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when the sun was departing from its greater circles and, having passed the autumnal equinox, was now bending towards the more southerly circles, since this season seemed suitable for campaigns, with all his forces he marched straight for Iconium according to the plan which he had laid down from the beginning. 15.3.6 And at that time, having reached Nicaea, he separated lightly-armed soldiers with experienced commanders from the rest of the army and urged these to sally forth for plunder against the Turks, making their forays in scattered fashion; but not, even if they should receive the victory from God and rout the enemy, to make the raid over a great distance, but being content with what was given, he instructed them to make their return again in an orderly fashion. Therefore, having reached with the emperor a certain place situated ...., called by the locals Gaita, they went away at once, but he, having departed from there with all his forces, reached the bridge situated by the Pithecas. Then in three days, through Armenokastron and the so-called Leucae, he reached the plains of Dorylaeum. And having observed that these were sufficient for battle formations, and wishing to review everyone and to ascertain fully the heavy-armed force, which military formation he was again devising and had often sketched out on parchments, forming the battle lines (for he was not ignorant of Aelian's tactics), having drawn this up in reality according to the present occasion, he encamped on that plain. 15.3.7 For he knew from much experience that the Turkish battle formation is not constituted according to the formations of other nations, nor, as Homer says, "shield pressed on shield, helmet on helmet, man on man," but among the Turks the right wing and the left wing and the center are separated from each other and the phalanxes stand as if broken off from each other, and whenever one charges the right or the left wing, the center and the part after that of the whole formation also attacks him, and like some whirlwinds they throw into confusion what is set against them. As for their instruments of war, they do not use spears much, as do the so-called Celts, but encircling the enemy from all sides, they shoot with bows, and their fighting is from afar. When he pursues, he conquers with the bow, and when pursued he prevails with his arrows, and he shoots an arrow and the flying arrow strikes either the horse or the rider, and released from a very strong hand it has passed through the whole body; so very skilled with the bow are they. 15.3.8 So that most experienced emperor, seeing this, himself had made the battle formations, and he arranged the phalanxes in such a way that the men on the right shot from behind the forward shields, while our men on the left shot at the unprotected parts of the body. And he himself, perceiving such a formation to be invincible, marveled at the force; he considered such a formation to be like a veritable ordinance of God and an encampment of angels. And all both marveled and rejoiced, taking courage in the emperor's plan. And he, at the same time reviewing the forces and imagining the plains through which he was about to pass, and reckoning the firmness and indivisibility of the formation, took good hopes from this and prayed to God that these hopes would come to fruition.

15.4.1 Thus therefore having drawn up his lines, he reached Santabaris ........ dividing up all the commanders of such a formation, he sent Camytzes against Polybotus and Kedros (this being a very strong fortress held by a certain satrap called Poucheas), and assigned Stypeiotes to go against the barbarians in Amorium ....to. But having learned of the plan, two certain Scythian deserters, having come over to Poucheas, reported the attack of Camytzes, and at the same time

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μειζόνων ἀφισταμένου κύκλων καὶ παραμείψαντος μὲν τὴν φθινοπω ρινὴν ἰσημερίαν, ἐπικύπτοντος δὲ ἤδη πρὸς τοὺς νοτιωτέ ρους κύκλους, ἐπεὶ οὑτοσὶ εὔθετος ὁ καιρὸς ταῖς ἐκστρα τείαις ἐδόκει, σὺν ὅλαις δυνάμεσι κατευθὺ Ἰκονίου ἤλαυνε καθ' ὃν ἀρχῆθεν προέθετο λογισμόν. 15.3.6 Καὶ τηνικαῦτα 15.3.6 τὴν Νίκαιαν καταλαβών, εὐζώνους στρατιώτας μετ' ἐμπεί ρων ἡγεμόνων ἀποδιελόμενος τοῦ λοιποῦ στρατεύματος, εἰς προνομὴν κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων προεκδραμεῖν τούτους παρε κελεύσατο διεσπαρμένως τὰς ἐκδρομὰς ποιουμένους· ἀλλὰ μηδέ, εἰ τὴν νίκην θεόθεν λάβοιεν καὶ κατατροπώσαιντο τοὺς ἐχθρούς, ἐς μακρὰν ἀποτελεῖν τὴν καταδρομήν, ἀρκου μένους δὲ τῇ δεδομένῃ μετ' εὐταξίας πάλιν τὴν ὑποστρο φὴν παρηγγύα ποιεῖν. Καταλαβόντες οὖν ἅμα τῷ αὐτοκρά τορι τόπον τινὰ .... διακείμενον, ἐγχωρίως οὑτωσὶ Γαΐτα προσαγορευόμενον, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν εὐθὺς ἀπῄεσαν, ὁ δὲ ἀπάρας ἐκεῖθεν σὺν ὅλαις δυνάμεσι τὴν κατὰ τὸν Πιθηκᾶν διακει μένην καταλαμβάνει γέφυραν. Εἶτα ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις διὰ τοῦ Ἀρμενοκάστρου καὶ τῶν οὕτω καλουμένων Λευκῶν τὰς τοῦ ∆ορυλέου καταλαμβάνει πεδιάδας. Ἀποχρώσας δὲ ταύτας πρὸς παρατάξεις κατανοήσας, καὶ θέλων ἅπαντας θεάσασθαι καὶ τὴν ὁπλιτικὴν πάντως ἐγνωκέναι δύναμιν, ἣν πάλιν ὤδινε πολεμικὴν σύνταξιν καὶ ἐν διφθέραις πολ λάκις συνεγράψατο σχηματίζων τὰς παρατάξεις (ἦν γὰρ οὐδὲ τῆς Αἰλιανοῦ τακτικῆς ἀδαής), ταύτην κατὰ τὸν παρεστηκότα τότε καιρὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ συντάξας, κατὰ τὸ πεδίον ἐκεῖνο ἐστρατοπέδευσεν. 15.3.7 Εἰδὼς γὰρ οὗτος ἐξ ἐμπειρίας πάνυ πολλῆς ὅτι ἡ τουρκικὴ παράταξις οὐ κατὰ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν παρατάξεις συνέστηκεν, οὐδ', ὡς Ὅμηρός φησιν, ἀσπὶς [δ'] ἄρ' ἀσπίδ' ἔρειδε, κόρυς κόρυν, ἀνέρα δ' ἀνήρ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ δεξιὸν κέρας τοῖς Τούρ κοις καὶ τὸ εὐώνυμον καὶ τὸ μέτωπον ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διέσπασ ται καὶ ἑστήκασιν οἷον ἀπερρωγυῖαι ἀπ' ἀλλήλων αἱ φάλαγγες, καὶ ὅταν τις ἐπὶ τὸ δεξιὸν ἢ τὸ εὐώνυμον κέρας ὁρμήσειεν, ἐφάλλεται αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ μέτωπον καὶ τὸ μετ' ἐ κεῖνο μέρος τῆς ὅλης παρατάξεως, καὶ καθάπερ τινὲς λαίλαπες τὸ ὑποκείμενον συνετάραξαν. Τὰ δὲ πολεμικὰ τούτοις ὄργανα, οὐ πάνυ δόρασι χρῶνται καθάπερ οἱ λεγό μενοι Κελτοί, ἀλλὰ πανταχόθεν κυκλοῦντες τὸν ἐχθρὸν τό ξοις βάλλουσιν, καὶ ἔστιν ἡ ἄμυνα τούτων πόρρωθεν. Ὁπό ταν διώκῃ, ἁλίσκει τῷ τόξῳ, καὶ διωκόμενος κρατεῖ τοῖς βέλεσι, καὶ βάλλει βέλος καὶ τὸ βέλος πετόμενον ἢ τὸν ἵππον ἢ τὸν ἱππότην ἔπληξεν, ἀπὸ δὲ βαρυτάτης χειρὸς ἀφεθὲν δι' ὅλου τοῦ σώματος παρελήλυθεν· οὕτως εἰσὶ τοξικώτατοι. 15.3.8 Πρὸς γοῦν τοῦτο ὁ πολυπειρότατος ἐκεῖνος βασιλεὺς ἐνιδών, τὰς παρατάξεις αὐτὸς ἐπεποίητο, καὶ συνίστα τὰς φάλαγγας οὕτως ὡς τοὺς μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν δεξιῶν τοξεύειν, ὅθεν αἱ ἀσπίδες προβέβληντο, τοὺς δὲ ἡμετέρους ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν βάλλειν, ὅθεν τὰ ἀσκέπαστα ἦν τοῦ σώματος. Καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν τὴν τοιαύτην κατανοήσας παράταξιν ὡς ἄμαχός ἐστιν ἐθαύμασε τῆς δυνάμεως· ὥσπερ τινὰ Θεοῦ σύνταξιν ἄντικρυς καὶ ἀγγέλων παρεμβολὴν τὴν τοιαύτην ἡγεῖτο παράταξιν. Ἅπαντες δὲ καὶ ἐθαύμαζον καὶ ἐγεγή θεσαν τεθαρρηκότες ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος σκέμματι. Ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἅμα καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις κατανοῶν καὶ τὰς πεδιά δας δι' ὧν διιέναι ἔμελλε, φανταζόμενος καὶ τὸ τῆς παρα τάξεως στερρὸν καὶ ἀδιάσπαστον λογιζόμενος, χρηστὰς ἐλπίδας ἐντεῦθεν ἐλάμβανε καὶ εἰς ἔργον ταύτας Θεῷ προ βῆναι ἐπηύχετο.

15.4.1 Οὕτω γοῦν παραταξάμενος τὴν Σαντάβαριν κατέλαβε ........ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ἅπαντας τῆς τοιαύτης παρατάξεως διελὼν τὸν μὲν Καμύτζην κατὰ τοῦ Πολυβό του καὶ τῆς Κέδρου ἐξέπεμψε (πολίχνιον δὲ τοῦτο ἐρυμνό τατον παρά τινος σατράπου Πουχέα καλουμένου κατεχό μενον), τῷ δέ γε Στυπειώτῃ κατὰ τῶν ἐν τῷ Ἀμορίῳ βαρβάρων ἀπελθεῖν ....το. Αἰσθέμενοι δὲ τῆς βουλῆς δύο τινὲς Σκύθαι αὐτόμολοι προσεληλυθότες τῷ Πουχέᾳ τὴν τοῦ Καμύτζη διεμήνυον ἔφοδον, ἅμα δὲ