Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

and for the entire region across the way to be scoured by waters coming down all at once from somewhere above, and for trees to be carried down from the land to the sea, on which also snakes, fleeing the floods and clinging to the trees torn up by the roots, were carried along, some of them still alive, and others having perished while still coiled on the branches of the trees, and rustic houses and the works of vigorous men, some were torn from their very foundations and were carried far by the waters, the current not ceasing until they were dashed against the city wall, and others were disappearing under the silt; and vines, the earth having been washed away from under them, stood feebly on their bare stocks, not yielding to the torrents for this reason, that the plants, being bent by the force and offering very little resistance, did not give the current a reason to pause so as to delay and tear them up, but flowed straight on down over them as they bent down; and all the land of Constantine, which received inundations partly from the heavens and partly from other waters, became flooded. And the downpour was so violent and continuous, that not even the sea 270 itself was dark blue in its natural color, but it appeared a thing of varied hue, so that in one place it was seen to be red, where the torrents flowing from mountains with red-ochre sides discharged, and in another white, where chalk abounded, elsewhere black and ashen and yellowish, and everywhere it was murky because of the mixture from the land and the turbulence of the inflow, not bringing the colored water into any stable condition, but overwhelmingly drawing everything together into that one murky state.

29. At this time also John, the ruler of the Lazi, whom my account above showed to be the emperor's son-in-law, ended his life, leaving two sons, one of whom, Alexios, was established in his father's authority, while the mother, Eudocia, took the other, younger son and came to her brother and emperor in the city. John Bekkos, who had held the title of patriarch, also died, in the prison at the fort of Saint Gregory, at the end of the month of Kronios, having been buried unceremoniously somewhere there in his cell. But the emperor had taken pains over this man, since what had been agreed upon by his party and the emperor—to initiate discussions on which they might agree and make peace, with wise and spiritual 271 men judging, and not the common and more irrational sort—had not managed to be accomplished. But having brought Meliteniotes out of there and paired him with Metochites in the city, since it was not possible for them to make peace, as both the emperor's party and those of the church demanded, they shut them up in the great palace, where John Tarchaneiotes was also later shut up. The emperor, having received his sister Eudocia, and having, as was fitting, grieved deeply with her mother over her misfortune, kept them with him for the time being, with the intention of sending them back again to her son, and having secured for him the affairs of his rule as well as possible, since the boy had been entrusted to the emperor by his father.

30. While these terrible things were thus happening, it was reported that on the one hand the Kral of Serbia, and on the other his general Kotanitzes and Tornikios were acting against the borderlands. For these reasons the emperor was greatly occupied and became entirely focused on winning over the barbarian, now by embassies, and now by military expeditions; since at that time indeed he sent the then grand constable Glabas, that man of God, together with a strong army against him. Who, though attacking many times, not only accomplished nothing, but was even defeated, because those men were not invading openly, but for the most part they employed the manner of brigandage, and 272 it was not at all possible for the Roman forces to succeed. For these reasons the general, being stationed in Thessalonica, was both working on his own initiative on what seemed best for resistance, but nevertheless despairing of prevailing with the many men who had set out from home, and at the same time

καὶ χαρα δρωθῆναι μὲν τὸν κατὰ τὴν περαίαν ἅπαντα τόπον ἄνωθέν ποθεν τῶν ὑδάτων ἀθρόων κατερχομένων, δένδρα δὲ καταφέρεσθαι χερσόθεν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, ἐφ' ὧν καὶ ὄφεις τὰς κατακλύσεις φεύγοντες καὶ δένδρεσι συνειλούμενοι ἐκσπασθεῖσιν ἐκ ῥιζῶν συν εφέροντο, οἱ μὲν καὶ ζῶντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἔτι συνεσπειραμένοι τοῖς τῶν δένδρων κλωσὶν ἐναποψύξαντες, οἰκίας δ' ἀγρώτιδας καὶ αἰζηῶν ἀνδρῶν ἔργα, τὰς μὲν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνεσπάσθαι τῶν θεμε λίων καὶ φορητὰς μακρόθεν εἶναι τοῖς ὕδασι, μὴ τῆς φορᾶς λη γούσης πρὶν ἂν ἀπεσκῆφθαι τῷ τείχει τῆς πόλεως, τὰ δ' ἀφανί ζεσθαι ταῖς προσχώσεσιν· ἀμπέλους δὲ ἐπὶ γυμνοῖς τοῖς πυθμέσιν ὑποσυρείσης τῆς γῆς ἀμενηνὰς ἵστασθαι, παρὰ τοσοῦτον οὐ κα θυπεικούσας τοῖς ῥύαξι παρ' ὅσον ταπεινούμενα τῇ φορᾷ τὰ φυ τὰ καὶ ἀντίστασιν ἥκιστ' ἔχοντα τριβὴν οὐκ ἐδίδουν τῷ ῥεύματι, ὥστε χρονίζειν καὶ ἀνασπᾶν, ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἐπιρρέειν ἐπὶ τὸ κά ταντες σφίσιν ὑποκλινομένοις· γῆν δὲ πᾶσαν τῆς Κωνσταντίνου, τὴν μὲν ἐξ ὧν οὐρανόθεν τὴν δ' ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἀλλοτρίων ὑδάτων ἐπιφορὰς ἐδέχετο, ἐπικλύσιμον γίνεσθαι. τὸ δ' ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ῥαγδαῖον καὶ συνεχὲς κατεφέρετο, ὡς μηδὲ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν θάλασ 270 σαν κυανίζειν τῷ φυσικῷ χρώματι, ἀλλὰ ποικίλον τι τὴν χροιὰν χρῆμα φαίνεσθαι, ὡς πῇ μὲν κοκκίνην ὁρᾶσθαι, ὅσον οἱ ἐκ μιλτοπαρείων ὀρέων ῥύακες ἐκβάλλοντες ἔρρευθον, πῇ δὲ λευκὴν τῆς κιμωλίας πλεονασάσης, ἀλλαχοῦ μέλαιναν καὶ τεφρώδη καὶ ὑπόκιρρον, πανταχοῦ δὲ θολερὰν εἶναι διὰ τὴν ἀπὸ γῆς ἐπιμιξίαν καὶ τὴν τῆς εἰσβολῆς κίνησιν, μηδ' εἴς τινα κατάστασιν τὸ κε χρωσμένον ἄγουσαν, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα εἰς ἓν ἐκεῖνο τὸ θολερὸν ἐπικρατῶς συναγούσης.

29. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννης μὲν ὁ τῶν Λαζῶν ἀρχηγός, ὃν καὶ γαμβρὸν βασιλέως ἐν τοῖς ἄνωθι ὁ λόγος ἐδείκνυ, ἐπὶ παισὶ δυσὶ τὸ βιοῦν τελευτᾷ, ὧν τοῦ μὲν ἐν τῇ πατρικῇ κατα στάντος ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ Ἀλεξίου, θάτερον τὸν νεώτερον ἡ μήτηρ Εὐδοκία λαβοῦσα παρὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ βασιλέα κατὰ τὴν πόλιν γίνεται. θνήσκει δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννης ὁ εἰς πατριάρχην χρηματίσας ὁ Βέκκος, ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου φρούριον εἱρκτῇ, μηνὸς Κρονίου λήγοντος, αὐτοῦ που ἐν τῇ κέλλῃ εἰκαίως ταφείς. ἀλλὰ τοῦτον μὲν καὶ διὰ πόνου ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐποιήσατο, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὃ συγκείμενον ἦν τοῖς περὶ ἐκεῖνον καὶ βασιλεῖ, κινηθῆναι λόγους ἐφ' ὧν συνθέσθαι καὶ εἰρηνεύειν, σοφῶν γε καὶ πνευματικῶν 271 κρινάντων καὶ μὴ τῶν τυχόντων καὶ ἀλογιστοτέρων, οὐκ ἔφθασε τελεσθῆναι· τὸν Μελιτηνιώτην δὲ ἐξαγαγόντες ἐκεῖθεν καὶ τῷ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν Μετοχίτῃ συνδυάσαντες, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν σφίσιν εἰ ρηνεύειν, καθὼς ἀπῄτουν οἵ τε περὶ τὸν βασιλέα καὶ οἱ τῆς ἐκ κλησίας, κατὰ τὸ μέγα παλάτιον κατακλείουσιν, ὅπου καὶ ὁ Ταρχανειώτης Ἰωάννης ἐς ὕστερον κατακλείεται. τὴν δέ γε ἀδελφὴν Εὐδοκίαν ὁ κρατῶν ὑποδεξάμενος, καὶ τὰ εἰκότα συνά μα μητρὶ τῇ ταύτης περιαλγήσαντες συμφορᾷ, παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τέως εἶχον ὡς καὶ αὖθις ἀνταποστελοῦντες πρὸς τὸν υἱόν, καὶ αὐτῷ δὴ τὰ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὡς οἷόν τε κατασφαλισάμενοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὁ παῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπετέτραπτο.

30. Ἐν τούτῳ τοιγαροῦν ὄντων δεινῶν μὲν ἔνθεν ὁ κρά λης Σερβίας ἔνθεν δὲ ὁ ἐκείνου ὑποστράτηγος Κοτανίτζης καὶ ὁ Τορνίκιος ἠγγέλλοντο τὰ πρόσχωρα δρᾶν. διὰ ταῦτα καὶ ὁ βα σιλεὺς πολὺς ἦν καὶ ἅπας ἐγίγνετο τὸν βάρβαρον ὑπερχόμενος νῦν μὲν πρεσβείαις νῦν δὲ καὶ πολεμικαῖς ἐπεξελεύσεσιν, ἐπεί τοι καὶ τότε τὸν τηνικάδε μέγαν κονοσταῦλον Γλαβᾶν, τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον ἐκεῖνον, συνάμα στιβαρῷ στρατεύματι ἐπ' ἐκεῖνον ἐξέπεμπεν, ὃς δὴ πολλάκις προσβάλλων οὐχ ὅπως ἤνυεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσηττᾶτο, ὅτι μηδ' ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς εἰσβάλλοντες ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλὰ λῃστείας τρόπον ὡς τὰ πολλὰ μετεχείριζον, καὶ 272 οὐκ ἦν ὅλως ταῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων δυνάμεσιν εὐοδεῖν. διά τοι ταῦτα καὶ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ ὁ στρατηγὸς καθήμενος εἰργάζετο μὲν καὶ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τὰ δοκοῦντα πρὸς ἀνταγώνισιν, ὅμως δ' ἐκ πολ λῶν ἀπογινώσκων ἀνδρῶν οἴκοθεν ὡρμημένων περιέσεσθαι, ἅμα τε