Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

it bends its two legs, and drags down the rider with the greatest possible force to its knee, and the one who has fallen immediately becomes the work of the sword. These things puffed up Halys Amourios with pride, and from there, gathering very many men, he wrought evil upon the affairs of the Romans. but not yet indeed completely, until a certain divine wrath (for what else could one say?) breathed out against the Romans, which will now be told. For as he was spending time beyond the Sangarios he was strongly beaten back by the forts along it, which the emperor Michael had previously settled and fortified in between with very long crosses made from trees hewn with an axe, making the interior width of up to one hundred feet impassable, as we said in the first books, and from this there was a firm obstacle to the Persian's raid, in the month of Kronios suddenly the river changes its channel and seeks its old bed, over which is also the Justinianic bridge. But after the river had changed its channel, 331 it received the Melas from that point, which was not so great, but for a time this too was sufficient with its adequate depth to prevent the attack of the enemy. At that time, then, the Sangarios, flooding from the rains, again moves from its own bed, which it had taken long ago when it was diverted, and it ran back towards its former one, and where it departed, it allowed even the chance person to cross, but where it took over in its flooding, the flood did not add depth to the stream, but by also carrying down soil from red-ochre mountains and adding considerable gravel it even made a passage for anyone wishing to cross. And so those who had settled in the forts on the far side, seeing the strange change and realizing they were in imminent danger, moved away. But again this state was not for long for the river, but after silting up for only a month it returned. And the departure from its old course was the manifest cause both of the flight of those in the forts and of the enemy's crossing, by allowing those who wished to cross without hindrance; and its sudden return once more made things easy for those crossing in the meantime, by allowing them to cross through the silted-up area. These things happened unexpectedly, and it was reported to the emperor that the interior 332 was full of enemies, even if Halys Amourios, feigning peace up to this point, remained quiet for the time being. But the things later gallantly performed against Atman, who was raiding around Nicaea, puffed this man up too, seeming to perform a sufficient kindness for the emperor, if he were to keep the peace while others were not invading; but if not, then he too might seize the things being carried off by the many. Atman, then, departing from the regions around Nicaea (for the mistake that had previously happened to Mouzalon had puffed this man up even more), having passed through the mountain passes was ready to raid the Halizones. But before he could invade, a crowd of enemies gathered together, numbering only a hundred, falling unexpectedly on Mouzalon's men who were sleeping somewhere around Telemaia, they naturally threw them into the greatest confusion, and taking much, and prodding them with the butt-spikes of their spears, they returned. But when the Romans rallied and pursued the attackers, those men, having already occupied the mountainous regions and having safety from there, stood and shot with arrows and, surrounding them, shot with their bows, and they so overcame their pursuers as to even seize their commander. And they would have carried him off, if not one of the Roman phalanx, bearing a noble spirit, had fallen upon them stoutly and overcome those who were leading him away, and rescued him, though his horse alone was wounded. This having happened and 333 been heard, spurred on Atman even more, and the barbarian grew arrogant. For the army around him was so increased in number, that he also had other Persians who had arrived from around the Maeander as allies and sufficient accomplices for the raid. And this was what had puffed up Amourios and persuaded him to break the treaty, being vexed for the time being with jealousy that others, invading from afar, might profit from those things from which he himself had abstained as a favor to the emperor. But the things done by him were of little account, even if he himself did not cease from acting; But then Atman appeared, and leading his own men,

συγκάμπτει τὼ πόδε, καὶ τὸν ἐπιβάτην μεθ' ὅτι πλείστης τῆς ῥύμης ἐπὶ γόνυ συγκατασπᾷ, καὶ ἔργον αὐτίκα σπάθης ὁ πεσὼν γίνεται. ταῦτα τὸν Ἁλῆν ἐπῇρεν εἰς ὄγκον Ἀμούριον, κἀντεῦθεν συνάγων πλείστους κακῶς ἔδρα τὰ Ῥωμαίων. οὔπω δὲ μάλα δὴ καὶ ἐς τέλος, ἕως οὗ δαι μόνιόν τι μήνιμα (τί γὰρ ἂν ἄλλο καὶ εἴποι τις;) κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐφύσησεν, ὃ δὴ καὶ λέξεται. ὡς γὰρ πέραν Σαγγάρεως διατρί βων τοῖς ἀνὰ τοῦτον φρουρίοις ἰσχυρῶς ἀντεκρούετο, ἃ φθάσας ὁ βασιλεὺς συνῴκισε Μιχαὴλ καὶ σταυροῖς μηκίστοις ἐκ δένδρων ἀξινοκοπηθέντων μεταξὺ κατωχύρωσε, μέχρι καὶ ἐς ἑκατὸν πόδας τὸ ἐντὸς πλάτος ἄβατον καταστήσας, ὡς ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις λόγοις ἐλέγομεν, καὶ ἦν τῷ Πέρσῃ στερρὸν ἐντεῦθεν τὸ τῆς καταδρομῆς κώλυμα, Κρονίου μηνὸς ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ὁ ποταμὸς μετοχε τεύεται καὶ ζητεῖ τὴν παλαιὰν κοίτην, καθ' ἣν καὶ ἡ Ἰουστινιά νειος ποντογέφυρα. ὕστερον δὲ μετοχετευθέντος τοῦ ποταμοῦ, 331 τὸν ἐξ ἐκείνου Μέλανα ὑπεδέχετο, οὐ τόσον ὄντα, ἀλλ' ἱκανὸν τέως καὶ τοῦτον ἐκ βάθους αὐτάρκους τὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀποκω λύειν ἔφοδον. τότε τοίνυν ἐξ ὄμβρων ὁ Σαγγάριος πλημμυρήσας τῆς ἰδίας μεταίρει καὶ αὖθις κοίτης, ἧς ἐκ παλαιοῦ ποτ' ἐκκοιτι σθεὶς ἐπελάβετο, καὶ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἀνέτρεχε, καὶ οὗ μὲν ἀπέστη, περαιοῦσθαι καὶ τῷ τυχόντι παρεῖχεν, οὗ δ' ἐπελάβετο πλημμυρῶν, μὴ ὅ γ' ἐκ τῆς πλημμύρας βάθος ἐδίδου τῷ ῥεύ ματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ χοῦν ἐκ μιλτοπαρῄων ὀρέων κατάγων καὶ χέρα δος ἱκανὸν προσέχων καὶ πόρον ἐτίθει τῷ περᾶν θέλοντι. τῷ τοι καὶ οἱ ἐν τοῖς πέραν φρουρίοις συνῳκηκότες, τὴν ξένην ἰδόντες μετάστασιν καὶ γνόντες ἐν χρῷ κινδύνου γενόμενοι, ἀπανίσταντο. οὐ μὴν δ' αὖθις ἐπὶ πολὺ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦτο τῷ ποταμῷ ἦν, ἀλλ' ἐς μῆνα προσχώσας μόνον ὑπέστρεφε. καὶ ἦν ἡ ἐκ τοῦ παλαιοῦ ἀποχώρησις καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς φρουρίοις φυγῆς καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐχθρῶν διαπεραιώσεως προφανὴς αἰτία, τῷ περᾶν ἀνέδην τοὺς βουλο μένους· ἡ δ' ἐξ ὑπογύου ἐσαῦθις ἀνυποστροφὴ τοῖς κἀν τούτῳ περῶσιν εὐθέτησε, τῷ περᾶν διὰ τῆς προσχώσεως. ταῦτα γε γόνει ἐκ παραδόξου, καὶ βασιλεῖ ἠγγέλλετο ὅτι πλῆρες ἐχθρῶν 332 τὸ μεσόγαιον, εἰ καὶ Ἁλῆς Ἀμούριος εἰρήνην καὶ ἐς τόδε σχηματιζόμενος ἐφησύχαζε τέως. ἀλλὰ τὰ τῷ Ἀτμὰν τὰ περὶ τὴν Νί καιαν κατατρέχοντι ἐσύστερον ἀριστουργηθέντα καὶ τοῦτον ἐπῇ ρεν, ἱκανὴν φιλοφροσύνην δόξαντα καταπράττειν τῷ βασιλεῖ, εἴπερ εἰρηνεύοι μὴ εἰσβαλλόντων ἄλλων· εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἁρπάζοι τὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀπαγόμενα. Ἀτμὰν τοίνυν τῶν ἀμφὶ τὴν Νίκαιαν τόπων ἀπάρας (τὸ γὰρ συμβὰν πρότερον τῷ Μουζάλωνι σφάλμα καὶ πλέον ὤγκωσε τοῦτον), τοὺς ὀρεινοὺς διελθὼν σίφωνας ἕτοιμος ἦν καταθέειν Ἁλιζώνων. ἀλλὰ πρὶν αὐτὸν εἰσβαλεῖν, πλῆθος ἐχθρῶν συναχθέν, εἰς ἑκατὸν ποσωθὲν καὶ μόνους, περί που τὴν Τελεμαίαν καταδαρθεῖσι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Μουζάλωνα ἐπιστὰν ἐξ ἀπροόπτου, ἐκείνοις μὲν ὡς εἰκὸς ταρα χὴν ἐμβάλλουσι τὴν μεγίστην, πολλὰ δὲ λαβόντες, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐν σαυρωτῆρσιν ὑσσούς, ὑποστρέφουσιν. ὡς δὲ συστάντες Ῥω μαῖοι τοὺς ἐπιόντας ἐδίωκον, ἐκεῖνοι τὰ ὀρεινὰ προκαταλαβόντες καὶ τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ἐντεῦθεν ἔχοντες, στάντες ἔβαλλον ὀϊστοῖς καὶ κυκλώσαντες ἐτοξάζοντο, καὶ τῶν διωκόντων τοσοῦτον περιγεγό νεισαν ὥστε καὶ αὐτὸν κατασχεῖν τὸν σφῶν ἐξηγούμενον· κἂν ἀπήγαγον, ἢν μή τις τῶν τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς φάλαγγος λῆμα γενναῖον φέρων, στερρῶς ἐμπεσὼν καὶ περιγεγονὼς τῶν ἀγόντων, τοῦ ἵππου μόνου τρωθέντος ἐκεῖνον ἐξείλετο. τοῦτο γεγονός τε καὶ 333 ἀκουσθὲν ἐπὶ πλέον παρώτρυνε τὸν Ἀτμάν, καὶ ὑπερηφάνει ὁ βάρβαρος· ἐς τόσον γὰρ τὸ περὶ αὐτὸν στράτευμα ἐπληθύνετο, ὥστε καὶ Πέρσας ἄλλους ἐκ τῶν περὶ Μαίανδρον παραγεγονότας συμμάχους ἔχειν καὶ πρὸς τὴν καταδρομὴν συλλήπτορας ἱκανούς. τοῦτο δ' ἦν καὶ τὸ τὸν Ἀμούριον ἐπῃρκὸς καὶ πεῖσαν παρασπον δεῖν, ζητολυποῦντα τέως εἰ ὧν αὐτὸς κατὰ τὴν πρὸς βασιλέα χά ριν ἀπέσχετο, ταῦτα μακρόθεν ἐσβάλλοντες ἄλλοι παρακερδαί νοιεν. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τούτῳ πεπραγμένα μικρὸν ἦσαν, κἂν αὐτὸς οὐκ ἀφίστατο πράττων· τότε δ' Ἀτμὰν ἐπιστάς, καὶ ἄγων μὲν τοὺς ἰδίους,