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so that each of the leaders also divided up for himself both lands and cities according to his greater hope. The leader of all these was Rous de Sully, who surpassed everyone in spirit, being very old in age, pompous in his states of mind, supercilious in his encounters, blond of hair and exceedingly haughty from some 643 ardent impulse of the soul; I think he also got his name from this, from his resemblance to a Rus. Therefore, urged on by their daring, the Italians first set out for Bellagrada, as if they would take it at once. The fortress, with the river called Apsus in the local tongue extending before it on one side, lies alongside it, though not on level ground, but hanging over it, mounded up below where it floods, from which indeed they also draw water daily, drinking from the river, by means of a sort of artificial outwork on the outside, so that they might not be hindered by those attacking and standing in their way; the river lies so close to the fortress that those inside can, from a close view, drive back with their lances those who hinder them, and indeed those going for water use the covering as shields. On the other side of this another hill rises up, lying opposite the plain, where another river, called the Voiusa, flooding through the middle, separates it from Kanina. Therefore, having crossed that river in great numbers and having occupied the hill, they besieged the inhabitants of the fortress, who were in suspense from the impending fear, and setting up stone-throwing engines, they damaged the wall from there with powerful shots. The report of these events, indeed, with wingless speed reached even the imperial ears and immediately disturbed the emperor's thoughts and made him tremble for the whole situation. For if one were to speak of courage mixed with wrath as fire being mixed with oil, one would not miss the mark with the image; for one could not conjecture anything else than that the forces which had been checked by so many engines from proceeding by sea, were now succeeding by land, having a greater ability than that to survive by profiting from the very starting-line of the battle. For this reason he decided to flee to God for refuge, and also to prepare forces sufficient to withstand so great a multitude, so that as soon as they appeared they would halt, having been foiled even by the first attempt and having learned that the way forward was impassable. So the matters concerning God were thus prepared; for it had been ordered for the patriarch and the high priests together with all the clergy first to make an all-night supplication to God against them, 645 and then at dawn for the patriarch and with him six other of the leading high priests, having put on the sacred vestments, while the rest were praying to God there, to perform the rite of holy unction, and making bundles of papyri, to dip them in the consecrated oil and so to give them to those who would carry them away to the army, so that there would be enough for the multitude of soldiers, on the condition that each man, holding one of the papyri, would go to close quarters with the enemy. These things were commanded and were carried out with the greatest speed, and the divine bundles of papyri, placed in glass vessels, were sent at once with prayer and with security. And the emperor sent out his son-in-law, Michael the despot, and the grand domestic Tarchaneiotes, also named Michael, and also the grand stratopedarch John Synadenos, and a fourth with them, the eunuch Andronikos, who was then the *tatas* of the court, surnamed Ionopolites, entrusting to them sufficient forces for the task, casting out all fear from them, and instilling the greatest courage through the support from the prayers of the priests. These men, therefore, having departed, encamped as far away as was possible and no longer dared to attack suddenly—for they thought they were resisting a reckless audacity, and especially those around the grand domestic, to whom indeed the whole affair had been entrusted, who always honored the throne of foresight—but they decided to send men to try to supply with grain the inhabitants of the fortress, who were now failing from hunger. For it seemed that the river flowing beside the fortress would also assist them in many ways, both by their transporting goods through it at night, and also by the

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ὥστε καὶ κατ' ἐλπισμὸν τὸν κρείττω διαμερίζειν καὶ χώρας καὶ πόλεις ἑαυτῷ ἕκαστον τῶν προὐχόντων. Ἐξῆρχε δὲ τούτων ἁπάντων ὁ καὶ τῷ φρονήματι τοὺς πάντας ὑπερφερόμενος Ῥὼς Σολυμᾶς, μέγιστος μὲν ἡλικίᾳ, σοβαρὸς δὲ ταῖς τῆς ψυχῆς καταστάσεσιν, ὑπέροφρυς δὲ ταῖς ἐντυχίαις, ξανθὸς τὴν τρίχα καὶ ὑπεραυχὴς ἐκ ψυχικοῦ τινος 643 ἐκθέρμου κινήματος· οἶμαι δὲ κἀντεῦθεν τὴν ὀνομασίαν σχεῖν, παρὰ τὴν πρὸς Ῥὼς ὁμοιότητα. Προαχθέντες τοίνυν ταῖς τόλμαις, οἱ Ἰταλοὶ ἐπὶ τὰ Βελλάγραδα πρῶτον ὥρμων, ὡς ἐξ αὐτῆς αἱρήσοντες. Τὸ δέ γε φρούριον, ἔνθεν μὲν τὸν οὕτω πως λεγόμενον ἐπιχωρίως Ἀσούνην ποταμὸν προϊσχόμενον, ἐπίκειταί οἱ κατὰ πλευράν, πλὴν οὐκ ἐπ' ἀγχωμάλου, ἀλλ' ἐκκρεμὲς πλημμυροῦντι κάτω γεωλοφούμενον, οὗ δὴ καὶ ἔξωθεν ἐμβόλῳ τινὶ σκευαστῷ, ὡς μὴ τοῖς ἐπιτιθεμένοις ἐμποδὼν ἱσταμένοις κωλύοιντο, ὑδρεύονται ὁσημέραι τοῦ ποταμοῦ πίνοντες· τόσον δὲ τῷ φρουρίῳ ὁ ποταμὸς παράκειται ὥστ' ἀπὸ ἐγγίονος θέας τοὺς ἐντὸς σαρίτταις ἀπείργειν τοὺς ἐμποδίζοντας καί γ' ὡς πελταῖς τῷ σκεπάσματι τοὺς ἐφ' ὕδωρ ἰόντας χρῆσθαι. Ἐπὶ θάτερα δὲ τούτου λόφος ἕτερος ὑπερανέχει, τῆς πεδιάδος καταντικρὺ κείμενος, οὗ δὴ καὶ Βοώσης λεγόμενος ποταμὸς ἄλλος, πλημμυρῶν κατὰ μέσην, ἀπείργει τὰ Κάνινα. Παμπληθεὶ γοῦν ἐκεῖνον περαιωσάμενοι, κατασχόντες τὸν λόφον, μετεώρους ὄντας ἐπὶ τῷ μέλλοντι φόβῳ, τοὺς τοῦ φρουρίου περικαθίζουσι καὶ δή, ἐπιστήσαντες μηχανήματα πετροβόλα, ἐκεῖθεν βολαῖς ἰσχυραῖς ἐκάκουν τὸ τεῖχος. Ἡ τούτων γοῦν φήμη ἀπτέρῳ τάχει μέχρι δὴ καὶ βασιλικῶν ἀκοῶν φθάνει καὶ αὐτίκα τοὺς λογισμοὺς ταράσσει τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ περὶ τῶν ὅλων τετρε μαίνειν ποιεῖται. Θυμῷ γὰρ συγκράτους τόλμας πῦρ ἐλαίῳ μιγνύμενον ἤν τις λέγοι, οὐκ ἂν τῆς εἰκόνος ἁμάρτοι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τις εἶχε τοπάζειν ἐκεῖνο ἢ τὰς ἐπισχεθείσας δυνάμεις ἐκ μηχανῶν τόσων διὰ θαλάσσης μηδὲν ἰέναι, ταύτας ἤδη διὰ ξηρᾶς εὐοδεῖν, πλέον ἐχούσας ἐκείνου τὸ δύνασθαι τῷ ἀπ' αὐτῆς βαλβῖδος τῆς μάχης κερδαίνοντας ἀποζῆν. Τῷ τοι καὶ καταφεύγειν μὲν ἐπὶ Θεὸν ἔγνω, ἑτοιμάζειν δὲ καὶ δυνάμεις τὰς ἀποχρώντως πρὸς τόσον ἀνθεξούσας πλῆθος, ὡς ἅμα τῷ φανῆναι στῆναι, σφαλέντας κἀκ τῆς πρώτης πείρας τὸ πρόσω μαθόντας ἄβατον. Τὰ μὲν οὖν πρὸς Θεὸν οὕτως ἐξητοι μάζετο· παρήγγελτο γὰρ πατριάρχῃ τε καὶ ἀρχιερεῦσι συνάμα παντὶ τῷ κλήρῳ πρῶτον μὲν πάννυχον ἱκετείαν πρὸς Θεὸν κατ' ἐκείνων ποιήσασθαι, 645 εἶτα δὲ ἅμ' ἕῳ πατριάρχην τε καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ ἓξ ἄλλους τῶν προὐχόντων ἀρχιερέων, τὰς ἱερὰς στολὰς ἐνδυθέντας, τῶν λοιπῶν ἐκεῖσε θεοκλυτούντων, ἐπιτελεῖν εὐχέλαιον, φακέλλους δὲ παπύρων ποιήσαντας, τῷ καθαγνισθέντι ἐλαίῳ βάπτειν καὶ οὕτω διδόναι τοῖς ταῦτ' ἀπάξουσι πρὸς τὸ στράτευμα, ὥστ' ἀποχρῶντ' εἶναι τῷ τῶν στρατιωτῶν πλήθει, ἐφ' ᾧ ἓν ἕκαστον τῶν παπύρων ἕνα κρατοῦντα ὁμόσε χωρεῖν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς. Ταῦτ' ἐπετέτακτο καὶ τὴν ταχίστην ἐπέπρακτο, καὶ οἱ θεῖοι φάκελλοι τῶν παπύρων, σκεύεσιν ὑελίνοις ἐμβεβλημένοι, ἅμα μὲν μετ' εὐχῆς, ἅμα δὲ καὶ μετ' ἀσφαλείας ἐπέμποντο. Βασιλεὺς δὲ τὸν αὐτοῦ γαμβρὸν Μιχαὴλ τὸν δεσπότην καὶ τὸν μέγαν δομέστικον τὸν Ταρχανειώτην καὶ αὐτὸν Μιχαήλ, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸν μέγαν στρατοπεδάρχην τὸν Συναδηνὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ τέταρτον σὺν τούτοις τὸν ἐκτομίαν Ἀνδρόνικον, τατᾶν μὲν τῆς αὐλῆς ὄντα τῷ τότε, Ἠονοπολίτην δ' ἐπικεκλημένον, ἐγχειρίσας δυνάμεις ἱκανὰς πρὸς τοὖργον, ἐκπέμπει, ὀρρωδίαν μὲν πᾶσαν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκβάλλων, θάρρος δ' ἐντιθεὶς πλεῖστον ταῖς ἀπὸ τῶν εὐχῶν τῶν ἱερέων συνάρσεσιν. Οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ἀπελθόντες ἀπωτάτω ὅσον ἦν ἐγχωροῦν ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο καὶ προσβαλεῖν μὲν ἐξαπιναίως οὐκέτ' ἐτόλμωνἀλογίστῳ γὰρ ἀντισχεῖν θράσει ἐδόκουν, καὶ μᾶλλον οἱ περὶ τὸν μέγαν δομέστικον, ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἐπιτέτραπτο, ἀεὶ προμηθείας θρόνον τιμῶντα, σιταρκεῖν δὲ ἤδη λιμῷ ἐκλελοιπότας τοὺς τοῦ φρουρίου τοὺς πειράσοντας ἔγνωσαν ἀποστέλλειν. Ἐῴκει γὰρ καὶ ὁ παραρρέων τὸ φρούριον ποταμὸς τὰ πολλὰ ξυλλαμβάνειν σφίσιν, ἅμα μὲν δι' αὐτοῦ φορτηγούντων νυκτός, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τῷ κατὰ