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the plains and set them on fire, but the Serbs, having occupied them, were guarding the narrow and steep parts of the path, and awaited his return. When it seemed to Michael that he had plundered enough, and he had gathered much booty and captives, and the time for departure appeared, and they were travelling through the narrow passes, then indeed the enemy from above, hurling stones and shooting with bows and all sorts of missile weapons and rolling down enormous rocks, began to kill them, while Michael's men were able neither to use their hands nor their weapons, nor to display any deed of valor at all. And some, being struck on the spot, fell, while others were hurled down the cliffs and were pitifully destroyed, so that the nearby ravines and streams were filled with corpses and became passable for the pursuers. Therefore, about 40,000 fell, and seven generals were also killed. But the rest, hiding in the thickets and glens and gorges of the mountains, and escaping the eyes of the enemy, and climbing up over these peaks, were saved during the night, on foot and naked and a pitiful and lamentable sight to beholders. 2.545 Michael was also saved with them, he too enduring the same fate. But George Maniakes the magistros in Italy, as has been said, having been sent by the empress Zoe to set matters there in order (for everything was in turmoil and badly managed due to the inexperience and worthlessness of the commanders), looked to rebellion. It is worthwhile to briefly recount the causes for the accurate knowledge of those who read this book. For when he was first sent to Italy by the emperor Michael to ally with Apolaphar Machoumet, the ruler of Sicily, who was being warred against by his own brother and the Africans, he happened to have enlisted also five hundred Franks summoned from the Gauls beyond the Alps, who had as their leader one called Ardouin, a ruler of a certain land and led by no one, with whom he won victories over the Saracens. But when this man was slandered, relieved of his command, brought to the city, and imprisoned, and Michael Dokeianos the protospatharios was sent to rule Italy in his place, an unsuitable man and not clever at handling affairs, he did not need much time to throw everything into confusion and ruin. For by not providing the Franks in a timely manner with the monthly ration provided to them, but rather, as they say, by insulting and dishonorably scourging their leader, who had come to him to ask him to treat the soldiers gently and not deprive them of the wages for their labors, 2.546 he forced the men to revolt. When they had taken up arms, though it was necessary to gather all the Roman forces and engage them, he did not do this, but taking one tagma, that of the Opsikion, and a part of the Thrakesians, and engaging them at Cannae near the Aufidus river, where also in ancient times Hannibal had cut down many myriads of the Roman armies, he was defeated and lost the greater part of his army, he himself shamefully escaping at Cannae. But having been thus struck, not even after the blow did he, according to the proverb, get the sense of the fisherman, nor did he, having fortified himself, attack the enemy with his whole army, but, led by rashness, as it seems, taking up again the very men who had been defeated, along with Pisidians and Lycaonians, who fill up the tagma of the foederati, he attacks the enemy near the so-called Horai and is again utterly routed, since the Franks had enlisted another not small multitude from the Italians living around the Po river and the foothills of the Alps. And when the emperor Michael learned of this, he removed this man from his command, and sent Boioannes, who was considered to be a practical man and distinguished in wars, and tracing his family lineage back to that Boioannes who was sent to Italy in the time of the emperor Basil, who all of Italy as far as Rome

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πεδιάδας καὶ ἐπυρπόλει, οἱ δὲ Σέρβοι καταλαβόντες ἐφύλαττον τὰ στενὰ καὶ ἀπόκρημνα τῆς τρίβου, καὶ προσέμενον τὴν ὑποστροφήν. ὡς δὲ ἅλις τῷ Μιχαὴλ ἐδόκει τὰ τῆς λεηλασίας, καὶ λείαν πολλὴν καὶ αἰχμαλωσίαν περιεβάλετο, καὶ καιρὸς ἐφάνη ἀναζυγῆς, κἀν ταῖς στενοχωρίαις ὁδοιποροῦντες ἐγένοντο, τότε δὴ ἀφ' ὕψους οἱ πολέμιοι χέρμασί τε βάλλοντες καὶ τόξοις καὶ παντοίοις ἑκηβόλοις ὀργάνοις καὶ λίθους ὑπερμεγέ θεις κυλίοντες ἀνῄρουν, τῶν περὶ τὸν Μιχαὴλ μήτε χερσὶ μήθ' ὅπλοις χρήσασθαι δυναμένων, μήτ' ἀρετῆς ὅλως ἐπιδείξασθαι ἔργον. καὶ οἱ μὲν αὐτόθι βαλλόμενοι ἔπιπτον, οἱ δὲ κατεκρημνί ζοντο καὶ ἐλεεινῶς ἀνηλίσκοντο, ὡς πληρωθῆναι νεκρῶν τὰς παρα κειμένας φάραγγας καὶ τοὺς ῥύακας καὶ βατὰς γενέσθαι τοῖς διώ κουσιν. ἔπεσον οὖν περί που τὰς μʹ χιλιάδας, ἀνῃρέθησαν δὲ καὶ στρατηγοὶ ἑπτά. οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐν ταῖς λόχμαις καὶ ταῖς νάπαις καὶ ταῖς συναγκείαις κρυβέντες τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ τοὺς τῶν ἐναντίων διαδράντες ὀφθαλμούς, καὶ διὰ τῶν κορυφῶν τούτων ἀναρριχώ μενοι, νυκτὸς διεσώθησαν πεζοὶ καὶ γυμνοὶ καὶ τοῖς ὁρῶσι θέαμα 2.545 ἐλεεινὸν καὶ θρήνων ἄξιον. διεσώθη δὲ μετ' αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ Μιχαήλ, τὴν ἴσην καὶ αὐτὸς περικείμενος τύχην. Γεώργιος δὲ μάγιστρος ὁ Μανιάκης ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ, ὡς εἴρηται, παρὰ Ζωῆς τῆς βασιλίδος πεμφθεὶς ἐφ' ᾧ καταστήσασθαι τὰ ἐκεῖ (ἐνόσει γὰρ τὰ πάντα καὶ κακῶς ἐφέρετο ἀπειρίᾳ καὶ φαυλό τητι ἀρχηγῶν), πρὸς ἀποστασίαν ἀπεῖδεν. ἄξιον δὲ εἰπεῖν ἐπι δραμόντας καὶ τὰς αἰτίας εἰς ἀκριβῆ γνῶσιν τῶν τῷ βιβλίῳ ἐντυγ χανόντων. ὅτε γὰρ οὗτος πρῶτον εἰς Ἰταλίαν ἐπέμφθη παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Μιχαὴλ συμμαχήσων Ἀπολάφαρ Μαχοῦμετ τῷ τῆς Σικελίας ἄρχοντι πολεμουμένῳ παρὰ τοῦ οἰκείου ἀδελφοῦ καὶ τῶν Ἄφρων, ἔτυχε προσεταιρισάμενος καὶ Φράγγους πεντακοσίους ἀπὸ τῶν πέραν τῶν Ἄλπεων Γαλλιῶν μεταπεμφθέντας καὶ ἀρχηγὸν ἔχοντας Ἀρδουῖνον τὴν κλῆσιν, χώρας τινὸς ἄρχοντα καὶ ὑπὸ μηδενὸς ἀγόμενον, μεθ' ὧν τὰ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν εἰργάσατο τρό παια. ἐπεὶ δὲ οὗτος συκοφαντηθεὶς παρελύθη τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσαχθεὶς καθείρχθη, καὶ ἄρχειν ἀντ' αὐτοῦ τῆς Ἰτα λίας ἐπέμφθη Μιχαὴλ πρωτοσπαθάριος ὁ ∆οκειανός, ἀνεπιτή δειος ἄνθρωπος καὶ πρὸς μεταχείρησιν πραγμάτων οὐκ εὐφυής, οὐκ ἐδεήθη χρόνου συγχέαι καὶ διαφθεῖραι τὰ πάντα. μὴ παρέ χων γὰρ κατὰ καιρὸν τοῖς Φράγγοις τὸ αὐτοῖς παρεχόμενον ἐφ' ἕκαστον μῆνα σιτηρέσιον, μᾶλλον δέ, ὥς φασι, καὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα τούτων, ἀφιγμένον ὡς αὐτὸν ἐφ' ᾧ παρακαλέσαι ἠπίως χρῆσθαι τοῖς στρατιώταις καὶ μὴ ἀποστερεῖν τούτους τοῦ τῶν πόνων μι 2.546 σθοῦ, ὑβρίσας καὶ μαστιγώσας ἀτίμως, ἠνάγκασε τοὺς ἀνθρώ πους ἀποστατῆσαι. ὧν ὅπλα κεκινηκότων δέον τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς ἁπάσας ἀθροῖσαι δυνάμεις καὶ τούτοις προσμῖξαι, ὁ δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' ἓν εἰληφὼς τάγμα τὸ τοῦ Ὀψικίου καὶ μέρος τῶν Θρᾳκησίων, καὶ συμβαλὼν αὐτοῖς ἐν Κάνναις περὶ τὸν Ἄμφιδον ποταμόν, ἔνθα καὶ κατὰ τοὺς πάλαι χρόνους Ἀννίβας τὰς πολλὰς τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν στρατευμάτων κατέκοψε μυριάδας, ἡττήθη καὶ τὸ πλέον ἀπέβαλε τῆς στρατιᾶς, αἰσχίστως καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν Κάνναις διασωθείς. οὕτω δὲ πληγεὶς οὐδὲ μετὰ τὴν πληγὴν κατὰ τὸν ἐν παροιμίαις ἁλιέα νοῦν ἔσχεν, οὐδ' ὀχυρώσας ἑαυτὸν πάσῃ τῇ στρατιᾷ προσέβαλε τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ θράσους, ὡς ἔοικε, στρατηγούμενος αὐτούς τε τοὺς ἡττηθέντας πάλιν ἀναλαβὼν καὶ Πισσίδας καὶ Λυκάονας, οἵπερ ἀναπληροῦσι τὸ τάγμα τῶν φοι δεράτων, περὶ τὰς λεγομένας Ὥρας προσρήγνυται τοῖς ἐχθροῖς καὶ τρέπεται αὖθις κατὰ κράτος, προσεταιρισαμένων τῶν Φράγγων καὶ ἄλλο πλῆθος οὐκ ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τῶν Ἰταλῶν τῶν περὶ τὸν Πάδον τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ τὰς ὑπωρείας οἰκούντων τῶν Ἄλπεων. τοῦτο δὲ πυθόμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς Μιχαὴλ τοῦτον μὲν μετέστησε τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἔπεμψε δὲ τὸν Βοϊωάννην, δοκοῦντα πρακτικὸν ἄνδρα εἶναι καὶ ἐν πολέμοις εὐδόκιμον, καὶ εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἀναφέροντα τὴν τοῦ γένους ἀναφορὰν τὸν ἐπὶ Βασιλείου τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ πεμφθέντα Βοϊωάννην, ὃς πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰταλίαν μέχρι Ῥώμης