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restoring this city as a dwelling-place, so to speak, for sultans. Having thus arranged affairs in Nicaea, he removes Pouchases from his command, and entrusting the leadership of the satraps in Nicaea to the chief satrap Mougoumet, and leaving him there, he went out against Melitene.

6.13.1 Such were the affairs concerning the sultans; but the chief satrap Elchanes, with those under him, having seized Apollonias and Cyzicus (both of these are coastal cities), was plundering everything along the sea. Learning this, the emperor, from whatever skiffs were at hand (for a fleet had not yet been prepared), having made sufficient preparations and having embarked helepoleis on them with brave soldiers, sent out Alexander Euphorbenos, a man of noble birth and renowned for courage, entrusting to him the command of these against Elchanes. And having reached Apollonias, he immediately began to besiege it. And within six days, not ceasing from the assault on the walls at all even at night, he took the outer circuit of the fortress, which custom is now wont to call the exopolon. But Elchanes stoutly held on to the acropolis, expecting forces from outside. 6.13.2 And indeed when Alexander saw a formidable barbarian army arriving to aid Elchanes, and that those under him did not amount to even a fraction of the arriving force, he thought it better, even if he could not win, at least to preserve his own men unharmed. Seeing that his affairs were in dire straits and that no means of safety was left, he turned towards the sea, and entering by way of the river, he was sailing toward it in his own ships. But Elchanes, guessing Alexander's purpose, pre-emptively seized the mouth of the lake and the bridge over the river, on which a shrine had long ago been built by Saint Helen in the name of the great Constantine, from which the bridge has acquired its name even to this day. Therefore, having stationed his most warlike men at the aforementioned mouth and at the bridge itself, he ordered them on both sides to ambush the passage of the ships. And when they all, having entered the aforementioned marshlands, fell into the traps of Elchanes through the mouth of the lake, seeing the terrible situation that had befallen them and having nothing they could do, they moored their ships to the land and, leaping from there, came out onto the mainland. And when the Turks caught up with them, a great battle broke out. And many of the elite soldiers were captured, and many, falling into the eddies of the river, were swept away. 6.13.3 Learning these things and not bearing the defeat, the emperor sent a formidable force against them over land with Opos. He, reaching Cyzicus, took it by storm; and selecting from his own battalions about three hundred men, wall-stormers and daredevils, he dispatched them against Poimanenon. They took this by assault and killed some of those inside, and sent others as captives to Opos. He quickly sent these to the emperor; and he himself, departing from there, reached Apollonias and, besieging it, did not let up. 6.13.4 But Elchanes, not having a sufficient force to oppose him at present, voluntarily surrenders the city, and he himself with his blood relatives deserts to the emperor and enjoys countless gifts, and also receives the greatest, I mean holy baptism. But all who were unwilling to follow Opos, both Scaliarius and the one who was later honored as hyperperilampros ... (and these too were chief satraps of the notables), having learned of the kindnesses and lavish gifts to Elchanes from the

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ἀποκαταστήσας τὴν πόλιν ταύτην σουλτάνων, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, κατοικητήριον. Οὕτω δὲ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Νίκαιαν οἰκονομήσας τὸν μὲν Πουλχάσην τῆς ἀρχῆς μεθίστησι, τῷ δὲ ἀρχισατράπῃ Μουχοῦμετ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ ὄντων σατραπῶν ἀναθέμενος καὶ αὐτοῦ που καταλιπὼν κατὰ τῆς Μελιτηνῆς ἔξεισιν.

6.13.1 Ἀλλὰ τοιαῦτα μὲν τὰ περὶ τῶν σουλτάνων· ὁ δὲ Ἐλχάνης ἀρχισατράπης μετὰ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτὸν καταλαβὼν τὴν Ἀπολλωνιάδα καὶ Κύζικον (πόλεις δὲ αὗται καὶ ἄμφω παράλιοι) τὰ παρὰ θάλατταν ἐλῄζετο ἅπαντα. Τοῦτο μεμαθηκὼς ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἀπὸ τῶν παρατυχόντων ἀκατίων (οὐδέπω γὰρ στόλος ηὐτρέπιστο) ἱκανὰ παρασκευασάμενος καὶ ἑλεπόλεις ἐν αὐτοῖς μετὰ στρατιωτῶν γενναίων εἰσα γαγὼν τὸν Εὐφορβηνὸν Ἀλέξανδρον, ἄνδρα τῶν ἐπιφανῶν μὲν κατὰ γένος καὶ κατὰ ἀνδρείαν περίφημον, τὴν ἡγεμο νίαν τούτων αὐτῷ ἀναθέμενος κατὰ τοῦ Ἐλχάνη ἐξέ πεμψε. Καταλαβὼν δὲ τὴν Ἀπολλωνιάδα παραχρῆμα ἐπολιόρκει. ∆ι' ἓξ δὲ ἡμερῶν μηδ' ἐν νυξὶ τῆς τειχομαχίας ὅλως ἀφιστάμενος κατέσχε τὸν ἔξωθεν τοῦ κάστρου κύκλον, ὅνπερ ἐξώπολον ἡ συνήθεια νῦν καλεῖν εἴωθεν. Ὁ δὲ Ἐλχάνης καρτερῶς ἀντεποιεῖτο τῆς ἀκροπόλεως δυνάμεις ἐλπίζων ἔξωθεν. 6.13.2 Καὶ δὴ στρατιὰν βαρβαρικὴν ἀξιό μαχον ἐπικαταλαμβάνουσαν εἰς ἀρωγὴν τοῦ Ἐλχάνη ὡς ἐθεάσατο ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, τοὺς δ' ὑπ' αὐτὸν μηδὲ τὸ πολλοστὸν τῆς ἐπικαταλαμβανούσης δυνάμεως σῴζοντας, βέλτιον ἔγνω, κἂν μὴ νικῴη, ἀλλά γε τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτὸν ἀσινεῖς διατηρῆσαι. Ἐν στενῷ δὲ κομιδῇ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐληλακότα συνορῶν καὶ ὅτι σωτηρίας τρόπος οὐχ ὑπολέλειπται, ὡς πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἀπονενεύκει καὶ διὰ τοῦ ποταμοῦ εἰσελθὼν ἐν ταῖς ἰδίαις ναυσὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν διεπλῴζετο. Στοχασάμενος δὲ ὁ Ἐλχάνης τὸν τοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρου σκοπὸνπροκαταλαβὼν τὸ τῆς λίμνης κατέσχε στόμιον καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ γέφυραν, ἐν ᾖ καὶ τέμενος πάλαι παρὰ τῆς ἁγίας ᾠκοδόμητο Ἑλένης ἐπ' ὀνόματι τοῦ μεγάλου Κων σταντίνου, ἐξ ὧν τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν ἡ γέφυρα μέχρι καὶ νῦν ἐκτήσατο. Τῷ γοῦν ἤδη ῥηθέντι στομίῳ καὶ αὐτῇ δὴ τῇ γεφύρᾳ ἄνδρας πολεμικωτάτους ἐπιστήσας ἐφ' ἑκάτερα παρήγγειλε τὴν τῶν πλοίων δίοδον ἐνεδρεύειν. Ὡς δὲ ἅπαντες ἐν τοῖς ἤδη ῥηθεῖσιν ἀγραρίοις εἰσελθόντες διὰ τοῦ στομίου τῆς λίμνης ταῖς πάγαις τοῦ Ἐλχάνη ἐμπεπ τώκασι, θεασάμενοι τὸ καταλαβὸν αὐτοὺς δεινὸν καὶ μὴ ἔχοντες ὅ τι καὶ δράσαιεν τῇ χέρσῳ τὰς νῆας ἐφορ μίσαντες κἀκεῖθεν ἁλλόμενοι περὶ τὴν ἤπειρον ἐξεληλύ θεσαν. Καταλαβόντων δὲ αὐτοὺς τῶν Τούρκων μέγας ἀναρρήγνυται πόλεμος. Καὶ πολλοὶ μὲν τῶν λογάδων ἁλίσκονται, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ταῖς δίναις τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐμπεπ τωκότες παρεσύρησαν. 6.13.3 Ταῦτα μεμαθηκὼς ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ μὴ φέρων τὴν ἧτταν ἀξιόμαχον δύναμιν μετὰ τοῦ Ὤπου διὰ τῆς ἠπείρου κατ' αὐτῶν ἐξέπεμψεν. Ὃς καὶ τὴν Κύζικον καταλαβὼν ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ταύτην κατέσχε· διελὼν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων ταγμάτων ἄνδρας τειχεσιπλήτας καὶ φιλοκινδύνους ὡσεὶ τριακοσίους κατὰ τοῦ Ποιμανηνοῦ ἐξαπέστειλεν. Οἳ καὶ ἐξ ἐφόδου τοῦτο κατέσχον καὶ τοὺς μὲν τῶν ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ που κτείνουσι, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ζωγρίαν πρὸς τὸν Ὦπον πεπόμφασιν. Ὁ δὲ θᾶττον τούτους πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἐκπέπομφεν· αὐτὸς δὲ ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάρας τὴν Ἀπολλωνιάδα καταλαμβάνει, καὶ πολιορκῶν ταύτην οὐκ ἐνεδίδου. 6.13.4 Ὁ δὲ Ἐλχάνης ἀποχρῶσαν ἀπάρτι πρὸς αὐτὸν μὴ ἔχων δύναμιν τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἐθελοντὴς παρα δίδωσιν, αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ τῶν καθ' αἷμα προσηκόντων αὐτο μολεῖ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ μυρίων μὲν ἐπαπολαύει δωρεῶν, τυγχάνει δὲ καὶ τοῦ μεγίστου, τοῦ ἁγίου φημὶ βαπτίσματος. Ὁπόσοι δὲ συνέψεσθαι τῷ Ὤπῳ οὐκ ἤθελον, ὅ τε Σκαλιάριος καὶ ὁ ἐν ὑστέροις ὑπερπερίλαμπρος τιμηθεὶς ... (ἀρχισατράπαι δὲ καὶ οὗτοι τῶν ἐπιφανῶν) μεμαθηκότες τὰς εἰς τὸν Ἐλχάνην φιλοφροσύνας καὶ δαψιλεῖς δωρεὰς τοῦ