he exercised and trained the soldiers through him. And whenever they were already able to ride safely and seemed to be adequately and skilfully trained in bearing arms externally, he resolved to train their souls as well. So, preparing them to take up arms, he removed the points from their spears, and dividing them into squadrons, he set them face to face; then he ordered them, driving their horses at full charge, to advance against each other and to strike, as best they could, with their spears, and thus he enrolled the more daring who went to the task among the first ranks. Indeed, those who often appeared to be the best in the clash against each other he named Immortals, and so it came about that all who filled the assembled phalanx were named Immortals. 4.5 Alexios Komnenos, taking these men along with the others, departed and encamped beside a river, I know not what it was called from the beginning because most names have been changed, but at any rate flowing down from the Thracian mountains and called Halmyros by the locals; on which a fortress is also established upon a hill; its name is Kalovrye. Encamping there, therefore, he neither dug a trench nor set up a palisade; for he wished to waylay an enemy attack there and to steal the victory, if possible, for he was about to fight with a few against many, and at the same time against generals both brave and most experienced, over whom the Emperor ruled like the sun over the stars. For this reason, being inferior in number and in forces, the Domestic of the Schools wished to outgeneral the enemy not only by daring, but also by practice and sagacity; and sending out scouts, he learned that Bryennios' men were encamped in the plains near Kedoktos. 4.6 Bryennios, then, being at the church there of the Mother of God the Word in the evening and having performed the customary rites, since he had learned that the enemy was encamped near Kalovrye—for some of the Turks with Alexios Komnenos, going out at night to scout Bryennios' army, fell in with the scouts, were captured, and being brought in reported everything—rising at dawn, he ordered the whole army to arm and arranged it into squadrons. And the arrangement of his formation was as follows. The right wing was commanded by his kinsman, the kouropalates John, whom he had appointed Domestic of the Schools. This phalanx was filled out by the Franks brought from Italy by that Maniakos, and many of the cavalry from Thessaly, and moreover no small portion of those called the hetaireiai, all of them being not less than five thousand. So the right was thus arranged. The left wing was commanded by Katakalon Tarchaneiotes, a man adorned in life, in speech, and in strategic practices, and this phalanx was filled by the squadrons of Macedonians and Thracians, numbering up to three thousand. The center of the phalanx was led by Bryennios himself, in which was stationed all the nobility and the elite of the Thracians and Macedonians and the Thessalian cavalry. And outside the left wing, the allied Scythian contingent was stationed, running ahead of it by a distance of two stades. But he thus arranged the army, extending the phalanx in length, and gave orders that when the enemy appeared and the trumpet sounded the charge, the Scythians should try, with a war-cry and shout, to get behind the enemy. So he thus instructed his commanders. 4.7 But Alexios Komnenos, having learned through his scouts that the enemy was already drawing near, concealed his entire army in hollows, and he himself went up a hill and scouted their positions. Seeing their numbers and reflecting that perhaps those posted under him might rush into flight before engaging the enemy, he devised a plan both excellent and most prudent, so that the enemy would not be visible at all to his army. But he was especially afraid of fighting that day against the will of the emperor; for he had already

ἐγύμναζε δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ στρατιωτικὰ ἐξεπαίδευεν. Ὁπηνίκα δὲ καὶ διιππεύειν ἀσφαλῶς ἤδη δύναιντο καὶ τὰ ὅπλα φέρειν ἱκανῶς καὶ εὐφυῶς ἐδόκει γεγυμνάσθαι κατὰ τὸ ἔξωθεν, ἐδόκει γυμνάζειν τούτων καὶ τὰς ψυχάς. Ὁπλίζεσθαι γοῦν αὐτοὺς παρασκευάζων περιῄρει μὲν τῶν δοράτων τὰ ξίφη, κατὰ ἴλας δὲ αὐτοὺς διαιρῶν κατὰ πρόσωπον ἵστα ἀλλήλους, εἶτα ἐκέλευε σφοδρᾷ τῇ ῥύμῃ τοὺς ἵππους ἐλαύνοντας χωρεῖν κατ' ἀλλήλων καὶ παίειν, ὡς οἷόν τε, τοῖς δόρασιν καὶ οὕτω τοὺς τολμηρότερον πρὸς τὸ ἔργον χωροῦντας τοῖς πρώτοις κατέλεγε. Τοὺς γοῦν πολλάκις ἐν τῇ κατ' ἀλλήλων συμπλοκῇ ἀρίστους ἀναφανέντας Ἀθανάτους ὠνόμασε καὶ οὕτως ξυνέβη πάντας τοὺς τὴν συλλεγεῖσαν ἀναπληροῦντας φάλαγγα Ἀθανάτους ὀνομασθῆναι. 4.5 Τούτους ὁ Κομνηνὸς παραλαβὼν Ἀλέξιος ξὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀπελθὼν ἐστρατοπέδευσε παρὰ ποταμὸν οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως ἀρχῆθεν καλούμενον διὰ τὸ ἀμειφθῆναι τῶν ὀνομάτων τὰ πλεῖστα, τέως δ' οὖν ἐκ τῶν Θρᾳκικῶν ὀρῶν καταρρέοντα καὶ Ἁλμυρὸν παρὰ ἐγχωρίων καλούμενον· ἐν ᾧ καὶ φρούριον ἐπὶ λόφου ἵδρυται· Καλοβρύη τούτῳ τὸ ὄνομα. Ἐκεῖσε τοίνυν στρατοπεδεύσας, οὔτε τάφρον ὤρυξεν, οὔτε ἐπήξατο χάρακα· ἐβούλετο γὰρ αὐτοῦ μὴν πολεμίων ἐφοδεύειν ἔφοδον καὶ τὴν νίκην κλέπτειν, εἰ οἷόν τε, καὶ γὰρ ἔμελλε μετ' ὀλίγων μάχεσθαι πρὸς πολλοὺς στρατηγούς τε ἅμα γενναίους καὶ πολυπειροτάτους, ὧν καθάπερ ἀστέρων ἥλιος ἐξῆρχεν ὁ βασιλειῶν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐβούλετο τῷ πλήθει καὶ ταῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐλαττούμενος ὁ δομέστικος τῶν Σχολῶν μὴ τόλμῃ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μελέτῃ καὶ ἀγχινοίᾳ καταστρατηγῆσαι τῶν πολεμίων· σκοποὺς δὲ πέμπων ἐμάνθανε στρατοπεδεύειν τοὺς περὶ τὸν Βρυέννιον ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τοῦ Κηδόκτου πεδίοις. 4.6 Ὁ μὲν οὖν Βρυέννιος κατὰ τὸν ἐκεῖσε ναὸν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου μητρὸς ἑσπέρας γενόμενος καὶ τὰ εἰκότα τελέσας, ἐπεὶ μεμαθήκει τοὺς ἀντιπάλους περὶ Καλοβρύην στρατοπεδεύεινκαὶ γὰρ τῶν μετὰ τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ Ἀλεξίου Τούρκων τινὲς νύκτωρ ἀπιόντες ἐπὶ τῷ τὸ τοῦ Βρυεννίου στράτευμα κατασκέψασθαι τοῖς σκοποῖς ἐμπεσόντες ἑάλωσαν καὶ ἀχθέντες πάντα ἀπήγγειλανἕωθεν ἀναστὰς ἐκέλευεν ἅπαν ὁπλοφορεῖν τὸ στράτευμα καὶ κατ' ἴλας τοῦτο συνέταττεν. Εἶχε δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς συντάξεως ὧδε. Τοῦ μὲν δεξιοῦ κέρως ὁ τούτου κατῆρχεν ὁμαίμων ὁ κουροπαλάτης Ἰωάννης, ὃν δομέστικον κατέστησε τῶν Σχολῶν. Συνεπλήρουν δὲ ταύτην τὴν φάλαγγα οἵ τε ἐξ Ἰταλίας παρὰ τοῦ Μανιάκη ἐκείνου κομισθέντες Φράγγοι καὶ τῶν ἐκ Θετταλίας ἱππέων συχνοί, ἔτι γε μὴν καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἑταιρειῶν λεγομένων μοῖρα οὐκ ἐλαχίστη, οὐκ ἐλάττους ὄντες οἱ πάντες τῶν πεντακισχιλίων. Τὸ μὲν οὖν δεξιὸν οὕτως ἐτέτακτο. Τοῦ δ' εὐωνύμου κέρως ἐξῆρχε μὲν ὁ Ταρχανειώτης Κατακαλών, ἀνὴρ καὶ βίῳ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ στρατηγικαῖς μελέταις κοσμούμενος, ἐπλήρουν δὲ ταύτην τὴν φάλαγγα αἱ τῶν Μακεδόνων τε καὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἶλαι ἐς τρισχιλίους ποσούμεναι. Τὸ δὲ μέσον τῆς φάλαγγος αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ Βρυέννιος ἦγεν, ἐν ᾧ τό τε ἀρχοντικὸν ἐτάττετο ἅπαν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν τε καὶ Μακεδόνων καὶ τῆς ἵππου τῶν Θεσσαλῶν ὅσον ἐπίλεκτον. Ἔξωθεν δὲ τοῦ εὐωνύμου κέρως τὸ συμμαχικὸν Σκυθικὸν ἐτέτακτο προτρέχον ταύτης δυοῖν σταδίων διάστημα. Ἀλλ' οὕτω μὲν ἐκεῖνος τὸ στράτευμα ἔταξεν, ἐκτείνας εἰς μῆκος τὴν φάλαγγα καὶ παραγγείλας, ἐπὰν οἱ πολέμιοι φανεῖεν καὶ ἡ σάλπιγξ ἠχήσῃ τὸ ἐνυάλιον, πειρᾶσθαι τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸ Σκυθικὸν ξὺν ἀλαλαγμῷ καὶ βοῇ κατὰ νώτου γενέσθαι τῶν πολεμίων. Ὁ μὲν οὕτω τοῖς ἡγεμόσι παρήγγειλεν. 4.7 Ὁ δὲ Κομνηνὸς Ἀλέξιος, μαθὼν διὰ τῶν σκοπῶν ἐγγίζειν ἤδη τοὺς πολεμίους, τὸ μὲν στράτευμα ἅπαν ἐν κοιλάσι κατέκρυψεν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐπὶ λόφον ἀνελθὼν κατεσκόπει τὰ ἐκείνων. Ἰδὼν δὲ πλῆθος καὶ διανοησάμενος μήπως οἱ ὑπ' αὐτὸν τεταγμένοι πρὸ τοῦ προσβαλεῖν τού τους τοῖς πολεμίοις εἰς φυγὴν ἐξορμήσωσιν, ἐβουλεύσατο βουλὴν ἀρίστην ὁμοῦ καὶ συνετωτάτην, ὥστε μηδόλως καταφανεῖς γενέσθαι τῷ τούτου στρατεύματι τοὺς πολεμίους. Μάλιστα δ' ἐφόβει τοῦτον τὸ παρὰ γνώμην τοῦ βασιλέως μάχεσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην· ἔφθη