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The Latins in Galata, however, hoped that the emperor, having despaired of the war against them, would immediately come and concede to them all that they wanted, and would proceed to agreements, leaving them masters of the sea. But when nothing turned out according to their wishes, but they saw him building ships and preparing for battle, they changed their minds and sent an embassy and discussed peace. The emperor reproached them for their wickedness and ingratitude, because though they had been wronged by him in nothing, neither before nor after, and though he had given no 3.73 pretext for war at all, they themselves had acted so ungratefully and had initiated so much 3.73 injustice and destruction. Then he ordered them to abandon the fortified place and to pull down the walls. For thus there would be a truce for them and peace with him, he granting pardon for the damages they had inflicted during the war. But they would not even listen with the tips of their ears, but said that he must concede the fortified place to them, or they would neglect none of their interests. And at the same time the war was intensified, and sailing around they destroyed those they encountered. And since they had made the sea unnavigable for the Romans, they set up a siege engine on a ten-thousand-measure cargo ship, from which was thrown a stone of such weight as a strong man could lift. Then, towing the cargo ship with a trireme, they threw stones everywhere in the city, but did no harm. But the emperor, since he was not able to oppose them from the sea immediately, being short of triremes, sent an army from the mainland and ordered frequent raids to be made, and they did as much harm as possible. However, he did not neglect the sea entirely, but having set up stone-throwing engines of extraordinary size, he ordered stones to be thrown from Byzantium towards Galata. For they reached and destroyed many houses, especially those by the sea, and the stones inflicted no little damage on the cargo ships of the Latins. And they sank with a missile the cargo ship that carried the engine, with those on board barely escaping the danger. The Latins sent an embassy two and even three times concerning 3.74 peace, but the emperor would not consent unless they pulled down the walls and abandoned the place. After no little time had been spent on these things, and the triremes had been built, the emperor enrolled sailors and hoplites, and prepared everything else for battle; and he appointed generals, for the three triremes at Pissa, Phakeolatos the protostrator, and for those built in the Kontoskalion, Tsamblakon the megas doux. But the megas doux strove ambitiously to outfit his own more elaborately; for they were also very large in size, and having set up wooden towers and roofing over the rowers from above, he made the triremes two-decked, and he placed on them a multitude of hoplites and light-armed troops, which in fact proved most harmful at the time of the battle, as will be told a little later. On the day before the triremes were to set sail from the dockyard, a cargo ship was seen sailing up from Genoa, carrying much wealth, as was said. But when a calm set in, as the winds had ceased, it anchored at the island of Prinkipo. Against it two of the imperial triremes set out from the dockyard by night; and an equal number of monoremes followed. And attacking the cargo ship, since those inside defended themselves stoutly, the men of the triremes threw fire, and thus gaining the upper hand, they boarded the cargo ship, after killing not a few of the defenders, and were already masters of everything. But when an unsubstantiated rumor reached the triremes, that Latin triremes were sailing from 3.75 Galata, they turned to flight, leaving a little less than fifty of their own men on the cargo ship. And the rumors were completely false. But the Romans left behind on the cargo ship, realizing that the triremes had sailed away, finding themselves at a loss, entered into discussions with the Latins who had already been completely defeated. And they agreed to extinguish together the burning cargo ship, so that they themselves might not also be destroyed with it. And on the next day, if the Romans should sail up and become masters of the cargo ship,

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οἱ ἐν Γαλατᾷ δὲ Λατῖνοι ἤλπιζον μὲν αὐτίκα ἐλθόντα βασιλέα τὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀπογνόντα πόλεμον, πάντων αὐτοῖς παραχωρήσειν, ὧν ἐβούλοντο, καὶ χωρήσειν πρὸς συμβάσεις, ἄρχοντας καταλιπόντα τῆς θαλάσσης. ὡς δ' ἀπήντα κατὰ γνώμην αὐτοῖς οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ ναῦς ἑώρων ναυπηγούμενον καὶ παρασκευαζόμενον πρὸς μάχην, μεταβαλόντες πρεσβείαν ἐποιοῦντο καὶ περὶ εἰρήνης διελέγοντο. βασιλεὺς δὲ αὐτοῖς τὴν πονηρίαν καὶ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην ὀνειδίσας, ὅτι μηδὲν μήτε πρότερον, μήθ' ὕστερον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἀδικηθέντες, μηδὲ πρόφασιν πολέμου παρεσχημέ 3.73 νου μηδεμίαν, αὐτοὶ τοσαῦτα ἠγνωμόνησαν καὶ τοσαύτης ἦρ3.73 ξαν ἀδικίας καὶ φθορᾶς. ἔπειτα ἐκέλευε τὸ τειχισθὲν χωρίον καταλείπειν καὶ τὰ τείχη καθαιρεῖν. οὕτω γὰρ ἔσεσθαι σπονδὰς αὐτοῖς καὶ εἰρήνην πρὸς αὐτὸν, συγγνώμην παρασχόμενον, ὧν ἐζημίωσαν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον. οἱ δὲ οὐδ' ἄκροις κατεδέχοντο ὠσὶν, ἀλλὰ δεῖν ἔφασαν αὐτοῖς τοῦ χωρίου παραχωρεῖν τετειχισμένου, ἢ οὐδενὸς τῶν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἡκόντων ἀμελήσειν. καὶ ἅμα ἐπετείνετο ὁ πόλεμος, καὶ περιπλέοντες διέφθειρον τοὺς προστυχόντας. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν θάλατταν ἄπλωτον ἐποίησαν Ῥωμαίοις, ἐφ' ὁλκάδος μυριοφόρου μηχανὴν ἐπιστήσαντες τειχομαχικὴν, ἀφ' ἧς λίθου βάρος, ὅσον εὔρωστος ἀνὴρ ἂν ἄροιτο, ἠφίετο. εἶτα τριήρει περιέλκοντες τὴν ὁλκάδα, λίθους ἠφίεσαν πανταχοῦ τῆς πόλεως, ἔβλαπτον δὲ οὐδέν. βασιλεὺς δ' ἐπεὶ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτίκα ἀντιτάττεσθαι αὐτοῖς οὐκ εἶχεν ἐκ θαλάττης, τριηρέων ἀπορῶν, στρατιὰν ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου πέμπων, ἐφόδους ἐκέλευε συχνὰς ποιεῖσθαι, καὶ ἔβλαπτον ὅσα δυνατά. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ τῆς θαλάττης παντάπασιν ἠμέλει, ἀλλὰ πετροβόλους στήσας μηχανὰς τὸ μέγεθος ὑπερφυεῖς, λίθους ἐκέλευεν ἐκ Βυζαντίου ἀφιέναι πρὸς Γαλατᾶν. διικνοῦντο γὰρ καὶ πολλὰς κατέστρεψαν οἰκίας, μάλιστα τὰς παρὰ θάλασσαν, καὶ ταῖς ὁλκάσι τῶν Λατίνων οὐκ ὀλίγα ἐλυμήναντο οἱ λίθοι. τήν τε τὴν μηχανὴν ἀνέχουσαν ὁλκάδα κατέδυσαν βαλόντες, μόλις τῶν ἐπιβατῶν τὸν κίνδυνον διαφυγόντων. οἱ Λατῖνοι δὲ καὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς περὶ 3.74 εἰρήνης πρεσβείαν ἐποιήσαντο, οὐκ ἠνέσχετο δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς, εἰ μὴ τὰ τείχη καθελόντες, τὸ χωρίον καταλίποιεν. ἐν τούτοις δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγου τριβέντος χρόνου, καὶ τῶν τριηρέων ναυπηγηθεισῶν, ναύτας τε κατέλεγεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁπλίτας, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἐξηρτύετο πρὸς μάχην· στρατηγούς τε ἐφίστη, ταῖς μὲν πρὸς τῇ Πίσσῃ τρισὶ τριήρεσι Φακεωλάτον τὸν πρωτοστράτορα, ταῖς δ' ἐν τῷ Κοντοσκαλίῳ ναυπηγηθείσαις Τζαμπλάκωνα τὸν μέγαν δοῦκα. ἐφιλονείκησε δὲ ὁ μέγας δοὺξ φιλοτιμότερον προσεξεργάσασθαι τὰς ἰδίας· ἦσαν γὰρ καὶ μέγισται μεγέθει, καὶ ξυλίνους ἐπιστήσας πύργους καὶ τοὺς ἐρέτας ἄνωθεν ἐρέψας, διπλᾶς ἐποίει τὰς τριήρεις, καὶ πλῆθος ὁπλιτῶν ἐπέστησε καὶ ψιλῶν, ὃ καὶ μάλιστα ἔβλαψε κατὰ τῆς μάχης τὸν καιρὸν, ὡς ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον εἰρήσεται. τῇ προτεραίᾳ δὲ, ἧς ἔμελλον ἀνάγεσθαι αἱ τριήρεις ἐκ τοῦ νεωρίου, ὁλκὰς ἀναπλέουσα ἐφαίνετο ἐκ Γεννούας, πλοῦτον ἄγουσα, ὡς ἐλέγετο, πολύν. ἀπλοίας δὲ, τῶν ἀνέμων παυσαμένων, κατασχούσης, πρὸς Πριγγίπῳ τῇ νήσῳ ὡρμίζετο ἐπ' ἀγκυρῶν. ἐφ' ἣν δύο τῶν βασιλικῶν τριηρέων ἐκ τοῦ νεωρίου ἀνήγοντο νυκτός· παρείποντο δὲ καὶ μονήρεις ἴσαι. καὶ προσβαλόντες τῇ ὁλκάδι, ἐπεὶ ἠμύνοντο οἱ ἔνδον κραταιῶς, πῦρ ἐνίεσαν οἱ τριηρῖται, καὶ οὕτω περιγενόμενοι, ἐπέβησάν τε τῆς ὁλκάδος, οὐκ ὀλίγους τῶν ἀμυνομένων ἀποκτείναντες, καὶ πάντων ἦσαν ἤδη κύριοι. φήμης δὲ ἀδήλως ταῖς τριήρεσιν ἐπιπεσούσης, ὡς τριήρεις ἐπιπλέουσιν ἐκ Γα 3.75 λατᾶ Λατινικαὶ, ἐτράπησαν εἰς φυγὴν, ὀλίγῳ ἐλάσσους πεντήκοντα τῶν οἰκείων καταλιπόντες ἐπὶ τῆς ὁλκάδος. ἦσαν δὲ παντάπασι ψευδεῖς αἱ φῆμαι. οἱ δὲ καταλειφθέντες Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπὶ τῆς ὁλκάδος, αἰσθόμενοι ἀποπλευσάσας τὰς τριήρεις, ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ καταστάντες, εἰς λόγους ἦλθον τοῖς Λατίνοις νενικημένοις ἤδη κατὰ κράτος. καὶ συνέβησαν ὥστε κοινῇ σβεννύειν κατακαιομένην τὴν ὁλκάδα, ἵνα μὴ συνδιαφθαρῶσι καὶ αὐτοί. εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν δὲ, ἂν μὲν Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπιπλεύσαντες, κύριοι τῆς ὁλκάδος γένωνται,