65

of the Cephalonians. But when his bastard son John went to him as has been related, he was roused from his lethargy, and shaking off his hesitation, he marched towards Arta. And having arrived there, since he found all the inhabitants devoted to him, and he also held the city of Bouditza, controlled by this party, having gathered those found there, he drove our men from the borders of Arta. But he also made those besieging Ioannina go far from Ioannina. Thus, therefore, the affairs of the Romans took a turn for the worse, and the things well accomplished by the imperial counsels, through the disobedience and disorder of the generals, came to almost nothing or very little indeed. Therefore, the emperor's own brother, the sebastokrator John, and his father-in-law Constantine Tornikes, departing from the battle, rejoined the emperor who was around Lampsacus and spending his time there. The emperor honored the sebastokrator John with the dignity of despotes, giving this to him as a kind of reward for the victory, and so that he might be a match for the persons fighting against him, a despotes fighting against despotes; and his father-in-law Constantine Tornikes, being megas primmikerios, he honored with the dignity of sebastokrator. But he also named his own brother Constantine sebastokrator from caesar. And in these things the sebastokrators differed, in that the emperor's own brother had gold-woven eagles fastened on his blue sandals, while Tornikes wore his sandals bare of these. But also Alexios Strategopoulos, the megas domestikos, the emperor honored by dispatch, honoring him as caesar, bestowing the honor upon him by messenger. And these things thus came to pass.

83 And the emperor, having wintered in Lampsacus, when spring shone forth, moved against the city of Constantine; for all his haste and all his aim was to rescue it from the hand of the Latins. He advanced therefore against Constantinople, not confident in his troops—for he did not lead an army fit for battle for the siege of such a city—but deceived by the words of his cousin, whose name was Asel; for he was deceiving the emperor, that he himself had his house on the wall of the city and had gates controlled by him, through which he would be able to bring the emperor’s forces inside the city without a sound and without a fight. And he was believed when saying these things; for both his kinship gave the impression that the man was telling the truth, and having received sworn promises of more honors and gifts *** of the Franks in the battle of the Prince of Achaia and having expected the worst had been especially fortunate with many good things; when he also gave such promises to the emperor and received counter-promises from him. Therefore, as we said, trusting in these things, the emperor advanced against the city of Constantine, and he encamped opposite the northern horn of the city in a place called Galata, and to all appearances he fought against the fortress of Galata, but in truth he was secretly sending to Asel, so that he might fulfill his promises. But he was looking to his own gain, not to the truth; so he made false replies, making one excuse after another. When therefore sufficient time had passed and he accomplished nothing, but also when the army had armed itself and departed by night and approached his house—for he had indicated that this should happen—then he was clearly detected in lying. And since he had no reasonable defense to make, he placed the blame on the ruler of the city; "for this man," he said, "suspected that it is not good for me to hold the keys of the city gates, and for this reason he himself has taken them, and for this reason I am unable to do the deed." When therefore the emperor clearly recognized the man's deceit, he went out of the

65

Κεφαλήνων. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ ὁ τούτου νόθος υἱὸς Ἰωάννης πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπῄει καθὰ δεδήλωται, ἀνερ ρώσθη τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας, καὶ τὸν ὄκνον ἀποσεισάμενος περὶ τὴν Ἄρταν ἐβάδιζε. κἀκεῖσε δὴ ἀφιγμένος, ἐπεὶ τοὺς πάν τας οἰκήτορας προσκειμένους εὗρεν αὐτῷ, εἶχε δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς Βουδίτζης ἄστυ παρὰ τοῦ μέρους τούτου κρατούμενον, συναγαγὼν τοὺς ἐκεῖσε εὑρισκομένους τοὺς ἡμετέρους τῶν ὁρίων τῆς Ἄρτης ἐξήλασεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς πολιορκοῦντας τὰ Ἰωάννινα μακρὰν τῶν Ἰωαννίνων πεποίηκεν. οὕτω μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴν κακῶν τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων εἴληφε πράγματα, καὶ τὰ καλῶς ταῖς βασιλικαῖς συμβουλίαις γεγενημένα ταῖς τῶν στρατηγούντων ἀνηκοΐαις καὶ ἀταξίαις εἰς τὸ μηδὲν σχεδὸν ἢ καὶ πάνυ μικρὸν κατηντήκασιν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν αὐτάδελφος τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ Ἰωάννης καὶ ὁ πενθερὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ Τορνίκης Κωνσταντῖνος τῆς μάχης ἐξιόντες εἰς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ἐπανέζευξαν περὶ τὴν Λάμψακον ὄντα καὶ τὰς διατριβὰς ἐκεῖσε ποιούμενον. τὸν μὲν οὖν σεβαστοκράτορα Ἰωάννην ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ τῶν δεσποτῶν τετίμηκεν ἀξιώματι, ἀντίχαριν οἷον τῆς νίκης τούτῳ διδούς, καὶ ἵνα τοῖς μαχομένοις τούτῳ προσώποις ἀντισταθμίζοιτο, δεσπότης πρὸς δεσπότας μαχόμενος· τὸν δὲ πενθερὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν Τορνίκην Κωνσταντῖνον μέγαν πριμ μικήριον ὄντα τῷ τῶν σεβαστοκρατόρων τετίμηκεν ἀξιώματι. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν αὐτάδελφον αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντῖνον ἐκ καισάρων σεβαστοκράτορα κατωνόμακεν. ἐν τούτοις δὲ τὰ τῶν σεβαστοκρατόρων διέφερον, ἐν οἷς ὁ μὲν αὐτάδελφος τοῦ βασιλέως τοῖς κυανοῖς πεδίλοις ἐγκεκολλαμένους εἶχε καὶ χρυσουφεῖς ἀετούς, ὁ δὲ Τορνίκης γυμνὰ τούτων τὰ πέδιλα ὑπεδέδετο. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Στρατηγόπουλον Ἀλέξιον μέγαν δομέστικον ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ τετιμηκὼς δι' ἀποστολῆς τετίμηκε καίσαρα, διαπόμπιμον αὐτῷ τὴν τιμὴν χαρισάμενος. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὕτω ξυνέβη.

83 Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς παραχειμάσας ἐν τῇ Λαμψάκῳ, ἔαρος ἐπιλάμψαντος κατὰ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου κεχώρηκεν· ἅπασα γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ σπουδὴ καὶ ἅπας σκοπὸς τῆς τῶν Λατίνων χειρὸς αὐτὴν ἀναρρύσασθαι. ἐπῆλθε γοῦν κατὰ τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, οὐ τεθαρρηκὼς τοῖς στρατεύμασιν -οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦγεν ἀξιόμαχον στρατιὰν εἰς τοιαύτης πόλεως πολιόρκησιν-ἀλλὰ λόγοις τοῖς τοῦ ἐξαδέλφου αὐτοῦ, οὗ τὸ ὄνομα Ἀσέλ, ἐξηπατημένος· ἠπάτα καὶ γὰρ τὸν βασιλέα, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ τείχει τῆς πόλεως τὴν οἰκίαν ἔχει καὶ πύ λας ἔχει παρ' αὐτοῦ δεσποζομένας, δι' ὧν δύναιτ' ἂν τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατεύματα ἔνδον τῆς πόλεως ἀψοφητὶ καὶ δίχα μάχης εἰσαγαγεῖν. καὶ ἐπιστεύετο λέγων ταῦτα· τό τε γὰρ συγγενὲς φαντασίαν ἐδίδου τοῦ ἀληθεύειν τὸν ἄνθρω πον, καὶ τὸ πλειόνων τε τιμῶν καὶ δωρημάτων ὑποσχέσεις ἐνωμότους λαβόντα *** Φράγγων ἐν τῇ τοῦ πρίγκιπος Ἀχαΐας μάχῃ καὶ προσδοκήσας δεινὰ μάλιστα ηὐμοιρήκει πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν· ὅτε καὶ τὰς τοιαύτας ὑποσχέσεις τῷ βασιλεῖ δέδωκε καὶ τὰς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀντεδέξατο. τούτοις μὲν οὖν, ὡς ἔφημεν, ἐλπίσας ὁ βασιλεὺς κατὰ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου ἐπῄει, καὶ ἀντιπέραν τοῦ βορείου κέρως τῆς πόλεως ἐν τόπῳ τοῦ Γαλατᾶ κατονομαζομένῳ ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο, καὶ τὸ μὲν δοκεῖν τὸ τοῦ Γαλατᾶ ἐμάχετο φρούριον, τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ κρύφα πρὸς τὸν Ἀσὲλ ἔπεμπεν, ὅπως τὰς ὑποσχέσεις πλη ρώσειεν. ὁ δὲ πρὸς κέρδος ἑώρα, οὐ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν· ψευ δεῖς γοῦν ἐποιεῖτο τὰς ἀποκρίσεις, ἄλλα ἐπ' ἄλλοις προφα σιζόμενος. ἐπεὶ γοῦν ἱκανὸς παρερρύη χρόνος καὶ οὐδὲν ἤνυεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς ὁπλισθείσης καὶ νυκτὸς ἀπιούσης καὶ τῇ οἰκίᾳ τούτου προσεγγισάσης-τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκεῖνος γενέσθαι διεμηνύσατο-τότε ψεύδεσθαι πεφώρα ται φανερῶς. καὶ ἐπεὶ οὐκ εἶχέ τινα εὔλογον ἀπολογίαν ποιήσασθαι, τὴν αἰτίαν εἰς τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς πόλεως ἔθετο· «ὑπετόπασε» γὰρ εἴρηκεν «οὗτος ὡς οὐ καλόν ἐστι τὰς κλεῖς με τῶν τῆς πόλεως κατέχειν πυλῶν, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα εἴληφε ταύτας αὐτός, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἔγωγε περὶ τὸ ἔργον ἀδυνατῶ.» ἐπεὶ γοῦν καθαρῶς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀπάτην ἐπεγνώκει ὁ βασιλεύς, ἐξῄει τοῦ