he annihilated the rest. And his knights were so boastful in their nature that each would stand against three hundred men in war, not at all unlike Comnenus himself, who alone thought he would quickly seize such a great empire, by briefly galloping his horse against it, and would conquer it, subduing it as if it were a sparrow's nest, in word for the Sicilian, whom he also inscribed as his genuine master, but in spirit for himself. For he appeared, we know not how, as we have set forth before, at once to appear somewhere and for all the eyes of the Romans to turn immediately to him as to the sun and to become his alone. The Latin land therefore sent forth so great a multitude of an army, enough to terrify us, and they all come to the mainland of the Illyrians, which marks the Roman borders at the Adriatic gulf. And having surrounded the metropolis of those parts, Dyrrachium, they capture it without a fight and, so to speak, at the first shout, according to Andronicus, it having been utterly betrayed by others, for thus he managed his affairs, not ascribing to himself but to others the misfortunes the Roman land suffered because of him, but in truth it was betrayed by him himself. And indeed, a short time before, having sent a certain Romanus, whom the fair Ister, having belched forth as a vile efflux, had preserved for him as a son-in-law in Constantinople at that time, he withered the prosperous men in Dyrrachium out of a love for wealth, such was his character, being rich yet manifestly not sated by such things. And from there the city, having been weakened and not having resisted very bravely, was captured and suffered very badly from fires and other evils, such as war, not being about to stop but to advance and to drive out those who followed in fear, is wont to inflict. And so captured, such a city greatly alarmed both us and all others who learned of the ease of the misfortune there; whom the capture of the good general John Branas also grieved, who, though not surrounded by a large army and yet thrust into the defense of the fortress out of fear of the emperor Andronicus, lest he be called a traitor and, falling into his hands, be deprived of his life, was led captive to Sicily at the capture of the city. 66 And the swiftness of that capture so terrified the surrounding areas all the way to Thessalonica, and the fact that, as one might say to show the speed of the evil, with one foot each of the enemy stepped on the land of the Illyrians, and with the other they leaped into that most fortified city. And that from there even to our Macedonia no obstacle on the road stood in their way as a hindrance, but this made the souls of all ready to be separated from their bodies, by which they were troubled. For there was nowhere that any terror met them, not great, not small, not medium, but like a swelling river through smooth plains that army of foot soldiers flowed down, until it joined us without plunder. But the navy, turning its own course, sailed to join its comrades in due time and to bring our evil to a great head. And it was some days behind the infantry, as some demonstration, I think, both of our worthlessness and of their strength, of the latter in that, if they had come upon us together, we would not have held out for even one day, of the former, that having only the infantry of the army besieging us, we were so virtuous to the worthless general that no military sally was made against him, but his men were preserved for the king in an unplundered abundance and as though not to suffer mutilation. And the army on foot besieged our city at the hour of breakfast, on the sixth day of the month of August, <on which the Transfiguration of our Savior is celebrated, and the navy anchored its ships on the fifteenth>, on which the glorious dormition of the all-pure Mother of God is commemorated. And then indeed things were no longer to be fled from by us, but the more sagacious foresaw what they would suffer, although not a few even before this foresaw the

τοὺς λοιποὺς ἐξηθέριζε. Καὶ ἦσαν οὕτως αὐτῷ οἱ ἱππόται οἷοι ἀλαζονεύεσθαι κατὰ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς φύσιν τριηκοσίων ἀνδρῶν ἕκαστος ἄντα κατὰ πόλεμον στήσεσθαι, οὐδὲν ἀπεοικότες οὐδ' αὐτοὶ τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ, ὃς μόνος ἐδόξαζε τὴν τοσαύτην βασιλείαν ταχὺ καταλήψεσθαι, βραχὺ κατ' αὐτῆς παρακαλπάσας τὸν ἵππον, καὶ κατακτήσεσθαι αὐτὴν χειρωσάμενος ὡσεὶ καὶ στρουθοῦ φωλεόν, λόγῳ μὲν τῷ Σικελῷ, ὃν καὶ γνησίως αὐθέντην ἐπεγράφετο, ψυχῇ δὲ ἑαυτῷ. Ἰνδάλλετο γάρ, οὐκ οἴδαμεν ὅπως, καθὰ καὶ προεξεθέμεθα, ἅμα τε ἐκφαίνεσθαί που καὶ πάντας εὐθὺς τοὺς Ῥωμαίων ὀφθαλμοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν ὡς ἥλιον ἐπιστρέφεσθαι καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου γίνεσθαι. Ἐξεῖρψεν οὖν ἡ Λατίνη γῆ πλῆθος οὕτω πολὺ στρατιᾶς, ἀφ' ἱκανοῦ ἡμᾶς ἐκφοβοῦν, καὶ γίνονται πάντες τῆς Ἰλλυριῶν ἠπειρώτιδος, ἣ τερματίζει τὰ Ῥωμαίων εἰς τὸν Ἀδρίαν κόλπον. Καὶ περισχόντες τὴν τῶν ἐκεῖσε μητρόπολιν, τὸ ∆υρράχιον, ἀπονητὶ ἀποχειροῦνται καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν αὐτοβοεί, κατὰ μὲν τὸν Ἀνδρόνικον φάναι, προδεδομένην ὑπ' ἄλλων εἰς τὸ πᾶν, οὕτω γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐθεράπευε τὰ κατ' αὐτόν, οὐχ ἑαυτῷ ἀλλ' ἑτέροις ἐπιγράφων ἃ ἐδυστύχει δι' αὐτὸν ἡ Ῥωμαῒς γῆ, πρὸς δὲ ἀλήθειαν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου πρόδοτον. Καὶ γάρ τοι πρὸ βραχέος χρόνου Ῥωμανόν τινα στείλας, ὃν ὁ καλὸς Ἴστροςφαύλην ἀπόρροιαν ἐναπερευξάμενος εἰς Κωνσταντινούπολιν γαμβρὸν ἐκείνῳ ἐφυλάξατο ἐν τοῖς τότε καιροῖς, τοὺς ἐν τῷ ∆υρραχίῳ ἀνθοῦντας ἐμάρανε πλούτου ἔρωτι, ὁποῖος ἐκεῖνος πλουτῶν ἄντικρυς τὰ τοιαῦτα μὴ κορεννύμενος. Κἀντεῦθεν ἡ πόλις κακυνθεῖσα καὶ μὴ πάνυ γενναίως ἀντισχοῦσα ἑάλω καὶ μάλα κακῶς ἔπαθεν ἐμπρησμοῖς τε καὶ λοιποῖς κακοῖς, ὁπόσα φιλεῖ ἀνδρίζεσθαι πόλεμος οὐ στησόμενος ἀλλὰ προβησόμενος καὶ ἐκστήσων φόβῳ τοὺς ἐφεξῆς. Οὕτω δὲ ἑαλωκυῖα ἡ τοιαύτη πόλις ἐθρόησε μὲν εἰς πολὺ καὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ ὅσοι δὲ ἄλλοι τὸ εὐεπιχείρητον τοῦ ἐκεῖ δυσπραγήματος ἔμαθον· οὓς ἐλύπει καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ στρατηγοῦ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βρανᾶ κατάσχεσις, ὃς οὐ πολὺν περικείμενος στρατὸν καὶ ὅμως εἰς φυλακὴν τοῦ φρουρίου παραβυσθεὶς φόβῳ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου μὴ καὶ προδότης ἐπικληθεὶς καὶ εἰς χεῖρας ἐκείνῳ πεσὼν ἀπαχθείη τοῦ ζῆν παρήχθη τῇ τῆς πόλεως ἁλώσει εἰς Σικελίαν αἰχμάλωτος. 66 Καὶ ἐξεφόβει μὲν οὕτω τοὺς πέριξ μέχρι καὶ ἐς Θεσσαλονίκην τὸ οὕτω ταχὺ τῆς ἁλώσεως ἐκείνης καὶ ὅτι, καθά τις ἂν εἴποι τὸ τάχος τοῦ κακοῦ ἐνδεικνύμενος, θατέρῳ μὲν τοῖν ποδοῖν ἕκαστος τῶν πολεμίων ἐπέβη τῆς Ἰλλυριῶν γῆς, θατέρῳ δὲ κατενεπήδησε τῆς ἐχυρωτάτης ἐκείνης πόλεως. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖθεν ἕως καὶ ἐς τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς Μακεδονικὴν οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ὁδοῦ προσέστη σκῶλον εἰς ἐμπόδιον, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τὰς ἁπάντων ψυχὰς ἑτοίμους ἔστησε τῶν κατ' αὐτὰς ἀπαλλάττεσθαι σωμάτων, οἷς ἐταράχθησαν. Οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ ὅπου συνήντετό τι δεῖμα ἐκείνοις, οὐ μέγα, οὐ μικρόν, οὐ μέσον, ἀλλ' ὡς διὰ λείων πεδίων ποταμὸς πλήθων ἐκεῖνος ὁ πεζὸς κατέρρεε στρατός, ἕως ἡμῖν συνέμιξεν ἄσκυλτος. Ὁ δέ γε ναυτικὸς τὴν οἰκείαν τραπόμενος, ἔπλεε συνελευσόμενος ἐν καιρῷ μερίταις καὶ κορυφώσων ἡμῖν εἰς μέγα τὸ κακόν. Καὶ ὑστέρησε τοῦ πεζοῦ ἡμέρας τινάς, εἰς ἔνδειξιν οἶμαί τινα τῆς τε καθ' ἡμᾶς οὐθενείας τῆς τε κατ' αὐτοὺς ἰσχύος, ταύτης μὲν ὡς, εἴπερ ὁμοῦ ἐπῆλθον ἡμῖν, οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ γοῦν μίαν ἡμέραν ἀντέσχομεν, ἐκείνης δέ, ὅτι καὶ μόνον τὸ πεζὸν τοῦ στρατοῦ περικαθήμενον ἔχοντες, οὕτως ἀρετῶντες ἦμεν τῷ φαύλῳ στρατηγῷ, ὡς μηδεμίαν ἐκδρομήν τινα κατ' αὐτὸν γενέσθαι στρατιωτικήν, ἀλλὰ φυλάττεσθαι τῷ ῥηγὶ τοὺς ἐκείνου εἰς ἀδνούμιον ἀπρονόμευτον καὶ οἷον μὴ παθεῖν κολόβωσιν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν πεζὸς λαὸς περιεκάθισε καθ' ὥραν ἀρίστου τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς πόλιν, Αὐγούστου μηνὸς ἄγοντος ἕκτην ἡμέραν, <καθ' ἣν ἡ Μεταμόρφωσις τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἑορτάζεται, ὁ δὲ ναυτικὸς κατὰ τὴν πέμπτην καὶ δεκάτην τὰς νῆας ἐλιμένισε>, καθ' ἣν ἡ ἔνδοξος κοίμησις τῆς πανάγνου Θεομήτορος μνημονεύεται. Καὶ τότε δὴ οὐκέτι φευκτὰ ἦν ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' οἱ ἀγχινούστεροι προεωρῶντο οἷα πείσονται, ὅπου γε οὔκουν ὀλίγοι καὶ πρὸ τούτων συνεώρων τὸ