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having learned of the death of the emperor John, since he saw the western parts bare of Roman armies, wishing to recall again the land taken from the Bulgarians by the emperor John and the cities in it to Bulgarian rule-for this had long been a painful matter for the Bulgarians-and seeing that the time was opportune, as it seemed, setting out from Haemus and crossing the Hebrus, in no long time he brought much land under his control and subjugated many cities with no effort. For the inhabitants, being Bulgarians, ran to their own people, shaking off the yoke of the foreigners; and the cities, left with only their Roman garrisons, not worthy to fight back at such times, were easy prey for the Bulgarians, with some being disturbed by terror and betraying the cities and taking their freedom to go home, while others, having nothing at hand to think of that would be of use against the sudden attack of the Bulgarians, were running away and leaving them deserted of their guards, and others perhaps also having grown weary with time, the period of their guard duty having been extended for them beyond measure. Most of the cities were also neglected and devoid of necessary arms. Therefore Stenimachus, Peristitza, Kritizmos, Tzepaina and all the places in the region of Achrida, except for Mneiakos, were immediately seized; for this alone was guarded by the Romans. And Oustra and Perperakion and Krivous and the place lying near Adrianople called Ephraim were subdued by the Bulgarians. When these things had thus happened and the Roman affairs in the west were being shaken, and the rumor had even reached the emperor and was providing the impression of an expectation of more evils than were present, those around the palace were not a little disturbed. For they knew that most of the western parts are inhabited by Bulgarians, who had long ago revolted from the Romans, but had recently been subdued by the emperor John and had not yet accepted the consolidation of their subjugation, but always cherished a hatred for the Romans in their hearts.

55 For these reasons the emperor himself was distressed at the situation, if things were going so unfortunately at the beginning of his reign. Having gathered, therefore, those in office and those appointed as generals, along with whom were also his uncles on the side of his grandfather, the emperor Theodore, both Manuel and Michael, he deliberated on what he should do about what had happened. The majority, then, said that it was necessary for the emperor to cross the Hellespont and stop the Bulgarian advance. But this did not please the aforementioned uncles of the ruler, to whom the emperor paid more attention for many reasons; for both the legitimacy of their lineage compelled him and their advanced age constrained him, and no less did the fact that they were men of experience in many affairs persuade him to this. For these men, having become fugitives from the rule of the emperor John, had associated with many lords and had wandered to various places, and from this, in the words of the poet, they "saw cities and came to know the minds of men." And these men were indeed intelligent, but they did not hold right opinions for the affairs of the Romans, having as a cause that they had at first been outshone by their brother and emperor, with neither of them having been raised to a dignity befitting the brothers of an emperor, and then also by his son-in-law and emperor; and having become fugitives from the Romans, they bore them ill will. And someone might perhaps say these were the causes, but in truth the uncertain and unstable characters of men made them be such. And these things did not escape the notice of the emperor Theodore; for the time being, therefore, out of necessity and because he did not have better men with whom to take counsel, he used them for advice. These men, at any rate, suggested that it was not necessary for the emperor to cross over to the west, both because such parts were doing badly and because they were suffering from an almost incurable disease,

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τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου πυθόμενος θάνατον, ἐπεὶ τὰ δυτικὰ μέρη γυμνὰ στρατευμάτων ἑώρα Ῥωμαϊκῶν, βου ληθεὶς τὴν ἀφῃρημένην πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου χώ ραν ἐκ Βουλγάρων καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ ἄστη πρὸς Βουλγαρικὴν τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ αὖθις ἀνακαλέσασθαι-τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκ μα κροῦ τοῖς Βουλγάροις ὠδίνετο-καὶ τὸν καιρόν, ὡς ἐδό κει, κατιδὼν ἐπιτήδειον, ἐξορμήσας τοῦ Αἵμου καὶ τὸν Ἕβρον διαπεράσας ἐν οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ πολλήν τε χώραν ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν ἐποιήσατο πολλά τε ἄστη σὺν οὐδενὶ παρεστή σατο πόνῳ. Βούλγαροι καὶ γὰρ τυγχάνοντες οἱ οἰκήτορες τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις προσέτρεχον, τὸν ζυγὸν τῶν ἀλλογλώσσων ἀποσειόμενοι· τὰ δὲ ἄστη μετὰ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν καὶ μόνων ἀπολελειμμένα φυλάξεων, οὐκ ἀξίων τοιούτοις καιροῖς ἀντι μάχεσθαι, εὐχείρωτα τοῖς Βουλγάροις ὑπῆρχε, τῶν μὲν πτοίᾳ ταραττομένων καὶ προδιδόντων τὰ ἄστη καὶ λαμβα νόντων τὴν πρὸς τὰ οἴκοι ἐλευθερίαν, τῶν δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐξαπίνης γεγενημένην τῶν Βουλγάρων ἔφοδον μηδὲν ἐχόν των ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου νοῆσαι λυσιτελοῦν ἀποδιδρασκόντων καὶ ταῦτα ἔρημα τῶν φυλαττόντων ἀπολιμπανόντων, ἄλλων δὲ ἴσως καὶ χρόνῳ ἀποκαμόντων, παραταθέντος αὐτοῖς παρὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ χρόνου τῆς φυλακῆς. τὰ πλείω δὲ τῶν ἄστεων καὶ ἀπεριποίητα ἦν καὶ τῶν χρειωδῶν ὅπλων ἄμοιρα. κατεσχέθη μὲν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ παραυτίκα Στενίμαχος Περιστίτζα Κρυτζιμὸς Τζέπαινα καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἀχριδῶν ξύμπαντα πλὴν Μνειάκου· τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ μόνον ὑπὸ Ῥω μαίων πεφύλακται. Οὔστρα δὲ καὶ Περπεράκιον καὶ Κρυ βοῦς καὶ τὸ παρακείμενον τῇ τοῦ Ἀδριανοῦ καὶ κεκλημένον Ἐφραῒμ τοῖς Βουλγάροις κεχείρωνται. τούτων οὖν οὕτω γεγενημένων καὶ τῶν ἐν δυσμοῖς Ῥωμαϊκῶν κλονουμένων πραγμάτων, τῆς φήμης μέχρι καὶ ἐς βασιλέως ἐπιδρα μούσης καὶ πλειόνων προσδοκίαν κακῶν τῶν προσόντων φαντασίαν παρεχομένης, οἱ περὶ τὰ βασίλεια οὐ μικρῶς ἐταράχθησαν. ἠπίσταντο γὰρ ὡς τὰ πλείω τῶν δυτικῶν μερῶν Βουλγάροις οἰκοῦνται, ἀποστατήσασι πάλαι Ῥωμαίων, προσφάτως δὲ χειρωθεῖσι τῷ βασιλεῖ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ οὔπω πῆξιν τῆς χειρώσεως λαβοῦσιν, ἔχθραν δὲ ἀεὶ πρὸς Ῥω μαίους ἐνδομυχοῦσι.

55 ∆ιὰ ταῦτα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἠδημόνει τοῖς πράγμασιν, εἰ οὕτω κατ' ἀρχὰς τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτοῦ δυστυ χῶς πράττει. συναθροίσας οὖν τοὺς ἐν τέλει καὶ τοὺς εἰς στρατηγοὺς τεταγμένους, σὺν οἷς καὶ οἱ πρὸς πάππου αὐ τοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως Θεοδώρου ὑπῆρχον αὐτῷ θεῖοι, ὅ τε Μανουὴλ καὶ ὁ Μιχαήλ, ἐβουλεύσατο τί ἂν ἔχοι εἰς τὰ γεγενημένα διαπράττεσθαι. οἱ μὲν οὖν πλείους διαπερᾶσαι τὸν βασιλέα τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον δέον ἔλεγον εἶναι καὶ στῆσαι τὴν τῶν Βουλγάρων φοράν. τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς τοῦ κρατοῦντος θείοις τοῖς προειρημένοις οὐκ ἤρεσκεν, οἷς καὶ προσεῖχε μᾶλλον ὁ βασιλεὺς πολλῶν ἕνεκα· ἥ τε γὰρ γνησιότης τοῦ γένους ἠνάγκαζε καὶ τὸ τῆς ἡλικίας γηραιὸν παρεβίαζεν, οὐχ ἧττον δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο καὶ τὸ πολλῶν πραγμάτων ἴδρεις αὐτοὺς γενέσθαι παρέπειθε. φυγάδες γὰρ οὗτοι γεγονότες τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως Ἰωάννου διακρατήσεως πολλοῖς προσωμίλησαν δεσπόταις καὶ εἰς διαφόρους περιεπλανήθησαν τό πους, κἀντεῦθεν κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν εἶδον ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνωσαν. καὶ ἦσαν μὲν ὡς ἀληθῶς οὗτοι νοήμονες, οὐκ ὀρθὰ δὲ ἐφρόνουν τοῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων πράγμασιν, αἰτίαν ἔχοντες τὸ παρευδοκιμηθῆναι τὰ πρῶτα παρὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ βασιλέως, μηδενὸς αὐτῶν εἰς ἀξίαν ἀνηγμένου βασι λέως ἀδελφοῖς διαπρέπουσαν, εἶτα καὶ παρὰ τοῦ γαμβροῦ καὶ βασιλέως· καὶ φυγαδίαι τῆς Ῥωμαίων γεγενημένοι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐδυσμέναινον. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις αἴτια εἶναι, τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἤθη ἀβέβαια ὄντα καὶ ἄστατα τοιούτους τυγχάνειν ἐποίουν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὐ διελάνθανεν οὐδὲ τὸν βασιλέα Θεόδωρον· τέως οὖν ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ τῷ μὴ ἔχειν κρείττοσιν ἄλλοις βουλεύεσθαι τούτοις ἐχρᾶτο πρὸς συμβουλάς. ὑπετίθεντο γοῦν οὗτοι ὡς οὐ χρεὼν τὸν βασιλέα διαπερᾶσαι πρὸς τὴν δυσμήν, ὅτι τε κακῶς πράττει τὰ τοιαῦτα μέρη καὶ ὡς νοσεῖ σχεδὸν ἀθεράπευτα,