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he did. In the year #22φκδʹ, the 14th indiction, the 2.465 emperor, departing from the capital, went away to Triaditza. And surrounding the fortress of Pernikon, he besieged it, while those within fought steadfastly and valiantly, and many Romans were falling. After persisting in the siege for eighty-eight whole days, when he realized he was attempting the impossible, he withdrew without success and departed to Mosynopolis. There, having rested his army, when spring arrived, he set out from Mosynopolis and entered Bulgaria, and surrounding the fortress called Longon, he took it by siege. And having sent David Arianites and Constantine Diogenes into the plains around Pelagonia, he became master of many animals and captives. And the emperor, having burned the captured fortress, and having divided the prisoners into three parts, and having given one part to his Rus' allies, another to the Romans, and having kept another for himself, proceeded further. And having gone as far as Kastoria and having made an attempt on the city, when he perceived it to be impregnable, he turned back; for he had also received a letter from Tzitzikios, the strategos in Dristra, the son of the patrikios Theudates the Iberian, that Krakras, having gathered as large an army as possible and having united with John, and also having taken on Pechenegs, were about to make an invasion against the Romans. Alarmed by this letter, he was returning with speed. But while passing by, he took the fortress of Vosograd and burned it, and fortified Verroia, and having ravaged and demolished the areas around Ostrovos and Moliskos, he stopped going further; for it was reported to him that the planned attack against the Romans by Krakras and 2.466 John had been prevented, as the Pechenegs did not give them an alliance. For this reason he also turned back and besieged another fortress, Setaina, in which were the palaces of Samuel and much grain was stored, which he ordered the army to plunder, and he burned everything else. And he sent out against John, who was not far off, the tagma of the Schools of the West and that of Thessalonica, having Constantine Diogenes as their leader. John lay in ambush for them as they were departing. But the emperor, learning this and fearing they might suffer some harm, rode out from the army, and saying nothing else but only "Whoever is a warrior, follow me," he went away in haste. John's scouts, learning this, came with fear to John's camp, and filled it with cowardice and confusion, shouting nothing other than "Flee, the Caesar." Therefore, as everyone was fleeing in disorder with John, Diogenes' men, taking courage, pursued them from behind. And they killed many, and also captured two hundred fully-armed soldiers and the horses and the baggage of John and his nephew. Having done these things, he returned to Vodena, and having settled all affairs there, he marched back to Byzantium, on the 9th of the month of January, of the 15th indiction, in the year #22φκʹ.

But John, having taken the opportunity, went away to besiege Dyrrachion with barbarian arrogance and pomposity. There, when a siege was established and a battle took place, he fell, it not being clear 2.467 who had struck him down, having ruled the Bulgarians for 2 years and 5 months. And when the death of John was reported to the emperor by the strategos of Dyrrachion, Niketas Pegonites the patrikios, the emperor set out immediately. And when he was near Adrianople, the brother and the son of the famous Krakras met him, announcing the good news of the surrender of both the renowned fortress of Pernikon and thirty-five others. Having honored them worthily and having raised Krakras to the rank of patrikios, he came to Mosynopolis. And there also came envoys from Pelagonia and Morovisdos and Lipenion, surrendering the cities to the emperor. Setting out from there, he came to Serres, where Krakras arrived with the archons of the

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ἐποίησε. Τῷ δὲ #22φκδʹ ἔτει, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιδʹ, ἀπάρας τῆς βασιλίδος ὁ 2.465 βασιλεὺς ἄπεισιν εἰς Τριαδίτζαν. καὶ τὸ φρούριον Πέρνικον περικα θίσας ἐπολιόρκει, τῶν ἔνδον τε καρτερῶς καὶ ἐκθύμως ἀγωνιζο μένων, καὶ πολλῶν Ῥωμαίων πιπτόντων. ἐφ' ὅλας ὀγδοήκοντα καὶ ηʹ ἡμέρας προσλιπαρήσας τῇ πολιορκίᾳ, ὡς ἔγνω ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρῶν, ἄπρακτος ὑπεχώρησε καὶ εἰς Μοσυνούπολιν ἀπῆλθεν. ἐν ᾗ τὸν λαὸν διαναπαύσας, ἔαρος ἐπιστάντος ἄρας ἐκ Μοσυνου πόλεως εἴσεισιν εἰς Βουλγαρίαν, καὶ περικαθίσας φρούριον τὸ λε γόμενον Λογγὸν εἷλε πολιορκίᾳ. ∆αβὶδ δὲ τὸν Ἀριανίτην καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ∆ιογένην εἰς τὰς κατὰ Πελαγονίαν πεδιάδας ἐκπέμψας ζῴων πολλῶν καὶ αἰχμαλώτων ἐγένετο κύριος. τὸ δὲ ληφθὲν φρούριον ἐμπρήσας ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ τριχῇ τοὺς ἁλόντας μερισάμενος, καὶ μίαν μὲν μερίδα τοῖς συμμαχοῦσι παρεσχηκὼς Ῥὼς ἑτέραν δὲ Ῥωμαίοις, καὶ ἄλλην ἑαυτῷ παρακατασχών, ἐχώρει προσωτέρω. καὶ μέχρι Καστορίας ἐλθὼν καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἀπο πειραθείς, ὡς ᾔσθετο ἀνεπιχείρητον αὐτὴν οὖσαν, ὑπέστρεψεν· ἐδέξατο γὰρ καὶ γράμμα τοῦ στρατηγοῦντος ἐν τῷ ∆οροστόλῳ Τζιτζικίου, τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ πατρικίου Θευδάτη τοῦ Ἴβηρος, ὡς ὁ Κρακρᾶς λαὸν ὅτι πλεῖστον ἀθροίσας καὶ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἑνωθείς, προσλαβόμενοι δὲ καὶ Πατζινάκας, μέλλουσιν εἰσβολὴν κατὰ Ῥω μαίων ποιήσασθαι. τούτῳ τῷ γράμματι θορυβηθεὶς ἐπανῄει διὰ ταχέων. ἐν τῷ παριέναι δὲ τό τε φρούριον εἷλε τὰ Βοσόγραδα καὶ ἐνέπρησε, καὶ τὴν Βέρροιαν ἐπικτίσας, δῃώσας δὲ καὶ κατερει πώσας τὰ πέριξ Ὀστροβοῦ καὶ Μολισκοῦ, ἔστη τοῦ προσωτέρω ἰέναι· ἀπηγγέλη γὰρ αὐτῷ ὡς ἡ μελετωμένη τῷ Κρακρᾷ καὶ τῷ 2.466 Ἰωάννῃ κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἔφοδος ἐνεποδίσθη, τῶν Πατζινάκων μὴ δόντων συμμαχίαν αὐτοῖς. διὸ καὶ ὑποστρέψας πολιορκεῖ φρού ριον ἄλλο τὴν Σέταιναν, ἐν ᾗ βασίλεια ἦσαν τοῦ Σαμουὴλ καὶ σῖτος ἀπέκειτο πολύς, ὃν τῷ λαῷ διαρπάσαι κελεύσας τἆλλα πάντα κατέφλεξεν. ἐξέπεμψε δὲ καὶ κατὰ Ἰωάννου οὐ μακρὰν ἀπέχον τος τὸ τάγμα τῶν σχολῶν τῆς δύσεως καὶ τὸ τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, ἡγεμόνα ἔχοντα Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ∆ιογένην. τούτοις ἀπιοῦσιν ἐνήδρευεν ὁ Ἰωάννης. μαθὼν δὲ τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ μή τι πάθοιεν φοβηθείς, παρὰ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐξιππασάμενος, καὶ μηδὲν ἄλλο εἰπὼν ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον "ὅστις πολεμιστής, ἀκολουθείτω μοι," ἀπῄει κατὰ σπουδήν. τοῦτο γνόντες οἱ τοῦ Ἰωάννου σκόποι μετὰ φόβου πρὸς τὸ τοῦ Ἰωάννου στρατόπεδον ἔρχονται, καὶ δειλίας καὶ ταραχῆς τοῦτο ἐνέπλησαν, μηδὲν ἄλλο βοῶντες εἰ μὴ "βεζεῖτε, ὁ Τζαῖσαρ." πάντων οὖν φευγόντων ἀκόσμως σὺν τῷ Ἰωάννῃ, οἱ περὶ τὸν ∆ιογένην ἀναθαρρήσαντες κατόπιν ἐδίωκον. καὶ κτεί νουσι μὲν πολλούς, συλλαμβάνουσι δὲ καὶ διακοσίους πανοπλίτας καὶ τοὺς ἵππους καὶ τὴν ἀποσκευὴν Ἰωάννου καὶ τὸν τούτου ἀνε ψιόν. ταῦτα δράσας ἐπάνεισι πρὸς τὰ Βοδηνά, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐκεῖσε καταστησάμενος ἐπαναζευγνύει πρὸς τὸ Βυζάντιον, κατὰ τὴν θʹ τοῦ Ἰανουαρίου μηνός, τῆς ιεʹ ἐπινεμήσεως, ἔτους #22φκʹ.

Ἀδείας δὲ λαβόμενος ὁ Ἰωάννης ἄπεισι πολιορκήσων τὸ ∆υρράχιον μετὰ φρυάγματος καὶ ὄγκου βαρβαρικοῦ. ἔνθα πο λιορκίας συστάσης καὶ συμπλοκῆς γενομένης πίπτει, μηδενὸς δήλου 2.467 γενομένου τοῦ καταβεβληκότος αὐτόν, ἄρξας Βουλγάρων ἐπ' ἐνιαυτοὺς βʹ καὶ μῆνας εʹ. μηνυθέντος δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τοῦ θανά του τοῦ Ἰωάννου διὰ τοῦ στρατηγοῦντος ∆υρραχίου Νικήτα πα τρικίου τοῦ Πηγωνίτου, ἔξεισι παραυτίκα ὁ βασιλεύς. γενομένῳ δ' αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν ὑπαντῶσιν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ περι φήμου Κρακρᾶ καὶ ὁ υἱός, προσχωρεῖν εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τό τε περίπυστον φρούριον τὸν Πέρνικον καὶ ἕτερα πέντε ἐπὶ τριάκοντα. οὓς τιμήσας ἀξίως καὶ τὸν Κρακρᾶν ἐς τὸν τῶν πατρικίων θρόνον ἀναβιβάσας ἦλθεν εἰς Μοσυνούπολιν. ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ πρέσβεις ἧκον ἐκ Πελαγονίας καὶ Μωροβίσδου καὶ Λιπενίου, παραδιδόν των τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰς πόλεις. ἐκεῖθεν ἄρας ἦλθεν ἐν Σέρραις, ἐν αἷς ἀφίκετο ὁ Κρακρᾶς μετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων τῶν