121

what was recently done by the Italians near Cyzicus and greatly pained the emperor, having become known to him, and for this reason he had also turned away from conversation with him. And having already attained complete health, together with his Augusta, since she also was with him, having met him at Pegai, he crosses over to the west. And having encamped for some days in the western regions, since it was necessary to return to the city and his father and emperor urged his return, on the twenty-third day of the month of Hekatombaion he reaches Dripeia, and on the next the emperor goes out, and all the emperor's entourage also goes out with him, and monks and all those of the church go out with him, not even the elite of the state being left behind there. And then in the middle of the 406 road emperor meets emperor, and it seems a long time, and like some trophy-bearer he enters the city amidst many acclamations.

18. Meanwhile Svetoslav, king of the Bulgarians, as one might say, whether because of the neglect of his own sister by the Kral of Serbia on account of his marriage-alliance with the emperor, or whether again he was irritated by her and the Despot, her son-in-law, being held back for the reasons which were stated, or whether, through the weakening of our forces, despising the imperial affairs and being as it were elated at the fortune of the Romans, he immediately overran the fortresses along the Haemus. And except for a few, he took some by force, and brought others over by agreement. And he was expected to attack the rest as well, combining barbarian audacity with the ease of the opportunity. The emperor, however, taking this also as an addition to his troubles, thinking it good and salutary for those places to forestall the barbarian's rages, was eager to send aid to them immediately, nevertheless, he also urged the emperor his son towards the west, and for the time being, suspecting from this also the ruler around Krounos, the son-in-law of Smilets, Eltimir, who was a paternal uncle to Svetoslav (for he was a brother of Terter), and held the rank of Despot among the Bulgarians. And for these reasons, the emperor, warding off a 407 joint attack, so that he might not invade together with Svetoslav, but might even assist the Romans, if possible, tried to win him over completely by sending sufficient gifts, and promised to honor him with pronoiary grants from the Romans, and placing the greatest confidence in his mother-in-law, the wife of Smilets, who was his first cousin (for she was the daughter of the Sebastokrator Constantine), that she would persuade and win over her son-in-law, he sent her brother Michael Palaiologos to those places and arranged what was suitable. And Emperor Michael was expected to set out for these reasons, since he was also preparing his own household affairs privately and managing them in a kingly manner; for, having lost the pronoiary grants assigned to him in the east because of the attack of the Hagarenes, the western possessions of the Despot Michael were confirmed to him by his father, all those which his father-in-law, Emperor Michael, had brought from the west under awesome agreements and, having married him to his daughter, magnificently cherished and honored as a son-in-law.

(19) The cause of his hardship and detention has already been mentioned before, but it must be stated more fully that soldiers of the imperial allagia, who indeed, having been recently resettled from the east because of the invasion of the Persians, came to the west with their wives and children, he summoned up to a hundred of them through one of them, Kotertzes, and receiving them as they came, while being in the city, he demanded oaths of loyal attendance and companionship, that they would be enemies of his enemies and friends of his friends, and he gave similar promises to them in return, establishing a military alliance, giving many things and promising great ones. And these things were done without any perception, not only of the emperor, but even of his own associates and intimates. But it was reported by those around Kotertzes, a terrible

121

ὑπογύου πραχθέντα παρ' Ἰταλοῖς κατὰ Κύζικον καὶ λίαν ὠδύνα τὸν βασιλέα ἀνάπυστά οἱ γεγονότα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὁμιλίαν ἀπέστραπται. ἤδη δὲ καὶ τελείας ἐπιβὰς ὑγείας, συνάμα τῇ Αὐγούστῃ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὕτη συνῆν ἐκείνῳ κατὰ τὰς Πηγὰς ἀπαντήσασα, διαπεραιοῦται κατὰ δύσιν. καὶ ἐφ' ἡμέραις τοῖς κατὰ δύσιν χωρίοις ἐναυλισάμενος, ἐπεὶ ἔδει καὶ ἐπανήκειν ἐς πόλιν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ βασιλεὺς ἤπειγε τὴν ἐπιδημίαν, ἡμέρᾳ μὲν εἰκοστῇ τρίτῃ Ἑκατομβαιῶνος μηνὸς καταλαμβάνει τὴν ∆ρίπειαν, τῇ δ' ἑξῆς ἐξέρχεται μὲν βασιλεύς, συνεξέρχεται δὲ καὶ ἅπαν τὸ περὶ τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ μοναχοὶ καὶ οἱ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἅπαντες συνεξίασιν, οὐδὲ τὸ τῆς πολιτείας ὅσον ἦν ἔκκριτον, ἐκεῖθεν λείποντος. καὶ τότε κατὰ τὸ μέσον τῆς 406 ὁδοῦ βασιλεὺς βασιλεῖ συναντᾷ, καὶ χρόνιος φαίνεται, καὶ ὥσπερ τις τροπαιοῦχος ὑπὸ πολλαῖς ταῖς εὐφημίαις τὴν πόλιν εἰσέρ χεται.

18. Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ καὶ Ὀσφεντίσθλαβος τῶν Βουλγάρων, ὡς εἴπῃ τις, βασιλεύς, εἴτε διὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ κράλη Σερβίας τῆς ἰδίας ἀδελφῆς διὰ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως κῆδος παρόρασιν, εἴτε δι' αὐτὴν αὖθις καὶ τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῇ γαμβρὸν τὸν δεσπότην ἐπεσχημέ νον ἐξ αἰτιῶν ὧν ἐλέχθησαν παρακεκνισμένος, εἴτε καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἡμετέρων δυνάμεων ἐξασθένησιν τῶν βασιλικῶν καταφρονή σας πραγμάτων καὶ οἷον τῆς τύχης τῶν Ῥωμαίων κατεπαρθείς, ἐξ αὐτῆς ὡς εἶχε κατατρέχει τὰ κατὰ τὸν Αἷμον φρούρια. καὶ πλὴν ὀλίγων τὰ μὲν κατὰ κράτος ᾕρει, τὰ δὲ καὶ δι' ὁμολογίας προσήγετο. προσδόκιμος δ' ἦν καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς προσβαλεῖν, εὐκολίᾳ καιροῦ βαρβαρικὴν συμμίξας αὐθάδειαν. ὁ μέντοι γε βασιλεὺς ἐπιθήκην καὶ τοῦτο δεξάμενος τῶν δεινῶν, καλὸν ἡγού μενος καὶ σωτήριον τοῖς ἐκεῖ τόποις τοῦ βαρβάρου τὰς ὀργὰς προκαταλαβεῖν, ἐκείνοις μὲν ὡς εἶχε βοήθειαν πέμπειν ἠπείγετο, ὅμως γε μέντοι καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ βασιλέα πρὸς δύσιν ὥρμα, καὶ τέως αὐτόθεν ὑπονοῶν καὶ τὸν κατὰ τὸν Κρουνὸν ἐξάρχοντα τὸν τοῦ Σμίλτζου γαμβρὸν Ἐλτιμηρῆν, ὃς θεῖος μὲν ἦν πρὸς πα τρὸς Ὀσφεντισθλάβῳ (τῷ γὰρ Τερτερῇ ὡμαιμόνει), δεσπότου δ' εἶχε παρὰ Βουλγάροις ἀξίαν. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα τὴν ὁμαιχμίαν 407 βασιλεὺς ἀποκρουόμενος, τοῦ μὴ κἀκεῖνον συνεισβαλεῖν Ὀσφεν τισθλάβῳ, ἀλλά γε καὶ προσεπαμύνειν Ῥωμαίοις, εἰ δυνατόν, ἐκεῖνον μὲν πέμψας δώροις ἱκανοῖς ἐπειρᾶτο διεκμειλίσσεσθαι, καὶ προνοίαις ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀγάλλειν κατεπηγγέλλετο, τῇ δὲ πενθερᾷ τούτου τῇ τοῦ Σμίλτζου συζύγῳ, αὐτανεψίᾳ οὔσῃ (τοῦ γὰρ σεβαστοκράτορος Κωνσταντίνου θυγάτηρ ἦν) τὰ μέγιστα προσθαρρῶν, ὡς τὸν γαμβρὸν παραπείσοι καὶ ἐκμειλίξαιτο, πέμ ψας τὸν αὐτῆς ἀδελφὸν τὸν Παλαιολόγον Μιχαὴλ τοῖς ἐκεῖσε τό ποις ᾠκονόμει τὰ πρόσφορα. ἦν δὲ βασιλεὺς Μιχαὴλ ἐπὶ τούτοις προσδόκιμος ἐξελθεῖν, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐξηρτύετο κατ' ἰδίαν τὰ οἴκοι καὶ βασιλικῶς ᾠκονομεῖτο· ἀποβαλόντι γὰρ τὰ ἀποτεταγμένα οἱ τῶν προνοιῶν κατ' ἀνατολὴν ἐκ τῆς τῶν Ἀγαρηνῶν ἐπιθέσεως προσε κυροῦντο παρὰ πατρὸς τὰ κατὰ δύσιν κτήματα τοῦ δεσπότου Μιχαήλ, ὅσοι ἄρα καὶ ὁ πενθερὸς ἐκείνου βασιλεὺς Μιχαὴλ ἐκ δύσεως ἀγαγὼν ὑπὸ φρικταῖς ὁμολογίαις καὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ συνοικί σας μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἐπολυώρει καὶ ὡς γαμβρὸν ἤγαλλε.

(19) τὸ δ' αἴτιον τῆς ἐκείνου ταλαιπωρίας καὶ ἐπισχέσεως ἤδη μὲν καὶ προανατέτακτο, πλὴν ῥητέον καὶ ἐντελέστερον ὅτι στρατιώτας βασιλικῶν ἀλλαγίων, οἳ δὴ καὶ ἀντολίηθεν ἀποικισθέντες ἐξ ὑπο 408 γύου διὰ τὴν καταδρομὴν τῶν Περσῶν αὐταῖς γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ἤλυον κατὰ δύσιν, διά τινος ἑνὸς ἐκείνων τοῦ Κοτέρτζη μέχρι καὶ ἐς ἑκατὸν προσεκαλεῖτο, καὶ προσιόντας δεχόμενος κατὰ πό λιν ὢν ὅρκους ἀπῄτει πιστῆς προσεδρίας καὶ ξυναυλίσεως, ὡς σφᾶς εἶναι ἐχθροὺς ἐχθρῶν τῶν ἐκείνου καὶ φίλους φίλων, καὶ ἀντεδίδου τὰ ὅμοια πρὸς ἐκείνους, τὴν ὁμαιχμίαν προκαθιστάς, πόλλ' ἄττα διδοὺς καὶ μεγάλα καθυπισχνούμενος. καὶ ταῦτ' ἐ πράττετο παρ' αἴσθησιν πᾶσαν, μὴ ὅτι γε βασιλέως, ἀλλὰ αὐ τῶν δὴ τῶν συνήθων καὶ ᾠκειωμένων αὐτῷ. ἀλλὰ προσαγγελθὲν παρὰ τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν Κοτέρτζην, δεινὴν