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again, from where the army might be and who was its commander. And when the emperor commanded, they answered that the army was gathered from the local inhabitants of the neighboring cities; and that its general was the one entrusted by the emperor with the governorship of the cities. But they themselves answered that they did not not know the general, but clearly knew who he was; and that they were reporting to him through their satrap Amour, that they themselves had come here for the sake of profit, thinking there would be no obstacle to their expedition. But with you having become an obstacle, they had stood here all day, showing by deed that they did not dread the battle against you, but were so prepared as to fight it out with you, if you began the war first; but with the day now declining, it was time to withdraw to the ships and the camp; and if it should also seem better to you to refrain from battle, they themselves would be content, but if you wished to engage, they themselves would also defend themselves as best they could. Having said such things, they turned back and went in formation to the ships; and to the emperor and those with him it seemed sufficient to deliver the country from so much destruction and not out of contentiousness to cast themselves into danger, a few engaging against many. But since the barbarians departed with empty hands and having lost some of their own—for the Romans killed some 1.473 of them, having encountered them scattered around a certain place—they themselves were also content to reap a bloodless victory. And for this reason, as if by agreement, they refrained from battle. And Amourpekis, for his part, having boarded his ships, sailed away to Asia; but the emperor returned to Didymoteichon, and passed a year, having no war from either the western or the eastern barbarians. And after this, in the month of February, in the fifteenth indiction, in the year 6840, the emperor Antonios died, being seventy-two years old. And a year and a half after the emperor's death, the mother of the emperor Andronikos, the empress Xene, died. And around the same times, a little after, the ruler of Thessaly, which is adjacent to Bottiaia, Stephen Gabrielopoulos the sebastokrator, had also died. And governing Thessalonica at that time was the prefect Monomachos, good in intelligence and knowing how to handle affairs, skilled in matters of campaigns and capable of commanding, who, perceiving it was the right time to attack Thessaly in order to subject it to the emperor, having gathered as large an army as possible from Thessalonica, invaded it, as it was in turmoil on account of the death of its ruler. And he took both Golos and Kastrin and 1.474 Lykostomion, its towns. But Stagoi and Trikala and Phanarion and Damasis and Elasson, which were under Gabrielopoulos, and some other fortresses, the ruler of Acarnania, the despotes John Doukas, arriving first, secured by treaty. And having occupied them with garrisons, he returned to Acarnania. But when the emperor learned of the events in Thessaly, he decided it was necessary to go there. And having come a little later, he took all that the Doukas had subjected. And having expelled the garrisons, he did them no harm; but treating them well, he sent them away to their own land. And while the emperor was staying in Thessaly, the kingless Albanians who inhabited the mountainous parts of Thessaly, the Malakasioi and Bouioi and Mesaritai, named after their tribal chiefs, being about twelve thousand in number, came and paid homage and promised to serve. For they feared lest, when winter came on, they should be destroyed by the Romans, since they inhabited no city, but dwelled in mountains and inaccessible places, from which they withdraw in winter because of the cold and the snow, an incredible amount of which falls in those mountains, they thought they would be easy to attack. And the emperor, departing from there, came to Thessalonica. And not many days after, the Kral, having sent an embassy to him, requested that they meet in whatever place seemed best for the sake of friendship, both to rejoice with each other and to enjoy each other's company and meeting. And since this also seemed to the emperor's mind 1.475

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πάλιν, ὅθεν εἴη τε ἡ στρατιὰ καὶ τίς ὁ ἐξηγούμενος αὐτῆς. κελεύσαντος δὲ βασιλέως, ἀπεκρίναντο, τὴν μὲν στρατιὰν ἐκ τῶν παρακειμένων πόλεων ἐγχωρίων εἶναι συνειλεγμένην· στρατηγεῖν δὲ αὐτῆς τὸν ἐκ βασιλέως ἐπιτετραμμένον τὴν τῶν πόλεων ἡγεμονίαν. αὐτοὶ δὲ τὸν μὲν στρατηγὸν ἀπεκρίναντο οὐκ ἀγνοεῖν, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς εἰδέναι ὅστις εἴῃ· μηνύειν τε αὐτῷ τὸν αὐτῶν σατράπην Ἀμοὺρ, ὡς αὐτοὶ μὲν ἥκοιεν κέρδους ἕνεκα ἐνταῦθα, οἰόμενοι κώλυμα οὐδὲν ἔσεσθαι αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὴν ὁρμήν. ὑμῶν δὲ ἐμποδὼν γεγενημένων, διὰ πάσης μὲν ἡμέρας ἑστάναι ἐνταυθοῖ, ἔργῳ δεικνύντας, ὡς οὐκ ὀῤῥωδοῦμεν τὴν μάχην τὴν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ' οὕτω παρεσκευάσμεθα, ὡς διαγωνιούμενοι ὑμῖν, ἂν πρῶτοι ἄρχητε πολέμου· κλινούσης δὲ ἤδη τῆς ἡμέρας, καιρὸν εἶναι πρὸς τὰς ναῦς καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἀναχωρεῖν· κἂν μὲν καὶ ὑμῖν δοκοίη βέλτιον ἀποσχέσθαι μάχης, ἀγαπήσειν καὶ αὐτοὺς, ἂν δ' ἐθέλητε συμπλέκεσθαι, ἀμυνεῖσθαι καὶ αὐτοὺς τὰ δυνατά. τοιαῦτα εἰπόντες, ἀναστρέψαντες ᾔεσαν τεταγμένοι πρὸς τὰς ναῦς· βασιλεῖ δὲ καὶ τοῖς συνοῦσιν ἀρκεῖν ἐδόκει τὸ φθορᾶς τοσαύτης τὴν χώραν ἀπαλλάττειν καὶ μὴ διὰ φιλονεικίαν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς κίνδυνον ἐμβάλλειν, ὀλίγους συμπλεκομένους πρὸς πολλούς. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ κεναῖς χερσὶν οἱ βάρβαροι ἀπήλλαξαν καὶ τῶν ἰδίων τινὰς ἀποβαλόντες, τι 1.473 νὰς γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀπέκτειναν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, περί τι χωρίον ἐσκεδασμένοις ἐντυχόντες, ἀγαπᾷν καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀναιμωτὶ τὴν νίκην καρπουμένους. διὸ καὶ ὥσπερ ἀπὸ συνθήκης ἀπέσχοντο τῆς μάχης. καὶ Ἀμούρπεκις μὲν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐμβὰς, ἀπέπλει πρὸς Ἀσίαν· βασιλεὺς δὲ εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον ἐπανῆκε, καὶ διήγαγεν ἐνιαυτὸν, μήτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἑσπερίων μήτε τῶν ἑῴων βαρβάρων πόλεμον μηδένα ἔχων. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο μηνὶ Φεβρουαρίῳ ἰνδικτιῶνι πέμπτῃ ἐπὶ δέκα, ἔτει τεσσαρακοστῷ ἐπὶ ὀκτακοσίοις καὶ ἑξακισχιλίοις, Ἀντώνιος ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ βασιλεὺς, δύο καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη γεγονώς. καὶ μετὰ ἥμισυν καὶ ἕνα ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλέως τελευτῆς ἡ Ἀνδρονίκου τοῦ βασιλέως μήτηρ βασιλὶς ἡ Ξένη ἐτελεύτησεν. ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους μετὰ μικρὸν καὶ ὁ Θετταλίας δεσπόζων τῆς ὁμόρου τῇ Βοτιαίᾳ Γαβριηλόπουλος Στέφανος ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ ἐτεθνήκει. Θεσσαλονίκης δὲ ἐπιτροπεύων ἐν τῷ τότε ὕπαρχος ὁ Μονομάχος, συνέσει τε ἀγαθὸς καὶ πράγμασιν εἰδὼς χρῆσθαι, τά τε κατὰ τὰς στρατείας ἐξησκημένος καὶ στρατηγεῖν ἱκανὸς, συνιδὼν καιρὸν εἶναι ἐπιθέσθαι Θετταλίᾳ, ὡς ἂν ὑπαγάγοι βασιλεῖ, στρατιὰν ὅσην ἐνῆν ἀθροίσας ἐκ Θεσσαλονίκης, ἐσέβαλεν εἰς αὐτὴν, οὖσαν τεταραγμένην διὰ τὴν τοῦ δεσπόζοντος τελευτήν. καὶ εἷλε τόν τε Γόλον καὶ Καστρὶν καὶ 1.474 Λυκόστομον πολίσματα αὐτῆς. Σταγοὺς δὲ καὶ Τρίκαλα καὶ Φανάριον καὶ ∆αμάσιν καὶ Ἐλασῶνα, ἃ ὑπὸ Γαβριηλόπουλον ἐτέλουν, καὶ ἕτερα φρούριά τινα ὁ τῆς Ἀκαρνανίας ἄρχων ὁ δεσπότης Ἰωάννης ὁ δοὺξ φθάσας παρεστήσατο ὁμολογίᾳ. καὶ κατασχὼν φρουραῖς, ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Ἀκαρνανίαν. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ ἐπύθετο τὰ κατὰ Θετταλίαν, ἔγνω δεῖν ἐκεῖ παραγενέσθαι. καὶ ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον ἐλθὼν, εἷλε πάντα ὅσα ὑπεποιήσατο ὁ δούξ. καὶ τοὺς φρουροὺς ἐκβαλὼν, ἠδίκησεν οὐδέν· ἀλλ' εὖ ποιήσας, ἀπέπεμψεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν. διατρίβοντα δὲ ἐν Θετταλίᾳ βασιλέα οἱ τὰ ὀρεινὰ τῆς Θετταλίας νεμόμενοι Ἀλβανοὶ ἀβασίλευτοι Μαλακάσιοι καὶ Μπούϊοι καὶ Μεσαρίται ἀπὸ τῶν φυλάρχων προσαγορευόμενοι, περὶ δισχιλίους καὶ μυρίους ὄντες, προσεκύνησαν ἐλθόντες καὶ ὑπέσχοντο δουλεύσειν. ἐδεδοίκεσαν γὰρ μὴ, χειμῶνος ἐπελθόντος, διαφθαρῶσιν ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων, ἅτε πόλιν οἰκοῦντες οὐδεμίαν, ἀλλ' ὄρεσιν ἐνδιατρίβοντες καὶ χωρίοις δυσπροσόδοις, ὧν ἀναχωροῦντες τοῦ χειμῶνος διὰ τὸ κρύος καὶ τὴν χιόνα, ἄπιστόν τινα ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσιν ἐκείνοις νιφομένην, εὐεπιχείρητοι ἔσεσθαι ἐδόκουν. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐκεῖθεν ἀναζεύξας ἦλθεν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. καὶ μετ' οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας πρεσβείαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Κράλης πεπομφὼς, ἠξίου καθ' ὃν ἂν δοκοίη τόπον γενομένους ἐν ταὐτῷ φιλίας ἕνεκα, ἀλλήλοις τε συνησθῆναι καὶ ὁμιλίας τῆς ἀλλήλων καὶ συντυχίας ἀπολαῦσαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ βασιλεῖ τοῦτο ἐδόκει κατὰ γνώ 1.475