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and, slipping away little by little, it was eluding those attacking in a circle, who were many against few. But the emperor, sitting somewhere outside, was seething at their attempts, watching their evasions, and he sent many others and encouraged them with commands and threats. But the efforts were useless, and the ship escaped the hands of those pursuing it with the fair wind. So while they were at a loss, and the emperor was in terrible despair, thinking the affair a mockery and an outright joke, one of his entourage introduces a plan that seemed expedient; and it was this: having borrowed their ship from the Catalans, which was the largest of the others, to have capable commanders embark and thus, by unfurling its sails, which would be the first to catch the oncoming wind, to block those who had until now been stretching out their arms, so that they would even be becalmed and thus, having lost its momentum, those on the other ship could attack it. This, then, having been decided, the deed was accomplished with the word; and so embarking with the greatest speed, they came up from the stern of the ship being brought in; for the ship happened to be near and was easy to move against the ones ahead. And as that one fell in front, the breezes for the second strike the first, and the great blast of wind from the enemy's sails, having immediately turned a little, rendered the ship motionless. So when both ships collided, leaping out from the one onto the other, with those from below also coming to help, they attacked with the greatest eagerness. And so, with some boarding after them, and others after those, with the emperor encouraging them from outside, in a mighty battle, having advanced far out to sea, 543 they capture the cargo ship. And this ship they brought to the imperial dock and anchored it, but the men themselves, subjecting them to fitting punishments, they chastised; and they gouged out the eyes of many of them with whatever stakes came to hand, as retribution for their contempt towards the emperor. Something similar to this also happened at another time, and an accusation is leveled against the Genoese. For when one of them spoke arrogantly to a rower and said that the city would again be ours, that man, in a rage, strikes him on the temple and destroys the Latin's eye, and immediately death by the sword was contrived for the one who struck the blow. Learning of this, the emperor became enraged and did not cease seeking his own rower. But since they did not give him up—for indeed he was not there—anger immediately rises against them, and he at once commands Manuel Mouzalon to annihilate the entire race, without any delay. The army, therefore, was assembled in an instant, as much as was in the city and as much as had come from outside. And at once, terrible to behold, but more terrible to attack, they surround all their houses and were ready to act, awaiting the command from the emperor. But they, struck with terror and restraining their innate anger as much as possible, were distressed at what was happening, and they proved superior to their own strength by their submission and humble posture; and indeed they turned to supplications and were imploring, having bound their own necks, for the ruler to use them for whatever he wished, confessing themselves to be inferior to the imperial authority, and promising to obey whatever he might command, and that there was no escape for them, except the sympathy from the emperor. Thus humbled by fear, they submitted in a crowd to what was commanded and, having been fined a great amount of gold, they barely assuaged the imperial anger, having recognized it to be much more effective than their own drivel. And so much for these matters.

545 {SIXTH BOOK OF THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVES}. How and from what causes the affairs around Haemus were again disturbed.

And again the events unfolding around Haemus became a source of concern for the emperor. For the treaties

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καί, κατ' ὀλίγον διολισθαίνουσα, διεφύγγανε τοὺς ἐπιτιθεμένους κύκλῳ, πολλοὺς πρὸς ὀλίγους ὄντας. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, ἔξω που καθήμενος, ἔσφυζε τὰς ὁρμάς, ἐνορῶν τὰς ἀποφυγάς, καὶ συχνοὺς ἔπεμπεν ἄλλους καὶ ἐπεθάρρυνε κελεύων καὶ προσα πειλούμενος. Αἱ σπουδαὶ δ' ἦσαν ἀνόνητοι, καὶ τῶν σπευδόντων τὰς χεῖρας τῷ οὐρίῳ τοῦ πνεύματος ἡ ναῦς ἀπεδίδρασκεν. Ὡς γοῦν ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἐν ἀπόροις ἦσαν, ὁ βασιλεὺς δ' ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ δεινῇ, χλεύην τὸ πρᾶγμα οἰόμενος καὶ ἄντικρυς γέλωτα, εἰσάγει τις τῶν ἀμφ' αὐτὸν βουλὴν δοκοῦσαν συνοίσειν· ἡ δ' ἦν· χρησαμένους παρὰ Κατελάνων τὴν σφῶν ναῦν, μεγίστην τῶν ἄλλων οὖσαν, ἐπιβῆναι τοὺς αὐτάρκεις πολεμάρχους καὶ οὕτως, ἐπεμβαλόντας τοὺς ἐκείνης φώσσωνας, τῷ προσαράσσοντι πνεύματι ὡς πρώτως μετέχοντας, τοὺς τέως ὠργυιωμένους ἐπιτειχίσαι, ὥστε καὶ ἀπνοεῖν καὶ οὕτως τῆς ὁρμῆς καθυφεῖσαν ἐπ' ἐκείνην ὁρμᾶν τοὺς ἐπὶ θατέρας ὄντας. Τοῦτο γοῦν βουλευ θέν, ἅμα τῷ λόγῳ τὸ ἔργον ἠνύετο· καὶ δὴ τὴν ταχίστην ἐμβάντες, ἐκ πρύμνης γίνονται τῆς καταγομένης· ἔτυχε γὰρ καὶ ἡ ναῦς ἐγγὺς καὶ εὐχερὴς ἦν μετενεχθῆναι πρὸς τὰ προηγούμενα. Κἀκείνης πεσούσης πρόσθεν, αἱ τῆς δευτέρας πνοαὶ ἐμπαίουσι τῇ προτέρᾳ, καὶ τὸ πολὺ φύσημα τῶν φωσσώνων τῆς πολεμίας, εἰς ὀλίγον περιστὰν αὐτίκα, ἀκίνητον τὴν ναῦν ἐνειργάζετο. Ἐμπιπτουσῶν τοιγαροῦν ἀμφοῖν, ἐκθορόντες ἐκ θατέρας εἰς ἐκείνην, προσβοηθουσῶν καὶ τῶν κάτωθεν, μεγίσταις προθυμίαις ἔβαλλον. Καὶ οὕτως ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ἄλλοι καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνοις ἕτεροι ἐπεμβαίνοντες, τοῦ βασιλέως παραθαρρύνοντος ἔξωθεν, κρατερᾷ μάχῃ, ἐπὶ πολὺ τῆς θαλάσσης 543 προελθοῦσαν, αἱροῦσι τὴν φορτηγόν. Καὶ ταύτην μὲν πρὸς τῷ βασιλικῷ νεωρίῳ ἱστᾶσι κατάξαντες, αὐτοὺς δέ, ταῖς ἀξίαις δίκαις ὑποβάλλοντες, ἐτιμώρουν· πολλοῖς δ' ἐκείνων καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξώρυττον τοῖς προστυ χοῦσι πασσάλοις, ἀντίποινα τῆς πρὸς βασιλέα καταφρονήσεως. Παρεοικὸς τούτῳ ξυμπίπτει καὶ ἄλλοτε, καὶ τοῖς Γεννουίταις προστρί βεται ἔγκλημα. Τινὸς γὰρ ἐκείνων ὑπερηφανευσαμένου προσελῶντι καὶ εἰπόντος ὡς ἡ πόλις καὶ πάλιν ἔσται τοῖς ἡμετέροις, ζηλώσας ἐκεῖνος βάλλει κατὰ κόρρης καὶ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἀχρειοῖ τῷ Λατίνῳ, καὶ εὐθὺς τῷ πλήξαντι ὁ διὰ μαχαίρας ἐσχεδιάζετο θάνατος. Τοῦτο μαθών, βασιλεὺς δεινὰ ἐποίει καὶ τὸν ἴδιον προσερέτην οὐκ ἀνίει ζητῶν. Ὡς δ' οὐκ ἐδίδουν οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν, εὐθὺς θυμὸς αἴρεται κατ' ἐκείνων, καὶ τῷ Μουζάλωνι Μανουὴλ αὐτίκα προστάσσει τὸ γένος ἐξαναστατοῦν ἅπαν, μηδὲν μελ λήσαντα. Συνῆκτο τοίνυν ἐν ἀκαρεῖ τὸ στρατιωτικόν, ὅσον ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ ὅσον ἔξωθεν προσεγένετο. Καὶ ἅμα φοβεροὶ μὲν ἰδεῖν, φοβερώτεροι δ' ἐπιθέσθαι, τὰς ἁπάντων οἰκίας κυκλοῦσι καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐγχειρεῖν ἦσαν, τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀναμένοντες κέλευσιν. Οἱ δέ, τῷ φοβερῷ ἐκπλαγέντες καὶ καθ' ὅσον οἷόν τε συστείλαντες τὸ ἔμφυτον τοῦ θυμοῦ, ἀπηνεοῦντο πρὸς τὰ πραττόμενα, καὶ τῆς κατὰ σφᾶς ἰσχύος ἀμείνους τῇ ὑποκλίσει καὶ τῷ ταπεινῷ σχήματι κατεφάνησαν· καὶ δὴ πρὸς ἱκεσίας ἐτράποντο καὶ προσε λιπάρουν, τῶν ἰδίων τραχήλων ἐκδήσαντες ἑαυτούς, ἐς ὅ τι καὶ βούλεται ὁ κρατῶν χρήσασθαι, ὁμολογοῦντες ἥττους εἶναι τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐξουσίας, κἂν ὅ τι προστάσσοι, εὐπειθεῖν ὑπισχνούμενοι, μηδ' ἀναφυγὴν εἶναι σφίσι, πλὴν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως συμπάθειαν. Οὕτω ταπεινωθέντες τῷ φόβῳ, πλῆθος ἀθροῦν πρὸς τὸ κελευόμενον ἐνεδίδουν καί, πολλῷ χρυσίῳ προστιμηθέντες, τὴν βασιλικὴν ὀργὴν μόλις καταμαλάττουσι, πολλῷ τῆς σφῶν κορύζης ἐκείνην ἀνυσιμωτέραν γνωρίσαντες. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τούτοις.

545 {ΣΥΓΓΡΑΦΙΚΩΝ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΩΝ ΕΚΤΗ}. Ὅπως καὶ ἐκ ποίων τῶν αἰτιῶν τὰ κατὰ τὸν Αἷμον καὶ αὖθις παρε κινοῦντο.

Βασιλεῖ δὲ καὶ αὖθις φροντίδων ἦρξε τὰ κατὰ τὸν Αἷμον κινούμενα. Αἱ γὰρ συνθεσίαι