while he was staying, while the proedros Alexios Komnenos was in command with the soldiers in the capital, having previously given pledges with sure oaths, Russian ships also having been sent out by sea against them, while they themselves hastened on foot towards the Athyras. But having learned of it beforehand, they managed to escape. But those with Roussel and Komnenos, wishing to pursue and to rout many of the enemy, did not find the soldiers obedient, fearing the outcome. And many of the Macedonians fell and not a few were captured alive, and much booty was taken, including the green carriages of the kouropalates, who, also fleeing, arrived at Rhaidestos. But the Patzinaks with a not insignificant number appeared at Adrianople, and having besieged it, they sent out some men throughout the country and ravaged its fairest parts, committing slaughter of men, driving off countless herds of animals, and omitting no kind of destruction. But Bryennios, having induced them to withdraw 176 on terms and with a gift of gold and also of textiles, was levying money from his own people, being eager in every way not to fail in his purpose. And his brother John, having been sent to the peninsula of Kyzikos, tried to win over the locals. But Roussel, encountering him, completely routed him, in the month of March of the first indiction. And when the patriarch John Xiphilinos had fallen asleep and passed on to his ageless end, the emperor appointed another, not anyone from the senate, not anyone from the Church, not any other of the Byzantines renowned and famous for both word and deed, but a certain monk Kosmas, who had come from the holy city, and was held in the greatest honor by the emperor on account of his fitting virtue; for even if he had no taste of and was uninitiated in secular wisdom, yet he was adorned with various virtues. Therefore, overlooking all others, he set him at the helm of the Church. But Botaneiates, having put his own affairs in good order and preparing for the task at hand, which he had undertaken, having summoned all who had ever taken part in military service, formed regiments from them, for whom, by a distribution of money and the distinction of ranks, he secured their peace of mind and strengthened their zeal for the task at hand. Hearing of these things, those sent by the emperor to guard Nicaea also came over to him in great numbers as deserters and betrayed the city without a fight. And he also assembled a considerable Turkish army, which that famous Kutlumush was leading, having won over his five sons as associates, who were indeed relatives of the sultan and laying claim to the entire Persian dominion, but having been unable to fight against him, and for this reason having come to the Roman lands to acquire a power to oppose him, or rather, if the truth must be told, having arranged a battle 177 against the sultan and contending for the entire dominion at the place which is called Rhe. And when the armies were already about to clash, the matter came to the ears of the caliph, who among them is venerated with an honor equal to God's. And he, immediately disregarding all pomp and custom—for it is not permitted for him to go outside his own residence—riding quickly, arrives at Rhe and found the battle lines already about to clash. Standing in the middle, he arbitrated for them terms of peace, to the benefit of the Persians and their rule, but to the detriment of the Roman dominion and authority. For after various arguments were raised and spoken, what seemed to him to be mutually advantageous finally prevailed: namely, that the sultan should rule Persia, just as his father did, while those with Kutlumush, having received a force and a mixed host from the sultan, should acquire for themselves the land of the Romans and hold it as their own dominion and kingdom, so that they should in no way threaten or trouble one another. And upon this suggestion and arbitration of the caliph, on the one hand, the
διατρίβοντι στρατηγοῦντος τοῦ προέδρου Ἀλεξίου τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ βασιλίδι στρατιωτῶν ὅρκοις ἀσφαλέσι πρότερον τὰ πιστὰ δεδωκώς, συναποσταλέντων διὰ θαλάσσης καὶ ῥωσικῶν πλοίων κατ' αὐτῶν, αὐτῶν δὲ πεζῇ κατεπειξάντων πρὸς τὸν Ἀθύραν. Ἀλλ' ἔφθασαν προγνόντες διαφυγεῖν. Ἐπιδιῶξαι δὲ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ῥουσέλιον καὶ τὸν Κομνηνὸν βουλόμενοι καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων σφῆλαι πολλούς, οὐκ ἔσχον πειθομένους τοὺς στρατιώτας, δεδιότας τὸ ἐκβησόμενον. Ἔπεσον δὲ τῶν Μακεδόνων πολλοὶ καὶ ζῶντες οὐκ ὀλίγοι ἑάλωσαν, καὶ λαφυραγωγία ἐλήφθη πολλὴ καὶ τὰ πράσινα τοῦ κουροπαλάτου ὀχήματα, ὃς καὶ φεύγων ἀφικνεῖται εἰς Ῥαιδεστόν. Οἱ δὲ Πατζινάκοι μετὰ πλήθους οὐκ ἐλαχίστου τῇ Ἀδριανουπόλει ἐπεφάνησαν, καὶ ταύτην περικαθίσαντες τινὰς κατὰ τῆς χώρας ἀπέστειλαν καὶ τὰ ταύτης κάλλιστα ἐλωβήσαντο, φόνον μὲν ἀνδρῶν ποιησάμενοι, ζῴων δὲ ἀγέλας ἀπείρους ἐλάσαντες καὶ οὐδὲ ἓν εἶδος παραλιπόντες κακώσεως. Ὁ δὲ Βρυέννιος ἐπὶ συνθήκαις καὶ δόσει χρυσοῦ πρὸς δὲ καὶ ὑφασμάτων ὑποχωρῆσαι 176 παρασκευάσας αὐτοὺς ἠργυρολόγει τοὺς ἰδίους, παντὶ τρόπῳ τοῦ κατὰ σκοπὸν μὴ διαμαρτεῖν προθυμούμενος. Ἀποσταλεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννης εἰς τὴν τῆς Κυζίκου χερρόνησον ἐπειρᾶτο τοὺς ἐγχωρίους ὑπαγαγέσθαι. Ἐντυχὼν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ῥουσέλιος κατὰ κράτος αὐτὸν ἐτροπώσατο, ἐνισταμένου Μαρτίου μηνὸς τῆς πρώτης ἰνδικτιῶνος. Τοῦ δὲ πατριάρχου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Ξιφιλίνου κοιμηθέντος καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀγήρω λῆξιν μεταθεμένου ὁ βασιλεὺς ἕτερον προεχειρίσατο, οὐ τῶν τῆς συγκλήτου τινά, οὐ τῶν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, οὐκ ἄλλον οὐδένα τῶν Βυζαντίων τῶν ἔκ τε λόγου καὶ πράξεως ὀνομαστῶν καὶ περιωνύμων, Κοσμᾶν δέ τινα μοναχὸν τῆς ἁγίας μὲν πόλεως ἀφιγμένον, μεγίστῃ δὲ τιμῇ παρὰ βασιλέως τιμώμενον διὰ τὴν ἐπιπρέπουσαν αὐτῷ ἀρετήν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῆς θύραθεν σοφίας ἄγευστος ἦν καὶ ἀμύητος, ἀλλ' ἀρεταῖς ποικίλαις ἐνωραΐζετο. ∆ιὸ καὶ πάντων ὑπεριδὼν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῶν οἰάκων καθίζει τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ὁ δὲ Βοτανειάτης τὰ καθ' ἑαυτὸν εὖ διαθέμενος καὶ πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἔργον, ὃ ἀνερρίψατο, ἑτοιμαζόμενος, πάντας ὅσοι ποτὲ στρατείας μετεποιήσαντο προσκαλεσάμενος, τάγματα ἐκ τούτων συνεστήσατο, οἷς καὶ χρημάτων διανομῇ καὶ ἀξιωμάτων περιωπῇ τὸ ἀμέριμνον περιεποιήσατο καὶ πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἐπέρρωσε τὸ πρόθυμον. Ὧν ἀκούσαντες καὶ οἱ τὴν Νίκαιαν τηρεῖν πρὸς βασιλέως ἐσταλμένοι παμπληθεὶ αὐτῷ προσεφοίτησαν αὐτόμολοι καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀμαχητὶ προδεδώκασι. Συνεστήσατο δὲ καὶ τουρκικὸν στρατὸν ἀξιόλογον , οὗ καθηγεῖτο Κουτλουμοὺς ἐκεῖνος ὁ περιβόητος σὺν υἱέσι πέντε τούτους προσεταιρισάμενος, προσγενεῖς μὲν τῷ σουλτάνῳ τυγχάνοντας καὶ ἀντιποιουμένους τῆς περσικῆς ἁπάσης ἐπικρατείας, ἀδυνατήσαντας δὲ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μαχέσασθαι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῇ Ῥωμανίᾳ ἐπιδημήσαντας κράτος ἐκείνῳ ἀντίθετον κατακτήσασθαι, μᾶλλον δέ, εἰ δεῖ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, μάχην συστησα 177 μένους πρὸς τὸν σουλτάνον καὶ περὶ τῆς ὅλης ζυγομαχοῦντας ἀρχῆς κατὰ τὸν τόπον ὃς καλεῖται Ῥέ. Καὶ ἤδη συρρήγνυσθαι μελλόντων τῶν στρατευμάτων εἰς ὦτα πίπτει τὸ πρᾶγμα τῷ χαλιφᾷ, ὃς παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐν ἰσοθέῳ τιμᾶται τιμῇ. Κἀκεῖνος αὐτίκα καταφρονήσας παντὸς ὄγκου καὶ ἔθουςοὐ γὰρ ἐφεῖται αὐτῷ προβαίνειν τῆς ἰδίας καταγωγῆς ἐκτὸς ταχὺς ἐλάσας εἰς τὸ Ῥὲ παραγίνεται καὶ τὰς παρατάξεις εὗρεν μελλούσας ἤδη συρρήγνυσθαι. Μέσος στὰς τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην αὐτοῖς διῄτησεν ἐπὶ συμφέροντι μὲν τῶν Περσῶν καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν ἀρχῆς, ἐπὶ κακῷ δὲ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπικρατείας καὶ ἐξουσίας. Λόγων γὰρ διαφόρων κινηθέντων καὶ λεχθέντων τελευταῖον κρατεῖ τὸ δόξαν αὐτῷ κοινῇ λυσιτελές, ὥστε τὸν μὲν σουλτάνον ἄρχειν τῆς Περσίδος, ᾗπερ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ, τοὺς δὲ περὶ τὸν Κουτλουμοὺς λαβόντας δύναμιν παρὰ τοῦ σουλτάνου καὶ συγχέρειαν τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων χώραν ἑαυτοῖς περιποιήσασθαι καὶ ἔχειν εἰς ἰδίαν ἐξουσίαν καὶ βασιλείαν, ὥστε μηδόλως ἐπηρεάζειν ἀλλήλοις ἢ ἐνοχλεῖν. Καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑποθήκῃ καὶ διαιτήσει τοῦ χαλιφᾶ διαλύεται μὲν ἡ