340

there were words and Lucas was begging, promising to withdraw, and in this he was bestowing a great favor on the empress and on him, who was one of her favorites; for he said he would not have been persuaded if anyone else had been the ambassador. And it happened that the triremes came to Aenus, which he would use for the voyage away, bringing also the money which they had promised him. Lucas, therefore, having accomplished the greatest things, as it seemed, returned to Byzantium, and both the ships and the money were being prepared. But Amor, having encamped with the emperor Cantacuzenus at Trajanopolis, which had been in ruins for many years, was awaiting the triremes from Byzantium. And the emperor, since the people of Komotini had submitted a little earlier, sent Matthew, the elder of his sons, to occupy the town; and when he arrived, other fortresses situated around it also submitted, namely the so-called Asomatos and Parademo, and Kranobounion and Stylarion, which also later brought great benefit to the war. 68. Then, as his son was ill, it seemed necessary, while the triremes were delaying their arrival, for him to go to him, both to visit him on account of his illness and to speak about other things he needed, and to return again. Leaving the army at the camp, therefore, with only fifty Romans and two of the Persians, he was marching to Komotini, because he suspected no enemy attack in the intervening area. And when night fell, they encamped at a certain uninhabited village, 2.416 which had some few remains of the ancient settlement. It happened on the same night that a Persian infantry force, having just crossed over from Asia for plunder, put in to the shores there, and having disembarked, they left a guard of one hundred on the ships, and the rest, being about a thousand, went out for plunder; and having come to where the emperor was encamped, and seeing a fire lit from afar, they came to the place, taking every precaution to remain unnoticed, so as to scout out who they were who were using that fire; for so they themselves related later. And when they came near, they saw an army exceeding their own greatly in number, as it seemed. At once, therefore, fear entered them, lest being so numerous they would not be able to resist if they were detected, but would be destroyed if overcome. Then, when they realized they were unnoticed, they planned, dividing into four parts and surrounding the camp, to attack them unexpectedly from all sides. For they thought that by the unexpectedness of it, they would terrify and overcome them, even though they were more numerous. The barbarians, therefore, were acting according to what had been planned, and they sat around the camp, awaiting the signal. But it seemed best to their general not to risk such danger against so large an army, not knowing where it was from or its number; and sending two of the barbarians to the water, for they knew there was a spring there, he ordered them, if they could, to capture someone from the 2.417 camp, so as to learn something certain about the army from him. So they were thus lying in wait by the spring, and when one of the boys with the emperor came to draw water, the barbarians rushed to seize him. But being unable to do so because he escaped by fleeing, they came to the general and reported what had happened, that they had now been discovered. Then the army seemed even more to the barbarians to be far superior to them in number and formidable from its mere appearance, so that they despaired of going to battle against them, considering it fortunate if they could depart from there unharmed by evils, and they kept quiet, awaiting the withdrawal of the army. And the emperor, when the boy came in a state of alarm and reported that he was being pursued by some men at the spring, and that he thought the pursuers were Persians, dismissed him as being terrified by some phantom, and ordered the morning hymns to be sung to God; for the night was already near dawn. And when these were finished, they mounted their horses and withdrew from the place, knowing nothing of the evils that surrounded them. And when they were not far off, they heard a noise and the shouting of Persians at the place where they had been encamped. But the emperor

340

λόγοι καὶ ἐδεῖτο ὁ Λουκᾶς, ἐπηγγέλλετο ἀναχωρήσειν, βασιλίδι τε χάριν πολλὴν κατατιθέμενος ἐν τούτῳ καὶ αὐτῷ, ὄντι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων· ἄλλου γὰρ πρεσβεύοντος ἔφασκεν οὐκ ἂν πεισθῆναι. καὶ συνέβησαν εἰς Αἶνον τὰς τριήρεις ἐλθεῖν, αἷς χρήσεται πρὸς τὸν ἀπόπλουν, ἀγούσας καὶ τὰ χρήματα, ἃ ἐπηγγείλαντο αὐτῷ. Λουκᾶς μὲν οὖν τὰ μέγιστα κατεργασάμενος, ὡς ἐδόκει, ἐπανῆκεν εἰς Βυζάντιον, καὶ παρεσκευάζοντο αἵ τε νῆες καὶ τὰ χρήματα. Ἀμοὺρ δὲ μετὰ Καντακουζηνοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς τὴν Τραϊανούπολιν κατεσκαμμένην οὖσαν ἐκ πολλῶν ἐτῶν στρατοπεδευσάμενος, τὰς ἐκ Βυζαντίου περιέμενε τριήρεις. βασιλεὺς δὲ, ὀλίγῳ πρότερον τῶν Κουμουτζηνῶν προσχωρησάντων, Ματθαῖον ἔπεμψε τὸν πρεσβύτερον τῶν υἱῶν κατέχειν τὴν πολίχνην· ἐλθόντι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα φρούρια προσεχώρησαν περὶ ἐκείνην ᾠκισμένα, τό,τε προσαγορευόμενον Ἀσώματος καὶ ἡ Παραδημὼ, τό,τε Κρανοβούνιον καὶ Στυλάριον, ἃ καὶ μεγάλην ὕστερον πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὠφέλειαν εἰσήνεγκε. ξηʹ. Τότε δὲ νοσηλευομένου τοῦ υἱοῦ, ἐδόκει δεῖν ἐν ὅσῳ διαμέλλουσιν αἱ τριήρεις παραγίνεσθαι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον καὶ τῆς τε νόσου ἕνεκα ἐπισκεψάμενον καὶ περὶ ἄλλων ὧν ἐδεῖτο ὁμιλήσαντα, αὖθις ἀναστρέφειν. καταλιπὼν οὖν τὴν στρατιὰν ἐπὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου, πεντήκοντα μόνους ἔχων Ῥωμαίων καὶ δύο τῶν Περσῶν, ἐβάδιζεν εἰς Κουμουτζηνὰ διὰ τὸ μηδεμίαν ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ πολεμίων ὑποπτεύειν ἔφοδον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπεγένετο ἡ νὺξ, ηὐλίσαντο ἐπί τινι κώμῃ ἀοικήτῳ, 2.416 λείψανα τῆς ἀρχαίας συνοικίας ὀλίγα τινὰ ἐχούσῃ. συνέβη δὲ τῆς αὐτῆς νυκτὸς καὶ στρατιὰν Περσῶν πεζὴν ἄρτι περαιωθεῖσαν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπὶ λείαν, τοῖς ἐκεῖ αἰγιαλοῖς προσχεῖν, ἀποβᾶσαν δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν νεῶν τὴν φυλακὴν ἑκατὸν καταλιπεῖν, τοὺς ἐπιλοίπους δὲ, ὄντας περὶ χιλίους, ἐπὶ τὴν λεηλασίαν ἐξελθεῖν· γενομένους δὲ ἔνθα ηὐλίζετο ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν ἡμμένην πυρὰν ἰδόντας, ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸ χωρίον, πᾶσαν ποιουμένους πρόνοιαν ἀγνοηθῆναι, ὥστε κατασκέψασθαι, οἵτινες εἶεν οἱ χρώμενοι ἐκείνῳ τῷ πυρί· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτοὶ διηγοῦντο ὕστερον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐγένοντο ἐγγὺς, στρατιὰν ἰδεῖν πλήθει ὑπερέχουσαν, ὡς ἔδοξεν, αὐτῶν πολύ. εὐθὺς μὲν οὖν εἰσῄει δέος, μὴ αἰσθομένοις αὐτοῖς τοσούτοις οὖσιν οὐχ οἷοίτε ὦσιν ἀντισχεῖν, ἀλλὰ διαφθαρῶσι κρατηθέντες. ἔπειτα ὡς ᾐσθάνοντο ἀγνοηθέντες, ἐβουλεύσαντο διελόμενοι τετραχῇ καὶ περιελθόντες τὸ στρατόπεδον, προσβάλλειν ἀπροσδοκήτοις πανταχόθεν. οἰηθῆναι γὰρ διὰ τὸ ἀπροσδόκητον καταπλήξαντας περιγενέσθαι, καὶ πλειόνων ὄντων. οἱ βάρβαροι μὲν οὖν ἐποίουν κατὰ τὰ βεβουλευμένα, καὶ περιεκάθηντο τὸ στρατόπεδον, ἀναμένοντες τὸ σύνθημα. τῷ στρατηγοῦντι δὲ αὐτῶν ἐδόκει, μὴ πρὸς τοσαύτην στρατιὰν οὕτω διακινδυνεύειν, ἀγνοοῦντα ὅθεν τε εἴη καὶ τὸν ἀριθμόν· καὶ πέμψας δύο τῶν βαρβάρων πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ, ᾔδεσαν γὰρ οὖσαν ἐκεῖ πηγὴν, ἐκέλευεν, εἰ δύναιντο, τῶν ἐκ τοῦ στρατο 2.417 πέδου συλλαμβάνειν τινὰ, ὥστε παρ' αὐτοῦ τι βέβαιον περὶ τῆς στρατιᾶς μαθεῖν. οἱ μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἐνήδρευον πρὸς τῇ πηγῇ, παιδίου δὲ ἑνὸς τῶν βασιλεῖ συνόντων ἐλθόντος ἐπὶ τὸ ἀρύσασθαι, ὥρμησαν μὲν οἱ βάρβαροι κατασχεῖν. μὴ δυνηθέντες δὲ διὰ τὸ διαδρᾶναι φυγῇ χρησάμενον, πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν ἐλθόντες, ἀπήγγελλον τὸ συμβὰν, ὡς ἤδη ἐγνωσμένων. τοῖς βαρβάροις δὲ τότε μᾶλλον ἔδοξεν ἡ στρατιὰ πλήθει τε αὐτῶν ὑπερέχουσα πολλῷ καὶ ἀπὸ μόνης φοβερὰ τῆς ὄψεως, ὥστε καὶ ἀπεγίνωσκον τὸ διὰ μάχης αὐτοῖς ἰέναι, ἀγαπητὸν ἡγούμενοι, ἂν ἐκεῖθεν ἀπαθεῖς κακῶν ἀπαλλαγῶσι, καὶ ἡσύχαζον, τὴν ἀναχώρησιν περιμένοντες τῆς στρατιᾶς. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ τὸ παιδίον τεθορυβημένον ἐλθὸν ἀπήγγελλεν, ὡς πρὸς τῇ πηγῇ διώκοιτο ὑπό τινων, Πέρσας δὲ τοὺς διώκοντας εἶναι οἰηθῆναι, τὸ μὲν ἀπεπέμψατο ὡς ὑπὸ φάσματός τινος ἐκπεπληγμένον, ἐκέλευε δὲ τοὺς ἑωθινοὺς ὕμνους ᾄδειν θεῷ· ἤδη γὰρ περὶ ὄρθρον ἦν ἡ νύξ. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνοι ἐτελοῦντο, τῶν ἵππων ἐπιβάντες ἀνεχώρουν τοῦ χωρίου, μηδὲν τῶν περισχόντων κακῶν εἰδότες. ἤδη δὲ ὄντες οὐ μακρὰν, θορύβου ἤκουον καὶ ἀλαλαγμοῦ Περσῶν ἐφ' οὗ ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο χωρίου. βασιλεὺς δὲ