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while Michael was reigning; but when this was reported, a certain thought occurred to those in power who heard, that a rustic and unwarlike people might be destroyed, and for these reasons he was seized and given over to prison, and after suffering greatly in confinement for nine months, then escaping from there he fled to the church, from there, finding an opportunity again, he comes to those former intentions, and departing secretly from the church, he immediately gathers a mixed crowd, and most swiftly, together with them, crosses over 443 unexpectedly. For it was not possible for them to remain quiet, being already hard-pressed by the times, and loving one of two things, either to live in their own lands or to fall gloriously. And thus becoming a whole army under the general Choiroboskos, they attempted to seize some opportunity against the enemy. And at first, though many falling upon a few, they performed deeds of valor. But in fact their actions were an irony of fate for them, and destiny laughed at them, suffering the fate of the swimmer, for whom the return home holds no guarantees of safety. For as a multitude of Persians surrounded Kenchreai, and many of those there from the lands around Skamandros, having been forced into hiding by necessity, were in danger and in need of help from elsewhere, as soon as they learned of it, they themselves drew up their forces and went there. And unexpectedly falling upon them at once, they seemed to be somebody, and they prevailed as the enemy turned to flight. And then, as was likely, they gave a respite to the besieged; but later, more Persians having been gathered, they made a single charge against them, and cavalry falling upon infantry with a fierce charge, they won a decisive victory, and surrounding Choiroboskos, they kill him, except not as soon as they surrounded him, but after he begged those in the fort for his ransom (for they set the price at five hundred nomismata, which they promised to pay as ransom), but they were negligent, he, in the Bulgarian 444 tongue, as if some would understand (for he was suspicious of Greek, since many outsiders seemed to understand it) spoke to those within. And his words were that he would fight strongly against the Persians, if they would ransom him. At any rate, when some understood and reported to the Persians, he was caught plotting harm against the Persians, who, fearing for themselves if they should release an implacable enemy, counting that ransom and profit as nothing, killed him. But there is another account, more credible than this one, that he was then kept prisoner with the enemy, but later, escaping from there, he went down to the west, and approaching Michael and receiving the dignity of sebastos over the Bulgarians, since whatever the Romans were moved to do against the Turks and Almogavars was fruitless, he himself, having received permission from the emperor, gathering about a thousand men, an infantryman with infantrymen, he attacked the Persians, and he did mischief around the region of Thessalonica, not at all Thessalian but Bulgarian and such as was familiar to him. From there, with great security, the Persians besieged and captured the fort due to a lack of water, and, with a few having escaped, they put the men 445 to the sword, and after plundering the things there, they set it on fire and destroy everything.

28. But so much for these things. But again affairs in the west were weakening and were in a bad state because of Sventislav, as Eltimir had inclined toward him. And since they were ravaging the regions of the Haemus and were taking most places by agreement, Ktenia and Rosokastron and many other places, and now also in the regions of Sozopolis and Mesembria, Agathopolis and Anchialus were being shaken and seemed ready to surrender, the emperor was at a loss, and he hastened to forestall their advance further. Now, the affairs in the east did not allow him to have his mind on other things; nevertheless, being constrained by the necessity of the situation, he decided to send his son and emperor. And so, having prepared for the expedition, he sends out with him also Glabas of the Tarchaneiotes, the protostrator, a man both warlike and experienced in war, but for the most part skilled in counsel; for gout often stood in the way of his ability to act and succeed. At any rate, the western forces were being gathered around the young emperor

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διάγοντος Μιχαήλ· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀνενεχθὲν τοῦτο ἔννοιά τις ἐμ πίπτει τοῖς ἐπ' ἐξουσίαις ἀκούσασι, μὴ λαὸς ἀγροῖκός τε καὶ ἀπό λεμος παραπόληται, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα κατασχεθεὶς ἐκεῖνος φυλακῇ δίδοται, καὶ μῆνας ἐννέα τῇ ἐγκλείσει προσταλαιπωρήσας ἔπειτ' ἐκεῖθεν ἀποδρὰς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ προσφεύγει, ἐντεῦθεν αὖθις ἐνευ καιρήσας τῶν προτέρων ἐκείνων διανοιῶν γίνεται, καὶ τῆς ἐκκλη σίας κρύβδην ἀποχωρήσας ξύγκλυδα λαὸν ἐκ τοῦ παραυτίκα συν αθροίζει, καὶ τὴν ταχίστην συνάμα σφίσιν ἀνεπινοήτως διαπε 443 ραιοῦται. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ἠρεμεῖν κἀκείνους κακουμένους ἤδη τῷ χρόνῳ, καὶ δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ ζῆν ἐπὶ τῶν σφετέρων ἢ εὐκλεῶς πεσεῖν ἀγαπῶντας. καὶ οὕτως στρατὸς ὅλος γενόμενος ὑπὸ τῷ Χοιροβοσκῷ στρατηγοῦντι πεῖράν τινα ἁρπάζειν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπει ρῶντο. καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὀλίγοις πλεῖστοι παρεμπίπτοντες ἠν δραγάθουν. ἦν δὲ ἄρα εἰρωνεία τύχης σφίσι τὰ δρώμενα, καὶ ἐπεγέλα τούτοις τὸ μόρσιμον, τὸ τοῦ κολυμβητοῦ πάσχοντες, ᾧ δῆτα ὁ νόστος οὐκ ἔχει τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ἐχέγγυα. ὡς γὰρ Κεγχρεαῖς πλῆθος Περσῶν περιίστατο, καὶ οἱ ἐκεῖσε πολλοί τινες ὄντες ἐκ τῶν κατὰ Σκάμανδρον χωρῶν διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην παραβυ σθέντες ἐν κινδύνοις ἦσαν καὶ βοηθείας ἑτέρωθεν ἔχρῃζον, ἅμα τῷ μαθεῖν καὶ αὐτοὶ συνταξάμενοι ἐκεῖ γίνονται. καὶ ἀνωΐστως ἐπεισπεσόντες ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἔδοξάν τινες εἶναι, καὶ ὑπερέσχον τραπέντων τῶν πολεμίων. καὶ τότε μὲν ὡς εἰκὸς ἀνακωχὰς τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις ἐδίδουν· ὕστερον δὲ συναχθέντες πλείους οἱ Πέρ σαι ἑνὸς κατὰ τούτων ὁρμήματος γίνονται, καὶ ἱππεῖς πεζοῖς μεθ' ὁρμῆς σφοδρᾶς ἐμπίπτοντες κατὰ κράτος νικῶσι, καὶ τὸν Χοιροβοσκὸν περισχόντες κτείνουσι, πλὴν οὐχ ἅμα τῷ περισχεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ περὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ τιμῆς τοὺς ἐν τῷ φρουρίῳ προσελιπά ρει (ἔστησαν γὰρ τὴν τιμὴν εἰς νομίσματα πεντακόσια, ὧν λυ τροῦν ὑπισχνοῦντο), οἱ δὲ κατημέλουν, ἐκεῖνος Βουλγάρων 444 γλώσσῃ ὥς τινων ξυνησόντων (τὴν γὰρ Ἑλλάδα καὶ καχυπώπτευεν ὡς πολλῶν ξυνιέναι δοκούντων τῶν ἔξω) τοῖς ἐντὸς διελέγετο. οἱ λόγοι δ' ἦσαν ὡς ἰσχυρισομένου κατὰ Περσῶν, εἰ λύσαιντο. αὐτίκα γοῦν τινῶν ξυνιέντων καὶ Πέρσαις ἀγγειλάντων φωρᾶται κακουργῶν Πέρσας, οἳ τὸ καθ' αὑτοὺς δείσαντες, εἰ ἐχθρὸν ἀπαραίτητον λύσαιντο, τιμὴν ἐκείνην καὶ κέρδη ὡς οὐδὲν λογι σάμενοι κτείνουσιν. ἄλλος δ' ἔστι λόγος τούτου πιστότερος, ὡς πεφύλακτο μὲν τότε συνὼν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ὕστερον δ' ἀποδρὰς ἐκεῖθεν πρὸς δύσιν κάτεισι, καὶ τῷ Μιχαὴλ προσελθὼν τιμὴν λαβὼν ἐπὶ Βουλγάροις τῆς σεβαστότητος, ἐπεὶ ἀνόνητα ὅσα κατὰ Τούρκων καὶ Ἀμογαβάρων Ῥωμαῖοι ὥρμων ποιεῖν, ἐκχώρησιναὐτὸς λαβὼν παρὰ βασιλέως, περί που δὴ καὶ χιλίους συνάξας, πεζὸς σὺν πεζοῖς ἐπέχρα τοῖς Πέρσαις, καὶ κακῶς ἔδρα περὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν Θεσσαλονίκην, οὐ Θεσσαλὸν πάντως ἀλλὰ Βουλγαρι κὸν καὶ οἷον αὐτῷ σύνηθες. ἐντεῦθεν ἐκ πολλῆς ἀδείας οἱ Πέρ σαι περικαθίσαντες ἐνδείᾳ ὕδατος αἱροῦσι τὸ φρούριον, καὶ τοὺς 445 μὲν ὀλίγων ἀποδράντων ἔργον μαχαίρας ποιοῦσι, τὰ δ' ἐκεῖσε σκυλεύσαντες πῦρ ἐνιᾶσι καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἀφανίζουσιν.

28. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐς τοσοῦτον. ἠσθένουν δ' αὖθις τὰ κατὰ δύσιν καὶ κακῶς εἶχον ἐξ Ὀσφεντισθλάβου, Ἐλτιμηρῆ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀποκλίναντος. κἀπειδήπερ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Αἷμον ἐδῄουν καὶ καθ' ὁμολογίας τὰ πλεῖστα ᾕρουν, Κτένια καὶ Ῥωσό καστρον καὶ ἄλλ' ἄττα πλεῖστα, ἤδη δὲ καὶ τὰ κατὰ Σωζόπολιν καὶ Μεσέμβρειαν Ἀγαθόπολίς τε καὶ Ἀγχίαλος ἐκραδαίνετο καὶ τοῖς ἑτοίμως ἐῴκεσαν προσχωρήσουσιν, ἐν ἀπόροις ἦν ὁ κρατῶν, καὶ προκαταλαβεῖν τὴν ἐς τὰ πρόσω ἔφοδον ἔσπευδε. τὰ μὲν οὖν κατ' ἀνατολὴν πρὸς ἄλλοις τὸν νοῦν ἔχειν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἠφίει· ὅμως τῷ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀναγκαίῳ στενοχωρούμενος ἔγνω τὸν υἱὸν ἀποστεῖλαι καὶ βασιλέα. καὶ δὴ παρασκευασάμενος τὰ πρὸς ἔξοδον συνεκπέμπει τούτῳ καὶ Γλαβᾶν ἐκ Ταρχανειωτῶν πρωτο στράτορα, ἄνδρα ἀρεϊκὸν μὲν καὶ ἐμπειροπόλεμον, τὰ πλεῖστα δὲ τῷ τῶν βουλῶν ἐπηβόλῳ· ἡ γὰρ ποδάγρα προσίστατο τὰ πολλὰ πρὸς τὸ πράττειν δυνάμενον κατορθοῦν. συνήγοντο γοῦν αἱ δυτικαὶ δυνάμεις περὶ τὸν νέον βασιλέα