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of his wife, encountering a precipitous place, he perished with his horse. Therefore they were confined as far as the Pyrenees mountains, which separate the old and new continent from the Greek and our land. When this happened, the sebastokrator, seizing the opportunity, rushed against the cities. So he took Achrida, Deabolis, and all the country around them, that is Prespa, Pelagonia, Soskos, Molyskos, had come under Roman dominion.

81 But the apostate, setting every cable in motion, gathered his own people and received an alliance from the king, his son-in-law, of four hundred knights. And his other son-in-law, the Prince of Achaia, having gathered his whole army, personally made an alliance with his father-in-law, leading a multitude of both horsemen and foot soldiers. So a very large army was assembled, and they made their attack against the sebastokrator John. But he pursued his opponents strategically. For he, with his cataphracts and armored forces, held the most fortified places, while he had ordered the lighter troops to oppose the enemy on the plain. These were from the Scythians, from the Turks, and others from the Romans, for whom archery was the chief skill, who also struck them with arrows from a distance. They began, then, from a place named Borila Longos, and they did not allow them to march undisturbed either by day or by night. For by day they clashed with them at the watering places of the horses, and they fell upon them along the way, and approaching the wagons and the baggage animals, they plundered their loads as the guards withdrew. Having done this many times, they had advanced to no small courage against the enemy, so that they even laid hand to hand and plundered whatever came their way from them. Thus was the army of the rebel Michael constricted, having passed Stanon and Soskos and Molyskos with force and difficulty; for it was hastening to reach the city of Prilapos, so that they might save it. But having arrived there, each scattered to his own and a plan was made to run for his life. And the apostate, with his son Nikephoros and a few others, mounted up by night and fled; and when this was known to the rest, they too turned to flight. So the Roman army and the bastard son of the apostate, John, came over to the sebastokrator John and gave their oaths to the emperor, but the Prince of Achaia and those with him scattered, one here, one there. And the prince was captured near Kastoria, hiding under a certain haystack and was recognized by his teeth—for he had very large front ones—and he was led as a prisoner to the emperor; but the chief men of his affairs and his kinsmen, both Ansel de Toucy, Geoffrey of Karytaina, and other men of note, were captured, some near Platamon, some in another place. And the allied force sent from Manfred, the king of Sicily, was seized by four men, of whom one was the megas domestikos Strategopoulos, Nikephoros Rhypsas, and the other two were of no name. And they sent them as prisoners to the emperor.

82 So the sebastokrator John, having passed through Thessaly, encamped near Neopatras, while Strategopoulos with others, having crossed the Pyrenees mountains and having left an army in Ioannina for their siege, arrived near Arta. But they left the people there no longer well-disposed towards them; for they had not treated them well. For these reasons that most glorious victory turned to the opposite. And the bastard son of Michael, John, advanced against the Latins, and having passed Lebadeia, he plundered Thebes, and he brought into the open the treachery with which he was in travail, and having fled with others, he came to his apostate father, with whom they embarked on small boats their abodes

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συζύγου, τόπῳ ἐντυχὼν κρημνώδει σὺν ἵππῳ ὤλετο. συνεστάλησαν οὖν μέχρι τῶν Πυρρηναίων ὀρῶν, ἃ δὴ διο ρίζει τὴν παλαιάν τε καὶ νέαν Ἤπειρον τῆς Ἑλληνίδος καὶ ἡμετέρας γῆς. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὕτω συνέβη, ἄδειαν ὁ σεβαστοκρά τωρ δραξάμενος κατὰ τῶν ἄστεων ὥρμησεν. εἷλεν οὖν Ἀχρίδαν, ∆εάβολιν, καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ περὶ τούτων χώρα, εἴτ ουν Πρέσπα Πελαγονία Σωσκὸς Μολυσκὸς ὑπὸ τὴν Ῥω μαϊκὴν ἐγεγόνεισαν ἐπικράτειαν.

81 Ὁ δ' ἀποστάτης πάντα κάλων κινήσας τοὺς οἰκείους συνέλεξε καὶ συμμαχίαν παρὰ τοῦ ῥηγὸς τοῦ γαμβροῦ αὐ τοῦ προσελάβετο εἰς τετρακοσίους ἱππότας. ἅτερος δὲ τού του γαμβρὸς ὁ Ἀχαΐας πρίγγιψ τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ στρατιὰν συλλεξάμενος δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν πρὸς τὸν αὐτοῦ πενθερὸν συμμαχίαν πεποίητο, ἄγων πλῆθος ἱππέων τε καὶ πεζῶν. συνήθροιστο γοῦν παμπληθὴς στρατιά, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ σεβα στοκράτορος Ἰωάννου τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐποιοῦντο. ὁ δὲ στρατηγικῶς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους μετήρχετο. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ μετὰ τῶν καταφράκτων καὶ θώραξι κεχρημένων δυνάμεων τὰ ἐχυρώτατα τῶν τόπων ἐκράτει, τοὺς δ' ἐλαφροτέρους κατὰ τῆς πεδιάδος πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους ἀνθίστασθαι προσετε τάχει. ἦσαν δὲ οὗτοι οἱ μὲν ἐκ Σκυθῶν, οἱ δὲ ἐκ Τούρ κων, ἕτεροι δ' ἐκ Ῥωμαίων, οἷς μᾶλλον ἡ τοξεία τὸ ἐπιτή δευμα, οἳ καὶ μακρόθεν τούτους τοῖς βέλεσιν ἔπληττον. ἤρξαντο μὲν οὖν ἐκ τόπου, οὗ Βορίλα Λόγγος τοὔνομα, καὶ οὔθ' ἡμέρας ἀνέτως βαδίζειν αὐτοὺς παρεχώρουν οὔτε νυκτός. συνερρήγνυντο γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡμέρας μὲν ἐν τοῖς τῶν ἵππων ποτοῖς, συνέπιπτον δὲ τούτοις καὶ καθ' ὁδόν, καὶ ταῖς ἁμάξαις καὶ τοῖς φορταγωγοῖς ὑποζυγίοις προσπε λάζοντες ἐκ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς φορτίων ἐσκύλευον ὑποχω ρούντων τῶν φυλασσόντων. τοῦτο δὲ πολλάκις πεποιηκότες εἰς θάρσος κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων οὐ μέτριον ἐληλάκασιν, ὥστε καὶ χερσὶ χεῖρας ἐμβαλεῖν κἀξ αὐτῶν σκυλεύειν τὰ προσ τυχόντα. οὕτω τὸ τοῦ ἀντάρτου Μιχαὴλ συνέσταλται στρά τευμα, βίᾳ καὶ μόγις Στανὸν καὶ Σωσκὸν καὶ Μολυσκὸν παραμείψαντες· ἔσπευδε γὰρ ἐς τὸ τοῦ Πριλάπου ἄστυ γενέσθαι, ὅπως αὐτὸ διασώσειαν. ἐκεῖ δὲ γεγονότες, εἰς οἰκείαν ἕκαστος διασκεδασθέντες βουλὴν τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς τρέχειν βεβούλευται. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀποστάτης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ Νικηφόρου καί τινων νυκτὸς ἐποχηθέντες ἀπέδρασαν· ὡς δ' ἔγνωστο τοῖς λοιποῖς, καὶ αὐτοὶ πρὸς φυγὴν ἐτράποντο. τὸ μὲν οὖν Ῥωμαϊκὸν στράτευμα καὶ ὁ νόθος τοῦ ἀποστά του υἱὸς Ἰωάννης τῷ σεβαστοκράτορι Ἰωάννῃ προσῆλθον καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τοὺς ὅρκους ἀπέδοντο, ὁ δὲ πρίγγιψ Ἀχαΐας καὶ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἄλλος ἀλλαχοῦ διεσπάρησαν. καὶ ὁ μὲν πρίγγιψ κατὰ τὴν Καστορίαν ἑάλω ὑπ' ἀχυρμιᾷ τινι κρυ βεὶς κἀκ τῶν ὀδόντων γνωρισθείς-εἶχε γὰρ τοὺς ἐμπρο σθίους εὐμεγέθεις-καὶ δέσμιος ἀπήχθη τῷ βασιλεῖ· οἱ δὲ κρείττους τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτοῦ καὶ προσγενεῖς, οἵ τε Ἀσὲλ δε Τουσί, ὁ τῆς Καρυταίνης Ἰοφρὲ καὶ ἄλλοι τῶν ὀνομαστῶν, οἱ μὲν κατὰ τὸν Πλαταμῶνα οἱ δὲ κατ' ἄλλο μέρος ἑάλωσαν. καὶ τὸ συμμαχικὸν στράτευμα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ῥηγὸς Σικελίας Μαφρὲ σταλὲν ὑπὸ τεσσάρων κατεσχέθησαν, ὧν μὲν εἷς ἦν ὁ μέγας δομέστικος ὁ Στρατηγόπουλος, ὁ Ῥιμψᾶς Νικηφόρος, οἱ δὲ δύο τῶν ἀνωνύμων. καὶ τού τους ὡς δεσμώτας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἐξέπεμψαν.

82 Ὁ μὲν οὖν σεβαστοκράτωρ Ἰωάννης τὴν Θετταλίαν παραμείψας περὶ τὴν νέαν Πάτραν ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο, ὁ δὲ Στρατηγόπουλος σὺν ἑτέροις τὰ Πυρρηναῖα ὑπερβάντες ὄρη καὶ καταλιπόντες ἐν τοῖς Ἰωαννίνοις στράτευμα εἰς τούτων πολιορκίαν περὶ τὴν Ἄρταν ἧκον. κατέλιπον δὲ τὸν ἐκεῖσε λαὸν οὐκέτι εὐνοϊκῶς περὶ αὐτοὺς ἔχοντα· οὐ γὰρ καλῶς ἐχρήσαντο τούτοις. διὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἡ περιφανεστάτη ἐκείνη νίκη πρὸς τοὐναντίον κεχώρηκεν. ὁ δὲ νόθος υἱὸς τοῦ Μιχαὴλ Ἰωάννης κατὰ τῶν Λατίνων κεχώρηκε, καὶ τὴν Λεβαδίαν παραμείψας τὰς Θήβας ἐσκύλευσε, τὴν δ' ἣν ὤδινεν ἀπιστίαν εἰς προὖπτον ἐξέφηνε, καὶ μετ' ἄλλων ἀποδρὰς πρὸς τὸν ἀποστάτην πατέρα ἧκε, μεθ' οὗ πλοια ρίοις ἐμβάντες τὰς διατριβὰς