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being about ten or nine years old; his name was Antigonus. It occurs to me to marvel how one laying claim to cleverness and wisdom, as they say, plundering everything for himself as if it were spoils and bringing it over, would not entrust such a command to another in a time that was terrible and difficult. Nevertheless, he gave the mask of this for the time being to his brother. But when he heard the imperial letters arming him against the enemy and exhorting him to act bravely, he was changed, and deliberating on how matters might turn out well, he tarried at the Holy Mountain near Ephesus, whether excusing himself or praying for aid from above. While he was staying there for the time being, a certain rumor, like a messenger running before, announced that that John, a monk both famous, tall in stature, always barefooted and living near Latros, was approaching. That age had marveled at this man for living in tranquility and never leaving his own cell. So when the patrikios heard about the man, that he was somewhere nearby riding a little donkey, he ran to meet the monk and took hold of his feet. But he without any delay said, "Go against the Saracens, obeying the imperial letters, go; for you will have God delivering you and going before you, if only you bear clearly inscribed on everyone's shields, instead of any other amulet, the 181 name of John beloved by Him." And at the same time he added that "for no other reason than this have I made my journey here." Armed by his prayers, at a certain place thus called Posonta, which has a certain natural security on account of its rocks and cliffs, he comes upon Amer with his whole army. A river also flows past it, driven from the north to the south, named Lalakaon, and a meadow lies beside it called Gyrin in the rustic tongue. Petronas therefore learned that he was encamped there, and hastened by every means to make him cut off and inescapable. And so he immediately sent the generals of the Armeniacs and Bucellarians and Colonea and Paphlagonia to hold the northern part, and for the southern part the generals of the Anatolics, the Opsikion, and Cappadocia along with the kleisourarchs of Seleucia and Charsianon; while he himself, with the four imperial tagmata and the generals of Thrace and Macedonia (for when the Bulgars were at peace it was customary for them to share the dangers and campaign with the Anatolics) occupied the western part, having also the theme of the Thrakesians with him. So when Amer heard that he was thus guarded on all sides and shut in like a wild beast by the Romans, he decided it was necessary to take an omen, and summoning one of the prisoners he asked the name of the place, and of the meadow, and of the river. And when the questioned prisoner, slightly altering the spelling, 182 said Ptosonta instead of Posonta, Amer declared that it signified his own fall (ptōsin), and paraphrased the river as the harm (kakōsin) of his people, and that they would be terribly routed (gyristhēnai) by the Romans from the coincidence of the meadow, which was called Gyrin. "But nevertheless," he said, "we must not shrink, but must rouse ourselves and be brave for the battle that will take place tomorrow." And at the same time he ordered all to arm themselves and to show their newly-wiped swords as if they were new-forged. But when the day, just dawning, brought a suspension of how to overcome the Romans, he judged it necessary to seek an exit for himself toward the north where they were guarding, but when both the badness of the place and the valor of the generals stationed there met and hindered him, he was forced to rush toward the south. And when he found the same battle-line of the enemy there too, he decided it was necessary, being drawn by the place (for it was smooth and accessible), to advance against that one more than the others, where he also saw Petronas encamped and

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περὶ δέκα η ἐννέα ετη που ων· ονομα τούτῳ ̓Αντίγονος. ο καὶ θαυμάζειν μοι επεισιν, οπως ἀγχινοίας τε καὶ σοφίας, ὡς φασίν, ἀντιποιούμενος, ἑαυτῷ πάντα οιον λαφύσσων καὶ προσα- γόμενος, οὐχ ἑτέρῳ τὴν τοιαύτην ἐνεχείρει ἀρχὴν ἐν καιρῷ δεινῷ τε καὶ δυσχερεῖ. πλὴν ἐδίδου τὸ ταύτης προσωπεῖον τέως τῷ ἀδελφῷ. ὁ δ' ὡς τῶν βασιλικῶν ηκουσε γραμμάτων πρὸς τὸν ἐχθρὸν αὐτὸν καθοπλιζόντων καὶ ἀνδραγαθεῖν παρακελευομένων, ἀλλοιωθείς τε καὶ περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν οπως εξουσι καλῶς βουλευόμενος ἐν τῷ κατὰ τὴν Εφεσον ̔Αγίῳ ορει προσήδρευεν, ειτ' ἀπολεγόμενος ειτε καὶ τῆς ανωθεν ἐπικουρίας δεόμενος. ἐκεῖσε γοῦν αὐτοῦ τὸ τέως ἐνδιαιτωμένου, φήμη τις αγγελος προτρέχουσα ̓Ιωάννην ἐκεῖνον μοναχόν τε καὶ περιβόητον, μακρὸν οντα τὸ ειδος, ἀνυπόδετον τοὺς πόδας ἀεὶ καὶ κατὰ τὸ Λάτρος ἐνδιατρίβοντα, αὐτομολοῦντα διήγγειλεν. τοῦτον ἡσυχάζοντα καὶ τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ κελ- λίου μήποτε ἐξερχόμενον ὁ χρόνος ἐκεῖνος ἐθαύμαζεν. ὡς δ' ουν περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὁ πατρίκιος διακήκοεν ὡς οτι που πλησίον ἐστὶν ὀνάριον ἐποχούμενος, ἀπήντα θέων τὸν μοναχὸν καὶ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ κατελάμβανεν. ὁ δὲ μηδὲν μελλήσας "απιθί" φησι "κατὰ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν τοῖς βασιλικοῖς πειθόμενος γράμμασιν, απιθι· θεὸν γὰρ εξεις ῥυόμενόν σε καὶ προπορευόμενον, εἰ μόνον τὸν 181 αὐτῷ ἠγαπημένον ̓Ιωάννην ἀντ' αλλου τινὸς φυλακτηρίου ταῖς ἀσπίσι πάντων ἐγγεγραμμένον φέροις τρανῶς." καὶ αμα προσε- τίθει ὡς οὐκ αλλου τινὸς ενεκεν η τούτου τὴν ἐνταῦθα πορείαν πεποίημαι. τούτου ταῖς εὐχαῖς καθοπλισθεὶς κατά τινα τόπον ουτω λεγόμενον Πόσοντα, φυσικήν τινα ἀσφάλειαν διὰ πετρῶν εχοντα καὶ κρημνῶν, τὸν Αμερ καταλαμβάνει πανστρατιᾷ. τούτῳ καὶ ποταμὸς παραρρεῖ ἀπὸ τὸ ἀρκτῷον πρὸς τὸ μεσημβρινὸν ἐλαυ- νόμενος, Λαλακάων ὀνομαζόμενος, καὶ λιβάδιον παράκειται Γῦριν ἀγροικικῇ φωνῇ καλούμενον. εγνω γοῦν ὁ Πετρωνᾶς ἐκεῖσε τοῦ- τον ἐναυλιζόμενον, καὶ πάντῃ εσπευδεν ἀδιεξόδευτόν τε καταστῆ- σαι καὶ αφυκτον. καὶ δὴ τοὺς μὲν τὸ ἀρκτῷον μέρος καθέξοντας στρατηγοὺς τῶν ̓Αρμενιακῶν καὶ Βουκελλαρίων καὶ Κολωνείας καὶ Παφλαγονίας ἐπέστελλεν αὐθωρόν, τὸ δὲ μεσημβρινὸν τὸν ̓Ανατολικῶν τὸν ̓Οψικίου καὶ Καππαδοκίας στρατηγοὺς σὺν τοῖς Σελευκείας καὶ τοῦ Χαρσιανοῦ κλεισουράρχαις· αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῶν βασιλικῶν τεσσάρων ταγμάτων καὶ τῶν Θρᾴκης καὶ Μακε- δονίας στρατηγῶν (καὶ γὰρ εἰρηνευόντων τῶν Βουλγάρων νόμος ην αὐτοῖς μετὰ τῶν ̓Ανατολικῶν συγκινδυνεύειν καὶ συστρατεύειν) τὸ δυτικὸν μέρος κατείληφεν, εχων καὶ τὸ θέμα τῶν Θρᾳκησίων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ. ὡς γοῦν ουτω πάντοθεν περιφρουρεῖσθαι καὶ ὡς θηρίον ἐναποκεκλεῖσθαι παρὰ ̔Ρωμαίων ὁ Αμερ ἀκήκοεν, εγνω δεῖν οἰωνίσασθαι, καί τινα τῶν αἰχμαλώτων μετακαλεσάμενος ἠρώτα τήν τε τοῦ τόπου προσηγορίαν καὶ τοῦ λιβαδίου τε καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ. ὡς δ' ὁ ἐρωτηθεὶς αἰχμάλωτος μικρὸν παραγραμμα- 182 τίζων Πτώσοντα εφησεν ἀντὶ Πόσοντα, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σημαίνειν πτῶσιν ὁ Αμερ διεσάφησεν, λαοῦ τε κάκωσιν παραφράζων τὸν ποταμόν, καὶ γυρισθῆναι δεινῶς αὐτοὺς παρὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐκ τῆς τοῦ λιβαδίου συνεμπτώσεως, οπερ ἐκαλεῖτο Γῦριν. "ἀλλ' ομως οὐκ ἀποκνητέον" φησίν, "ἀλλὰ διεγερτέον καὶ πρὸς τὸν αυ- ριον γενησόμενον πόλεμον ἀνδριστέον." καὶ αμα ὁπλίζεσθαι πάν- τας καὶ νεόσμηκτα δεικνύειν ὡς νεουργὰ τὰ ξίφη ἐκέλευσεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡμέρα αρτι ἐξανατέλλουσα τὴν οπως περιγένηται τοὺς ̔Ρω- μαίους ἀνοχὴν ἐπέφερεν, δεῖν εκρινε πρὸς μὲν τὸ ἀρκτῷον φυλάτ- τοντας τὴν εξοδον αὐτῷ ἐκζητεῖν, ὡς δ' η τε τοῦ τόπου κακία καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖσε ταχθέντων στρατηγῶν εὐανδρία ἀπήντα τοῦτον καὶ διεκώλυεν, ἐπὶ τὸ μεσημβρινὸν ὁρμᾶσθαι ἐξεβιάζετο. ὡς δὲ κἀκεῖθεν τὴν ὁμοίαν ευρισκεν τῶν ἐναντίων παράταξιν, εγνω δεῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ τόπου ἐφελκόμενος (καὶ γὰρ ην λεῖος καὶ εὐπρόσιτος) τῶν λοιπῶν κατ' ἐκεῖνον μᾶλλον χωρεῖν, ῃ καὶ τὸν Πετρωνᾶν ἑώρα κατασκηνούμενον καὶ