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if somewhere in the meantime her son should arrive and then, having thrown off her tent, as they say of tragic actors, she would take up the fight. 12.8.4 Therefore, as mixed acclamations arose from both within and without and had filled all the surrounding areas, and since that soldier-woman, as has been said, was keeping the mind of Kontostephanos in suspense with such words and false promises, the expected man also arrives with the counts he brought with him, and advancing to close quarters against Kontostephanos, he defeats him utterly. So, all the men of the navy, being inexperienced in land battles, threw themselves into the sea; but when the Scythians ran forward (for a sufficient number of them were present with the Roman army) at the time of the battle for plunder, as is the custom for such barbarians, it happened that six of them in number were captured, and Bohemond, seeing them when they were sent, took them as if they were some great acquisition and went straight to Rome. 12.8.5 And having reached the apostolic throne and spoken with the pope and moved him completely to anger against the Romans and stirred up the long-standing wrath of these barbarians against our race, in order to drive the Italians around the pope further into a frenzy, Bohemond also presented the captured Scythians, demonstrating as if from the facts themselves that the emperor Alexios, being hostile towards Christians, was setting some faithless and outlandish barbarian horse-archers against the Christians, wielding weapons and drawing the bow. And with each such statement he would point out those Scythians to the pope, dressed in Scythian fashion and looking, as was their custom, rather barbaric, and these he repeatedly called pagans, according to the custom of the Latins, mocking both their name and their appearance. But craftily, as it seems, he was handling the matter of the war against Christians, in order that he might indeed persuade the pontifical opinion that he had reasonably been moved against the enmity of the Romans, at the same time courting the spontaneous gathering of many rather rustic and foolish men. For what barbarian near or far would not have come as a deserter to the war against us, when pontifical opinion was permitting it and the apparent justice of the cause was arming every horse and man and military hand? Therefore the pope, convinced by his words and agreeing with him, permitted the crossing to Illyricum. 12.8.6 But the account must now return to the subject at hand. So, the mainland soldiers held on to the battle more furiously; but the surge of the sea received the rest. And from this the Celts held a brilliant victory in their hands; but the nobler of the soldiers and rather those of greater fortune, of whom the best [rather] were that Nikephoros Exazenos Hyaleas and his cousin Constantine Exazenos called Doukas and the most manly Alexander Euphorbenos and others of the same rank and fortune, remembering their impetuous valor, turned back and drew their short swords, and with all their hand and spirit won a brilliant victory against those who had defeated them. 12.8.7 Kontostephanos, therefore, gaining a respite from the Celtic attack, loosed his stern-cables from there and with the entire navy reached Aulon. And since, when he had first reached Dyrrachium and dispersed the warships under his command from Dyrrachium itself as far as Aulon and the so-called Chimara, with Dyrrachium being one hundred stades from Aulon, and Chimara in turn being sixty stades from Aulon, he learned that Bohemond's crossing was now imminent, having surmised that it was more likely for him to cross to Aulon because the voyage to Aulon was shorter than to Dyrrachium, and for this reason that it was necessary to have a greater guard of the
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εἴ που ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ καταλάβοι ὁ ταύτης υἱὸς καὶ τηνικαῦτα τὴν σκηνήν, καθάπερ τοὺς τραγικούς φασι, ῥίψασα μάχης ἀνθέξοιτο. 12.8.4 Συμμιγοῦς οὖν τῆς εὐφημίας ἀπό τε τῶν ἐντὸς ἀπό τε τῶν ἐκτὸς γινομένης καὶ πάντα τὰ πέριξ κατειληφυίας, ἐπεὶ τοιούτοις λόγοις καὶ ἐπαγγελίαις ψευδέσι τὸν τοῦ Κοντοστεφάνου ἀπῃώρει λογισμὸν ἡ στρατιῶτις ἐκείνη γυνὴ ὡς εἴρηται, κατα λαμβάνει καὶ ὁ προσδοκώμενος μεθ' ὧν συνυπήγετο κομή των καὶ ὁμόσε κατὰ τοῦ Κοντοστεφάνου χωρήσας ἡττᾷ κατὰ κράτος. Οἱ μὲν οὖν τοῦ ναυτικοῦ ἅπαντες ὡς ἄπειροι τῆς διὰ ξηρᾶς μάχης τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἑαυτοὺς προσέρριψαν· τῶν δέ γε Σκυθῶν προεκδραμόντων (παρῆσαν γὰρ ἱκανοὶ μετὰ τοῦ ῥωμαϊκοῦ στρατεύματος) ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς μάχης εἰς προνομήν, ὡς ἔθος τοῖς τοιούτοις βαρβάροις, συμ βέβηκεν ἁλῶναι τούτων ἓξ τὸν ἀριθμόν, οὓς καὶ ἀποστα λέντας θεασάμενος ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος καθάπερ τι μέγιστον πόρισμα τούτους λαβὼν εὐθὺς πρὸς Ῥώμην ἀπῄει. 12.8.5 Καὶ καταλαβὼν τὸν ἀποστολικὸν θρόνον καὶ τῷ πάπᾳ δια λεχθεὶς καὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ὅλον κινήσας κατὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ τὴν ἀνέκαθεν τῶν βαρβάρων τούτων μῆνιν κατὰ τοῦ ἡμεδαποῦ γένους ἀνερεθίσας, ἵνα μᾶλλον τοὺς ἀμφὶ τὸν πάπαν Ἰταλοὺς ἐκμήνειεν, ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος καὶ τοὺς ἑαλω κότας τῶν Σκυθῶν παρεστήσατο ὥσπερ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐνδεικνύμενος ὡς ἄρα ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ Ἀλέξιος, δυσμενῶς ἔχων τὰ πρὸς Χριστιανούς, βαρβάρους τινὰς ἀπίστους καὶ ἀλλοκότους ἱπποτοξότας ἐφίστησι κατὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ὅπλον κινοῦντας καὶ τόξον ἐντείνοντας. Καὶ ἐφ' ἑκάστου λόγου τοιούτου ὑπεδείκνυ τοὺς Σκύθας ἐκεί νους τῷ πάπᾳ σκυθικῶς ἐσταλμένους καὶ κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς πρὸς τὸ βαρβαρικώτερον ἀποβλέποντας, καὶ τούτους κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῶν Λατίνων παγάνους ἄνω καὶ κάτω προσηγόρευε, καταμωκώμενος καὶ τοὔνομα καὶ τὸ σχῆμα. Πανούργως δέ, ὡς ἔοικε, τὸ πρᾶγμα μετεχειρίζετο τοῦ κατὰ Χριστιανῶν πολέμου, ἵνα δὴ καὶ ἀρχιερατικὴν γνώμην συμπείσειεν ὡς εὐλόγως ἄρα κατὰ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἔχθρας κεκίνητο, ἐν ταὐτῷ μνηστευόμενος καὶ πολλῶν ἀνδρῶν αὐτόματον συλ λογὴν ἀγροικοτέρων καὶ ἀνοήτων. Τίς γὰρ ἂν οὐχὶ τῶν ἀγχοῦ καὶ πόρρω βαρβάρων αὐτόμολος ἧκεν εἰς τὸν καθ' ἡμῶν πόλεμον, ἀρχιερατικῆς γνώμης ἐπιτρεπούσης καὶ τοῦ φαινομένου εὐλόγου πᾶσαν ἵππον καὶ ἄνδρα καὶ χεῖρα στρατιωτικὴν ἐξοπλίζοντος; Τοῖς τούτου λόγοις οὖν συνελαθεὶς ὁ πάπας καὶ ὁμογνωμονήσας αὐτῷ τὴν πρὸς τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν ἐπέτρεψε διαπεραίωσιν. 12.8.6 Ἐπανιτέον δ' αὖθις τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον. Ἐκθυμότερον μὲν οὖν οἱ ἠπειρῶται στρατιῶται τῆς μάχης ἀντείχοντο· τοὺς δέ γε λοιποὺς τὸ τῆς θαλάττης ῥόθιον ὑπεδέξατο. Κἀντεῦ θεν λαμπρὰν οἱ Κελτοὶ εἶχον εἰς χεῖρας νίκην· οἱ δέ γε γενναιότεροι τῶν στρατιωτῶν καὶ μᾶλλον οἱ τῆς μείζονος τύχης, ὧν φέριστοι [μᾶλλον] ἐκεῖνος Νικηφόρος Ἐξαζη νὸς ὁ Ὑαλέας καὶ ὁ τούτου ἐξάδελφος Κωνσταντῖνος Ἐξαζηνὸς ὁ καλούμενος ∆ούκας καὶ ὁ ἀνδρικώτατος Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Εὐφορβηνὸς καὶ ἕτεροι τῆς αὐτῆς ἀξίας καὶ τύχης, μνησάμενοι θούριδος ἀλκῆς ἐπιστραφέντες καὶ τοὺς ἀκινάκεις σπασάμενοι, ὅλῃ χειρὶ καὶ γνώμῃ πρὸς τοὺς ἡττήσαντες αὐτοὺς λαμπρὰν τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν νίκην ἤραντο. 12.8.7 Ἀνακωχὴν οὖν ὁ Κοντοστέφανος ἐντεῦθεν λαβὼν τῆς κελτικῆς ἐπελεύσεως λύσας ἐκεῖθεν τὰ πρυμνήσια μετὰ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ παντὸς τὸν Αὐλῶνα καταλαμβάνει. Ἐπεὶ δέ, ὁπότε πρώτως τὸ ∆υρράχιον καταλαβὼν τὰς ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν πολεμικὰς ναῦς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ∆υρραχίου μέχρι τοῦ Αὐλῶνος καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς καλουμένης Χιμάρας διέσπειρεν, ἀπέχοντος μὲν τοῦ ∆υρραχίου τοῦ Αὐλῶνος σταδίους ἑκατόν, τῆς δὲ Χιμάρας τοῦ Αὐλῶνος αὖθις ἀπεχούσης σταδίους ἑξή κοντα, τὴν τοῦ Βαϊμούντου ἐπειγομένην ἤδη ἐμάνθανε διαπεραίωσιν, στοχασάμενος ἐνδεχόμενον εἶναι μᾶλλον εἰς τὸν Αὐλῶνα διαπερᾶσαι αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ ἥττονα εἶναι τὸν πρὸς τὸν Αὐλῶνα πλοῦν τοῦ πρὸς τὸ ∆υρράχιον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δεῖν πλείονα τὴν φυλακὴν τοῦ