Historiae p.4 From the East, this man also rebels against him and, having prevailed, seizes the imperial power, giving an evil reward to the one who h
completely senseless of what is good, who, having set a goal among themselves to destroy Komnenos and thus also destroy the porphyrogennetos, the brot
he had claimed the inheritance, at the same time also securing his own safety, so that he might not suffer any of the terrible things such as the many
another born in the purple who had departed this life, had a greater right to rule? It is clear, therefore, that the famed Alexios among emperors, hav
after he had exercised tyrannical power for many years and had overthrown almost all the East, he was appointed ambassador, having tried to join toget
dull and slow to punish. There are many other proofs of the man's virtue, and not least his renunciation of the empire how, the narrative as it proce
had been demonstrated, Doukas led him with every honor, calling him lord and emperor and deeming him worthy of precedence whenever he came to him and
of Europe, since the descendants of Hagar, having risen in sedition against one another, divided the greatest dominion into many parts, one ruling one
while encouraging his people, when his horse slipped, he was thrown to the ground with it and, breaking his neck, was killed. And when this happened,
fitting, they were attacking the towns of Armeniakon to plunder them, he took up his forces and proceeded against the Turks and, encountering them sca
to leave her unconsoled in the greatness of her suffering, adding suffering to suffering, adding your long absence to his death.” Thus the emperor. An
being present and arranging the matters of war well. For wishing to draw the emperor forward and get him within his nets, he sent out skirmishers, who
Alyates, a Cappadocian man and an associate of the emperor, commanded the right wing, Bryennius himself the left, and the emperor held the center of t
to make a disposition of the whole. Thus it seemed also to the emperor Michael and he agreed with the purpose of his uncle but those who wished to re
he seizes. But having learned this, those around the emperor and the Caesar were considering whom they might set up as an opponent to him. It seemed b
the truth shone forth like a torch hidden under soot. But those who nourished the divine fear in their hearts and were in labor with a spirit of salva
entered thickets and were saved, but of the rest some fell, and others were taken captive. And so the phalanx of Diogenes was thus dissolved and scatt
having handled the matters of his elevation with skill, he was both cast down himself and brought down the affairs of the Romans with him how the one
Therefore, having encamped, they were considering how they might drive away the attacking Turks who were sacking the towns. 2.4 But so much for them.
one different from the others, Theodotos by name, said that what was happening was not a good omen for when the night comes on, they will flee at on
he hastened to the queen of cities in order to take up the gold and ransom his brother. Therefore, having collected this in a few days, he went away t
he began to speak: 2.10 To me, men, to make no attempt at all against the enemy, but instead to betray ourselves into slavery and obvious danger, see
they were trying to help Isaacius and the glorious Alexius, he himself by name called upon the glorious Alexius and implored him to help but he, imme
was deliberating, but seeing time was still being wasted, he was enraged for he wished to be rid of the fear from that man and thus to revel fearless
But he, choosing to face extreme danger for his father's own safety, turned back and thrust himself into the midst of the enemy and having struck down
the children's cots lay there. And when they saw the cot of the one who had escaped was empty, immediately each one, just as he was, beat the pedagogu
by many, and be destroyed, they selected a narrow plain, putting forward the river flowing down from Sophon as a rampart. But Artouch, having crossed
But when he was checking their assaults, he no longer waited for their incursions, but advancing on the forts held by the enemy, he set ambushes and s
to receive and, having dined with him, he finally arrests him and, having made him a prisoner, sends him to the stratopedarches, having taken hostages
a crowd is brought out and he is seen by all as if he were blind this act completely silenced the uproar. The commander of the army, then, having rec
As he was passing through the narrow straits and going down beside the sea towards Heracleia, Maurex met him, a man not of noble birth, but otherwise
he pretended to be friendly to the patriarch and behaved in a friendly manner towards him, but he was cultivating the magistrates. Therefore the doux,
3.τ Book 3 3.1 The preceding account makes clear, therefore, all that happened in the east after the deposition of the emperor Diogenes, and how many
were arranged and the nation of the Franks, having mastered Italy and Sicily, were plotting terrible things against the Romans, Michael planned for th
a guard had been entrusted, was going about in Odrysae towards the city formerly called Orestias, but now Adrianople, who, having stopped at a certain
he died with good hopes, leaving behind his most beloved child, but again the evil men seemed to be winning and the marriage was not taking place, as
impulse, but something that happened persuaded him on the following day, even unwillingly, to yield to their will. 3.9 For having encamped at Trajanop
having offered thanksgiving sacrifices, he returned home and was deliberating about what to do next, and he called all the generals and commanders to
Bryennius, seeing that the time of the siege was being wasted in vain, so that the army might not suffer further hardship, wanted to lift the siege, b
they tried to hinder his march with their arrows. But those around him, being brave, although few, nevertheless sallied out against the Turks and chec
he was pleased for since it was already a late hour, it seemed that some uproar and disturbance would happen in the city, if some were to be captured
I remained with the one in power until the end and, while all were turning to your rule, I myself have kept faith with him even until now, having sent
he hastened for the scepters of the kingdom, as much as possible, to win the goodwill of the citizens, especially when he learned about the affairs of
a man being both good in appearance and very skilled in conversation. When the ambassadors had approached and made the customary address for ambassado
he exercised and trained the soldiers through him. And whenever they were already able to ride safely and seemed to be adequately and skilfully traine
For on the evening before this, letters had been sent to him from the emperor ordering him not to fight, but to await the arrival of the allies recent
to wander, at a loss how, while they were fleeing, he both showed the horse and the broadswords and clearly proclaimed the death of Bryennios, and the
Now, the pursuers were not a great multitude, so their retreat was easy. But when many ran together and his horse was worn out and useless for running
Therefore, having taken him, he himself departed as if for Constantinople but the scarlet-dyed sandals, which that man used to wear when playing the
sleeping in his tent, without any delay he ordered everyone to arm themselves and immediately all were under arms. And when the sun was towards the we
recognizing Basilakes, he strikes him with his sword upon the helmet but with the sword having been broken near his hand and having fallen, Komnenos
counsel conquers many hands, which at that time received confirmation through his own deeds. For one man and one mind in a short time brought down th
he ordered the protovestiarios this was the eunuch John, who had long served him before his reign he was ambitious, if anyone ever was, and possesse
that campaign, being most experienced, and already seeing the imminent danger before his eyes, advised him to turn back. But he, receiving his words a
servants with another one of his servants, he went where they said Kontostephanos would be and seeing him calling out from afar, covering his head, he
sleeping in his tent, without any delay he ordered everyone to arm themselves and immediately all were under arms. And when the sun was towards the western horizon, having already signaled the departure with the trumpets, he went out of the city. And leaving the straight road, so that he might thus escape the notice of the one who was almost impossible to escape, having passed through the so-called Lite, when he came to the river which the locals call the Galikos, having crossed this somewhere near the fort called Aetos and having crossed the ditch there, he proceeded through the plain. 4.20 But he did not escape the notice of the scouts, but as soon as he went out of the city and the scouts, inferring his departure from the amount of dust, reported these things to the Domestic of the Schools. And he ordered everyone, having armed themselves and having readied their horses, to await the signal, and he sent out one after another in order to learn the enemy's situation. And when one of his household arrived, who was faithful to him and of the same age and a foster-brother—the man's name was Tatikios—saying that the enemy were not far off, he asked him if he had recognized Basilakes himself. And he affirmed it, and that he had heard his voice drawing up the phalanx and ordering it to follow him, and that he had shot an arrow at him with his bow. Therefore he immediately ordered the trumpets to sound the march, and he commanded those around his own encampment to light lamps and candles at once. 4.21 And inside his own tent, leaving behind the monk who was with him, a eunuch, to whom his mother had entrusted his care as being both quick and skillful, he urged that the lamp not be extinguished all night long. This very same thing he ordered all the others also to do in their own tents, and to light lamps and torches until dawn. But he with the entire armed force, having gone out of the camp, had taken a stand in a certain covered place. 4.22 And Basilakes, having come near the camp, when he saw it being plundered by his own men, he himself, having seized the domestic's tent, thought he had accomplished everything and that he would find him somewhere there and take him alive and lead him away; but when, having looked all around, he saw no one except the monk and the burning lamp, puffed up with arrogance, he says: "Where is the lisper?" (for he did not pronounce the 'r' correctly) "Bring him out to me here." But when the said monk denied under oath that he knew what had happened, thinking he was being deceived, overcome by both anger and joy, he laughed a Sardonic laugh, according to the proverb, and ordered his men to cut the tent to pieces. When this was done, he commanded them to stoop down and search under the domestic's bed to see if he was hidden somewhere there. But when he was nowhere to be found, he ordered the chests standing there to be overturned; such is arrogance, utterly corrupting the mind of the soul. So, having given up hope and turned to the opposite—for at that moment his joy had changed to grief—frequently striking his thigh, he says: "Woe is me, I have been deceived by the lisper." For having nothing else to mock in such a man, he kept bringing up again and again that very small and involuntary defect of the 'r'. 4.23 Immediately, therefore, shouting loudly, he says: "Commanders, come out of the camp; the war is outside!" For his voice was powerful, so as to throw whole phalanxes into confusion with a single shout. So as he was coming out of the camp, while the soldiers were busy with plundering, the noble Alexios meets him, being in front of the phalanx with a few men, and seeing the one leading it drawing up the phalanx into formation and thinking it was Basilakes, he immediately charged against him, and drawing his sword strikes him on the right hand, while he was still holding his spear, and cutting off three of his fingers, he made the spear fall along with them. This greatly threw the phalanx into confusion, and one hastened to be the first to flee before another; but going around in circles they were hindered by each other. 4.24 And one of the men under Alexios' command, a Cappadocian man, Goules by surname,
καθεύδοντα ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνήν, μηδὲν μελλήσας ἐκέλευε πάντας ὁπλίζεσθαι καὶ εὐθὺς ἅπαντες ἦσαν ἐν ὅπλοις. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πρὸς τὸν δυτικὸν
ὁρίζοντα ὁ ἥλιος ἦν, ἤδη ταῖς σάλπιγξι σημάνας τὸν ἐξιτήριον ἐξῄει τῆς πόλεως. Καταλιπὼν δὲ τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὁδόν, ἵν' οὕτως λάθῃ
τὸν μικροῦ δεῖν ἀλάθητον, διὰ τῆς λεγομένης Λιτῆς διελθών, ἐπεὶ πρὸς τὸν ποταμὸν γέγονεν ὃν Γαλικὸν καλοῦσιν ἐγχώριοι, διαπεράσας
τοῦτον ἐγγύς που τοῦ φρουρίου τοῦ Ἀετοῦ καλουμένου καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖσε ὑπερβὰς αὔλακα ἐχώρει διὰ τῆς πεδιάδος. 4.20 Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔλαθε
τοὺς σκοπούς, ἀλλ' ἅμα τε ἐκεῖνος ἐξῆλθε τῆς πόλεως κἀκ τοῦ πλήθους τῆς κόνεως οἱ σκοποὶ τὴν ἔξοδον τεκμηράμενοι τῷ τῶν Σχολῶν
δομεστίκῳ ταῦτα ἐμήνυον. Ὁ δ' ἐκέλευε πάντας ὁπλοφορήσαντας καὶ τοὺς ἵππους εὐτρεπίσαντας περιμένειν τὸ σύνθημα καὶ ἄλλον
ἐπ' ἄλλῳ ἐξέπεμπεν ὥστε μανθάνειν τὰ κατὰ τὸν πολέμιον. Ἐπεὶ δ' ἀφίκετό τις τῶν ἐκείνου οἰκογενῶν, ὃς πιστὸς ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ συνηλικιώτης
καὶ σύντροφος, Τατίκιος ἦν ὄνομα τῷ ἀνδρί, φράζων ὡς οὐ πόρρω εἰσὶν οἱ πολέμιοι, ἐπυνθάνετο τούτου εἰ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ἐγνώρισεν
εἶναι τὸν Βασιλάκην. Ὁ δ' ἐβεβαίου καὶ φωνῆς ἐκείνου ἀκοῦσαι καθιστώσης τὴν φάλαγγα καὶ ἕπεσθαί οἱ κελευούσης καὶ βέλος ἀφεῖναι
κατ' ἐκείνου διὰ τοῦ τόξου. Εὐθὺς οὖν ἐκελεύετο ἐξόδιον σημῆναι τὰς σάλπιγγας καὶ τοῖς περὶ τὴν ἰδίαν παρεμβολὴν εὐθὺς λύχνους
καὶ κηροὺς ἐξάπτειν ἐπέταττεν. 4.21 Ἐντὸς δὲ τῆς ἰδίας σκηνῆς τὸν συνόντα αὐτῷ μοναχόν, ἄνδρα ἐκτομίαν, ᾧ τὴν αὐτοῦ πρόνοιαν
ἡ μήτηρ ἐπίστευσεν ὡς ἐντρεχεῖ τε καὶ περιδεξίῳ, καταλιπὼν παρεκελεύσατο μὴ σβεσθῆναι τὴν λαμπάδα δι' ὅλης νυκτός. Τὸ αὐτὸ
δὴ τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἐκέλευσεν ἐν ταῖς ἰδίαις ποιεῖν σκηναῖς καὶ λύχνους καὶ δᾷδας ἀνάπτειν μέχρι τοῦ περιόρθρου.
Ἐκεῖνος δὲ μετὰ τοῦ ὁπλιτικοῦ παντὸς τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐξελθὼν εἴς τινα συνηρεφῆ τόπον εἰστήκει. 4.22 Ὁ δὲ Βασιλάκης ἐγγὺς τῆς
παρεμβολῆς γενόμενος, ἐπεὶ ταύτην παρὰ τῶν ἰδίων σκυλευομένην ἑώρα, αὐτὸς τὴν τοῦ δομεστίκου σκηνὴν καταλαβὼν ἐδόκει τὸ πᾶν
ἠνυκέναι καὶ αὐτοῦ που τοῦτον καταλαβεῖν καὶ ζωγρίαν ποιῆσαι καὶ ἀγαγέσθαι· ὡς δὲ τὴν ὅλην περιαθρήσας οὐδένα εἰ μὴ τὸν μοναχὸν
ἑώρα καὶ τὴν ἀνάπτουσαν λαμπάδα, ὑπ' ἀλαζονείας ἐπαρθείς φησι· "Ποῦ ὁ τραυλός;" καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀκριβῶς κατώρθου τὸ ῥῶ, "ἐξαγάγετέ
μοι τοῦτον ὧδε". Τοῦ δὲ ῥηθέντος μοναχοῦ ἐνωμότως ἀπαρνουμένου μὴ εἰδέναι τί γέγονεν, ἀπατᾶσθαι νομίζων ὑπό τε θυμοῦ ὑπό τε
χαρᾶς ἁλοὺς γέλωτα Σαρδόνιον, κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν, ἐγέλα καὶ τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτὸν τὴν σκηνὴν κατατμηθῆναι ἐκέλευε. Τούτου γεγονότος,
ἐπέταττεν ὑπὸ τὴν κλίσιν τοῦ δομεστίκου κατακύψαντας ἀναζητεῖν εἰ αὐτοῦ που κέκρυπται· ὡς δὲ οὐδαμοῦ παρῆν, τὰ ἐκεῖσε ἱστάμενα
κιβώτια περιτραπῆναι ἐκέλευε· τοιοῦτον ὑπερηφανεία τὸ φρονοῦν τῆς ψυχῆς παντάπασι διαφθείρουσα. Ἀπελπίσας οὖν καὶ εἰς τοὐναντίον
τραπείς μετεβέβλητο γὰρ αὐτῷ τηνικαῦτα εἰς λύπην ἡ χαρά, συχνάκις παίων τὸν μηρόν φησιν· "Οὐαί μοι, ἠπάτημαι παρὰ τοῦ τραυλοῦ".
Μὴ ἔχων γὰρ ἕτερόν τι καταμωκήσασθαι τοῦ τοιούτου ἀνδρός, τὸ σμικρότατον ἐκεῖνο τοῦ ῥῶ καὶ ἀπροαίρετον αἰτίαμα ἄνω καὶ κάτω
προσφέρων ἦν. 4.23 Εὐθὺς οὖν μέγα βοήσας φησίν· "Ἄρχοντες, ἐξέλθατε τῆς παρεμβολῆς· ὁ πόλεμος ἔξωθεν"· φωνὴ γὰρ αὐτοῦ εὑρεῖα
ὡς καὶ φάλαγγας ὅλας συνταράττειν ἐκ μόνου ἐκβοήματος. Ἐξιόντι γοῦν ἐκείνῳ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, τῶν στρατιωτῶν περὶ λαφυραγωγίαν
ἀσχολουμένων, ὑπαντιάζει ὁ γενναῖος Ἀλέξιος πρὸ τῆς φάλαγγος ὢν ξὺν ὀλίγοις καὶ τὸν προοδεύοντα ταύτης κατιδὼν εἰς τάξιν συνιστῶντα
τὴν φάλαγγα καὶ νομίσας εἶναι τὸν Βασιλάκην, εὐθὺς ἐξήλασε κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ξίφος σπασάμενος παίει τοῦτον κατὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς
χειρός, ἔτι τὸ δόρυ κατέχοντα, καὶ τοὺς τρεῖς τῶν δακτύλων τεμὼν τὸ δόρυ πεσεῖν σὺν αὐτοῖς παρεσκεύασε. Τοῦτο μεγάλως τὴν
φάλαγγα συνετάραξε καὶ ἄλλος ἄλλον πρὸς τὸ φεύγειν προλαμβάνειν ἠπείγετο· κύκλῳ δὲ περιιόντες ὑπ' ἀλλήλων συνεποδίζοντο. 4.24
Εἷς δὲ τῶν ὑπὸ χεῖρα τοῦ Ἀλεξίου, ἀνὴρ Καππαδόκης Γουλῆς τὸ ἐπώνυμον,
