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fighting, terrified, they turned back, hastening to cross the river again, making their flight towards their own wagons. For the men of the Roman phalanx pursued them, giving full rein, some striking them on their backs with their spears, others shooting them with their arrows. Many, therefore, fell slain before they could reach the river's bank, and many, fleeing at full speed, fell into the river's whirlpools, were swept away, and drowned. But the attendants labouring around the emperor fought more spiritedly than all others on that day; for they were all in their prime. And the emperor, having shown himself a conspicuous champion and victor on this day, returned to his own camp.

7.11.1 After resting there for three days, he departed thence and seized Tzurulon. And having considered that he should not move from there quickly, he had a sufficient trench dug on the eastern side of the townlet with the forces at his disposal, and placed the imperial tent and all the baggage inside it. And the Scythians, also advancing against Tzurulon, since they had heard that the emperor had pre-occupied it, crossed the river flowing through the plain somewhere near this townlet (the locals call it Xerogypson) and pitched their camp, being between the river and the townlet. And they were outside, having encircled this city; but the emperor was trapped inside as if being besieged. But when night fell, "then the other gods and men, masters of horse," that is, from Homer's Calliope, "were sleeping"; but sweet sleep did not hold the emperor Alexius, but he lay awake and turned over plans in his mind how he might overcome the audacity of the barbarians by a stratagem. 7.11.2 Seeing, therefore, that this townlet Tzurulon was fortified upon a rising hill, and that all the barbarians were encamped below somewhere on the plain, since he did not have sufficient force against so great a multitude to dare a hand-to-hand battle with them, he devised something very ingenious. Taking the inhabitants' wagons, and having removed from them their frames, he kept the wheels and the axles up top and then suspended them in a row outside the wall from the battlements by means of certain ropes tied to the ramparts of the walls. And as soon as he thought of this, he did it. And in one hour the wheels with their axles were hung all around like a row of circles placed next to each other and joined by their axles. 7.11.3 In the morning, having risen and armed both himself and the others, he led his soldiers out of the wall, drawing them up face to face with the barbarians. And it happened that, in whatever parts the circles of the wheels were suspended, there our soldiers also stood and the opposing force lay opposite in a single line. And from there, standing himself in the middle of the battle-line around him, he advised that, when the trumpet should sound the battle-cry, the soldiers should dismount from their horses and advance slowly and on foot against the enemy, using mostly bows and skirmishing, and provoke the Scythian phalanx towards them. And when they saw them drawn on and shouting against them on their horses, they were to turn back in flight and at that moment divide in two, to the right and left, and give ground to the enemy until they should be near the wall. When this was done, it had been ordered to those standing above on the wall that, when they saw the splitting of the phalanxes, they should cut the ropes with swords and let the wheels with the axles be hurled down from above. 7.11.4 These things happened according to the

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μαχόμενον ἐκδειματωθέντες παλιμπόρευτοι γεγό νασι τὸν ποταμὸν εἰς τοὐπίσω σπεύδοντες διαπερᾶν πρὸς τὰς σφῶν ἁρμαμάξας τὴν φυγὴν ποιούμενοι. Ἐδίωκον γὰρ ὅλους ῥυτῆρας ἀφέντες οἱ τῆς ῥωμαϊκῆς φάλαγγος, οἱ μὲν τοῖς δόρασι κατὰ τὰ μετάφρενα παίοντες, οἱ δὲ τοῖς βέλεσι τούτους βάλλοντες. Πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν πρὸ τοῦ παρὰ τὸ χεῖ λος ἐφθακέναι τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀναιρεθέντες πίπτουσι, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἀνὰ κράτος φεύγοντες ταῖς δίναις ἐμπίπτοντες τοῦ ποταμοῦ παρασυρόμενοι ἐναπεπνίγοντο. Ἐκθυμότερον δὲ ἁπάντων κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην οἱ περὶ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα διαπονούμενοι θεράποντες ἠγωνίσαντο· ἦσαν γὰρ ἀκμῆτες ἅπαντες. Ὁ δέ γε αὐτοκράτωρ ἔκδηλος ἀριστεὺς καὶ κατὰ ταυτηνὶ τὴν ἡμέραν ἀναδειχθεὶς νικητὴς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν παρεμβολὴν ἐπανέστρεψεν.

7.11.1 Ἐπὶ τρισὶ γοῦν ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ που διαναπαυσάμενος ἐκεῖθεν ἀπάρας καταλαμβάνει τὴν Τζουρουλόν. Σκοπήσας δὲ ὡς χρὴ μὴ ταχέως ἐκεῖθεν μεταστῆναι, τάφρον ἀπο χρῶσαν πρὸς τὸ ἀνατολικώτερον μέρος τοῦ πολιχνίου ταῖς προσούσαις αὐτῷ δυνάμεσι διορύξας τήν τε βασιλικὴν σκη νὴν καὶ τὰς σκευὰς ἁπάσας εἴσω τούτου κατέθετο. Οἱ δὲ Σκύθαι ἐπιόντες καὶ οὗτοι κατὰ τῆς Τζουρουλοῦ, ἐπειδὴ προκαταλαβεῖν τὸν αὐτοκράτορα ταύτην ἠκηκόεισαν, δια βεβηκότες τὸν ἀνὰ τὴν πεδιάδα ῥέοντα ποταμὸν ἀγχοῦ που τοῦ πολιχνίου τούτου (Ξηρόγυψον τοῦτον ἐγχωρίως κατο νομάζουσι) τὸν χάρακα ἐπήξαντο μεταξὺ ὄντες τοῦ τε ποταμοῦ καὶ τοῦ πολιχνίου. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἦσαν ἔξωθεν τὴν πόλιν ταύτην κυκλώσαντες· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἔνδον ἐναπεί ληπτο καθάπερ πολιορκούμενος. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ νὺξ κατέλαβεν, ἄλλοι μέν ῥα θεοί τε καὶ ἀνέρες ἱπποκορυσταί, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῆς Καλλιόπης Ὁμήρου, εὗδον· τὸν δὲ αὐτοκράτορα Ἀλέξιον οὐκ ἔχε νήδυμος ὕπνος, ἀλλὰ διηγρύπνει τε καὶ ἀνεί λιττε λογισμοὺς ὅπως τὸ θράσος τῶν βαρβάρων τέχνῃ καταγωνίσηται. 7.11.2 Ἰδὼν τοίνυν ὡς τὸ πολίχνιον τοῦτο ἡ Τζουρουλὸς ἐπὶ λόφου ἀνεστηκότος τετείχιστο, τὸ δὲ βάρ βαρον ἅπαν κάτω που περὶ τὴν πεδιάδα ηὐλίσατο, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἀποχρῶσαν πρὸς τοσαῦτα πλήθη δύναμιν εἶχεν ὥστε τὴν μετ' αὐτῶν ἀποθαρρῆσαι κατασυστάδην μάχην, ἐπινοεῖταί τι καὶ μάλα εὐμήχανον. Ἀναλαβόμενος τὰς τῶν οἰκητόρων ἁμάξας καὶ ταύτας ἀφελὼν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπικραββάτων τούς τε τροχοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄξονας ἄνω κατέσχε κᾆθ' οὕτως ἔξω τοῦ τείχους ἐπὶ τῶν κρηδέμνων ἐφεξῆς ἀπαιωρεῖ διά τινων καλῳδίων ἐναποδεσμουμένων ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι τῶν τειχῶν. Καὶ ἅμα τε τοῦτο ἐνενόησε καὶ εἰργάσατο. Καὶ μιᾶς ὥρας ἐναπεκρέμαντο κύκλῳ οἱ τροχοὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀξόνων ὥσπερ τινὲς ἐφεξῆς κύκλοι κείμενοι καὶ ἀλλήλοις ἐγγίζοντες καὶ τοῖς ἄξοσιν αὐτῶν ξυνδεσμούμενοι. 7.11.3 Πρωΐθεν δὲ ἀνα στὰς καὶ αὐτός τε ὁπλισάμενος καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ὁπλίσας ἐξάγει τοῦ τείχους ἀντιμετώπους στήσας τοὺς στρατιώτας τοῖς βαρβάροις. Συνέβαινε δέ, ἐφ' ἃ μέρη τὰ κύκλα τῶν τροχῶν ἀπῃώρηντο, ἐπ' ἐκεῖνα καὶ τοὺς ἡμετέρους στρα τιώτας ἵστασθαι καὶ ἀντικρὺ κεῖσθαι κατὰ μίαν γραμμὴν τὸ ἀντίθετον. Καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸς μέσον τῆς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν παρατάξεως ἑστηκὼς συνεβούλευεν, ἐπὰν ἡ σάλπιγξ τὸ ἐνυάλιον ἐμβοήσειεν, ἀποβάντας τῶν ἵππων τοὺς στρα τιώτας σχολῇ καὶ βάδην κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων χωρεῖν τόξοις τὰ πολλὰ χρωμένους καὶ ἀκροβολισμοῖς καὶ τὴν φάλαγγα τῶν Σκυθῶν εἰς ἑαυτοὺς προκαλεῖσθαι. Ἐπὰν δὲ τούτους παρασυρέντας καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς ἐγκεκραγότας τοὺς ἵππους θεάσαιντο, προτροπάδην ὀπισθορμήτους γενομένους ὀλίγον διαιρεθῆναι τηνικαῦτα διχῆ εἰς δεξιόν τε καὶ εὐώνυμον μέρος, καὶ χώραν δοῦναι τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐς τοσοῦτον ἕως ἂν τοῦ τείχους πλησίον γένοιντο. Τούτου δὲ γεγονότος παρήγ γελτο τοῖς ἄνωθεν ἑστηκόσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους, ὁπηνίκα τὴν σχίζαν τῶν φαλάγγων θεάσαιντο, ξίφεσι τὰ καλῴδια διακόπτειν καὶ ἀφεῖναι τοὺς τροχοὺς μετὰ τῶν ἀξόνων ἄνωθεν κάτω κατακρημνίζεσθαι. 7.11.4 Ἐγένετο ταῦτα κατὰ τὸ