hurrying to extinguish this great flame that had flared up. And he sent out with him a noteworthy army, composed of Macedonians and Romans and Franks. But this man, making his attack towards the city of Skopia, took no thought for those in Nis. Arriving, therefore, and having given his word to George Boitachos, to whom this city was entrusted, that he would suffer no harm, he takes the city of Skopia and in it pitches his camp and was considering and planning what should be done about those in Nis. But Boitachos, regretting that he had somehow been good and had sided with the Romans, secretly indicated to those in Nis to come to him with speed, and to mercilessly and cruelly slaughter to a man Saronites' men who were living rather carelessly and negligently. And they, having received the message, setting out from Nis, rushed towards Skopia, the ground being covered with snow; for it was winter, the month of December having begun. But when Saronites' men became aware of this, he went out against them with his full force, and having caught up with them on the road, in a certain place called Taonion, he killed almost all of them; and Bodin was also captured, Balaneos having especially distinguished himself among all in hand-to-hand combat and courage. And Longibardopoulos, as has been said, being brought to Michaelas and having given and received promises, is joined in marriage to his daughter and is entrusted with the largest possible force composed of Longobards and Serbs, with which he was also sent to the aid of Bodin, but he again defected to the Romans. Saronites sent Bodin to the emperor as a prisoner. Confined in the monastery of Saint Sergius, after a short time he was handed over to Isaac Comnenus, who had already been appointed doux of Antioch, and was led away to Antioch. When Michaelas his father heard this, having hired for a handsome purse certain Venetians, whose business it was to travel the seas, he 166 stole him from there and restored him to his own rule; who also after the death of his father continued in power even into our own times. But Boitachos, being severely tortured while being led away to the emperor, died, not being strong enough for the pains from his wounds. Moreover the Alamans and Varangians, these being western peoples, being let loose against the country, destroy the remaining palaces of the Bulgarians in Prespa, and also plunder the church there, which is founded in the name of Saint Achilleios, sparing none of the sacred objects in it, some of which were later recovered, but the rest the army divided among themselves and converted to their own use. One of the soldiers, therefore, being from the Macedonian phalanx, being required to return the sacred object he had taken, when he was not persuaded, his shoulders were burned with coals and he died, justice not waiting, as is its wont, but pursuing him as an example for posterity. And in the cities lying along the bank of the Ister, since the soldiers were being neglected as they were receiving nothing for their upkeep, the vestarches Nestor, who had been a slave of the emperor's father, was sent, having been named doux of the Paristrian cities, and having made an agreement with Tatous as a like-minded person, they arrived at the imperial city armed with many Patzinaks. Being ordered to lay down his arms, he said he would not do this otherwise, unless they got rid of the logothete Nikephoros as a common enemy and a foe of the world who had also grieved him not a little and had confiscated his property. But the emperor was not persuaded, having once given himself over to his sorceries and deceptions. But Nestor, being plotted against by his own men, departed from there, and plundered Macedonia and Thrace and the adjacent parts of Bulgaria and withdrew to the land of the Patzinaks. A contingent of soldiers, <of the> Macedonian ones, being deprived, approached the emperor, bewailing their deprivation. Therefore, by imperial order, they were beaten and insulted and driven away, no heed 167 being paid to them. But they returned to their own homes full of no small grief, not

μεγάλην ἐξαρθῇ φλόγα κατασβέσαι τοῦτο κατεπειγόμενος. Συνεξαπέστειλε δ' αὐτῷ καὶ στράτευμα ἀξιόλογον, συγκείμενον ἔκ τε Μακεδόνων καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Φράγκων. Ἀλλ' οὗτος μὲν πρὸς τὴν τῶν Σκοπίων πόλιν τὴν ὁρμὴν ποιούμενος τῶν ἐν τῷ Νίσῳ οὐδεμίαν φροντίδα ἐτίθετο. Παραγενόμενος οὖν καὶ τῷ πεπιστευμένῳ ταύτην Γεωργίῳ τῷ Βοϊτάχῳ λόγον δεδωκὼς ὡς οὐδὲν φλαῦρον ὑποστήσεται, τὴν πόλιν τῶν Σκοπίων αἱρεῖ κἀν ταύτῃ τὴν στρατοπεδείαν πήγνυσι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ Νίσῳ τὸ ποιητέον ἐσκόπει καὶ ἐμελέτα. Ἀλλ' ὁ Βοϊτάχος μεταμεληθεὶς ὅτι δὴ ποσῶς ἀγαθὸς γέγονε καὶ τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐφρόνησε, λαθραίως τοῖς ἐν τῷ Νίσῳ ἐδήλου ἀφικέσθαι μὲν ἐν τάχει πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ τοὺς περὶ τὸν Σαρωνίτην ῥαθυμότερον διάγοντας καὶ ἀμελέστερον ἀνοίκτως καὶ ὠμῶς ἡβηδὸν ἀποσφάξαι. Οἳ δὴ τὴν ἀγγελίαν δεξάμενοι, ἄραντες ἐκ τοῦ Νίσου πρὸς τὰ Σκόπια ἵεντο, χιόνι κεκαλυμμένης οὔσης τῆς γῆς· χειμὼν γὰρ ἦν ∆εκεμβρίου ἐνισταμένου μηνός. Συναισθήσεως δὲ τοῖς περὶ τὸν Σαρωνίτην γενομένης ἔξεισιν ἐκεῖνος κατ' αὐτῶν παμπληθεί, καὶ καταλαβὼν αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ἐν τόπῳ τινὶ λεγομένῳ Ταωνίῳ, ἀναιρεῖ σχεδόν τι σύμπαντας· ἁλίσκεται δὲ καὶ ὁ Βοδῖνος, τοῦ Βαλανέως μάλιστα πάντων κατὰ χεῖρα καὶ θάρσος διενεγκόντος. Ὁ δὲ Λογγιβαρδόπουλος, ὡς εἴρηται, ἀχθεὶς πρὸς τὸν Μιχαηλᾶν καὶ λόγους δοὺς καὶ λαβὼν ζεύγνυται τῇ τούτου θυγατρὶ καὶ λαὸν ὅ τι πλεῖστον πιστεύεται ἀπὸ Λογγιβάρδων καὶ Σέρβων συγκείμενον, μεθ' οὗ καὶ πρὸς βοήθειαν τοῦ Βοδίνου ἀποσταλεὶς αὖθις τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἀποκαθίσταται. Ὁ δὲ Σαρωνίτης τὸν Βοδῖνον ἐξαπέστειλε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα δέσμιον. Περιορισθεὶς δὲ ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἁγίου Σεργίου μονῇ, μετὰ βραχὺ παραδοθεὶς τῶ Κομνηνῷ Ἰσαακίῳ, ἤδη προβεβλημένῳ Ἀντιοχείας δουκί, ἀπήχθη εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν. Ὅπερ ἀκούσας Μιχαηλᾶς ὁ τούτου πατήρ, μισθωσάμενος Βενετίκους τινὰς βαλαντίου ἁδροῦ, οἷς ἔργον θαλαττοπορεῖν, ἀπέ 166 κλεψε τοῦτον ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἀρχῇ ἀποκατέστησεν· ὃς καὶ μετὰ θάνατον τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν κἀν τοῖς ἡμετέροις χρόνοις διήνυσεν. Ὁ δὲ Βοϊτάχος ἐτασθεὶς σφοδρῶς ἐν τῷ ἀπάγεσθαι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα τελευτᾷ, μὴ ἐξαρκέσας ταῖς ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν ὀδύναις. Οἵ γε μὴν Ἀλαμάνοι καὶ Βάραγγοι, γένη δὲ οὗτοι δυτικά, κατὰ τῆς χώρας ἀφεθέντες καθαιροῦσι μὲν τὰ ἐν τῇ Πρέσπᾳ τῶν Βουλγάρων ὑπολελειμμένα βασίλεια, σκυλεύουσι δὲ καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖσε ναόν, ὃς ἐπ' ὀνόματι τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀχιλλείου ἵδρυται, μηδενὸς τῶν ἐν ἐκείνῳ φεισάμενοι ἱερῶν, ὧν τινα μὲν αὖθις ἀνεσώθησαν, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ὁ στρατὸς διανειμάμενοι εἰς χρῆσιν ἰδίαν μετεσκεύασαν. Τῶν τις οὖν στρατιωτῶν, τῆς μακεδονικῆς φάλαγγος ὤν, ἀξιούμενος ἀποδοῦναι ὅπερ εἰλήφει ἱερόν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐπείσθη, ἀνθρακιάσας τοὺς ὤμους τελευτᾷ, τῆς δίκης μὴ ἀνασχομένης, ὡς ἔθος, ἀλλὰ μετελθούσης αὐτὸν εἰς ὑπόδειγμα τοῖς ὀψιγόνοις. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς παρακειμέναις τῇ ὄχθῃ τοῦ Ἴστρου πόλεσι τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἠμελημένων οἷα δὴ μηδὲν εἰς διοίκησιν λαμβανόντων, στέλλεται ὁ βεστάρχης Νέστωρ, δοῦλος γεγονὼς τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως, δοὺξ τῶν Παριστρίων ὀνομασθείς, καὶ συμφωνήσας τῷ Τατοὺς ὡς ὁμογνώμονι, Πατζινάκοις πλείοσιν ὁπλισθέντες εἰς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν παραγίνονται. Καταθεῖναι δὲ τὰ ὅπλα ἐγκελευόμενος μὴ ἂν ἄλλως τοῦτο ποιῆσαι ἔλεγεν, εἰ μὴ τὸν λογοθέτην Νικηφόρον ἐκ μέσου ποιήσοιεν ὡς κοινὸν ἐχθρὸν καὶ πολέμιον κοσμικὸν καὶ αὐτὸν οὐκ ὀλίγα λυπήσαντα καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ περιουσίαν δημεύσαντα. Ἀλλ' ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐκ ἐπείθετο ἅπαξ ἑαυτὸν ταῖς αὐτοῦ γοητείαις καὶ ἀπάταις ἐκδεδωκώς. Ὁ δὲ Νέστωρ ἐπιβουλευθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἀπανίσταται μὲν ἐκεῖθεν, ληίζεται δὲ τήν τε Μακεδονίαν καὶ Θρᾴκην καὶ τὰ παρακείμενα τῆς Βουλγαρίας καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν Πατζινάκων ὑποχωρεῖ. Μοῖρα δὲ στρατιωτῶν, <τῶν> μακεδονικῶν, στερουμένη προσῆλθε τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν στέρησιν ἀποκλαιομένη. Προστάξει οὖν βασιλικῇ τυφθέντες καὶ ὑβρισθέντες ἐδιώχθησαν, μηδεμιᾶς ἐπιστροφῆς αὐτῶν γενο 167 μένης. Ἀλλ' οἵ γε πρὸς τὰ οἰκεῖα λύπης οὐ μικρᾶς ὑποστραφέντες ἀνάμεστοι οὐκ