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The emperor, having summoned him, inquired about the army encamped there, if it seemed sufficient for an engagement with the barbarians. But he said that not even he himself knew the exact number. For since it had already come near Thessalonica, a great deal of the army had flowed to it for the purpose of procuring provisions; and he advised, if it seemed better to him too, that he, taking the existing army, should stick to the road leading toward the Persians; as he himself would most quickly gather from the neighboring 1.456 places and another sufficient for the task. The emperor, therefore, was immediately persuaded, and kept to the road toward the Persians. But he, as quickly as was possible, having swiftly gathered an army, joined the emperor; and after midday they came to the places where the Persians were plundering. And when a battle took place there, for a long time the Persians held out because the places were difficult to approach and wooded where the battle had occurred; which contributed not a little to the Persian army, it being on foot. But in the end, having been decisively defeated, they were destroyed, some being captured alive, others falling in the battle; as many as were able to escape into the woods, on the next day, arriving at their own ships, set fire to all the remaining ones; and having manned only two, for only so many were left, they retreated homeward. Of the Romans, few fell in the battle, but very many men and horses were wounded. From there the emperor, entering Thessalonica, encamped there for a sufficient number of days. Syrgiannes, taking six of his own men from the camp and Sphrantzes, who himself brought thirty of his retainers, came to a certain river, not one of the perennial ones, named the Galycus, flowing not far from Thessalonica, for the sake of rest and recreation. But Sphrantzes, with him now caught alone, and since seizing him was not especially easy, for he feared that if it became known in the camp they would be destroyed—but killing him was easiest— 1.457 unmindful of the emperor's advice, having secretly discussed with those with him about killing Syrgiannes and persuaded them (for previously he had not yet made his plan known to anyone), they both kill him, unaware of the plot, and fleeing, came to Thessalonica. The emperor, for his part, blamed Sphrantzes for his pusillanimity; for he wished rather to bring Syrgiannes as a prisoner alive than to kill him; but since it was not possible to undo what had been done, he attributed the murder to the necessity of the circumstances, and rewarded him and his companions both for their courage and daring, and for throwing themselves into manifest dangers on his behalf; and he honored Sphrantzes with the rank of grand stratopedarch; and he provided annual revenues from estates accordingly, and to all the others as each deserved. But Krales, when he learned that Syrgiannes had fallen, sent for and brought him to the camp still breathing; and when he died a short while later, he mourned him for a sufficient time as a dear man, and buried him magnificently. And having sent an embassy to the emperor, he made a peace treaty and an alliance with him, and on the next day, having met with the emperor not far from Thessalonica beside the Galycus river, they withdrew to their own country. And as many cities as were previously under Syrgiannes, upon his fall, with the emperor granting pardon and amnesty for the apostasy, willingly came over again. And around the same 1.458 times, the ruler of the Hungarians, whom the Latin tongue knows to call king, marched with a great army against Krales, having fallen into a dispute with him concerning land borders; but Krales, fearing that he might be unable to defend himself against him, having sent an embassy to the emperor, asked for an alliance. And the emperor, being pleased with the embassy, having selected a large and good army, sent an alliance to Krales. But the king of Hungary, when he came to the borders of his and the Triballians' domain, before invading the enemy territory, withdrew to his own country. And the report was that having learned that from the emperor had come

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μετακαλεσάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς, περὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπυνθάνετο τῆς ἐκεῖ ἐστρατοπεδευμένης, εἰ ἀρκοῦσα πρὸς τὴν τῶν βαρβάρων δοκοίη συμπλοκήν. ὁ δ' ἔφασκεν, ἀκριβῶς μὲν οὐδὲ αὐτὸς τὸν ἀριθμὸν εἰδέναι. διὰ γὰρ τὸ ἐγγὺς Θεσσαλονίκης ἤδη γεγενῆσθαι πολὺ προσεῤῥυηκέναι αὐτῇ στρατιᾶς πορισμοῦ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἕνεκα· παρῄνει δὲ εἰ καὶ αὐτῷ βέλτιον δοκοίη, τὴν οὖσαν παραλαβόντα στρατιὰν, τῆς πρὸς Πέρσας φερούσης ἔχεσθαι ὁδοῦ· ὡς αὐτοῦ τάχιστα ἐκ τῶν παρακειμένων χω 1.456 ρίων συλλέξοντος καὶ ἑτέραν ἀρκοῦσαν πρὸς τὸ ἔργον. ἐπείθετο μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς εὐθὺς, καὶ τῆς πρὸς Πέρσας εἴχετο ὁδοῦ. ὁ δὲ ὡς μάλιστα ἐνῆν, ὀξέως ἀθροίσας στρατιὰν, συνέμιξε τῷ βασιλεῖ· καὶ μετὰ μέσην ἡμέραν καθ' ἃ οἱ Πέρσαι ἐληΐζοντο ἐγένοντο χωρία. καὶ γενομένης αὐτόθι συμβολῆς, ἐπιπολὺ μὲν ἀντέσχον οἱ Πέρσαι διὰ τὸ δυσπρόσοδα εἶναι τὰ χωρία καὶ ὑλώδη ἐφ' ἃ ἐγεγένητο ἡ μάχη· ὅπερ οὐκ ὀλίγον συνεβάλλετο στρατιᾷ τῇ Περσικῇ οὔσῃ πεζῇ. τέλος δὲ κατὰ κράτος νικηθέντες διεφθάρησαν, οἱ μὲν ἁλόντες ζῶντες, οἱ δὲ πεσόντες παρὰ τὴν μάχην· ὅσοι δὲ εἰς τὴν ὕλην ἠδυνήθησαν διαφυγεῖν, ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν γενόμενοι παρὰ τὰς ναῦς τὰς ἑαυτῶν, τὰς μὲν λοιπὰς ἁπάσας ἐνέπρησαν πυρί· δύο δὲ πληρώσαντες μόνοι γὰρ τοσοῦτοι ὑπελείποντο ἀνεχώρησαν ἐπ' οἴκου. Ῥωμαίων δὲ κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἔπεσον μὲν ὀλίγοι, τραυματίαι δὲ ἐγένοντο καὶ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἵπποι πλεῖστοι. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰσελθὼν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην, ηὐλίσατο ἐκεῖ ἐφ' ἱκαναῖς ἡμέραις. Συργιάννης δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τῶν οἰκείων ἓξ παραλαβὼν καὶ Σφραντζὴν, τριάκοντα καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπαγόμενον τῶν οἰκετῶν, εἰς ποταμόν τινα οὐ τῶν ἀεννάων Γαλυκὸν ὠνομασμένον οὐ μακρὰν Θεσσαλονίκης ῥέοντα, ῥᾳστώνης ἦλθε χάριν καὶ παραψυχῆς. Σφραντζὴς δὲ αὐτὸν μόνον ἤδη ἀναπειλημμένον, καὶ τὸ μὲν συλλαμβάνειν οὐ μάλιστα ὂν εὐχερὲς, ἐδεδίει γὰρ μὴ αἰσθήσεως γενομένης ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ἀπόλλωνται διαφθαρέντες ῥᾷστον δὲ 1.457 τὸ ἀποκτείνειν, τῶν βασιλέως παραινέσεων ἀμνημονήσας, τοῖς τε αὐτῷ συνοῦσι περὶ τοῦ ἀποκτείνειν Συργιάννην κρύφα διαλεχθεὶς καὶ πείσας, πρότερον γὰρ οὐδέπω οὐδενὶ τὴν βουλὴν κατάδηλον ἦν πεποιηκὼς, ἀποκτείνουσί τε αὐτὸν ἀγνοήσαντα τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν, καὶ φεύγοντες ἧκον εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐμέμψατο μὲν Σφραντζὴν τῆς μικροψυχίας· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἠβούλετο δεσμώτην ἀγαγεῖν ζῶντα Συργιάννην ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀναλῦσαι τὰ γεγενημένα οὐκ ἐνῆν, τὸν μὲν φόνον ἐλογίζετο τῇ ἀνάγκῃ τῇ ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων, αὐτὸν δὲ ἠμείβετο καὶ τοὺς συνόντας τῆς τε εὐψυχίας ἕνεκα καὶ τόλμης, καὶ τοῦ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς προδήλοις κινδύνοις ἐμβαλεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ· καὶ Σφραντζὴν μὲν τῇ τοῦ μεγάλου στρατοπεδάρχου τετίμηκεν ἀξίᾳ· προσόδους τε παρέσχεν ἐτησίους ἐκ χωρίων ἀναλόγως, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας ὡς ἕκαστοι. Κράλης δὲ ἐπεὶ ἐπύθετο πεσόντα Συργιάννην, πέμψας μὲν ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐμπνέοντα ἔτι· ἀποθανόντα δὲ μετὰ μικρὸν ἐθρήνησέ τε ἐφ' ἱκανὸν ὡς ἄνδρα φίλον, καὶ ἔθαψε μεγαλοπρεπῶς. πρεσβείαν δὲ εἰς βασιλέα πέμψας, σπονδὰς ἔθετο πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρηνικὰς καὶ συμμαχίαν, καὶ ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν οὐ μακρὰν Θεσσαλονίκης παρὰ τὸν Γαλυκὸν ποταμὸν συγγενόμενοι τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν. πόλεις δὲ ὅσαι πρότερον ἐγένοντο ὑπὸ Συργιάννην, πεσόντος αὐτοῦ, συγγνώμην παρασχομένου βασιλέως καὶ ἀμνηστίαν τῆς ἀποστασίας, προσεχώρησαν ἑκοῦσαι πάλιν. ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρό 1.458 νους καὶ ὁ τῶν Οὔγκρων ἄρχων, ὃν ῥῆγα καλεῖν οἶδεν ἡ Λατίνων φωνὴ, στρατιᾷ μεγάλῃ ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ Κράλην, περὶ γῆς ὅρων πρὸς αὐτὸν διενεχθείς· δείσας δὲ ὁ Κράλης μὴ ἀδύνατος εἴη ἀμύνεσθαι αὐτὸν, πρεσβείαν ὡς βασιλέα πέμψας, ᾐτεῖτο συμμαχίαν. ἡσθεὶς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὴν πρεσβείαν, στρατιὰν ἀπολεξάμενος πολλήν τε καὶ ἀγαθὴν, ἔπεμψεν εἰς Κράλην συμμαχίαν. ὁ ῥὴξ δὲ Οὐγκρίας, ἐπεὶ ἐγένετο ἐν μεθορίοις τῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ Τριβαλῶν ἀρχῆς, πρὶν ἐς τὴν πολεμίαν ἐσβαλεῖν, ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν. λόγος δὲ ἦν ὡς πυθόμενος ἐκ βασιλέως ἥκειν