the war was joined. And on the next day, sitting in public, he handed over the captured enemies to the final sentence, sparing absolutely no one, not even their leader himself, even though he promised to make himself available for purchase for a large ransom. And having stayed for three days in the camp, the emperor, having had his fill with this victory, gave many of the enemy permission to escape, so as not even to keep the booty. And rising from there, he marched after them. And having made camp about two days' journey from Melitene, he planned to divide off a certain portion of the army and leave it as a garrison against the enemy, while he himself with the entire army would return to the capital. But when the plan seemed ignoble and inexpedient, he changed his mind and marched straight for the Euphrates; for the enemies were encamped around its banks, who, as soon as they learned of the emperor's movement against them, withdrew. And the emperor, marching straight for Romanopolis and wishing to arrive from there at Chliat, encamped in a certain place, and appointed Philaretos—he was of the family of the Brachamioi—as general with full powers; for having divided the army in two, he gave him the stronger part, a man boasting a military reputation, but having a shameful and infamous life and passing his own existence most shamefully, and having fought against the Turks on various occasions, but having been defeated in the most important ones and for this reason despised, yet not refraining from these things, but running after the command for the sake of avarice and ambition. And the emperor took possession of the more northern parts in order to find snow and cold water; for his body had an intemperate need of these things, being greatly overheated. And passing through rough and difficult places, he arrived at a certain place called 137 Anthias; and the place is grassy and corn-bearing and of no small delight to those who stop in it, and it is like the navel of that land. And from there, having crossed the Taurus mountain, which is locally called Mounzaron, he arrived in the land called Keltzene, crossing the Euphrates river for the second time, which flows by and divides both the mountain and Keltzene like a border. But the soldiers left behind with Philaretos, filled with terror at the appearance of the enemy and shaken in their souls, marched after the emperor, abandoning the places they had been entrusted to guard, until they reached the aforementioned Anthias. And there, when the enemy appeared from the rear, they shamefully chose flight even before the contest and reached the emperor in Keltzene on foot. And the enemy became masters of their baggage. These things, thus reported, caused the emperor great anxious disturbance, who was unbearably grim at both the defeat of his own men and the victory of the enemy. And if the emperor's reputation had not made them very fearful and somewhat hindered their rush, there was nothing to prevent them from plundering and utterly destroying that entire land. But turning back, they marched straight for the theme of the Cappadocians unrestrainedly, as was their custom, plundering on their raid whatever they came upon, and attacking with their whole army the city of Iconium; for it was distinguished by its multitude of men and houses and other good and enviable things. And the emperor in Keltzene, having received the scattered fugitives, so that they might not perish at the hands of the Armenians in the wilderness, turned back after the enemy. And holding a trial between the commander and those with him, he did not assign the victory to either side, this alone having been accurately determined, that besides the emperor there is nothing to sustain the war for the Romans, both because the greater part of the army has been worn down beforehand and because the commanders are willing, even for small and chance successes, to claim for themselves and their relatives the greatest of dignities and honors, on account of which 138 the others are also unenthusiastic for anything noble and
συνέστη ὁ πόλεμος. Τῇ δ' ἐπαύριον δημοσίᾳ καθίσας τοὺς ἑαλωκότας τῶν πολεμίων τῇ τελευταίᾳ ψήφῳ παρέδωκε, μηδενὸς τὸ παράπαν φεισάμενος μήτ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος αὐτῶν, εἰ καὶ πολλῶν λύτρων ἑαυτὸν ὤνιον ποιήσασθαι ἐπηγγέλλετο. Τριημερεύσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ, τῷ προτερήματι τούτῳ κόρον λαβὼν πολλοῖς ἄδειαν δέδωκε τῶν ἐναντίων ἀποφυγῆς, ὡς μηδὲ τῆς λείας ἀποσχέσθαι. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐκεῖθεν κατόπιν αὐτῶν ἐβάδιζε. Στρατοπεδευσάμενος δὲ ὡς ἀπὸ διαστήματος ἡμερῶν δύο τῆς Μελιτηνῆς ἐβουλεύετο μοῖράν τινα τοῦ στρατοῦ μερισάμενος ἀφεῖναι τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐπιτείχισμα, αὐτὸς δὲ ἅμα παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ὑποστρέψαι πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια. Ἀγεννοῦς δὲ τῆς βουλῆς δοξάσης καὶ ἀσυμφόρου μεταθέμενος εὐθὺ τοῦ Εὐφράτου ἐβάδισεν· ἦσαν γὰρ περὶ τὰς ὄχθας αὐτοῦ ἐσκηνωμένοι οἱ πολέμιοι, οἳ καὶ αὐτίκα πυθόμενοι τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως κατ' αὐτῶν κίνησιν ἀνεχώρησαν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς εὐθὺ Ῥωμανοπόλεως ἐλαύνων κἀκεῖθεν πρὸς τὸ Χλίατ παραγενέσθαι βουλόμενος ἔν τινι τόπῳ κατασκηνοῖ, καὶ τὸν Φιλάρετον ἦν δὲ τοῦ τῶν Βραχαμίων γένους στρατηγὸν αὐτοκράτορα ἀναδείκνυσι· διελὼν γὰρ διχῇ τὸν στρατὸν τὸ ἰσχυρότερον αὐτῷ ἐπιδίδωσιν, ἀνδρὶ στρατιωτικὴν μὲν αὐχοῦντι περιωπήν, αἰσχροῦ δὲ βίου καὶ ἐπιρρήτου τυγχάνοντι καὶ αἰσχίστως τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βιοτὴν διανύοντι καὶ μαχεσαμένῳ μὲν τοῖς Τούρκοις διαφόρως, ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις δὲ καταπολεμηθέντι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καταφρονηθέντι, οὐ μὴν ἀπεχομένῳ τούτων, ἀλλ' ἐπιτρέχοντι τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ διὰ φιλοκερδείας καὶ φιλοδοξίας ὑπόθεσιν. Τῶν δὲ βορειοτέρων μερῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπελάβετο δι' εὕρεσιν χιόνος καὶ ὑδάτων ψυχρῶν· ἀκρατῶς γὰρ εἶχε τούτων τὸ σῶμα κατὰ πολὺ διαθερμαινόμενος. ∆ιελθὼν δὲ διὰ τραχεινῶν καὶ δυσβάτων τόπων εἴς τινα τόπον λεγόμενον 137 Ἀνθίας κατήντησε· ποηφόρος δὲ ὁ τόπος καὶ σιτοφόρος καὶ ψυχαγωγία οὐ μικρὰ τοῖς ἐν τούτῳ καταίρουσι καὶ οἷον ὀμφαλὸς ἐκεῖνος τῆς γῆς. Ἐκεῖθεν δὲ τὸν Ταῦρον τὸ ὄρος, τὸ ἐπιχωρίως καλούμενον Μούνζαρον, ὑπερβὰς εἰς τὴν Κελτζηνὴν λεγομένην χώραν κατήντησε, τὸ δεύτερον διαβὰς τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμόν, παραρρέοντα καὶ διαιροῦντα τό τε ὄρος καὶ τὴν Κελτζηνὴν ὥσπερ μεθόριον. Οἱ δὲ μετὰ τοῦ Φιλαρέτου καταλειφθέντες στρατιῶται, ἐξ ἐπιφανείας τῶν ἐναντίων πτοίας πλησθέντες καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς κατασεισθέντες, κατόπιν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐβάδιζον τοὺς τόπους ἀφέντες ὧν τὴν φυλακὴν ἐπετράπησαν, ἕως εἰς τοὺς εἰρημένους Ἀνθίας κατήντησαν. Κἀνταῦθα δὲ τῶν πολεμίων φανέντων ἐξ οὐραγίας αἰσχρῶς τὴν φυγὴν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἀγωνίσματος εἵλοντο καὶ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰς τὴν Κελτζηνὴν κατέλαβον ἐκ ποδός. Τῆς δέ γε τούτων ἀποσκευῆς οἱ ἐναντίοι ἐγένοντο κύριοι. Ταῦθ' οὕτως ἀγγελθέντα πολὺν ἐνῆκε τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸν ἐναγώνιον θόρυβον, ἐπί τε τῇ τῶν οἰκείων ἥττῃ καὶ τῇ τῶν ἐναντίων νίκῃ οὐ φορητῶς σκυθρωπάσαντι. Καὶ εἰ μὴ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως φήμη αὐτοὺς περιδεεῖς κατειργάζετο καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν αὐτῶν ποσῶς διεκώλυεν, οὐδὲν ἦν τὸ κωλῦον σύμπασαν αὐτοὺς τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην καταληίσασθαι καὶ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι. Ὀπισθόρμητοι δὲ γενόμενοι εὐθὺ τοῦ θέματος τῶν Καππαδοκῶν κατὰ τὸ εἰθισμένον ἀκρατῶς ἤλαυνον, καταληιζόμενοι μὲν τὸ προστυχὸν ἐξ ἐφόδου, ἐφορμῶντες δὲ πανστρατιᾷ κατὰ τῆς τοῦ Ἰκονίου πολιτείας· ἦν γὰρ πλήθει τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ οἰκιῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων χρηστῶν καὶ ζηλωτῶν διαφέρουσα. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἐν Κελτζηνῇ τοὺς ἀποφυγόντας σποράδας ὑποδεξάμενος, ὡς ἂν μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀρμενίων ἐξ ἐρήμης ἀπόλωνται, κατόπιν τῶν ἐναντίων ὑποστρέφων ἐγένετο. Καὶ κρίσιν δὲ μεταξὺ τοῦ τε ἡγεμόνος καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ καθίσας οὐδενὶ μέρει τὴν νικῶσαν ἀπέδοτο, διαγνωσθέντος τούτου μόνου ἀκριβῶς ὅτι πλὴν τοῦ βασιλέως οὐδέν ἐστι τὸ συνιστῶν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τὸν πόλεμον διά τε τὸ προκατειργάσθαι τὸ πλεῖον τοῦ στρατοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἐθέλειν καὶ ἐπὶ μικραῖς καὶ ταῖς τυχούσαις εὐτυχίαις ἑαυτοῖς καὶ συγγενέσι μνᾶσθαι τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἀξιωμάτων καὶ φιλοτιμιῶν, δι' ἃ 138 καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀπροθύμους εἶναι πρὸς τὸ γενναῖόν τι καὶ