468

of Vladislav, son of Aaron, bringing letters declaring that Gabriel had been killed by him at Petriskos and that all power had been transferred to himself, and promising to show the proper submission and servitude to the emperor. Which the emperor read, and having confirmed what seemed best with golden-sealed letters, he sent them to John. And after a few days the Roman whose hand had been cut off returned again, bringing letters from both John and the archons of Bulgaria, confessing that they would become subjects and slaves of the emperor. And there also came over to the emperor Kaukanos, the brother of Dometian, who had been captured in Moglena; whom he rewarded generously and held in honor. But when he learned that John had written what he had written with deceit and cunning and was intending the opposite of what he had promised, he returned again to Bulgaria, and having plundered the region around Ostrovo and Soskos and the plain of Pelagonia, he blinded all the Bulgarians who were captured. He therefore went as far as the city of Achrida, in which the palaces of the kings of Bulgaria 2.463 were established. And having taken the city and arranged everything well, he was about to proceed further and to reach Dyrrachium; for affairs there required his presence. For as long as Vladimir, the son-in-law of Samuel, ruled over Trymalia and the nearest parts of Serbia, a man fair and peaceful and clinging to virtue, affairs in Dyrrachium were quiet; but when Gabriel was killed by John, and this man also, having been deceived and trusting the oaths given to him by John through David the archbishop of Bulgaria, handed himself over and was slain shortly after, affairs there were in great turmoil and confusion, as John pressed on daily, both often through his generals and again by himself, to take the city. And for this reason the emperor wished to go and render aid, but he was prevented for a not unreasonable cause. For while going to Achrida he had left behind with a multitude of soldiers the general George Gonitziates and the protospatharios Orestes the captive, having ordered them to ravage the plains of Pelagonia; whom Bulgarians, having laid an ambush with Ivatses as their general, a most famous and proven man, killed them all. The emperor, distraught with grief for them, returned to Pelagonia, and having run down and pursued Ivatses, he departed for Thessalonica. And from there he crossed over to Mosynopolis, having sent a force against Strumitsa with the patrikios David Arianites as leader; who, appearing suddenly, took the fortress which is named Thermitza. And 2.464 again he sends out another force against the fortresses in Triaditza, with Xiphias as commander. And he too, having subjugated everything in the open country, took by siege the stronghold which is called Boïon. But the emperor, having gone to Constantinople, in the month of January of the year #22φκδʹ, sends out a fleet to Khazaria, with Mongos as commander, son of Andronikos, doux of Lydia; and with the cooperation of Sphengos, the brother of Vladimir, the brother of the king, he subjugated the country, its ruler, George Tzoulos, having been captured in the first assault. At that time also Senacherim, the ruler of Upper Media, which they call Asprakania today, came over to the emperor with his entire family, having handed over the entire country subject to him, having been honored as patrikios and strategos of Cappadocia, and having received in exchange possessions, these cities: Sebasteia, Larissa, Abara, and many other properties. For he, being hard-pressed by the neighboring Agarenes and not being able to resist, came over to the emperor, handing over his own country. Having been sent to rule it, the patrikios Basil Argyros, and having failed completely, is relieved of his command; and as his successor is sent the protospatharios Nikephoros Komnenos, who, upon arriving in the country and using partly persuasion and partly force, the country subject to the emperor

468

Βλαδισθλάβου, υἱοῦ Ἀαρών, ἐπαγόμενος καὶ γράμματα δηλοῦντα φονευθῆναι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τὸν Γα βριὴλ ἐν τῷ Πετρισκῷ καὶ τὴν πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν εἰς ἑαυτὸν μετενε χθῆναι, ὑπισχνούμενά τε τὴν πρέπουσαν ὑποταγὴν καὶ δούλωσιν ἐνδείξασθαι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα. ὅπερ ἀναγνοὺς ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ χρυσοβούλλοις γράμμασιν τὰ δοκοῦντα πιστωσάμενος, ἀπέστειλε πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην. καὶ μετ' ὀλίγας πάλιν ἡμέρας ἐπανῆκεν ὁ τετμημένος τὴν χεῖρα Ῥωμαῖος, γραφὰς κομίζων Ἰωάννου τε καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων Βουλγαρίας ὑπηκόους ὁμολογούντων καὶ δούλους γενέσθαι τοῦ βασιλέως. προσερρύη δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ Καυκάνος ὁ ἀδελφὸς ∆ομετιανοῦ τοῦ ἐν Μογλένοις ἁλόντος· ὃν φιλοτιμησά μενος διὰ τιμῆς ἦγεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔγνω τὸν Ἰωάννην δόλῳ καὶ περι νοίᾳ γράψαντα τὰ γραφέντα καὶ τἀναντία ὧν ὑπισχνεῖτο διανοού μενον, ἐπανέστρεψε πάλιν πρὸς Βουλγαρίαν, καὶ λεηλατήσας τὴν περίχωρον Ὀστροβοῦ καὶ τοῦ Σωσκοῦ καὶ τὴν πεδιάδα Πελαγονίας τοὺς ἁλισκομένους πάντας ἀπετύφλου Βουλγάρους. ἄπεισιν οὖν ἄχρι τῆς πόλεως Ἀχρίδος, ἐν ᾗ τὰ βασίλεια τῶν βασιλέων ἵδρυντο 2.463 Βουλγαρίας. καὶ τὴν πόλιν παραλαβὼν καὶ πάντα καλῶς δια θεὶς ἔμελλε καὶ προσωτέρω βαδίζειν καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ∆υρράχιον ἅψασθαι· ἐδεῖτο γὰρ τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ τὰ ἐκεῖσε. ἕως μὲν γὰρ Τρυμαλιᾶς καὶ τῶν ἀγχοτάτω Σερβίας μερῶν ἦρχε Βλαδιμη ρὸς ὁ ἐπὶ θυγατρὶ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ κηδεστής, ἀνὴρ ἐπιεικὴς καὶ εἰρηνικὸς καὶ ἀρετῆς ἀντεχόμενος, ἠρεμίαν εἶχε τὰ ἐν ∆υρραχίῳ· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ Γαβριὴλ παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου ἀπώλετο, καὶ οὗτος παρασπονδηθεὶς καὶ τοῖς ὅρκοις πιστεύσας παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου δο θεῖσιν αὐτῷ διὰ ∆αβὶδ τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου Βουλγαρίας ἑαυτὸν ἐνεχείρισε καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἀπεσφάγη, πολὺν εἶχε τάραχον καὶ κλόνον τὰ ἐκεῖσε πράγματα, ἐγκειμένου καθ' ἑκάστην καὶ διὰ στρατηγῶν πολλάκις τοῦ Ἰωάννου καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ πάλιν ἑλεῖν τὴν πόλιν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐβούλετο μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀπελθεῖν καὶ βοη θῆσαι, ἐκωλύθη δὲ δι' αἰτίαν οὐκ ἄλογον. ἀπερχόμενος γὰρ πρὸς Ἀχρίδα κατέλιπε κατόπιν μετὰ πλήθους στρατιωτῶν Γεώρ γιον στρατηγὸν τὸν Γονιτζιάτην καὶ Ὀρέστην πρωτοσπαθάριον τὸν αἰχμάλωτον, κατατρέχειν κελεύσας τὰ πεδία Πελαγονίας· οὓς ἐλλοχήσαντες Βούλγαροι ἔχοντες στρατηγὸν τὸν Ἰβάτζην, φανε ρώτατον ἄνδρα καὶ δεδοκιμασμένον, ἀναιροῦσι πάντας. ὧν τῇ λύπῃ συγχυθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπανέστρεψεν εἰς Πελαγονίαν, καὶ τὸν Ἰβάτζην καταδραμὼν καὶ διώξας ἀπῆλθεν ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ. κἀκεῖ θεν διέβη εἰς Μοσυνούπολιν, κατὰ Στρουμπίτζης λαὸν πεπομφὼς ἡγεμόνα ἔχοντα τὸν πατρίκιον ∆αβὶδ τὸν Ἀριανίτην· ὃς αἰφνι δίως ἐπιφανεὶς εἷλε τὸ φρούριον ὃ Θερμίτζα κατονομάζεται. καὶ 2.464 ἕτερον πάλιν λαὸν κατὰ τῶν ἐν Τριαδίτζῃ φρουρίων, ἔξαρχον ἔχοντα τὸν Ξιφίαν, ἐκπέμπει. καὶ οὗτος δὲ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις πάντα καταστρεψάμενος εἷλε πολιορκίᾳ τὸ ἔρυμα ὃ Βοϊὼν κα λεῖται. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀπελθὼν ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει, κατὰ τὸν Ἰανουάριον μῆνα τοῦ #22φκδʹ ἔτους, στόλον εἰς Χαζαρίαν ἐκπέμ πει, ἔξαρχον ἔχοντα τὸν Μογγόν, υἱὸν Ἀνδρονίκου δουκὸς τοῦ Λυδοῦ· καὶ τῇ συνεργίᾳ Σφέγγου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Βλαδιμηροῦ, τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως, ὑπέταξε τὴν χώραν, τοῦ ἄρχοντος αὐτῆς Γεωργίου τοῦ Τζούλου ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ προσβολῇ συλληφθέντος. τότε καὶ Σεναχηρεὶμ ὁ τῆς ἄνω Μηδίας ἄρχων, ἣν Ἀσπρακανίαν ὀνο μάζουσι σήμερον, τῷ βασιλεῖ παγγενεὶ προσέδραμε, τὴν ὑπείκου σαν αὐτῷ παραδεδωκὼς ἅπασαν χώραν, πατρίκιος τιμηθεὶς καὶ στρατηγὸς Καππαδοκίας, καὶ κτήσεις ἀντιλαβὼν τάσδε τὰς πόλεις, τὴν Σεβάστειαν, τὴν Λάρισσαν, τὴν Ἄβαραν, καὶ ἄλλας κτήσεις πολλάς. στενοχωρούμενος γὰρ οὗτος ὑπὸ τῶν προσοίκων Ἀγα ρηνῶν καὶ μὴ οἷος ὢν ἀντέχειν προσέδραμε τῷ βασιλεῖ, παραδοὺς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν. ἧς ἄρχειν ἀποσταλεὶς Βασίλειος πατρίκιος ὁ Ἀργυρὸς καὶ τοῖς ὅλοις πταίσας παραλύεται τῆς ἀρχῆς· καὶ διά δοχος αὐτοῦ πέμπεται Νικηφόρος πρωτοσπαθάριος ὁ Κομνηνός, ὃς κατὰ χώραν γενόμενος καὶ τὰ μὲν πειθοῖ τὰ δὲ βίᾳ χρώμενος ὑπήκοον τῷ βασιλεῖ τὴν χώραν