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12.1.1 Let the deeds, then, of Bohemond's first crossing, and all the things he schemed against the emperor, appearing to be courting the scepter of the Romans for himself, and how, having procured his departure from there with trickery and indeed having achieved his purpose, and having made such a voyage hidden in a ship as if he were a corpse being carried, he seized Corfu, be described in this way. But let the account now turn to his actions after those events. So the stinking corpse, having seized Corfu, as has been said, and having threatened the emperor through the duke there, as the preceding account has shown, made his voyage to Lombardy and set to work, planning to seize Illyricum again and for this reason hastening to gather more allies than before. And having spoken with the king of France about a marriage alliance, he gave one of his daughters to him for his own wife, and the other he sent across the sea to the city of Antioch to be joined to his nephew Tancred. Then having collected forces of countless numbers from all quarters and having summoned the counts from every land and city with the armies under them, he hastened the crossing to Illyricum. 12.1.2 The emperor, then, having heard what was reported to him through Alexius, immediately sent letters to all the lands, Pisa and Genoa and Venice, preparing them not to be carried away by Bohemond's deceitful words and follow him. For going around all the cities and lands he had made many accusations against the emperor, calling him a pagan and an enemy of the Christians. 12.1.3 But since the Babylonian had already captured three hundred counts at that time, when the countless multitudes of Celts, crossing from the west, were ravaging Asia, both the city of Antioch and Tyre and all the adjacent cities and lands, and held them as prisoners in custody; and the imprisonment of those captured long ago was a terrible thing. And the emperor, having learned about their capture and the terrible things that consequently befell them, was tormented in his soul and was wholly set on their rescue. And having summoned Niketas Panukomites, he sent him to the Babylonian with money, entrusting to him letters in which he asked for those captive counts, promising him many favors if he would loose them from their bonds and release them. But the Babylonian, having seen and heard Panukomites and what was communicated to him from the emperor, and having unrolled the letters, immediately loosed the counts from their bonds and brought them out of the prison; he did not, however, deem them worthy of complete freedom, but handed them over to Panukomites, sending them to the emperor, without having taken any of the money that was sent; whether because it was not sufficient for the ransom of so many, or to avoid the suspicion of bribery and so as not to appear to have sold them for a price, but to bestow a pure and unadulterated favor on the emperor, or whether he was aspiring to more, God would know. 12.1.4 The emperor, seeing them on their arrival, greatly admired and marveled at the barbarian's decision, and having laboriously questioned them about what had happened to them and learned how, being imprisoned for so long a time and for the passage of so many years, they had not once seen the sun nor were they loosed from their bonds, but also had remained for so long completely without taste of any kinds of food, partaking only of bread and water, pitying their suffering and shedding a hot tear, immediately deemed them worthy of much kindness, giving them money and providing all sorts of garments and urging them to the baths and

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12.1.1 Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς πρώτης τοῦ Βαϊμούντου διαπεραιώ σεως ἔργα, καὶ ὁπόσα πραγματευσάμενος κατὰ τοῦ αὐτο κράτορος φαίνεται τὰ σκῆπτρα τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἑαυτῷ μνη στευόμενος, καὶ ὅπως τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ὑποχώρησιν μετὰ ῥᾳδιουργίας προμηθευσάμενος καὶ δὴ καὶ τυχὼν τοῦ σκο ποῦ, καὶ τοιαύτην τὴν ναυλοχίαν καθαπερεὶ νεκρὸς φερό μενος ποιησάμενος τὴν Κορυφὼ κατέλαβεν, ὧδέ πη περι γεγράφθω. Ἐχέσθω δ' αὖθις ὁ λόγος τῶν μετ' ἐκεῖνα τούτου πράξεων. Καταλαβὼν δὲ ὁ νεκρὸς ὀδωδὼς τὴν Κορυφώ, καθά γε καὶ εἴρηται, καὶ ἀπειλησάμενος διὰ τοῦ ἐκεῖσε δουκὸς τῷ αὐτοκράτορι, ὁπόσα ὁ λόγος φθάσας ἐδήλωσε, πρὸς τὴν Λογγιβαρδίαν τὸν ἀπόπλουν ποιησάμενος ἔργου ἥπτετο, σκεπτόμενος αὖθις τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν καταλαβεῖν καὶ συμμάχους διὰ τοῦτο σπεύδων συναγηοχέναι πλείους τῶν πρὸ τοῦ. Καὶ περὶ κήδους τῷ ῥηγὶ Φραγγίας ὁμιλήσας, τὴν μὲν τῶν θυγατέρων αὐτοῦ εἰς ἰδίαν αὐτῷ γυναῖκα ἐξέδοτο, τὴν δέ γε ἑτέραν διαπόντιον πρὸς τὴν Ἀντιόχου πόλιν ἐξέπεμψεν ἐφ' ᾧ συναφθῆναι τῷ ἀνεψιῷ αὐτοῦ Ταγγρέ. Εἶτα δυνάμεις ἁπανταχόθεν μυριοπληθεῖς συλλεξάμενος ἐκ πάσης τε χώρας καὶ πόλεως τοὺς κόμητας μεταπεμψά μενος μετὰ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοὺς στρατευμάτων τὴν πρὸς τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν διαπεραίωσιν ἐπετάχυνεν. 12.1.2 Ὁ γοῦν βασι λεύς, τὰ διὰ τοῦ Ἀλεξίου πρὸς αὐτὸν διαμηνυθέντα ἀκηκοώς, εὐθὺς κατὰ πάσας τὰς χώρας, Πίσσαν τε καὶ Γένουαν καὶ Βενετίαν γράμματα ἐπέστελλε, προπαρασκευ άζων αὐτοὺς μὴ συναπαχθέντας τοῖς ἀπατηλοῖς τοῦ Βαϊ μούντου λόγοις ἐκείνῳ συνεφέψεσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ περιιὼν ἁπάσας τὰς πόλεις καὶ χώρας πολλὴν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ αὐτο κράτορος καταδρομὴν ἐπεποίητο, παγάνον ὀνομάζων αὐτὸν καὶ τῶν Χριστιανῶν πολέμιον. 12.1.3 Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ὁ Βαβυλώ νιος τριακοσίους φθάσας κατέσχε τότε κόμητας, ὁπότε τὰ ἄπειρα πλήθη τῶν Κελτῶν διὰ τῆς ἑσπέρας διαπεραιωσά μενα τὴν Ἀσίαν τήν τε Ἀντιόχου πόλιν καὶ τὴν Τύρον καὶ τὰς παρακειμένας ἁπάσας πόλεις καὶ χώρας ἐμάσ τιζον, καὶ δεσμώτας ἐμφρούρους εἶχεν, ἡ δὲ φρουρὰ δεινὴ τῶν πάλαι γεγενημένων. Καὶ <τὰ> περὶ τῆς τούτων ἁλώσεως καὶ τὰ ἐντεῦθεν συμπεσόντα τούτοις δεινὰ μεμαθηκῶς ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἐδάκνετο τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ὅλος τῆς ἐκείνων ἀναρρύσεως ἐγεγόνει. Καὶ μεταπεμψάμενος Νικήταν τὸν Πανουκωμίτην μετὰ χρημάτων πρὸς τὸν Βαβυλώνιον ἐξα πέστειλε, γραφὰς πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγχειρίσας δι' ὧν τοὺς δορυ αλώτους ἐκείνους ᾐτεῖτο κόμητας, πολλὰς ὑποσχόμενος αὐτῷ τὰς χάριτας, εἰ τούτους λύσας τῶν δεσμῶν ἀπολύσει. Ὁ δὲ Βαβυλώνιος τὸν Πανουκωμίτην θεασάμενος καὶ ἀκούσας, ἅττα δὴ παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος πρὸς αὐτὸν διεμηνύθη, ἀνελίξας δὲ καὶ τὰς γραφὰς λύει μὲν παρα χρῆμα τοὺς κόμητας τῶν δεσμῶν, ἐξάγει δὲ τῆς φρουρᾶς· οὐ μέντοι γε παντελοῦς ἐλευθερίας αὐτοὺς ἀξιοῖ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Πανουκωμίτῃ παραδίδωσι πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα τούτους ἐξαποστείλας μηδ' ὁτιοῦν τῶν ἀποσταλέντων χρημάτων ἀναλαβόμενος· εἴτε δὲ ὡς μὴ ἀποχρῶντα πρὸς τοσούτων λύτρον, εἴτε καὶ δωροληψίας ἐκφεύγων ὑπόνοιαν καὶ ὡς μὴ φαίνοιτο τιμῆς τούτους ἀποδόμενος, ἀλλὰ καθαρὰν τὴν χάριν ἀπονέμων τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ ἀκίβδηλον, εἴτε καὶ πλειό νων ἐφιέμενος, Θεὸς ἂν εἰδείη. 12.1.4 Τούτους ὁ βασιλεὺς καταλαβόντας θεασάμενος ὑπερηγάσθη μὲν τὴν τοῦ βαρβά ρου γνώμην καὶ τεθαύμακεν, ἐπιπόνως δὲ τούτους περὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτοῖς ἐπερωτήσας καὶ μεμαθηκὼς ὅπως, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον καὶ τοσούτων κύκλων περιόδους ἔμφρουροι ὄντες, οὐδὲ ἅπαξ ἥλιον ἐθεάσαντο οὐδὲ τῶν δεσμῶν ἐλύθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τροφῶν παντοίων ἄγευστοι τὸ παράπαν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον διαμεμενήκεσαν μόνου ἄρτου καὶ ὕδατος μεταλαμβάνοντες, οἰκτείρας τοῦ πάθους καὶ θερμὸν καταστάξας δάκρυον, πολλῆς παραχρῆμα ἠξίου φιλοφρο σύνης χρήματά τε ἐπιδοὺς καὶ ἄμφια παντοῖα παρασχὼν ἐς βαλανεῖά τε προτρεπόμενος καὶ