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to be and not to be softened, nor to betray themselves and fall into the power of those seeking their destruction, and from them to expect salvation or a miserable and painful death. But leaning out from a certain window towards the multitude and silencing the crowd with his hand, he began such words as these: 2.473 "That I had no pre-existing enmity towards your ruler, O men who are gathered here, you yourselves will all say, knowing precisely that he is a Bulgarian, but I a Roman, and a Roman not of those who dwell in Thrace and Macedonia, but from Asia Minor, how far which is from you, those who know, know. And that I myself undertook such a deed not rashly and in vain, but that some necessity pressed me, the more prudent of you will reckon. For I would not have so madly thrown myself into obvious danger and despised my own life, if there were not some other cause that compelled me to come to this action. Know therefore that the deed that was done is a command of the emperor, whom I, obeying, served as an instrument. And now if you wish to do away with me, behold, I am surrounded by you. But I will not die easily nor readily, nor will I, laying down my arms, surrender myself to you to use as you wish, but I will fight for my own life, and until death I will defend myself against my attackers along with those with me. And if we do die, which is a necessity for those surrounded by a greater number to suffer, we consider death fortunate and blessed, having also the one who will seek out and avenge our blood, against whom you should consider if it is possible to resist for long."

Having heard these words, the assembled men, and being struck with terror by the fear of the emperor, gradually slipping away, were scattered, some one way, some another, while the 2.474 older and wiser men acclaimed the emperor and submitted. And Eustathios, having taken Ivatses with great security, conveyed him to the emperor. And he, accepting his valor, immediately appointed him strategos of Dyrrachium and gave him all the movable property of Ivatses; but Ivatses he delivered to prison. Then also Nikolitzas, who had often been captured and as often released, hiding in some mountains, when a force was sent against him and of those with him some went over voluntarily and others were captured, came down to the camp by night as a deserter, and knocking on the door with his hand, announced who he was and that he was willingly surrendering his person to the emperor. But the emperor did not even deign to see him, but sent him away to Thessalonica, ordering him to be guarded. But he himself, having settled the affairs of Dyrrachium and Koloneia and Dryinoupolis as seemed best to him in some way, and having appointed guards and strategoi to the themes, and allowing those of the Roman captives who wished to remain in the country to do so, and ordering the rest to follow, came to Kastoria. There two daughters of Samuel were brought to him, who, upon seeing Maria the wife of John standing by the emperor, rushed at her as if to kill her. But the emperor calmed their anger, promising to honor and greatly enrich them, and honoring Maria with the dignity of a zoste, he sent her to the capital city with her sons. 2.475 And he also demolished all the fortresses in Serbia and Soskos by means of Xiphias, and razed them to the ground. And he came to the fortress of Stagon, where the ruler of Belogradon, Elemagos, met him in the guise of a servant, together with his co-rulers. Departing from there, he went away to Athens. And while passing through Zeitounion, seeing the bones of the Bulgarians who had fallen there when the magistros Nikephoros Ouranos routed Samuel, he marveled. He also greatly admired the wall built at Thermopylae, which is now called Skelos, for the repulsion of the Bulgarians by Roupenes. and having arrived in Athens and the

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γενέσθαι καὶ μὴ μαλακισθῆναι, μηδ' ἑαυτοὺς προδοῦναι καὶ εἰς ἐξουσίαν πεσεῖν τῶν ζητούντων τὴν αὐ τῶν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ παρ' ἐκείνων τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐκδέχεσθαι ἢ θά νατον οἰκτρὸν καὶ ἐπώδυνον. πρὸς δὲ τὸ πλῆθος ἀπό τινος θυρί δος προκύψας καὶ τῇ χειρὶ κατασιγάσας τὸν ὄχλον τοιῶνδε λόγων 2.473 ἀπήρξατο. "ὅτι μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες οἱ συνειλεγμένοι, οὐδεμία τις προαπέκειτό μοι ἀπέχθεια πρὸς τὸν ὑμέτερον δυνάστην, καὶ ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ πάντες ἐρεῖτε, ἀκριβῶς εἰδότες ὡς Βούλγαρος μὲν αὐτὸς Ῥωμαῖος δ' ἐγώ, καὶ Ῥωμαῖος οὐ τῶν ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης καὶ Μακεδονίας οἰκούντων, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς μικρᾶς Ἀσίας, ἥτις ὅσον ἀπέχει ὑμῶν, ἴσασιν οἱ γινώσκοντες. ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ τοιούτῳ ἐπεχείρησα ἔργῳ οὐκ εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην, ἀλλά τις με κατήπειξεν ἀνάγκη, λογιεῖ σθε οἱ φρονιμώτεροι. οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὕτω μανιωδῶς εἰς προῦπτον ἐμαυτὸν ἐνέρριψα κίνδυνον καὶ τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ ζωῆς κατεφρόνησα, εἰ μή τις ἦν ἄλλη αἰτία ἡ βιασαμένη με πρὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐλθεῖν. ἴστε οὖν ὡς τὸ γενόμενον ἔργον πρόσταγμα βασιλέως ἐστίν, ᾧ πει θαρχῶν ἐγὼ ὡς ὄργανον διηκόνησα. καὶ νῦν εἰ βούλεσθέ με δια χειρίσασθαι, ἰδοὺ ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἐγὼ περιειλημμένος. πλὴν οὐκ εὐκόλως οὐδὲ ῥᾳδίως ἐγὼ ἀποθανοῦμαι, οὐδὲ καταθεὶς τὰ ὅπλα ἐμαυτὸν παραδώσω ὑμῖν ὡς βούλεσθε χρῆσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀγωνιοῦμαι περὶ τῆς οἰκείας ζωῆς, καὶ μέχρι θανάτου ἀμυνοῦμαι τοὺς ἐπιόν τας ἅμα τοῖς σὺν ἐμοί. εἰ δὲ καὶ θανούμεθα, ὅπερ ἀνάγκη πα θεῖν τοὺς ὑπὸ πλειόνων περιστοιχισθέντας, εὐδαίμονα καὶ μακά ριον τὸν θάνατον λογιζόμεθα, ἔχοντες καὶ τὸν μέλλοντα καὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον ἐκζητῆσαι καὶ ἐκδικῆσαι αἷμα, πρὸς ὃν βουλεύσασθε εἰ δυνατὸν ἄχρι πολλοῦ ἀνθίστασθαι."

Τούτων ἀκούσαντες οἱ συνη θροισμένοι τῶν λόγων, καὶ τῷ ἐκ βασιλέως δέει καταπλαγέντες, κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπορρέοντες ἄλλοι ἀλλαχῇ διεσκεδάσθησαν, οἱ γη 2.474 ραιότεροι δὲ καὶ φρονιμώτεροι τὸν βασιλέα εὐφημήσαντες ὑπετάγη σαν. ὁ δ' Εὐστάθιος κατὰ πολλὴν ἄδειαν τὸν Ἰβάτζην εἰληφὼς τῷ βασιλεῖ διεκόμισεν. ὃν οὗτος ἀποδεξάμενος τῆς ἀνδραγαθίας στρα τηγόν τε εὐθὺς προυβάλετο ∆υρραχίου καὶ τὴν ἅπασαν κινητὴν ὕπαρξιν ἐδωρήσατο τοῦ Ἰβάτζου· τοῦτον δὲ παρέδωκεν φυλακῇ. Τότε καὶ Νικολιτζᾶς ὁ πολλάκις ληφθεὶς καὶ τοσαυτάκις ἀφεθείς, ἔν τισιν ὄρεσιν κρυπτόμενος, ὡς ἐπέμφθη δύναμις κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν οἱ συνόντων οἱ μὲν προσεχώρησαν ἐθελοντὶ οἱ δὲ ἡλίσκοντο, αὐτόμολος κάτεισι νυκτὸς εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον, καὶ τῇ χειρὶ κρούσας τὴν θύραν προσήγγειλεν ἑαυτὸν ὅστις εἴη καὶ ὅτι παραδίδωσιν ἑκουσίως τὸ σῶμα τῷ βασιλεῖ. ἀλλὰ τοῦτον μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν ἠνέσχετο, ἀλλ' εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην ἐξέπεμψε φρουρεῖσθαι κελεύσας. αὐτὸς δὲ τὰ τοῦ ∆υρραχίου καὶ τῆς Κο λωνείας καὶ ∆ρυϊνουπόλεως, ὥς πῃ ἐδόκει αὐτῷ βέλτιστα, κατα στησάμενος, καὶ φύλακας τοῖς θέμασι καὶ στρατηγοὺς ἐπιστήσας, καὶ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων Ῥωμαίων τοὺς βουλομένους κατὰ χώραν μέ νειν ἐάσας, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἕπεσθαι προστάξας, ἦλθεν εἰς Κα στορίαν. ἔνθα προσήχθησαν αὐτῷ θυγατέρες δύο τοῦ Σαμουήλ, αἵτινες θεασάμεναι Μαρίαν τὴν Ἰωάννου γυναῖκα παρισταμένην τῷ βασιλεῖ ὥρμησαν κατ' αὐτῆς ὡς διαχειρισόμεναι. ἀλλὰ ταύ ταις μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν θυμὸν κατεκοίμισεν, ὑποσχόμενος τιμῆ σαι καὶ ὑπερπλουτίσαι αὐτάς, τὴν δὲ Μαρίαν τῷ τῆς ζωστῆς ἀξιώματι τιμήσας εἰς τὴν βασιλίδα μετὰ τῶν υἱῶν ἐκπέμπει. 2.475 καθαιρεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐν Σερβίοις καὶ τῷ Σωσκῷ φρούρια πάντα διὰ τοῦ Ξιφίου, καὶ εἰς ἔδαφος καταστρέφει. καὶ εἰς τὸ φρούριον Σταγοῦς ἔρχεται, ἔνθα κατέλαβεν ὁ τῶν Βελογράδων ἄρχων μετὰ δουλικοῦ τοῦ σχήματος Ἐλεμάγος, μετὰ τῶν συναρχόντων αὐτοῦ. ἐκεῖθεν ἄρας ἄπεισιν εἰς Ἀθήνας. ἐν δὲ τῷ διιέναι τὸ Ζητούνιον τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν πεσόντων ἐκεῖσε Βουλγάρων, ὁπηνίκα ὁ μάγιστρος Νικηφόρος ὁ Οὐρανὸς τὸν Σαμουὴλ ἐτρέψατο, θεασάμενος ἐθαύ μασεν. ὑπερηγάσθη δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐν Θερμοπύλαις γενόμενον τεῖχος, ὃ Σκέλος ἄρτι κατονομάζεται, εἰς ἀποτροπὴν τῶν Βουλγάρων παρὰ τοῦ Ῥουπένη. καὶ ἐν Ἀθήναις γενόμενος καὶ τὰ