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being undaunted, he fortified the city, constructing the battlements according to the instructions of the emperor and packing the walls with stone-throwing engines, and rallying the dispirited soldiers, and stationing lookouts along the whole wall, and he himself patrolling throughout every night and day urged the guards to keep watch. At that time he also reported by letter the attack of Robert to the emperor and that he had come to Dyrrachium to besiege the city. 4.1.2 But those within, seeing the siege-towers outside and the constructed wooden tower of immense size standing higher than the very walls of Dyrrachium and fenced all around with hides and the stone-throwing engines being set up on top of it, and the entire circuit of the walls surrounded on the outside by the army, and the allies flocking from all sides to Robert, and the neighboring cities being ravaged by raids, and the huts multiplying every day, were seized with fear, discerning now the purpose of Duke Robert, that not in order to ravage cities and lands and, having collected much booty from there, to return again to Apulia, as was proclaimed everywhere, had he occupied the plain of Illyricum, but, desiring the rule of the Roman empire, he hastened to besiege Dyrrachium, as they say, from the very starting point. 4.1.3 Palaiologos therefore commanded them to inquire from above for what reason he had come. And he said "so as to restore Michael, my kinsman by marriage, who was driven from the empire, to his own honor again and to avenge the insults done to him and to vindicate him completely". But they said to him, "if upon seeing Michael we recognize him, we will immediately both pay him homage and hand over the city". Having heard this, Robert immediately ordered Michael, magnificently attired, to be shown to the inhabitants of the city. And leading such a man forth with a magnificent procession, accompanied by the clash of all kinds of musical instruments and cymbals, they showed him. But as soon as they saw him from above they showered him with countless insults, insisting that they did not recognize him at all. But Robert, considering these things as nothing, kept to the work at hand. And while those within and those without were saying these things to each other, suddenly some men, leaping out of the city, joined battle with the Latins and, having partially damaged them, entered Dyrrachium again. 4.1.4 But concerning the monk accompanying Robert, most were of a different opinion. Some declared him to be the cupbearer of the emperor Michael Doukas, others affirmed that he was that very emperor Michael, the father-in-law of the barbarian, on whose account he had also undertaken the great war, as they say; but some maintained, knowing for a fact, that the whole thing was a pretext of Robert's; for that man had not come to him as a deserter. But since from extreme poverty and obscure fortune, through his natural energy and greatness of spirit, he had become master of all the cities and lands in Lombardy and of Apulia itself, he had made himself lord, as the account has already related above, not long after he came to desire more, as is wont to happen to insatiable souls, he decided he must make an attempt on the cities situated in Illyricum and thus, if matters should turn out well for him, to press on to what lay ahead. For every lover of power, when he has seized rule, differs in no way from gangrene, which, when it takes hold of a body, in no way stops until it has spread through and destroyed the whole.

4.2.1 But the emperor, having been informed of everything by letters from Palaiologos and that having crossed over in the month of June (as the account already

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ἀκατάπληκτος ὢν τὴν πόλιν κατωχύρου τάς τε ἐπάλξεις κατασκευάζων κατὰ τὰς ὑποθημοσύνας τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος καὶ λιθοβόλοις τὰ τείχη καταπυκνῶν μηχα νήμασι τούς τε ἀναπεπτωκότας τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀνακτώ μενος καὶ σκοποὺς δι' ὅλου καταστήσας τοῦ τείχους καὶ αὐτὸς δὴ περιπολεύων διὰ πάσης νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐπαγρυπνεῖν τοὺς φυλάσσοντας παρεκελεύετο. Τηνικαῦτα δὲ καὶ διὰ γραμμάτων τὴν τοῦ Ῥομπέρτου ἔφοδον ἐδήλου τῷ αὐτοκράτορι καὶ ὅτι τὴν πόλιν πολιορκήσων τὸ ∆υρρά χιον παρεγένετο. 4.1.2 Οἱ δὲ ἐντὸς ὁρῶντες τὰς ἔξωθεν ἑλεπόλεις καὶ τὸν κατασκευασθέντα ὑπερμεγέθη μόσυνα ὑπερανεστηκότα καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ ∆υρραχίου τειχῶν βύρσαις τε πανταχόθεν περιπεφραγμένον καὶ τὰ λιθοβόλα μηχανήματα κατὰ κορυφὴν τούτου ἱστάμενα τήν τε πᾶσαν περιβολὴν τῶν τειχῶν ἔξωθεν τοῦ στρατοπέδου περιζω σθεῖσαν καὶ τοὺς ἁπανταχόθεν συρρέοντας συμμάχους πρὸς τὸν Ῥομπέρτον καὶ τὰς παρακειμένας πόλεις ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς πορθουμένας καὶ τὰς καλύβας καθ' ἑκάστην πολλαπλασιαζομένας, δέει συνείχοντο διαγινώσκοντες ἤδη τὸν σκοπὸν τοῦ δουκὸς Ῥομπέρτου, ὡς οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ πόλεις καὶ χώρας δῃώσασθαι καὶ λείαν πολλὴν ἐκεῖθεν συγκομι σάμενος αὖθις εἰς Ἀπουληΐαν ἐπαναστρέψαι, ὡς ἁπαντα χοῦ διεκηρυκεύετο, τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν πεδίον κατέλαβεν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς Ῥωμαίων βασιλείας ἱμειρόμενος τὸ ∆υρρά χιον, ὅ φασιν, ἐκ πρώτης ἀφετηρίας πολιορκῆσαι ἠπεί γετο. 4.1.3 Κελεύει τοίνυν ὁ Παλαιολόγος ἄνωθεν πυθέσθαι, ὅτου χάριν παραγέγονεν. Ὁ δέ φησιν «ὥστε τὸν τῆς βασιλείας ἐξωσθέντα Μιχαὴλ τὸν ἐμὸν κηδεστὴν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν τιμὴν αὖθις ἀποκαταστῆσαι καὶ τὰς εἰς αὐτὸν γεγονυίας ὕβρεις ἐπεξελθεῖν καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἐκδικῆσαι αὐτόν». Οἱ δέ φασι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὡς «εἰ τὸν Μιχαὴλ θεασάμενοι γνωρίσομεν, προσκυνήσομέν τε εὐθὺς αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν πόλιν παραδῶμεν». Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Ῥομπέρτος προστάσσει εὐθὺς τὸν Μιχαὴλ λαμπρῶς ἀμφιασθέντα ὑπο δειχθῆναι τοῖς τῆς πόλεως οἰκήτορσιν. Ἀπαγαγόντες δὲ τὸν τοιοῦτον μετὰ λαμπρᾶς προπομπῆς παντοίοις ὀργάνοις μουσικοῖς καὶ κυμβάλοις κατακτυπούμενον ὑποδεικνύουσιν. Ἅμα δὲ τῷ τοῦτον θεάσασθαι ἄνωθεν μυρίαις ὕβρεσιν ἔπλυνον μὴ ἐπιγινώσκειν αὐτὸν ὅλως διισχυριζόμενοι. Ὁ δὲ Ῥομπέρτος παρ' οὐδὲν ταῦτα θέμενος τοῦ προκειμένου ἔργου εἴχετο. Ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ ταῦτα οἵ τε ἐντὸς καὶ ἐκτὸς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἔλεγον, ἄφνω τῆς πόλεως ἐκπηδήσαντές τινες μετὰ τῶν Λατίνων συναίρουσι πόλεμον καὶ μερικῶς αὐτοὺς καταβλάψαντες αὖθις εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὸ ∆υρράχιον. 4.1.4 Περὶ δέ γε τοῦ συνεφεπομένου μοναχοῦ τῷ Ῥομπέρτῳ διαφόρου γνώμης ἦσαν οἱ πλείους. Οἱ μὲν διεκήρυττον τὸν οἰνοχόον λέγοντες εἶναι Μιχαὴλ βασιλέως τοῦ ∆ούκα, οἱ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον διεβεβαιοῦντο τὸν αὐτοκράτορα Μιχαὴλ τὸν τοῦ βαρβάρου συμπένθερον, δι' ὃν καὶ τὸν πολὺν ἀνείλετο πόλεμον, ὥς φασιν· ἔνιοι δὲ διενίσταντο ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι, ὅτι σκῆψις ἦν τὸ ὅλον τοῦ Ῥομπέρτου· οὐ γὰρ αὐτόμολος εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνος ἐληλύθει. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ἀπὸ ἐσχάτης πενίας καὶ τύχης ἀφανοῦς διὰ δραστηριότητα φύσεως καὶ φρονήματος ὄγκον πασῶν τῶν κατὰ τὴν Λογγι βαρδίαν πόλεων καὶ χωρῶν καὶ αὐτῆς Ἀπουληΐας ἐγκρατὴς γεγονὼς κύριον ἑαυτὸν κατέστησεν, ὡς ὁ λόγος ἄνωθεν φθάσας ἱστόρησε, μετ' οὐ πολὺ εἰς ἔφεσιν πλειόνων ἐλθών, ὁποῖα ταῖς ἀκορέστοις ἐγγίνεσθαι εἴωθε ψυχαῖς, τῶν κατὰ τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν διακειμένων πόλεων δεῖν ἔγνω ἀποπειρᾶσθαι καὶ οὕτως, εἰ εὔοδα αὐτῷ τὰ πράγματα γένοιτο, τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτείνεσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ πᾶς φιλοχρήματος, ἐπειδὰν ἀρχῆς δράξοιτο, γαγγραίνης κατ' οὐδὲν διενήνοχεν, ἥτις, ἐπειδὰν σώματος ἐπιλάβοιτο, οὐδαμῶς ἵσταται, μέχρις ἂν τὸ ὅλον διαπορευομένη λυμήνηται.

4.2.1 Ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ πάντα διὰ γραμμάτων τοῦ Πα λαιολόγου ἀναδιδαχθεὶς καὶ ὅτι κατὰ τὸν Ἰούνιον μῆνα διαπεράσας (ὡς ὁ λόγος φθάσας