶν τῆς βασιλείας οἰάκων ἐπειλημμένου, πρῶτος τῶν ἀδελφῶν Μανουὴλ ᾠκείωτο τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πρωτοστράτωρ πρὸς αὐτοῦ ἀποδέδεικτο. Οὔπω συχνὸς παρερρύη καιρὸς καὶ στρατηγὸς αὐτοκράτωρ τῶν ἑῴων ταγμάτων προὐβέβλητο. Περαιωθεὶς οὖν τὴν Προποντίδα περὶ Γαλάτας ηὐλίζετο, ἤδη τῶν Τούρκων ἀρξαμένων τὰ τῆς ἑῴας ληΐζεσθαι. Τίνες δὲ οἱ Τοῦρκοι καὶ ὅθεν γῆς ὡρμημένοι πρότερον ὁμορεῖν Ῥωμαίοις ἔληγον ὕστερον, ἀναγκαῖον ἄνωθεν διηγήσασθαι. Οὗτοι οἰκεῖν μὲν ἔλαχον τὰ προσάρκτια τὰ πέραν Τανάϊδός τε καὶ Βοσπόρου, οὐ πάνυ τι τῶν Καυκασίων ἀπέχοντες ὀρῶν· αὐτόνομον ἔθνος ὂν καὶ γαλακτοφάγον ἀρχῆθεν πολυάνθρωπόν τε καὶ πολεμικώτατον ὑπ' οὐδενὸς δεδούλωται ἔθνους πώποτε. Τῆς γοῦν Περσῶν ἀρχῆς εἰς τοὺς τῆς Ἄγαρ διαλυθείσης καὶ τῆς μὲν Σαρακηνῶν ἐπικρατείας μὴ μόνον Περσίδος καὶ Μηδίας καὶ Βαβυλῶνος καὶ Ἀσσυρίων κυριευούσης, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ Αἰγύπτου καὶ Λιβύης καὶ μέρους οὐκ ἐλαχίστου τῆς