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I have said, so that I might show how she both loved learning and honored those who knew these things. This empress dies, as I said, and I think that the eclipse of the sun also signified her death. And six months before, a comet also appeared in the region of the north; it was a bearded comet and it lasted for three months, appearing not in one place but in various ones. Shortly after, the ruler of the Bulgarians, Asan, also departed from men, a man who appeared to be the best among the barbarians, not only among his own people for but indeed also among foreigners. For he treated the newcomers who came to him rather humanely, and especially the Romans, and he generously provided them with rations. When he himself had died, therefore, his son, whom they called Kaliman, born to him by the woman from Hungary, took up the rule. This Kaliman also had a full sister, whose name was Thamar. And from the daughter of Angelos, three children were born to Asan, a male, Michael, and females, as we have said, Maria and Anna. Kaliman, therefore, having taken up his paternal rule, renewed the treaties with the emperor John, and matters in these areas were at peace. And when Manuel, the brother of Theodore, had died, his nephew Michael took possession of the land held by him and joined it to his own land; and they were again at peace, both Theodore Angelos, who had his son John in Thessalonica and the regions around it proclaimed emperor, and his uncle Constantine, also called despot, and his nephew Michael.

40 So the emperor John, since the Bulgarian Asan was out of the way and a youth ruled the Bulgarians, seizing the opportunity attempted to abolish the imperial title proclaimed for John, the son of Angelos. And first he suborns his father Theodore with messages. And indeed, as was his way of acting rashly in affairs, suspecting none of the things that would happen, he comes to the emperor John. And the latter received him gladly and honored him, both calling him uncle and having him sit at his table and sharing other friendly gestures. When the emperor had him in his hands, and it happened that a formidable army of Scythians had been added to his Roman forces—for a short time before the emperor John had tamed these men from their rather savage nature with gifts and various welcomes and had detached them from the Macedonians and transported them to the eastern regions—growing more confident because of these men and expecting no trouble from the Bulgarians, partly because of the treaties that had been made, and partly because the affairs of the Bulgarians were managed by a youth, the emperor departed from the east and, having crossed the Hellespont, having with him the forces from the Roman armies and those of the Scythians, he marches against John, who was proclaimed to be ruling as emperor in Thessalonica. When he had passed through the regions of Thrace and Macedonia, and had already passed by Christopolis and the Strymon, he turned his attention to the fortress of Rentina, which was guarded by some of John's men; who, even before seeing the armies of the emperor John, abandoned the fortress and, taking to flight, ran into Thessalonica. The emperor's men, finding it deserted of fighting men, seized it and established a garrison. The emperor, gathering his entire army, pitches his tent somewhere near Thessalonica, about eight stades away; the name of the place is the Garden of Probatas. It was not easy for him to set up siege engines and machines against so great a city and to capture it by such a battle from there, but he made sorties with his troops and plundered all the surrounding areas, and especially with the Scythians. At any rate, they made everything plunder. He also had with him triremes, which Manuel Contophre commanded.

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εἶπον, ὡς ἂν παραστήσαιμι ὅπως τε αὕτη ἐφίλει τοὺς λόγους καὶ τοὺς εἰδότας τούτους ἐτίμα. θνήσκει μέν, ὡς ἔφην, ἡ βασιλὶς αὕτη, οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἡλίου ἔκλειψιν τὸν αὐτῆς προσημᾶναι θάνα τον. καὶ κομήτης δὲ πρὸ μηνῶν ἓξ περὶ τὸ μέρος ἀνεφάνη τοῦ βορρᾶ· ἦν δὲ πωγωνίας καὶ διήρκεσε μῆνας τρεῖς, οὐκ ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ ἀλλ' ἐν διαφόροις φαινόμενος. Μετὰ βραχὺ δὲ καὶ ὁ Βουλγάρων ἄρχων Ἀσὰν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο, ἀνὴρ ἐν βαρβάροις ἄριστος ἀναφανείς, οὐκ ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις γὰρ μόνον ἀλλά γε δὴ καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις. ἐχρή σατο καὶ γὰρ φιλανθρωπότερον τοῖς προσερχομένοις αὐτῷ ἐπή λυσι καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις, καὶ φιλοτίμως αὐτοῖς παρεῖχε τὰ σιτηρέσια. ἐπεὶ οὖν αὐτὸς ἐτεθνήκει, ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, ὃν Καλιμᾶνον ὠνόμαζον, ἐκ τῆς ἐξ Οὔγγρων τούτῳ γεγεννη μένος, τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνεδέξατο. ἦν δὲ τῷ τοιούτῳ Καλιμάνῳ καὶ αὐτοκασιγνήτη, ἧς τοὔνομα Θάμαρ. ἐκ δὲ τῆς τοῦ Ἀγγέλου θυγατρὸς τῷ Ἀσὰν τρεῖς παῖδες γεγέννηνται, ἄρρην ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ θήλειαι, ὡς εἰρήκαμεν, ἡ Μαρία καὶ ἡ Ἄννα. ὁ μὲν οὖν Καλιμᾶνος τὴν πατρικὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνα ζωσάμενος καὶ τὰς μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου σπονδὰς ἀνενεώσατο, καὶ εἶχον εἰρήνην ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις τὰ πράγ ματα. τοῦ δὲ Μανουὴλ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Θεοδώρου τετελευ τηκότος, τὴν κρατουμένην παρ' αὐτοῦ χώραν ὁ ἀνεψιὸς αὐτοῦ Μιχαὴλ κατέσχε καὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ προσήρμοσε χώρᾳ· καὶ ἦσαν αὖθις εἰρηνεύοντες ὅ τε Θεόδωρος ὁ Ἄγγελος, τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννην ἔχων ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ καὶ τοῖς περὶ αὐτὴν βασιλικῶς φημιζόμενον, καὶ ὁ θεῖος αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντῖνος δεσπότης καὶ οὗτος καλούμενος, καὶ ὁ ἀνε ψιὸς αὐτοῦ Μιχαήλ.

40 Ὁ μὲν οὖν βασιλεὺς Ἰωάννης, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Βούλγαρος Ἀσὰν ἐκποδὼν ἐγένετο καὶ μειράκιον ἦρχε τῆς τῶν Βουλ γάρων, ἀδείας δραξάμενος ἐπεχείρησε τὴν βασιλικὴν κατα λῦσαι κλῆσιν τὴν ἐπιφημιζομένην τῷ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ Ἀγγέλου. καὶ πρῶτον μηνύμασιν ὑποποιεῖται τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα Θεόδωρον. καὶ δῆτα οἷος ἐκεῖνος ἀπροόπτως ἐπι χειρῶν ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι, μηδέν τι τῶν συμβησομένων ὑπι δὼν προσέρχεται τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰωάννῃ. καὶ ὑποδέχεται αὐτὸν οὗτος ἀσμένως καὶ τετίμηκε, θεῖόν τε τοῦτον ἀποκαλῶν κἀν τῇ αὐτοῦ συγκαθίζων τραπέζῃ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν φιλο φρονημάτων μεταδιδούς. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦτον ἐν χεροῖν ἔσχεν ὁ βασιλεύς, ἔτυχε δὲ καὶ ταῖς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεσι ταῖς Ῥωμαϊ καῖς στράτευμα ἀξιόμαχον προστεθὲν ἐκ Σκυθῶν-τού τους γὰρ πρὸ βραχέος δώροις τε καὶ δεξιώσεσι ποικίλαις ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰωάννης χειροήθεις τε πεποίηκεν ἐξ ἀγριωτέρου τοῦ ἤθους καὶ τῆς Μακεδόνων ἀπέσπασε καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς ἕω διεπέρασε μέρη-τούτοις μᾶλλον θαρρήσας καὶ μη δέν τι δεινὸν ἐκ Βουλγάρων προσδοκῶν, τὸ μὲν διὰ τὰς γεγενημένας σπονδάς, τὸ δὲ καὶ διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ μειρακίου τὰ τῶν Βουλγάρων διεξάγεσθαι, ἀπάρας τῆς ἕω ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ διαπεραιωθεὶς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον, τὰς ἐκ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν στρατευμάτων δυνάμεις καὶ τὰς ἐκ τῶν Σκυθῶν μεθ' ἑαυ τοῦ ἔχων χωρεῖ κατὰ τοῦ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ βασιλεύειν φημι ζομένου Ἰωάννου. ἐπεὶ δὲ παρῆλθε τὰ τῆς Θρᾴκης καὶ Μακεδονίας χωρία, ἤδη δὲ καὶ τὴν Χριστούπολιν παρήμειψε καὶ τὸν Στρυμόνα, τῷ φρουρίῳ τῆς Ῥεντίνης προσέσχεν, ὑπό τινων τηρουμένῳ τῶν Ἰωάννου· οἳ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τὰ στρατεύματα τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου ἰδεῖν καταλιπόντες τὸ φρούριον, φυγῇ χρησάμενοι δρομαῖοι τὴν Θεσσαλονίκην εἰσ ῄεσαν. ἔρημον δὲ ἀνδρῶν πολεμιστῶν εὑρόντες οἱ τοῦ βασιλέως κατέσχον αὐτὸ καὶ φυλακὴν ἐγκατέστησαν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὴν στρατιὰν ἅπασαν συλλεξάμενος ἐγγύς που τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης ὡσεὶ σταδίους ὀκτὼ τὴν σκηνὴν πήγνυσι· κῆπος τοῦ Προβατᾶ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ τόπου. ἑλεπόλεις μὲν καὶ μηχανήματα οὐκ ἦν αὐτῷ εὐχερὲς κατὰ τῆς τοσαύ της πόλεως στήσασθαι κἀντεῦθεν μετὰ μάχης τοιᾶσδε χει ρώσασθαι, ἐκδρομὰς δὲ ἐποίει διὰ τῶν στρατευμάτων καὶ τὰ πέριξ πάντα ἐλήιζε, καὶ μάλιστα διὰ τῶν Σκυθῶν. πάντα γοῦν λείαν ἐποίουν. εἶχε δὲ μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τριή ρεις, ὧν ἦρχεν ὁ Κοντοφρὲ Μανουήλ.