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the road. But he, having departed, was permitted on his way in to pass unhindered by the Bulgarian local guards, but when he was about to return again to the emperor after fulfilling his orders, he fell into ambushes lying in wait and setting a trap for this very purpose in a certain long, narrow pass; in 2.460 which having entered and being surrounded on all sides and struck from above by stones and arrows, with no one being able to defend himself because of the density and the impassability of the narrow pass, he himself fell, not even able to use his own hands, and a large part of the army perished with him. When this was reported to the emperor, it filled him with great despair. For this reason he decided not to proceed further, but turning back came to Zagoria, where the very well-fortified fortress of Melenikos is established, founded upon a certain rock crowned on all sides with cliffs and very deep ravines; in which the Bulgarians who had fled from all the surrounding country cared little for the Romans. To them the emperor sent a certain eunuch Sergius, one of his most trusted chamberlains, a man both sensible and skilled in speaking, to test their intentions.

And he, having gone there and using many persuasive arguments, was strong enough to convince the men of what was necessary, and to lay down their arms and surrender themselves and the fortress to the emperor. The emperor accepted them and treated them kindly in a fitting manner, and having stationed a sufficient garrison in the fortress, he proceeded to Mosynopolis; while he was staying there, the death of Samuel was announced on the 24th of the month of October. And immediately the emperor departed from Mosynopolis and went down to Thessalonica, and from there he went away to Pelagonia, harming nothing in his path, but only burning the palace of Gabriel in Boutelion. And sending an army, he captured the fortresses 2.461 of Prilep and Stypeion. From there he reached the river called Tzernas, which he crossed on rafts and inflated skins, and went up to Vodena, and from there on the 9th of the month of January he came to Thessalonica. When spring came, he returned again to Bulgaria, and drew near the fortress of Vodena; for they had, having renounced their faith to the emperor, taken up arms against the Romans. Therefore, having established a strong siege, he compelled those within, after receiving pledges, to surrender themselves; these he again resettled in Boleron, and having built two other fortresses in the middle of the difficult terrain, one of which he named Kardia and the other Saint Elias, he returned to Thessalonica. There Romanos, also known as Gabriel, through a certain Roman with a severed hand promised submission and subjection. But he, suspecting the letters, sent the patrikios Nikephoros Xiphias and Constantine Diogenes, who had become strategos of Thessalonica after Botaneiates, with a force into the land of Moglena. While they were laying waste to that entire land and besieging the city, the emperor also arrived, and having diverted the river flowing by the city, and having undermined the foundations of the walls and placed wood and other flammable material under the excavations and setting it on fire, when the material was burnt up, he destroyed the wall. Seeing this, those within turned with lamentations to supplication, and surrendered themselves along with the fortress. 2.462 And so Dometianos the Kaukanos was taken, a powerful man and an associate of Gabriel, and Elitzes the archon of Moglena, and many other powerful men, and a not inconsiderable fighting force. The emperor therefore sent those able to bear arms to Asprakania, and ordered the remaining rabble to be plundered, and the fortress to be burned. Another fortress called Enotia, neighboring Moglena, was also taken. On the fifth day the Roman with the severed hand arrived, having also the servants of John, also called

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ὁδόν. ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν συνεχωρήθη μὲν ἐν τῷ εἰσιέναι παρὰ τῶν τοποφυλακούντων Βουλγάρων ἀνεμποδίστως διελθεῖν, μέλλων δὲ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα πάλιν ὑποστρέφειν μετὰ τὸ τὰ προστεταγμένα πληρῶσαι περιπίπτει λόχοις ἐπ' αὐτῷ τούτῳ προσκαθημένοις καὶ ἐνεδρεύουσιν ἔν τινι ἐπιμήκει στενοχωρίᾳ· ἐν 2.460 ᾗ εἰσελθὼν καὶ πάντοθεν περιστοιχισθεὶς καὶ ἄνωθεν ὑπὸ λίθων καὶ τόξων βαλλόμενος, μηδενὸς ἀμύνασθαι δυναμένου διὰ τὴν πύκνωσιν καὶ τὸ τῆς στενοχωρίας ἀδιεξόδευτον, αὐτός τε πίπτει, μηδὲ ταῖς οἰκείαις χερσὶ δυνηθεὶς χρήσασθαι, καὶ πολὺ μέρος σὺν αὐτῷ ἀπώλετο τοῦ στρατοῦ. ἅπερ μηνυθέντα τῷ βασιλεῖ πολλῆς αὐτὸν ἐνέπλησεν ἀθυμίας. ὅθεν καὶ προσωτέρω χωρεῖν οὐκ ἔκρινεν, ἀλλ' ὑποστρέψας ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ Ζαγόρια, ἔνθα τὸ λίαν ὀχυρώτατον ἵδρυται φρούριον ὁ Μελένικος, ἐπί τινος πέτρας ἱδρυμένον κρημνοῖς καὶ φάραγξι βαθυτάταις πάντοθεν ἐστεφανω μένης· ἐν ᾧ οἱ τῆς περιχώρου πάντοθεν καταφυγόντες Βούλγαροι ὀλίγα τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐφρόντιζον. πρὸς οὓς ὁ βασιλεὺς Σέργιόν τινα ἐκτομίαν, ἕνα τῶν οἰκειοτάτων αὐτῷ θαλαμηπόλων, ἐκπέμπει, ἄνδρα φρενήρη τε καὶ δεινὸν εἰπεῖν, ἀποπειρώμενος τῆς γνώμης αὐτῶν.

Οὗτος δ' ἐκεῖσε γενόμενος καὶ πολλαῖς χρησάμενος πιθα νολογίαις μεταδιδάξαι ἴσχυσε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὸ δέον, καὶ τὰ ὅπλα καταθεμένους παραδοῦναι τῷ βασιλεῖ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὸ φρού ριον. οὓς ἀποδεξάμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ φιλοφρονησάμενος ἀξιο πρεπῶς, καὶ φρουρὰν τῷ φρουρίῳ τὴν ἀρκοῦσαν ἐγκατατάξας, μετέβη πρὸς Μοσυνούπολιν· ἐν ᾗ διάγοντι τούτῳ καὶ ὁ τοῦ Σα μουὴλ ἀγγέλλεται θάνατος κατὰ τὴν κδʹ τοῦ Ὀκτωβρίου μηνός. καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπάρας ἐκ Μοσυνουπόλεως κάτεισιν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην, κἀκεῖθεν ἄπεισιν εἰς Πελαγονίαν, μηδὲν λυμαινό μενος τῶν ἐν ποσίν, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνα πυρπολήσας τὰ ἐν Βουτελίῳ βα σίλεια τοῦ Γαβριήλ. πέμψας δὲ καὶ στρατιὰν χειροῦται τὸ φρού 2.461 ριον Πριλάπου καὶ τοῦ Στυπείου. ἐκεῖθεν καταλαμβάνει τὸν Τζερνᾶν λεγόμενον ποταμόν, ὃν σχεδίαις καὶ θυλάκοις πεφυσημέ νοις διαπεράσας ἐπάνεισιν εἰς τὰ Βοδηνά, κἀκεῖθεν τῇ θʹ τοῦ Ἰα νουαρίου μηνὸς ἦλθεν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. Ἔαρος δ' ἐπιστάντος ὑπέστρεψε πάλιν εἰς Βουλγαρίαν, καὶ τῷ φρουρίῳ τῶν Βοδηνῶν προσίσχει· ἔφθασαν γὰρ οὗτοι, τὴν πρὸς βασιλέα πίστιν ἀπαρνησάμενοι, ἆραι κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ὅπλα. καρτερὰν οὖν ἐνστησάμενος πολιορκίαν ἠνάγκασε πίστεις λαβόντας ἑαυτοὺς ἐγχειρίσαι τοὺς ἔνδον· οὓς πάλιν ἐν τῷ Βολερῷ μετοικί σας, καὶ ἕτερα φρούρια ἀνεγείρας δύο ἐν τῷ μέσῳ τῆς δυσχω ρίας, ὧν τὸ μὲν Καρδίαν ὠνόμασε τὸ δ' ἕτερον ἅγιον Ἠλίαν, ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. ἐν ᾗ Ῥωμανὸς ὁ καὶ Γαβριὴλ διά τινος Ῥωμαίου χειροτμήτου δούλωσιν καὶ ὑποταγὴν ὑπισχνεῖται. ὁ δὲ ὑποπτεύσας τὰ γράμματα, τὸν πατρίκιον Νικηφόρον τὸν Ξιφίαν καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ∆ιογένην, μετὰ τὸν Βοτανειάτην στρατηγὸν γεγονότα Θεσσαλονίκης, μετὰ δυνάμεως ἐκπέμπει ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν Μογλένων. ὧν τὴν πᾶσαν ληϊσαμένων ἐκείνην γῆν καὶ τὴν πόλιν πολιορκούντων ἔφθασε καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ τὸν πα ραρρέοντα τῇ πόλει μετοχετεύσας ποταμόν, καὶ τὰ θεμέλια τῶν τειχῶν ὑπορύξας καὶ ξύλα καὶ εὔπρηστον ἄλλην ὕλην ὑποβαλὼν τοῖς ὀρύγμασι καὶ πῦρ ἐμβαλών, τῆς ὕλης καταπρησθείσης, κατέ στρεψε τὸ τεῖχος. ὅπερ ἰδόντες οἱ ἔνδον πρὸς ἱκεσίαν μετ' ὀλο φυρμῶν ἐτράποντο, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς παρεδίδουν σὺν τῷ φρουρίῳ. 2.462 ἐλήφθη μὲν οὖν ∆ομετιανὸς ὁ Καυκάνος, ἀνὴρ δυνάστης καὶ τῷ Γαβριὴλ συμπάρεδρος, καὶ Ἠλίτζης ὁ ἄρχων Μογλένων, καὶ ἕτεροι δυνάσται πολλοί, καὶ λαὸς πολεμιστὴς οὐκ ὀλίγος. τοὺς μὲν οὖν ὅπλα δυναμένους κινεῖν εἰς Ἀσπρακανίαν ἐκπέμπει ὁ βασι λεύς, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν συρφετώδη λαὸν διαρπαγῆναι προσέταξεν, ἐμπρησθῆναι δὲ καὶ τὸ φρούριον. ἑάλω καὶ ἕτερον φρούριον Ἐνώ τια κεκλημένον, γειτονοῦν τοῖς Μογλένοις. Ἡμέρᾳ δὲ πέμπτῃ ἧκεν ὁ χειρότμητος Ῥωμαῖος, ἔχων καὶ θεράποντας Ἰωάννου τοῦ καὶ