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attaching, he gave the archbishop freedom to come to him, and he followed the sebastokrator. Therefore, having come to Achrida, as we said, the sebastokrator moved the war machines against them, while the archbishop thought to make them yield with words. At any rate, in not much time Achrida was taken by them. And when the sebastokrator had arranged matters there well, he set out for Deabolis, and he wanted to take the city of Deabolis by all kinds of machines. And he arranged these things and set up helepoleis and made all sorts of engines and carried out continuous assaults and chose by all means that the capture of the city should come about. And indeed, matters proceeded for him according to his plan. For with many of those inside the city having been killed, and not a few also having been struck by the shots of arrows, the rest grew soft—for the western race is by nature rather soft in the defense of cities—and they handed over this city of Deabolis to the sebastokrator. And all the country around such cities, that is Prespa, Pelagonia, Soskos, Molyskos, had come under the sway of the Roman forces and were subjected to them. For such are the inhabitants of the west, easily submitting to all rulers; from this they escape destruction and save the greater part of their own possessions. And these things happened at the beginning of spring.

81 But the apostate Michael, since he already saw that matters were not going to turn out well for him, planned to stand against the imperial forces, and he moved, as the proverb goes, every device and every rope. And he gathered all his own kinsmen together in a mass, and he received no small alliance from the king of Sicily, his son-in-law; for these were numbered at four hundred knights, armored with strong weapons and mounted on proud and haughty horses, each of them being among the elite of their own race. And his other son-in-law, the prince of Achaia, having gathered all his army, made an alliance with his father-in-law in person. And he led a force of hoplites infinite in number; for it consisted of the Frankish race and of the Roman inhabitants of Achaia and the Peloponnese, which he ruled; and the majority were of the Laconian race. So a very numerous army was gathered, and they made an assault against the brother of the emperor, the sebastokrator John. But he—for he had good counsel from his brother and emperor—dealt with his opponents strategically. For he himself, with the forces of cataphracts and those using breastplates, held the more fortified places, while he ordered the lighter hoplites and those who, being lighter, move more easily, to fight the battle against the opponents on the plains. These were some from the Scythians and others from the Turks, and many also from the Roman tribes, for whom archery was more of a practice. These then, attacking the enemy, struck them with arrows from afar. Therefore they began from a place, whose name is Borilla Longos, to engage with the enemy. They indeed allowed them neither to march at ease by day nor to rest at night. For they clashed with them by day at the watering-places of the horses, if anyone went further off to water his horse, and they fell upon them on the road, and approaching the wagons and the baggage animals, they plundered from their loads as the guards withdrew. And having done this many times, they came to no small boldness against the enemy, so as to even engage hand to hand and plunder from them whatever came to hand. So the army of the rebel Michael was on account of this restrained and had come to no small terror; for it had almost given up all hope of safety. By force and with difficulty, therefore, Stanon and Soskos and Molyskos

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ἀναρτῶν, ἐλευθερίαν τῷ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ δέδωκεν εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀφικέσθαι, καὶ συνείπετο οὗτος τῷ σεβαστοκράτορι. ἐπελθόντες οὖν εἰς τὴν Ἀχρίδα, ὡς ἔφημεν, ὁ μὲν σεβαστο κράτωρ τὰς πολεμικὰς μηχανὰς κατ' αὐτῶν ἐκίνει, ὁ δὲ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος λόγοις ὑπενδοῦναι ὑπείληφεν. ἐν οὐ πολλῷ γοῦν χρόνῳ ἑάλω πρὸς αὐτῶν ἡ Ἀχρίδα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ ἐκεῖσε καλῶς ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ διέθετο, ἐπὶ τὴν ∆εάβολιν ὥρμησε, καὶ τὸ τῆς ∆εαβόλεως ἄστυ μηχανή μασι παντοίοις παραστήσασθαι ἐβεβούλητο. καὶ ἔταξε ταῦτα καὶ ἑλεπόλεις ἔστησε καὶ μηχανὰς παντοίας πεποίηκε καὶ συνεχεῖς ἐφόδους διεπράττετο καὶ παντοίως τὴν τοῦ ἄστεος ἅλωσιν γεγενῆσθαι προείλετο. καὶ μὴν καὶ κατὰ σκοπὸν αὐτῷ προέβη τὰ πράγματα. πολλῶν γὰρ τῶν ἐντὸς πεφονευ μένων τοῦ ἄστεος, οὐκ ὀλίγων δὲ καὶ ταῖς βολαῖς ταῖς ἐκ τῶν ὀϊστῶν πεπληγμένων, οἱ ἄλλοι μαλακισθέντες-φύσει γὰρ ὑπάρχει τὸ δυτικὸν γένος πρὸς φυλάξεις ἄστεων μαλθα κώτερον-καὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἄστυ τὸ τῆς ∆εαβόλεως τῷ σεβαστοκράτορι ἐνεχείρισαν. καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ πέριξ τῶν τοιούτων ἄστεων χώρα, εἴτουν Πρέσπα Πελαγονία Σωσκὸς Μολυσκός, ὑπὸ τὴν ἐπικράτειαν τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν δυνάμεων ἐγεγόνεισαν καὶ ὑπετάττοντο τούτοις. τοιοῦτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ τῶν δυτικῶν οἰκήτορες, ῥᾳδίως πᾶσι τοῖς δυναστεύουσιν ὑποπίπτοντες· ἐντεῦθεν τοὺς ὀλέθρους ἀποφυγγάνουσι καὶ τὰ πλείω τῶν σφετέρων περιουσιῶν διασώζουσι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὑπῆρξεν ἔαρος ἐνισταμένου.

81 Ὁ δὲ ἀποστάτης Μιχαὴλ ἐπείπερ ἑώρα ἤδη οὐκ εἰς καλὸν ἀποβῆναι μέλλειν τούτῳ τὰ πράγματα, ἀντιστῆ ναι ταῖς βασιλικαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐβεβούλευτο, καὶ πᾶσαν μηχανὴν καὶ πάντα κάλων, τὸ τῆς παροιμίας, κεκίνηκε. καὶ τοὺς μὲν οἰκείους ἁπαξαπλῶς συλλέγδην πάντας συν ήθροισε, συμμαχίαν δὲ οὐ σμικρὰν παρὰ τοῦ ῥηγὸς Σικε λίας τοῦ γαμβροῦ αὐτοῦ προσελάβετο· ἀπηρίθμηντο γὰρ οὗτοι εἰς τετρακοσίους ἱππότας, ὅπλοις ἐχυροῖς κατάφρακτοι καὶ ὑψαύχεσιν ἵπποις καὶ ἀγερώχοις ἐποχούμενοι, ἕκαστος τούτων τῶν ἐκ τοῦ σφετέρου γένους ἐκκρίτων τυγχάνοντες. ἅτερος δὲ τούτου γαμβρὸς ὁ Ἀχαΐας πρίγκιψ τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ στρατιὰν συλλεξάμενος δι' ἑαυτοῦ τὴν πρὸς τὸν αὐτοῦ πενθερὸν συμμαχίαν πεποίηται. ἦγε δὲ οὗτος ἀπει ροπληθὲς τὸ ὁπλιτικόν· ἔκ τε γὰρ τοῦ Φραγγικοῦ γένους ἐτύγχανε καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκητόρων Ῥωμαίων Ἀχαΐας τε καὶ Πελοποννήσου, ὧν οὗτος ἦρχεν· οἱ πλείους δὲ τοῦ τῶν Λακώνων ὑπῆρχον γένους. Συνήθροιστο γοῦν παμπληθὴς στρατιά, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ αὐταδέλφου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος τοῦ σεβαστοκράτορος Ἰωάννου τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐποιοῦντο. ὁ δὲ-καὶ γὰρ εἶχε τὰς συμβουλὰς ἀγαθὰς ἐκ τοῦ αὐταδέλφου καὶ βασιλέως-στρατηγικῶς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους μετήρχετο. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ μετὰ τῶν κατα φράκτων καὶ θώραξι κεχρημένων δυνάμεων τὰ ἐχυρώτερα τῶν τόπων ἐκράτει, τοῖς δὲ ἐλαφροτέροις τῶν ὁπλιτῶν καὶ οἷς τὸ κινεῖσθαι ῥᾷον ὡς κουφοτέροις τὴν κατὰ τὰς πεδιά δας μάχην πεποιῆσθαι πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους προστέταχεν. ἦσαν δὲ οὗτοι οἱ μὲν ἐκ Σκυθῶν οἱ δὲ ἐκ Τούρκων, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν φύλων, οἷς καὶ μᾶλλον ἡ τοξεία τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα. οὗτοι μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἐναντίοις προσβάλλοντες μακρόθεν τοῖς βέλεσιν ἔπληττον. ἤρξαντο μὲν οὖν ἐκ τόπου, οὗ Βορίλλα Λόγγος τοὔνομα, ξυμπίπτειν τοῖς ἐναντίοις. οὔτε γοῦν ἡμέρας ἀνέτως βαδίζειν αὐτοῖς παρεχώρουν οὔτε νυκτὸς ἠρεμεῖν. συνερρήγνυντο γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἡμέρας μὲν ἐν τοῖς τῶν ἵππων πότοις, εἴ πού τις μακρότερον ἀπῄει τὸν ἵππον ποτίσαι, ξυνέπιπτον δὲ τούτοις καὶ καθ' ὁδόν, καὶ ταῖς ἁμάξαις καὶ τοῖς φορταγωγοῖς ὑποζυγίοις προσπελάζοντες ἐκ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς φορτίων ἐσκύλευον ὑποχωρούντων τῶν φυλαττόντων. τοῦτο δὲ πολλάκις πεποιηκότες εἰς θάρσος κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων οὐ μέτριον ἐληλάκασιν, ὥστε καὶ χερσὶ χεῖρας ἐμβάλλειν κἀξ αὐτῶν σκυλεύειν τὰ προστυχόντα. τὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ἀντάρτου Μιχαὴλ κἀκ τούτου συνέσταλται στράτευμα καὶ εἰς πτοίαν οὐ μικρὰν κατηντήκει· σχεδὸν γὰρ πᾶσαν σωτηρίαν ἀπηγορεύκει. Βίᾳ γοῦν καὶ μόγις Στανὸν καὶ Σωσκὸν καὶ Μολυσκὸν