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both having made a plan have set out against Beroia, not in order to fight it-for it was not even possible for them to accomplish such a thing-but in order to take booty from the things around it. And they plundered many things; for those around them carried off as booty a multitude of animals not easily counted. And while these men were doing these things, the ruler of the Serbs, having learned of the rebellion of the apostate Michael, (a faithless race that never knows gratitude to those who have shown it kindness, but for some small gain casts away and tramples underfoot the cup of friendship), having gathered an army numbered at about a thousand, sent it out against the Roman lands. These men, therefore, having passed by Kitzabis, were plundering the environs of Prilep. But the skouterios Xyleas, being situated somewhere near the city with the army under him, when he saw the army of the Serbs plundering the countryside and fires being lit everywhere, a man unskilled in the arts of war and having no military experience at all-for he neither had scouts at a distance so as to learn of the enemy's attack from afar, nor did he know how to draw up an army in formation-allowed each man to rush against the Serbs as he wished. Having thus been broken from formation, and being few, they were captured engaging in battle with the more numerous Serbs, and some were slain by the sword, while others were taken alive and led away as captives. And later the skouterios Xyleas himself, having rushed against the Serbs with the remaining soldiers, was saved with great difficulty, crossing mountains and hills and precipitous places while being pursued by the enemy. Thus, then, the army in Prilep was destroyed, and we have become shut up in the city of Prilep and as if imprisoned.

71 And Michael Komnenos Palaiologos and his men and Michael Laskaris and his men suffered the following. When they had taken the booty in Beroia, they encamped around the place in Bodena, it being both level and useful for the nourishment of horses. And the apostate Michael the despotes, having learned precisely the state of the Roman army, and how large it was numbered and that, except for a few, the whole of it is useless and unserviceable, having made a selection from his entire army and, as it were, having separated the better men from all of them and having numbered them at about five hundred, and having appointed as general his illegitimate son Theodore, he sent him against the Roman army. And at that time it happened that Manuel Lapardas, sent by the emperor with a rabble and motley army, met the arriving commanders, and he was blaming them as having acted first and taken the booty, while he had been left without a share of the profit. While, then, the commanders of the army were discussing such things, the rabble army under Manuel Lapardas, most of whom were riding on mares and had them laden with their necessities, without the other commanders knowing, took to the road that passes by the city of Bodena, so that they too, having passed through before the others, might take booty. So they encountered in the pass of the mountains near Bodena the army sent by the apostate Michael to make war on the Romans. So, noble soldiers, riding on high-necked horses and fully armed, encountering little men who were unarmed and ignoble and sitting on mares, in an instant put all of these to flight. So, some from these men having become fugitives and having come to Michael Komnenos reported to him the things that had happened. But he was not alarmed by the suddenness of the event, but being strong of hand and brave of spirit and experienced in battle-for he had been trained also before in many warlike deeds-having armed himself and taken a spear, and the soldiery, which was under Michael Laskaris, having set out from Paphlagonia, -for that alone happened to be better than the others and

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ἄμφω βουλὴν ποιησάμενοι κατὰ τῆς Βερροίας ὡρμήκασιν, οὐχ ἵνα μαχέσωνται ταύτην-οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐξῆν αὐτοῖς τοιοῦτόν τι διαπράττεσθαι-ἀλλ' ἵνα λείαν τὰ περὶ ταύτην ποιήσωνται. καὶ ἐσκύλευσαν πολλά· ζώων γὰρ πληθὺν οὐκ εὐχερῶς ἀριθμουμένην οἱ ἀμφ' αὐ τοὺς ἐληΐσαντο. Ἐν οἷς δὲ οὗτοι ταῦτα ἐποίουν, ὁ τῶν Σέρβων ἄρχων τὴν τοῦ ἀποστάτου Μιχαὴλ ἀνταρσίαν μαθών, γένος ἔκσπον δον καὶ μηδέποτε εἰδὸς χάριν τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸ ἐπιδειξαμένοις χρηστόν, ἀλλὰ διὰ μικρόν τι κέρδος τὸ φιλίας ἀπορρῖπτον καὶ καταπατοῦν κύπελλον, στράτευμα συναθροίσας ὡς εἰς χιλίους ἠριθμημένον κατὰ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν ἐκπέπομφε χώρων. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν τὴν Κύτζαβιν παραμείψαντες τὰ πέριξ τοῦ Πριλά που ἐσκύλευον. ὁ δὲ σκουτέριος Ξυλέας μετὰ τοῦ ὑπ' αὐτὸν στρατεύματος ἐγγύς που τοῦ ἄστεος κείμενος, ὡς εἶδε τὸ τῶν Σέρβων στράτευμα τὴν χώραν ληΐζον καὶ πυρὰ πανταχοῦ ἀναπτόμενα, ἄνθρωπος ἀδαὴς τὰ πολεμικὰ καὶ μηδ' ὅλως ἐμ πειρίαν ἔχων στρατιωτικήν-οὔτε γὰρ σκοποὺς εἶχε μακρὰν ὡς πόρρωθεν μαθεῖν τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἔφοδον, οὔτε ξυν τάξαι στράτευμα ἐπεγνώκει-ἀπέλυσεν ἕκαστον κατὰ τῶν Σέρβων ὁρμᾶν ὡς ἐβούλετο. διαλυθέντες γοῦν τῆς συντάξεως καὶ ὀλίγοι τοῖς Σέρβοις πλείοσιν οὖσιν ἡλίσκοντο συμπλε κόμενοι, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἔργον μαχαίρας ἐγένοντο, οἱ δὲ ἐζω γροῦντο καὶ δεσμῶται ἀπήγοντο. ὕστερον δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ξυλέας σκουτέριος μετὰ τῶν ὑπολειφθέντων στρατιωτῶν κατὰ τῶν Σέρβων ὁρμήσας μόγις που διεσώθη, ὄρη διελθὼν καὶ βουνοὺς καὶ κρημνώδεις τόπους ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν διω κόμενος. οὕτω μὲν οὖν τὸ ἐν τῷ Πριλάπῳ καταλέλυται στράτευμα, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐγκεκλεισμένοι τῷ τοῦ Πριλάπῳ ἄστει γεγόναμεν καὶ οἷον ἐγκαθειργμένοι.

71 Οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Κομνηνὸν Μιχαὴλ τὸν Παλαιο λόγον καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν Λάσκαριν Μιχαὴλ τοιάδε πεπόν θασιν. ἐπεὶ τὴν λείαν ἐν τῇ Βερροίᾳ πεποίηνται, περὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς Βοδηνοῖς χῶρον ἐσκήνωσαν, ὁμαλόν τε ὄντα καὶ εἰς τροφὴν ἵππων χρήσιμον. ὁ ἀποστάτης δὲ Μιχαὴλ ὁ δεσπότης τὰ τοῦ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ στρατεύματος ἀκριβῶς ἐγνω κώς, καὶ εἰς ὁπόσον τοῦτο ἠρίθμηται καὶ ὡς πλὴν ὀλίγου τὸ πᾶν ἐστὶν ἀνωφελὲς καὶ ἀχρήσιμον, ἐκλογὴν ποιησάμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ στρατεύματος καὶ οἷον ἐξ ἁπάντων τοὺς κρείττους χωρίσας καὶ ὡς εἰς πεντακοσίους αὐτοὺς ἀριθμήσας, καὶ στρατηγὸν χειροτονήσας τὸν νόθον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν Θεόδωρον, κατὰ τοῦ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ στρατεύματος πέπομφεν. Ἔτυχε δὲ τῷ τότε καὶ ὁ Λαπαρδᾶς Μανουὴλ μετὰ στρατεύματος συρφετώδους καὶ ξύγκλυδος πρὸς τοῦ βασι λέως ἀποσταλεὶς τοῖς προσιοῦσιν ἡγεμόσι συγκῦρσαι, καὶ κατεμέμφετο αὐτοὺς ὡς προλαβόντας καὶ τὴν λείαν ἐργασα μένους, κἀκεῖνον δὲ ἄμοιρον γενέσθαι τοῦ κέρδους. ἐν οἷς γοῦν τὰ τοιαῦτα ξυνωμιλοῦντο οἱ τοῦ στρατεύματος ἡγε μόνες, τὸ ὑπὸ τὸν Λαπαρδᾶν Μανουὴλ συρφετῶδες στρά τευμα, ὧν οἱ πλείους ἐπωχοῦντο φορβάσι καὶ εἶχον αὐτὰς τὰ χρειώδη πεφορτισμένας, μὴ τῶν ἄλλων ἡγεμόνων εἰδό των εἴχοντο τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς παραμειβούσης τὸ ἄστυ τῶν Βοδηνῶν, ἵνα πρότερον τῶν ἄλλων διελθόντες λείαν καὶ οὗτοι ποιήσαιντο. ξυνηντήκει γοῦν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ κλείσει τῶν ἐν τοῖς Βοδηνοῖς ὀρῶν τὸ ἀποσταλὲν πρὸς τοῦ ἀπο στάτου Μιχαὴλ στράτευμα πρὸς τὴν τῶν Ῥωμαίων κατα πολέμησιν. ἄνδρες γοῦν στρατιῶται γενναῖοι ὑψαύχεσιν ἵπποις ἐποχούμενοι καὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις κατάφρακτοι ἀνθρω πίσκοις ξυντυχόντες ἀόπλοις καὶ ἀγεννέσι καὶ θηλείαις ἵπποις ἐφεζομένοις ἐν ἀκαρεῖ πάντας τούτους ἐτρέψαντο. φυγάδες γοῦν ἔνιοι ἐκ τούτων γεγενημένοι καὶ πρὸς τὸν Κομνηνὸν Μιχαὴλ ἀφιγμένοι ἀπήγγειλαν αὐτῷ τὰ ξυμβάντα. ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐθροήθη τῷ αἰφνιδίῳ, ἰσχυρὸς δὲ ὢν τὴν χεῖρα καὶ τὴν γνώμην ἀνδρεῖος καὶ τὰ μάχιμα ἔμπειρος-πολ λοῖς γὰρ καὶ πρότερον τοῖς πολεμικοῖς ἐγγεγύμναστο- ὁπλισθεὶς καὶ δόρυ λαβὼν καὶ τὸ στρατιωτικόν, ὅπερ ἦν ὑπὸ τὸν Λάσκαριν Μιχαήλ, ἐκ Παφλαγονίας ὡρμημένον, -ἐκεῖνο καὶ γὰρ μόνον ἐτύγχανε τῶν ἄλλων κρεῖττον καὶ