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and having adopted a more bestial manner, he reveled in the slaughter of Romans. When he had thus died, his sister's son, Boril by name, having taken his Scythian aunt as his wife, became master of the rule of the Bulgarians, and someone secretly took Asan's son, John, who was still underage, and departed to the Scythians.

14 But Michael, whom we have said ruled over Epirus, had three brothers, Constantine, Theodore, and Manuel; of whom Theodore was with the emperor of the Romans, Theodore Laskaris. And Michael urged the emperor Theodore to send him to him, because he no longer had a son who was of age nor even a legitimate one—for the Michael born to him had been born to him of a concubine—and he feared an untimely death. And he sends him to his brother, having first bound him by oaths to keep faith of servitude towards him and towards those with him. And he, having arrived, was with his brother Michael. Not long after, Michael is murdered by one of his servants; the murderer's name was Roman. His brother Theodore, therefore, seized his power, having with him his brothers Constantine and Manuel. And he increased his domain. For he acquired no small amount of land from both the Italians and the Bulgarians, and he made Thessaly subject to him, as well as Ochrid and Prilep, Albanon and Dyrrachium itself; where he also bravely routed Peter, who was setting out from Italy with a very great army and passing through to Constantinople, having been acclaimed emperor by the pope, and having taken Dyrrachium [from the Latin side of Baldwin, and of Henry after him]. Peter was the son-in-law of Baldwin by his sister Jolenta, from whom he had sons Philip, Robert, and Baldwin. Of these, Robert and Baldwin ruled Constantinople, their first brother Philip having yielded the empire to his brother Robert. They also had sisters, one of whom was Maria, to whom the emperor Theodore was married. And Theodore of Epirus, taking his own army, opposes Peter who had advanced a little beyond Dyrrachium and was in the difficult terrain of Albanon. The forces of Theodore Komnenos, therefore, defeated the army of the Latins, so as to make them all prisoners completely with all their baggage, and the emperor Peter himself became a work of the sword. This, indeed, at that time became a great help to the Romans.

15 The emperor Theodore Laskaris by his wife Anna had three daughters, Irene, Maria, and Eudokia. He gave the second, Maria, to the king of Hungary, who was passing through his land from Jerusalem, for marriage to his son, and the first he joins in marriage to Andronikos Palaiologos, whom he had also honored as despot. Not long after, the despot Palaiologos dies, as some said from erotic affections, and the emperor takes as son-in-law John Doukas, whose surname was Vatatzes, being a protovestiarios from Didymoteichon. Now, the empress Anna had died previously. And the emperor took a wife from the Armenians; but being displeased with her, he sends her away to her own homeland, and a wife is brought to him, the sister of the emperor of the Italians, Robert. For Robert had succeeded his uncle Henry, who had defeated the Romans many times, especially since the emperor Theodore had killed the sultan. For then he had lost the Frankish army present with him, for which reason also Henry, having heard of the emperor's victory, said, "Laskaris is defeated, not victorious." And Henry pitched his tents as far as Nymphaion itself, and having returned from there, he came to an agreement with the emperor Theodore. And it was agreed that all the things of Kiminas—for so is the mountain called that happens to be near Achyraous—together with Achyraous itself would be ruled by the race of the Franks, but Kalamos—for Kalamos is a village, from

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καὶ τρόπου μετασχὼν θηριω δεστέρου, φόνοις ἐνετρύφα Ῥωμαίων. ὡς γοῦν οὑτωσὶ ἐτεθνήκει, ὁ τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ παῖς Βορίλας τοὔνομα, τὴν Σκυτίδα θείαν γαμετὴν εἰληφὼς τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Βουλγάρων γέγονεν ἐγκρατής, τὸν δὲ τοῦ Ἀσὰν παῖδα τὸν Ἰωάννην ἀφήλικα ἔτι ὄντα κρύφα τις λαβὼν περὶ τοὺς Σκύθας κεχώρηκεν.

14 Ὁ Μιχαὴλ δέ, ὃν τῆς Ἠπείρου κατάρξαι εἰρήκαμεν, τρεῖς κασιγνήτους ἐκέκτητο, Κωνσταντῖνον Θεόδωρον καὶ Μανουήλ· ὧν ὁ μὲν Θεόδωρος τῷ βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων συνῆν Θεοδώρῳ τῷ Λάσκαρι. καὶ παρακαλεῖ τὸν βασιλέα Θεόδωρον ὁ Μιχαήλ, ἵνα τοῦτον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκπέμψῃ, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἔτι παῖδα ἔνηβον ἀλλ' οὐδὲ γνήσιον-ὁ γὰρ αὐτῷ γεν νηθεὶς Μιχαὴλ ἐκ παλλακῆς ἐκείνῳ γεγέννητο-καὶ τοῦ θανάτου δεδιέναι τὸ ἄωρον. καὶ πέμπει τοῦτον τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ὅρκοις πρῶτον ἐμπεδωσάμενος πίστιν δουλείας εἰς τοῦτον φυλάττειν καὶ εἰς τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ. ὃς καὶ ἀφικόμενος συνῆν τῷ ἀδελφῷ Μιχαήλ. μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ φονεύεται παρά του τῶν ὑπηρετῶν ὁ Μιχαήλ· Ῥωμαῖος δὲ ἦν τῷ φο νευτῇ τοὔνομα. ἐπιλαμβάνεται γοῦν τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐκείνου ὁ ἀδελφὸς Θεόδωρος ἔχων καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Κωνσταντῖνον καὶ Μανουήλ. καὶ ηὔξησε τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀρχήν. προσεκτή σατο γὰρ οὐκ ὀλίγην χώραν ἔκ τε Ἰταλῶν καὶ Βουλγάρων, καὶ τὴν Θεσσαλίαν ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἐποιήσατο, Ἀχρίδαν τε καὶ Πρίλαπον, Ἄλβανόν τε καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ∆υρράχιον· ἔνθα καὶ Πέτρον μετὰ μεγίστης στρατιᾶς ἐξ Ἰταλίας ὁρμώμενον καὶ πρὸς τὴν Κωνσταντίνου διοδεύοντα, ἀνηγορευμένον πρὸς τοῦ πάπα βασιλέα, καὶ προχειρωσάμενον τὸ ∆υρράχιον [ἐκ τοῦ Λατίνων μέρους Βαλδουίνου, καὶ τοῦ μετ' αὐτὸν Ἐρρῆ] γενναίως κατετροπώσατο. γαμβρὸς δὲ ἦν ὁ Πέτρος Βαλ δουίνου ἐπ' ἀδελφῇ Ἰολέντᾳ, ἐξ ἧς παῖδες αὐτῷ Φίλιππος Ῥομπέρτος καὶ Βαλδουῖνος. ὧν ὁ μὲν Ῥομπέρτος καὶ ὁ Βαλδουῖνος τῆς Κωνσταντίνου βεβασιλεύκασι, τοῦ πρώτου αὐτῶν ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ Φιλίππου τῷ ἀδελφῷ Ῥομπέρτῳ τῆς βασιλείας παραχωρήσαντος. ὑπῆρχον σφίσι καὶ ἀδελφαί, ὧν μία Μαρία, ᾗ συνεζύγη ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεόδωρος. ὁ δὲ τῆς Ἠπείρου Θεόδωρος, τὸ οἰκεῖον παραλαβὼν στράτευμα, ἀντιτάττεται τῷ Πέτρῳ μικρὸν ὑπερπηδήσαντι τὸ ∆υρράχιον καὶ ἐν ταῖς τοῦ Ἀλβανοῦ δυσχωρίαις γεγενημένῳ. νικῶσι γοῦν οἱ τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ Θεοδώρου τὸ τῶν Λατίνων στρά τευμα, ὡς πάντας ἄρδην δεσμώτας ποιῆσαι σὺν πᾶσι σκεύεσι, καὶ αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν βασιλέα Πέτρον ἔργον μαχαί ρας γενέσθαι. τοῦτο δὴ τότε μέγα Ῥωμαίοις ἐγεγόνει βοήθημα.

15 Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς Θεόδωρος ὁ Λάσκαρις ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ γαμετῆς Ἄννης τρεῖς ἐποιήσατο θυγατέρας, Εἰρήνην Μαρίαν καὶ Εὐδοκίαν. τὴν γοῦν Μαρίαν δευτέραν τῇ ῥηγὶ Οὐγ γρίας διερχομένῳ τὴν αὐτοῦ χώραν ἐξ Ἱεροσολύμων εἰς κῆδος ἐπὶ τῷ υἱῷ παραδίδωσι, τὴν δὲ πρώτην συζεύγνυσι τῷ Παλαιολόγῳ Ἀνδρονίκῳ, ὃν καὶ δεσπότην τετίμηκε. μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ ὁ δεσπότης Παλαιολόγος θνήσκει, ὡς μέν τινες ἔφασκον ἐξ ἐρωτικῶν διαθέσεων, καὶ προσλαμβάνεται ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς γαμβρὸν Ἰωάννην τὸν ∆ούκαν, οὗ Βατάτζης τοὐπίκλην, ἐκ ∆ιδυμοτοίχου δὲ πρωτοβεστιάριον ὄντα. ἡ μὲν οὖν βασιλὶς Ἄννα προτετελευτήκει. ἤγετο δὲ ἐξ Ἀρμενίων γυναῖκα ὁ βασιλεύς· δυσαρεστήσας δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν πατρίδα ἐκπέμπει, ἐπιφέρει δ' αὐτῷ γαμε τὴν τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰταλῶν Ῥομπέρτου ἀδελφήν. καὶ τὸν θεῖον γὰρ Ἐρρῆν ὁ Ῥομπέρτος διεδέξατο πολλὰ Ῥωμαίους ἡττήσαντα, μάλιστα ἐξ ὅτου τὸν σουλτὰν πεφόνευκεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεόδωρος. τότε γὰρ τὸ ἐκ Φράγγων παρὸν αὐτῷ ἀπολώλεκε στράτευμα, διὸ καὶ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως νίκην ἀκηκοὼς ὁ Ἐρρῆς «νενίκηται» ἔφη «ὁ Λάσκαρις, οὐ νενί κηκε.» καὶ μέχρι καὶ αὐτοῦ Νυμφαίου τὰς σκηνὰς ὁ Ἐρρῆς ἐπήξατο, ἐκεῖθέν τε ὑποστρέψας εἰς ξυμβάσεις ἦλθε μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Θεοδώρου. καὶ συνεφωνήθη τὰ μὲν τοῦ Κιμινᾶ πάντα-οὕτω γὰρ τὸ ὄρος καλεῖται τὸ ἐγγὺς τῆς Ἀχυράους τυγχάνον-μετὰ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς Ἀχυράους παρὰ τοῦ τῶν Φράγγων γένους δεσπόζεσθαι, τὸν δὲ Κάλα μον-κῶμος δέ ἐστιν ὁ Κάλαμος, ἐξ