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called Mount Lipicus. And it happened that the Persians were encamped in difficult terrain and knew nothing about the emperor, that he was near, wanting to engage. But it did not seem right to the emperor to engage in battle in difficult terrain and places cut up by ditches and ravines, leading cataphracts against archers and lightly-armed and agile men. For besides their being many times more numerous, the difficult terrain would contribute not a little to their victory. For which reasons he ordered the army to make camp in places that were especially covered and able to conceal them, taking great care not to become visible to the barbarians. And so they passed the rest of the day, unknown to the barbarians encamped opposite them. And when the sun was already setting, the barbarians, having broken camp, were marching where they saw fit, in order to plunder. And the emperor, with his army, went slowly behind them throughout the entire night, taking every precaution to remain unnoticed. On the following day, the two armies met at the city of Mesene; and when battle was joined, the Romans won a decisive victory. And they killed most 3.65 of the barbarians, and also took many alive. And the other of the generals also fell in the battle, the one called Karamachoumet. The remaining one, Maratoumanos, having a few of those who had at that moment escaped death, dismounted from their horses, withdrew to a certain hill, and taking a stand they defended themselves, shooting the Romans with many arrows from the hill, and they wounded many soldiers and horses. But the emperor, having ordered the army to refrain from battle, himself approached and ordered the Persians to come over to him, suspecting no harm. For he was not unknown to them, as they had often campaigned together during the time of the civil war. But they said that they were of a mind to die under arms defending themselves and not to throw away the hopes of being saved; and not to exchange a shameful and ignoble slavery for dying nobly in battle. But as he called and ordered them to be of good courage, that they would suffer nothing ignoble, they would eagerly surrender themselves, and they approached at once, and standing around they prostrated themselves and kissed his feet, having him alone in their midst. But while he was talking with the Persians and reproaching them for their ingratitude, that being friends they had campaigned against his land, Nikephoros the despotes, the emperor's son-in-law, with some other young men from noble families, acting with a lack of discipline and poor judgment, placed the emperor in extreme danger. For suddenly rushing upon the surrounding 3.66 Persians, they began to kill them. But they, having drawn their swords, could easily have killed the emperor, surrounded in their midst, if they had wished; but thinking, as was the case, that the attack had happened not by his will but through the lack of discipline of the soldiers, they showed no ingratitude. And the emperor, when he saw them being killed, ordered them in Persian to run up to the hill again and save themselves; for he was not entirely unacquainted with their language. And having gone up again they took their stand for battle, nine having fallen in the attack, including the general. And the emperor, in anger, removed both his son-in-law and the soldiers from the Persians, and he imposed penalties for their lack of discipline; and to the remaining Persians on the hill, having given them gifts, he sent them away free to their own country, not thinking it right for him not to save those who without questioning had entrusted their own safety to him. Around the same time, his son Matthew, who held the command of the cities around Chalcidice, defeated another Persian infantry army. This army, which had crossed over by ships and was plundering the regions there, he engaged and defeated, it being not small; and some he killed in the battle, and others he took alive, with none being left. And it happened that he too came into extreme danger during that battle. For while he was unrestrainedly charging the enemy out of eagerness and killing them in his sallies and returns, his horse stumbled, and he was thrown off. As they stood around

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Λίπικος ὄρος προσαγορευόμενον. συνέβη δὲ ἔν τε δυσχωρίαις τοὺς Πέρσας ἐστρατοπεδεῦσθαι καὶ μηδὲν εἰδέναι περὶ βασιλέως, ὡς ἐγγὺς εἴη συμπλέκεσθαι βουλόμενος. βασιλεῖ δὲ οὐκ ἐδόκει δεῖν ἐν δυσχωρίαις καὶ τάφροις καὶ φάραγξι διατετμημένοις χωρίοις τοξόταις καὶ εὐσταλέσι καὶ κούφοις καταφράκτους ἄγων συμπλέκεσθαι πρὸς μάχην. πρὸς γὰρ τῷ πολλαπλασίους εἶναι καὶ ἡ δυσχωρία οὐκ ὀλίγα συμβαλεῖται πρὸς τὴν νίκην. δι' ἃ ἐκέλευε τὴν στρατιὰν καταζευγνύειν ἐν τόποις μάλιστα συνηρεφέσι καὶ δυναμένοις ἀποκρύπτειν, πολλὴν πρόνοιαν ποιουμένους, μὴ κατάδηλοι γενέσθαι τοῖς βαρβάροις. καὶ διήγαγον οὕτω τὸ λεῖπον τῆς ἡμέρας, τοῖς βαρβάροις ἀντιστρατοπεδευομένοις ἀγνοούμενοι. δύνοντος δὲ ἡλίου ἤδη, οἵ τε βάρβαροι ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἄραντες, ἐβάδιζον, ᾗ αὐτοῖς ἐδόκει, ἐπὶ τῷ ληΐσασθαι. καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὴν στρατιὰν ἔχων, ᾔει σχολῇ κατόπιν διὰ πάσης τῆς νυκτὸς, πᾶσαν πρόνοιαν ποιούμενος ἀγνοηθῆναι. τῇ ἐπιούσῃ δὲ ἐν Μεσήνῃ τῇ πόλει συνηνέχθη τὰ στρατόπεδα ἀμφότερα· καὶ γενομένης συμβολῆς, ἐνίκων οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι κατὰ κράτος. καὶ τοὺς πλεί 3.65 στους μὲν ἔκτειναν τῶν βαρβάρων, εἷλον δὲ καὶ ζῶντας πολλούς. ἔπεσε δὲ καὶ ὁ ἕτερος τῶν στρατηγῶν κατὰ τὴν μάχην, Καραμαχούμετ προσαγορευόμενος. ὁ δὲ λοιπὸς, Μαρατουμάνος, ὀλίγους τῶν ἐν τῷ αὐτίκα τὸ ἀποθανεῖν διαφυγόντων ἔχων, τῶν ἵππων ἀποβάντες λόφῳ προσεχώρησάν τινι καὶ καταστάντες ἠμύνοντο βάλλοντες συχνοῖς τοῖς βέλεσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόφου τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐτίτρωσκον στρατιώτας τε καὶ ἵππους. κελεύσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀποσχέσθαι μάχης τὸ στρατόπεδον, ἐγγὺς γενόμενος αὐτὸς, ἐκέλευε τοῖς Πέρσαις προσχωρεῖν αὐτῷ, μηδὲν ὑποπτεύοντας δεινόν. ἦν γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἄγνωστος, πολλάκις συστρατεύσασι κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἐμφυλίου πολέμου χρόνον. οἱ δ' ἔφασαν γνώμης μὲν οὕτως ἔχειν, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ἀποθνήσκειν ἀμυνόμενοι καὶ μὴ καταπροΐεσθαι τὰς τοῦ σώζεσθαι ἐλπίδας· μὴ δ' ἀλλάττεσθαι δουλείαν αἰσχρὰν καὶ ἀγεννῆ ἀντὶ τοῦ μαχομένους γενναίως ἀποθνήσκειν. αὐτοῦ δὲ καλοῦντος καὶ κελεύοντος θαῤῥεῖν, ὡς οὐδὲν ὑπομενοῦντας ἀγεννὲς, προθύμως ἐγχειρίσειν σφᾶς, καὶ προσῄεσαν αὐτίκα, καὶ περιιστάμενοι προσεκύνουν καὶ ἠσπάζοντο τοὺς πόδας, μόνον ἔχοντες ἐν μέσοις. διαλεγομένου δὲ ἐκείνου τοῖς Πέρσαις καὶ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην ὀνειδίζοντος, ὅτι τῶν φίλων ὄντες στρατεύσειαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκείνου, Νικηφόρος δεσπότης, ὁ βασιλέως γαμβρὸς, μετά τινων ἑτέρων νέων ἐξ εὐπατριδῶν, ἀταξίᾳ χρησάμενοι καὶ ἀβουλίᾳ, ἐν χρῷ κινδύνου κατέστησαν τὸν βασιλέα. ἀθρόον γὰρ τοῖς περιεστηκόσι 3.66 Πέρσαις ἐπιδραμόντες, ἔκτεινον. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ γυμνώσαντες τὰ ξίφη, ῥᾳδίως μὲν ἂν, εἰ ἐβούλοντο, ἀπέκτενον βασιλέα ἐν μέσοις περιειλημμένον· νομίσαντες δὲ, ὅπερ ἦν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνου γνώμην, ἀλλ' ἀταξίᾳ τῶν στρατιωτῶν γεγενῆσθαι τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν, ἠγνωμόνησαν οὐδέν. βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπεὶ ἑώρα κτεινομένους, ἐκέλευεν αὖθις εἰς τὸν λόφον ἀνατρέχειν Περσιστὶ καὶ σώζεσθαι· ἄπειρος γὰρ οὐ παντάπασιν ἦν τῆς ἐκείνων διαλέκτου. καὶ ἀνελθόντες αὖθις καθίσταντο εἰς μάχην, ἐννέα κατὰ τὴν ἔφοδον πεσόντων καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ. βασιλεὺς δὲ πρὸς ὀργὴν τόν τε γαμβρὸν καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἀφίστη τῶν Περσῶν, καὶ δίκας τῆς ἀταξίας ἐπετίθει· τοῖς περιλειφθεῖσι Πέρσαις δὲ κατὰ τὸν λόφον παρασχόμενος δωρεὰς, ἐλευθέρους ἀπέπεμπεν εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν, οὐχ ἑαυτοῦ νομίσας εἶναι μὴ διασώζειν τοὺς ἀπολυπραγμόνως πιστεύσαντας ἐκείνῳ τὴν σφετέραν σωτηρίαν. ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον καὶ Ματθαῖος ὁ υἱὸς, τῶν κατὰ τὴν Χαλκιδικὴν πόλεων ἔχων τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἑτέραν ἐνίκα στρατιὰν Περσῶν πεζήν. ἣν ναυσὶ περαιωθεῖσαν καὶ τὰ ἐκείνῃ χωρία ληϊζομένην ἐνίκησε συμβαλὼν, οὖσαν οὐκ ὀλίγην· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτεινε κατὰ τὴν μάχην, τοὺς δὲ εἷλε ζῶντας, οὐδενὸς ἀπολειφθέντος. συνηνέχθη δὲ κἀκεῖνον ἐν χρῷ κινδύνου κατὰ τὴν μάχην ἐκείνην γεγονέναι. ἀκρατῶς γὰρ ἐπελαύνων τοῖς πολεμίοις ὑπὸ προθυμίας καὶ κτείνων ἐν ταῖς διεξόδοις καὶ ἀναστροφαῖς, τοῦ ἵππου συμποδισθέντος, ἀπεῤῥύη. περιστάντων