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He did not initiate battle with the rebels, but rather took care for the regions belonging to the rebels, and he behaved humanely toward those who were captured, and he secretly sent letters to them promising amnesty for their misdeeds and an abundance of good things. And when winter set in and the rebels themselves and their baggage animals and horses were short of necessities, being unable to stand against the cold and the famine and the enemy, little by little they began to desert to the magistros. And as long as the desertion was of obscure and not notable men, he held out and was sustained by his hopes; but when Marianos Branas and Polos and Theodore Strabomytes and those of the family of Glabas and 2.566 some other notable men, abandoning him all at once, deserted to Iasites, fleeing with John Batatzes, who indeed was ranked after him in the camp of the rebels, since escape was impossible, he took refuge in a certain church, and the conspiracy of the rebels was scattered. Iasites sent and seized these men and brought them in chains to the emperor, and each of the army returned to his own homeland by the emperor's command. And Tornikios and Batatzes are blinded on the evening of the feast of the birth of Christ, and the property of as many as remained loyal to the usurper until the end is confiscated, after first being paraded in dishonor through the marketplace and sent into exile. And the rebellion had such an end, and now the evils from the Turks begin. Who the Turks are, and in what way they began to make war on the Romans, I shall take up from the beginning and narrate.

The nation of the Turks is of Hunnish stock, and it inhabits the northern parts of the Caucasian mountains, being both populous and autonomous and never having been enslaved by any nation. And when the rule of the Persians was dissolved into that of the Saracens, and the supremacy of the Saracens held sway not only over Persia and Media and Babylon and the Assyrians, but now also over Egypt and Libya and no small part of Europe, since at different times they happened to have risen up in revolt against each other and this one and greatest empire was divided into many parts, and 2.567 Spain had one leader, Libya another, Egypt another, Babylon another, and Persia yet another, and they were not in agreement with one another, but rather the neighboring ones even warred against each other, Muchumet, son of Imbrael, being the ruler of Persia and of the Chorasmians and Oretanians and Media in the times of the emperor Basil, and warring against the Indians and Babylonians and faring badly in the war, decided it was necessary to send an embassy to the ruler of Turkia and to ask for an alliance from there. So he sends ambassadors to him and costly gifts, and he asks for allies to be sent to him, three thousand in number. And he, receiving the embassy most gladly and being pleased with the gifts that were sent, sends out to him the three thousand, having as their leader Tragolipakes Moukalet, the son of Michael, at the same time also hoping that if these men were able to repulse those attacking the Saracens, they would very easily make the bridge of the Araxes river, which prevented the Turks from going into Persia since it was fortified with towers on both sides and guarded on all sides by garrisons, passable by removing the guards, and would make the land of the Persians subject to him. When the mercenaries therefore arrived, Muchumet, taking both them and his own forces, attacks the ruler of the Arabs, Pisasirios, and easily routs him, as the Arabs did not withstand the shots from their bows. And having returned to his own 2.568 he was eager also to contend with them against the warring Indians. But when they asked to be allowed to return to their own land, the guard on the bridge of the Araxes having been entrusted to them, since he pressed on and wished to use force, these men, fearing

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τοῖς ἀποστάταις μάχης μὲν οὐκ ἦρχεν, ἐκήδετο δὲ μᾶλλον τῶν ἀνηκόντων χωρίων τοῖς ἀποστάταις, καὶ τοῖς ἁλισκομένοις φιλανθρώπως ἐφέρετο, καὶ γράμματα λαθραίως ἔπεμπε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀμνηστίαν ἐπαγγελλόμενος κακῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν δαψίλειαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἐπέστη καὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐσπά νιζον αὐτοί τε οἱ ἀποστάται καὶ τὰ ὑποζύγια καὶ οἱ ἵπποι, μὴ δυ νάμενοι πρός τε τὸ ψῦχος καὶ τὸν λιμὸν καὶ τοὺς ἐναντίους ἀντι καθίστασθαι, κατὰ μικρὸν προσερρυΐσκοντο τῷ μαγίστρῳ. καὶ μέχρι μὲν τῶν ἀφανῶν ἦν αὐτομολία καὶ οὐκ ἐπισήμων, ἐκαρτέρει καὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ἐτρέφετο· ἐπεὶ δὲ Μαριανὸς ὁ Βρανᾶς καὶ Πολὺς καὶ Θεόδωρος ὁ Στραβομύτης καὶ οἱ ἐκ τοῦ γένους τοῦ Γλαβᾶ καί 2.566 τινες ἄλλοι τῶν ἐπισήμων ἀθρόοι καταλιπόντες αὐτὸν προσερρύη σαν τῷ Ἰασίτῃ, φυγὼν μετὰ Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βατάτζη, ὃς δὴ μετ' αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τῶν ἀποστατῶν ἐτάττετο, ἐπείπερ ἄφυκτα ἦν, ἔν τινι κατέφυγεν ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ ἡ ἐπισύστασις τῶν ἀποστα τῶν ἐσκεδάσθη. καὶ τούτους μὲν ὁ Ἰασίτης πέμψας κατέσχε καὶ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα πεπεδημένους εἰσάγει, τοῦ δὲ στρατοῦ ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐπανῆλθε πατρίδα κελεύσει τοῦ βασιλέως. καὶ ὁ μὲν Τορνίκιος καὶ ὁ Βατάτζης ἀποτυφλοῦνται κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν τῆς ἑορτῆς τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεννήσεως, δημεύονται δὲ καὶ ὁπόσοι παρέμειναν ἕως τέλους εὖνοι τῷ τυραννήσαντι, ἀτίμως πρότερον περιαχθέντες διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς καὶ ἐξορίᾳ παραπεμφθέντες. καὶ ἡ μὲν ἀποστασία τοιοῦτον ἔσχε τὸ τέλος, ἄρχεται δὲ λοιπὸν τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν Τούρκων κακά. τίνες δὲ οἱ Τοῦρκοι, καὶ τίνα τρόπον ἤρ ξαντο πολεμεῖν Ῥωμαίοις, ἄνωθεν ἀναλαβὼν διηγήσομαι.

Τὸ τῶν Τούρκων ἔθνος γένος μέν ἐστιν Οὐννικόν, οἰκεῖ δὲ τὰ προσάρκτια τῶν Καυκασίων ὀρῶν πολυάνθρωπόν τε ὂν καὶ αὐτόνομον καὶ ὑπ' οὐδενὸς ἔθνους ποτὲ δουλωθέν. τῆς δὲ τῶν Περσῶν ἀρχῆς εἰς Σαρακηνοὺς διαλυθείσης, καὶ τῆς τῶν Σαρα κηνῶν ἐπικρατείας μὴ μόνον Περσίδος καὶ Μηδίας καὶ Βαβυλῶ νος καὶ Ἀσσυρίων κυριευούσης, ἤδη δὲ καὶ Αἰγύπτου καὶ Λιβύης καὶ μέρους οὐκ ὀλίγου τῆς Εὐρώπης, ἐπείπερ ἔτυχον ἐν διαφόροις καιροῖς ἀλλήλων καταστασιάσαντες καὶ ἡ μία καὶ μεγίστη ἀρχὴ αὕτη εἰς πολλὰ διῃρέθη μέρη, καὶ ἄλλον μὲν ἀρχηγὸν εἶχεν ἡ 2.567 Ἱσπανία, ἄλλον δὲ ἡ Λιβύη, ἄλλον δὲ ἡ Αἴγυπτος, ἄλλον δὲ ἡ Βαβυλών, ἕτερον δὲ ἡ Περσίς, καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους μὲν οὐχ ὡμο νόουν, μᾶλλον μὲν οὖν καὶ προσεπολέμουν οἱ γειτονοῦντες, ἀρχη γὸς Περσίδος καὶ Χωρασμίων καὶ Ὠρητανῶν καὶ Μηδίας ὑπάρ χων Μουχοῦμετ κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους Βασιλείου τοῦ βασιλέως, ὁ τοῦ Ἰμβραήλ, καὶ πολεμῶν Ἰνδοῖς καὶ Βαβυλωνίοις καὶ κακῶς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ φερόμενος, ἔγνω δεῖν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα Τουρκίας πρεσβεύσασθαι καὶ συμμαχίαν ἐκεῖθεν αἰτήσασθαι. πέμπει γοῦν πρέσβεις πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ δῶρα πολυτελῆ, καὶ πεμφθῆναί οἱ ἐξαιτεῖ συμμάχους τὸν ἀριθμὸν τρισχιλίους. ὁ δὲ δεξάμενος ἀσμενέστατα τὴν πρεσβείαν καὶ τοῖς πεμφθεῖσι δώροις ἡσθεὶς ἐκπέμπει πρὸς αὐτὸν τοὺς τρισχιλίους, ἀρχηγὸν ἔχοντας Τραγολιπάκην Μου κάλετ τὸν υἱὸν Μικεήλ, ἅμα καὶ ἐλπίσας ὡς εἴπερ οὗτοι δυνη θεῖεν ἀποκρούσασθαι τοὺς ἐπεμβαίνοντας τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς, ῥᾷστά τε τὴν τοῦ Ἀράξιδος ποταμοῦ γέφυραν τὴν κωλύουσαν Τούρκους ἐς Περσίδα ἰέναι ἅτε πεπυργωμένην οὖσαν ἔνθεν κἀκεῖθεν καὶ φρουροῖς πάντοθεν φυλαττομένην βατὴν θήσουσι περιελόντες τὰς φρουράς, καὶ ὑποχείριον αὐτῷ ποιήσουσι τὴν τῶν Περσῶν χώραν. ἀφικομένων τοίνυν τῶν μισθοφόρων, αὐτούς τε ἀναλαβόμενος ὁ Μουχοῦμετ καὶ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεις προσβάλλει τῷ τῶν Ἀράβων ἄρχοντι Πισασιρίῳ, καὶ ῥᾷον αὐτὸν τρέπεται, μὴ ὑποστάντων τὰς τῶν τόξων βολὰς τῶν Ἀράβων. ὑποστρέψας δὲ εἰς τὴν ἑαυ 2.568 τοῦ ἠπείγετο καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμοῦντας Ἰνδοὺς διαγωνίσασθαι μετ' αὐτῶν. ἐκείνων δὲ ἐξαιτουμένων εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν ὑποστρέψαι συγχωρηθῆναι, ἀνεθείσης αὐτοῖς τῆς ἐν τῇ γεφύρᾳ φυλακῆς τοῦ Ἀράξιδος, ἐπείπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐνέκειτο καὶ βίαν ἐπενεγκεῖν ἐβούλετο, δείσαντες οὗτοι