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to do, I would have prolonged my account with narratives about these things, as I have already indicated; but now it must be brought back again to the subject at hand.

3.9.1 The Emperor Alexios, seeing the empire, as it were, convulsed (for in the east the Turks were ravaging terribly, and in the west things were very bad, with Robert moving every rope to bring the pretender Michael who had come to him into the palace; which to me seems more a pretext and a love of power inflaming him and not allowing him to be at rest at all; whence, having found in Michael a Patroclus for a pretext, he fanned the hitherto smouldering spark of his ambition into a great torch and armed himself terribly against the Roman dominion, preparing dromons and triremes and biremes and sermones and a great multitude of other transport ships from the coastal lands, and from the mainland collecting many forces to assist him in his purpose), that noble youth, being in a quandary and not knowing which way to turn, as each of the enemies seemed to be snatching the battle for himself, was vexed and distressed, since the Roman Empire had neither a formidable army (for there were no more than three hundred soldiers, and these from Choma, utterly cowardly and inexperienced in war, and a few foreign barbarians accustomed to brandish the sword on their right shoulder) nor heaps of money stored in the imperial treasuries with which he might summon some alliances from foreigners. For the emperors before him, having been utterly inept in matters of war and the military, had driven the affairs of the Romans into very narrow straits. Indeed, I for my part have heard from some of the soldiers themselves and from older men that no city from the beginning of time had been reduced to such a state of misery. 3.9.2 So matters were difficult for the emperor, who was divided by all kinds of cares. But being noble and intrepid and having much experience in the deeds of war, he wished to bring the empire from a great surge to peaceful shores again, with the insurgent enemies, by God’s help, being dissolved into foam like waves when they dash against the rocks. 3.9.3 He therefore decided it was necessary to quickly summon all the toparchs in the east, as many as held fortresses and cities and were nobly resisting the Turks. Immediately, then, he drafted various letters to all of them, both to Dabatenos, at that time serving as topoteretes of Heraclea in Pontus and Paphlagonia, and to Bourtzes, who was toparch of Cappadocia and Choma, and to the other notables, explaining what had befallen him and how, by God's providence, he had been raised to the imperial dignity, having been unexpectedly saved from imminent danger, and exhorting them to take sufficient care of their own regions and secure them, leaving behind enough soldiers for this purpose, and with the rest to come to the city of Constantine, bringing with them as many newly-recruited young men as they could. 3.9.4 Then he decided it was necessary to secure matters concerning Robert as far as possible beforehand and to deter the leaders and counts flocking to him from their enterprise. But since the man sent to Monomachatos before he took the city, through whom he was summoning him to his aid and asking for money to be sent to him, had returned bringing him only letters that set forth pretexts, as we have related before, for which he was supposedly unable to help while Botaneiates was still in control of the empire, having read these and being alarmed, lest Monomachatos, not learning of Botaneiates’s fall from the empire, should go over to Robert, he was utterly despondent. Therefore, having summoned the

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ποιεῖν, ἐπὶ πλέον ἂν ἐπαφῆκα τὸν λόγον τοῖς περὶ τούτων διηγή μασι, καθάπερ φθάσασα ἐδήλωσα· νῦν δὲ ἐπανακτέον αὖθις αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον.

3.9.1 Ἀσπαίρουσαν δὲ οἷον κατανοῶν τὴν βασιλείαν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀλέξιος (καὶ γὰρ τὰ μὲν πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον οἱ Τοῦρκοι δεινῶς ἐλῄζοντο, τὰ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν λίαν εἶχε κακῶς τοῦ Ῥομπέρτου πάντα κάλων κινοῦντος ἐφ' ᾧ τὸν προσεληλυθότα αὐτῷ ψευδώνυμον Μιχαὴλ εἰς τὰ βασίλεια εἰσάξαι· ὅπερ ἐμοὶ σκῆψις μᾶλλον δοκεῖ καὶ φιλαρχίας ἔρως ἀναφλέγων αὐτὸν καὶ ἠρεμεῖν τὸ παράπαν μὴ συγχωρῶν· ἔνθεν τοι καὶ Πάτροκλον πρόφασιν τὸν Μιχαὴλ εὑρηκὼς τὸν τέως ὑποτυφόμενον τῆς φιλαρχίας σπινθῆρα εἰς πυρσὸν ἀνῆψε μέγαν καὶ δεινῶς κατὰ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς ὡπλίζετο δρόμωνάς τε καὶ τριήρεις ἑτοι μάζων καὶ διήρεις καὶ σέρμωνας καὶ φορταγωγοὺς ἑτέρας παμπληθεῖς ναῦς ἐκ τῶν παραλίων εὐτρεπίζων χωρῶν κἀκ τῆς ἠπείρου δὲ δυνάμεις πολλὰς συλλέγων ἐς τὸ προκείμενον αὐτῷ συνεπαρηγούσας) ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ ὁ γεν ναῖος ἐκεῖνος μεῖραξ γενόμενος καὶ μὴ ἔχων ὁποτέρωσε νεύσειεν, ἑκάστου τῶν πολεμίων πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τὴν μάχην οἷον προαρπάζοντος, ἠνιᾶτο καὶ ἤσχαλλε μήτε στρατιὰν ἀξιόμαχον τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείας ἐχούσης (οὐ πλείους γὰρ τῶν τριακοσίων στρατιωτῶν ἦσαν καὶ τούτων ἐκ τοῦ Χώματος, ἀναλκίδων πάντη καὶ ἀπειροπολέμων, καὶ ξενικῶν τινων εὐαριθμήτων βαρβάρων τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ δεξιοῦ εἰωθότων κραδαίνειν ὤμου τὸ ξίφος) μήτε σωρῶν χρημάτων τοῖς περὶ τὰ βασίλεια ταμιείοις ἐναποκειμένων, δι' ὧν ξυμμαχίας τινὰς ἐξ ἀλλοδαπῶν μετακαλέσοιτο. Λίαν γὰρ ἀτέχνως περί τε τὰ πολεμικὰ καὶ στρατιωτικὰ διατεθέντες οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ βεβασιλευκότες ἐν στενῷ κομιδῇ τὰ Ῥωμαίων συνήλασαν πράγματα. Ἐγὼ γοῦν καὶ στρα τιωτῶν αὐτῶν καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἀνδρῶν ἐνίων ἀκήκοα, ὡς οὐδεμία τῶν πόλεων ἀπ' αἰῶνος ἐς τοσοῦτον ἀθλιότητος κατήχθη. 3.9.2 Εἶχεν οὖν τῷ αὐτοκράτορι δυσκόλως τὰ πράγματα μεριζομένῳ φροντίσι παντοδαπαῖς. Ὁ δὲ γεν ναῖος ὢν καὶ ἄτρεστος καὶ περὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ ἔργα ἐμπει ρίαν πολλὴν κεκτημένος ἐβούλετο ἐκ πολλοῦ κλύδωνος εἰς ἀλύπους ἀκτὰς τὴν βασιλείαν αὖθις ἐγκαθορμίσαι τῶν ἐπανισταμένων ἐχθρῶν εἰς ἀφρὸν Θεοῦ ἀρωγῇ διαλυομένων κυμάτων δίκην, ὁπηνίκα ταῖς πέτραις προσαράξουσι. 3.9.3 ∆έον οὖν ἔγνω πάντας τοὺς κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν τοπάρχας ταχὺ μετακαλέσασθαι, ὁπόσοι φρούριά τε καὶ πόλεις κατέχοντες γενναίως τοῖς Τούρκοις ἀντικαθί σταντο. Εὐθὺς οὖν πρὸς ἅπαντας διαφόρους σχεδιάζει γραφάς, πρός τε τὸν ∆αβατηνὸν τοποτηρητὴν τηνικαῦτα τῆς κατὰ Πόντον Ἡρακλείας καὶ Παφλαγονίας χρημα τίζοντα καὶ τὸν Βούρτζην τοπάρχην ὄντα Καππαδοκίας καὶ Χώματος καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς λογάδας, δηλώσας μὲν καὶ ὁπόσα αὐτῷ ξυμπεσόντα Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ εἰς τὴν αὐτοκρά τορος περιωπὴν ἀνεβίβασεν ἐξ ὑπογύου κινδύνου παρα δόξως σωθέντα, παρακελευόμενος δὲ τῶν σφετέρων χωρῶν πρόνοιαν ἱκανὴν ποιησαμένους κατασφαλίσασθαι αὐτὰς καὶ ἀποχρῶντας πρὸς τοῦτο στρατιώτας καταλιπεῖν, μετὰ δὲ τῶν ἐπιλοίπων εἰς τὴν Κωνσταντίνου παραγίνεσθαι συνεπαγομένους καὶ νεολέκτους ἀκμῆτας, ὁπόσους δύναιντο. 3.9.4 Εἶτα δεῖν ἔγνω καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Ῥομπέρ τον, ὡς ἐνόν, προκατασφαλίσασθαι καὶ τοὺς προσρυο μένους ἐκείνῳ ἀρχηγούς τε καὶ κόμητας ἀπεῖρξαι τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος. Ἐπεὶ δ' ὁ πρὸ τοῦ τὴν πόλιν αὐτὸν κατασχεῖν πρὸς τὸν Μονομαχάτον ἀποσταλείς, δι' οὗ εἰς βοήθειαν αὐτὸν μετεκαλεῖτο χρήματά τε ἐπεζήτει ἀποσταλῆναί οἱ, γράμματα μόνον κομίζων ἧκεν αὐτῷ προ φάσεις δηλοῦντα, καθάπερ φθάσαντες ἱστορήσαμεν, δι' ἃς δῆθεν ἔτι τοῦ Βοτανειάτου τῆς βασιλείας ἐγκρατοῦς ὄντος βοηθεῖν οὐκ ἠδύνατο, ταῦτα ἀναγνοὺς καὶ πτοηθείς, μὴ μαθὼν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ Βοτανειάτου ἔκπτωσιν προσρυῇ τῷ Ῥομπέρτῳ, ἀθύμως εἶχε παντάπασι. Τοιγαρ οῦν μετακαλεσάμενος τὸν