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they receive those who surrender with the holy gospels, and as much as is in their power they afford them humane treatment. This they also do at the tower of Rhaidestos. For they continued for a long time making attacks on the fortress, but they did not succeed. Finally, having set up a stone-throwing engine, they mostly hurled their shots by night, so that about one hundred stones of many talents were thrown; 622 for mostly fifty-mina stones fell, although because of the very small size of the fortress most of them missed and the missiles were hurled outside. But they did not remain unharmed, but often those inside, more than three hundred, courageously sallying forth, would attack them and cause much damage, until they too, being overpowered, begged to surrender by agreement. But they did not persuade him; for Rocafort was under oath, since he had lost many of his own men, not to accept even those willing to surrender, especially since the tower had been weakened by the continuous volleys of stones from his engine. For having captured the fortress of Saint Elias, he had treated the inhabitants humanely, and after installing a garrison for them he comes to Rhaidestos, intending to destroy it and slay without pity. But they beseeched more fervently, and surrendered themselves under agreement to be saved, since the battle was already at hand and the danger was imminent. And they would have been in peril, if one of the bishops present with them and others with him had not begged the barbarian not to commit so great a slaughter. And at the same time, as was said, they also gave advice, flattering the 623 barbarian's temper, that others too might perhaps readily betray their cities, buoyed up by the humane hopes from the report. Saying these things, with the force of their words they barely won over the barbarian. And he takes away their possessions, but leaves their bodies bare of their belongings, so that if they wished to remain, they would be deemed worthy of some care, but if not, they were to depart from there as they were. And he led his forces forward, advancing from the starting line, and against the remaining fortresses. A rumor arrived that he was also taking around the bishop (he was of Panion) and that he, standing by, was in many ways cooperating with the enemy, so that the cities might be betrayed. And for these reasons, as was likely, he was called to account by the church, and the judgment was made known to the condemned man by letters from the patriarch. But he, greatly distressed by the rumor and the matters of the penal judgment, seized an opportunity and fled, and came as quickly as possible to the emperor.

27. The emperor, though his spirit was buoyed by hopes from foreign sources, nevertheless also on his own contrived many ways to bring the scoundrels over by treaty through payments. 624 The Genoese in the city, therefore, having just now for the first time received an abbas from their own council (the word signifies the leader, and he has charge of the people, as among the Romans the praetor of the people in old times) wished to be reconciled with the Almogavars; for they were not otherwise able to sail the lower sea for their business. For this reason indeed the abbas undertook the embassy. And when this was known to the emperor, since he did not have a heavy army to send, but there were some of the light-armed troops with the Grand Hetaeriarch Doukas, whom he had led when he was formerly in command of the army, in case they might ever attack secretly and from ambush (for it was not possible to oppose them openly), for these reasons it was not acceptable that the Genoese should want to make peace with the enemies of the Romans. Hence, first he sent and tried to check their intention, but when he did not persuade them, that they were nonetheless again friends both to the emperor and the Romans, for which, when asked for oaths, they gave the most solemn ones, that indeed again on behalf of the Romans ........ and oaths ...... 625 the emperor added another counsel to the leader and his embassy to the Almogavars, to the effect that they should be willing, for great sums of money and fitting honor and governance, so that those willing to serve the emperor would be deemed worthy of sponsorship, to be reconciled. And having additionally entrusted these things to the abbas, he sends him off; and in the meantime

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προσχωροῦντας μετὰ τῶν θείων εὐαγ γελίων δέχονται, καὶ ὅσον τὸ ἀφ' αὑτῶν φιλάνθρωπον τὴν δια γωγὴν παρέχουσι. τοῦτο ποιοῦσι καὶ ἐν τῷ πύργῳ τοῦ Ῥαιδε στοῦ. ἐπὶ πολὺ γὰρ διετέλουν τῷ φρουρίῳ ποιούμενοι προσβο λάς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἤνυτον. τέλος καὶ μηχάνημα ἐπιστήσαντες πε τροβόλον νυκτὸς τὰ πολλὰ κατηκόντιζον τὰς βολάς, ὡς ἐπιρρι φῆναι πέτρας περί που τὰς ἑκατὸν καὶ πολυταλάντους· πεντη 622 κονταμναῖαι γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ ἔπιπτον, εἰ καὶ διὰ τὸ ὀλίγιστον τοῦ φρουρίου αἱ πλεῖσται ἠστόχουν καὶ ἔξω ἐπέρρητον τὰ πεμπόμενα. οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ ἀζημίωτοι ἔμενον, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις ὑπὲρ τριακοσίους οἱ ἐντὸς ὄντες εὐθαρσῶς ἐξελαύνοντες σφίσιν ἐπέρραττον καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ἐζημίουν, ἕως οὗ κατισχυθέντες καὶ οὗτοι προσχωρεῖν καθ' ὁμολογίαν ἱκέτευον. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔπειθον· ἐπώμοτος γὰρ ἦν Ῥομοφόρτος, ἐπεὶ πολλοὺς ἀπέβαλε τῶν ἰδίων, ἦ μὴν καὶ θέ λοντας προσχωρεῖν μὴ δέχεσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον τοῦ πύργου σα θρωθέντος ταῖς συνεχέσι τῶν λίθων βολαῖς αὐτοῦ μηχανήματος. τὸ γὰρ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἠλίου φρούριον χειρωσάμενος φιλανθρώπως προσηνέγκατο τοῖς οἰκήτορσι, καὶ φρουροὺς ἐμβαλὼν ἐκείνοις πρὸς Ῥαιδεστὸν γίνεται, ἐξελεῖν διανοούμενος καὶ ἀνοικτὶ φονεύειν. οἱ δὲ προσελιπάρουν θερμότερον, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς παρεδίδοσαν καθ' ὁμολογίας τοῦ σωθῆναι, ἐκ χειρὸς ἤδη τῆς μάχης οὔσης καὶ τοῦ κινδύνου ἐπηρτημένου. κἂν ἐκινδύνευον, ἢν μή τις τῶν ἐπι σκόπων συμπαρὼν σφίσι καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ἄλλοι τὸν βάρβαρον ἱκε τεύουσι μὴ ἂν τόσον ἐργάσασθαι φόνον. ἅμα δέ γε καὶ συμβου λεύουσιν, ὡς ἐλέγετο, τοὺς τοῦ βαρβάρου θυμοὺς κολακεύον 623 τες, ὡς εὐθίκτως καὶ ἄλλοι προδοῖεν ἂν ἴσως ταῖς φιλανθρώποις ἐκ φήμης μετεωρισθέντες ἐλπίσι. ταῦτα λέγοντες τῇ δεινότητι τῶν λόγων μόλις τὸν βάρβαρον κατεργάζονται. καὶ τὰ μὲν χρή ματα ἀφαιρεῖται, γυμνὰ δὲ τῶν ἐνόντων τὰ σώματα καταλείπει, ὥστ' εἰ μὲν μένειν θέλοιεν, κηδεμονίας τινὸς ἀξιοῦσθαι, εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἔχουσιν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. προῆγε δὲ τὰς δυνά μεις, ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος ἐλαύνων, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ λοιπὰ φρούρια. φήμη δ' ἵκετο συμπεριάγειν καὶ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον (Πανίου δ' οὗτος ἦν) καὶ τὰ πολλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐφιστάμενον συνεργεῖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἐφ' ᾧ προδιδοῖεν αἱ πόλεις. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ὡς εἰκὸς καὶ παρὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκεῖνος ηὐθύνετο, καὶ ἡ δίκη πατριάρχου γράμμασιν ἐδηλοῦτο τῷ καταδικασθέντι. ἐκεῖνος δὲ πρὸς τὴν φήμην καὶ τὰ τῆς ποινίμου δίκης ὑπεραλγήσας, καιροῦ δραξάμενος φεύγει, καὶ τὴν ταχίστην τῷ βασιλεῖ παραγίνεται.

27. Βασιλεὺς δὲ ταῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ξενικῶν ἐλπίσι μετέωρος ὢν τὴν ψυχήν, ὅμως καὶ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τὰ πολλὰ ἐτεχνᾶτο ὑπο σπόνδους ἐκ τιμημάτων προσάγεσθαι τοὺς ἀλάστορας. Γεν 624 νουῗται μὲν οὖν οἱ κατὰ πόλιν ἄρτι πρώτως παρὰ τοῦ σφῶν συνε δρίου ἀββᾶν δεξάμενοι (δηλοῖ δὲ ἡ φωνὴ τὸν ἡγούμενον, ἔχει δ' οὗτος τὴν τοῦ δήμου προστασίαν, ὡς παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ὁ πραί τωρ τοῦ δήμου πάλαι) Ἀμογαβάροις ἤθελον διαλλάττεσθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶχον ἄλλως τὴν κάτω διαπλωΐζεσθαι κατὰ τὰς αὐτῶν πραγματείας θάλασσαν. ταύτῃ τοι καὶ τὰ τῆς πρεσβείας ὁ ἀββᾶς ἀνεδέχετο. καὶ βασιλεῖ γνωσθέν, ἐπεὶ στρατὸν βάρος ἔχοντα οὐκ εἶχε πέμπειν, ἀλλά τινα τῶν ψιλικῶν ταγμάτων περὶ τὸν μέγαν ἑταιρειάρχην ἦσαν τὸν ∆ούκαν, οὓς ἦγεν ὢν ἐπὶ τοῦ στρατοῦ πρότερον, ἤν πῄ ποτε κρυφηδὸν καὶ ἐξ ἐνέδρας προσβάλλοιεν (οὐ γὰρ ἦν φανερῶς ἀντιτάττεσθαι), διὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἦν ἀποδέ χεσθαι Γεννουΐτας πρὸς ἐχθροὺς τῶν Ῥωμαίων εἰρήνην συντίθε σθαι θέλοντας. ἔνθεν καὶ πρῶτον μὲν πέμψας ἀναστέλλειν ἐπει ρᾶτο τὸ βούλημα, ὡς δ' οὐκ ἔπειθεν, εἶναι μὲν καὶ πάλιν οὐδὲν ἧττον σφᾶς φίλους καὶ βασιλεῖ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις, ἐφ' οἷς καὶ ὅρκους ἀπαιτούμενοι τοὺς παλαμναιοτάτους ἐδίδοσαν, ἦ μὴν καὶ αὖθις ὑπὲρ Ῥωμαίων ........ καὶ ὅρκους ...... ἑτέραν βουλὴν 625 ὁ κρατῶν προσανετίθει τῷ ἡγουμένῳ καὶ τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ πρε σβείαν πρὸς Ἀμογαβάρους, ἐφ' ᾧ ἐθέλοιεν χρημάτων μεγάλων καὶ τιμῆς τῆς προσηκούσης καὶ κυβερνήσεως, ὡς καὶ ἀναδοχῆς ἀξιοῦσθαι τοὺς βασιλεῖ δουλεύειν θέλοντας, διαλύεσθαι. καὶ ταῦτα προσαναθεὶς τῷ ἀββᾷ ἐκπέμπει· καὶ τῇ μεταξὺ