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in the place called Osourtrou, they remained quiet in the open country, having first shut up all the peasant folk and women and children and everything of value in the strongholds; and they wrote to the emperor by a swift courier, making clear the attack of the enemies. Therefore, having received the letters, he ordered them to hold back, until Liparites, coming with the force of the Iberians, should unite with the Roman armies; and he sends letters to him, specifying that as quickly as possible, if he judged himself an ally and friend of the Romans, having gathered all the people about him, he should arrive and join with the generals of the Romans and with them wage war against the barbarians. Therefore the generals, having received the letters, remained quiet as they were ordered, and awaited the arrival of Liparites, but he, having received the imperial command, at his leisure gathered and armed his own people. But while he was mustering his own forces and time was being wasted, Abramios, having seized Vaspurakan, and learning that the Romans, being gathered there and having learned of his attack, had returned to Iberia, suspecting the affair to be cowardice, as was likely, and setting at naught both booty and plunder, he pursued behind them, hurrying to engage with those present before 2.577 another force could be gathered. which the generals of the Romans learned, and being alarmed lest they be forced to fight, even unwillingly, before Liparites arrived, entering a certain rugged place, steep and surrounded on all sides by ravines, they kept quiet, having written to Liparites to come and not to delay. But Abramios, having missed the Roman army, comes to the place called Artze. Artze was a market town of ten thousand men and possessing great wealth; for in it dwelt both native merchants and a not inconsiderable multitude of Syrians and Armenians and other nations; who, trusting in their own numbers, did not consent to get inside a wall, and this though Theodosioupolis lay nearby, a very great city and having a strong and impregnable wall, although Kekaumenos had both threatened and urged them much through letters. Therefore, when the Turks arrived and set to work, those in Artze, having blocked the passages and gone up onto the roofs, defended themselves against the attackers with stones and pieces of wood and bows. And they continued fighting for six whole days. And when this was reported to the generals, Kekaumenos was very insistent, urging them to go out and engage the Turks whose attention was on the siege, and not to sit idly and waste time, awaiting the fig-wood assistance that was Liparites, and watching the opportune moment pass by, which it would not be easy to get again. But with Aaron opposing, and saying that nothing should be done contrary to the imperial will, he himself also 2.578 kept quiet.

But since matters were not proceeding for Abramios according to his plan, being unable to take the market town by siege, scorning both wealth and booty, he orders fire to be set to the houses, and immediately the Turks, raising firebrands and igniting flammable material, threw them onto the houses; and when the fire was kindled from all sides and a great conflagration arose, the people of Artze, being unable to withstand both the fire and the shots from the bows, turned to flight. And it is said that about 150 thousand men perished, some becoming a victim of the sword, others of the fire; for when they knew they were being overpowered and would be slaughtered, they threw their own wives and children into the fire. Thus Artze having been taken, Abramios, having found much gold and arms and certain other useful things, as many as had not been rendered useless by the fire, and having acquired no small number of horses and beasts of burden, and having armed his own people as was necessary, he returned, seeking the Roman force.

511

Ὀσούρτρου λεγομένην ἔμενον ἡσυχάζοντες ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις, πάντα πρότερον τὸν ἀγρότην λαὸν καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ παῖδας καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι τίμιον συγκλείσαντες ἐν τοῖς ὀχυρώμασιν· ἔγραψαν δὲ καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ διὰ ταχυδρόμου, δηλοποιήσαντες τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπέλευσιν. δεξάμενος οὖν οὗτος τὰ γράμματα ἐκεί νοις μὲν ἐπέχειν ἐκέλευεν, ἕως ἂν ὁ Λιπαρίτης μετὰ τῆς τῶν Ἰβήρων δυνάμεως ἐλθὼν τοῖς Ῥωμαϊκοῖς ἑνωθῇ στρατεύμασι· πέμπει δὲ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον γράμματα διοριζόμενα τὴν ταχίστην, εἴπερ σύμμαχον ἑαυτὸν καὶ φίλον κρίνει Ῥωμαίων, ἀνειληφότα πάντα τὸν περὶ αὐτὸν λαὸν ἀφικέσθαι καὶ συμμῖξαι τοῖς στρατηγοῖς τῶν Ῥωμαίων καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν διαπολεμῆσαι πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους. οἱ μὲν οὖν στρατηγοὶ τὰ γράμματα δεξάμενοι ἠρέμουν ὡς ἐκελεύ σθησαν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Λιπαρίτου προσέμενον ἄφιξιν, ἐκεῖνος δὲ τὸ βασιλικὸν δεξάμενος πρόσταγμα τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μετὰ σχολῆς ἤθροισε καὶ καθώπλιζε λαόν. ἐν ὅσῳ δὲ οὗτος τὰς οἰκείας συνεκρότει δυνάμεις καὶ ὁ χρόνος ἐτρίβετο, ὁ Ἀβράμιος τὴν Βαασπρακανίαν καταλαβών, καὶ μαθὼν ὅτι περ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐνταῦθα συνειλεγμένοι ὄντες καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ μαθόντες ἐπέλευσιν ὑπενόστησαν εἰς Ἰβηρίαν, δειλίαν, ὅπερ ἦν εἰκός, τὸ πρᾶγμα ὑπονοήσας, παρ' οὐδὲν θέμενος καὶ λείαν καὶ λαφυραγωγίαν, ἐδίωκεν ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν, ἐπειγόμενος συρράξαι τοῖς παροῦσι πρὸ 2.577 τοῦ καὶ ἑτέραν συναθροισθῆναι δύναμιν. ὅπερ μαθόντες οἱ στρατηγοὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων, καὶ πτοηθέντες μή πως ἀναγκασθῶσι καὶ ἄκοντες πολεμῆσαι πρὸ τοῦ τὸν Λιπαρίτην καταλαβεῖν, ὑπο δύντες τινὰ δυσχωρίαν ἀπόκρημνον καὶ φάραγξι πάντοθεν κυκλου μένην ἡσύχαζον, γράψαντες πρὸς τὸν Λιπαρίτην ἥκειν καὶ μὴ βραδύνειν. ὁ δὲ Ἀβράμιος τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἠστοχηκὼς στρατιᾶς ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ λεγόμενον Ἄρτζε. κωμόπολις δὲ τὸ Ἄρτζε μυρίανδρος καὶ πολὺν πλοῦτον ἔχουσα· ᾤκουν γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ ἰθαγενεῖς τε ἔμποροι καὶ Σύρων καὶ Ἀρμενίων καὶ ἄλλων ἐθνῶν πληθὺς οὐκ ὀλίγη· οἵτινες τῇ οἰκείᾳ θαρροῦντες πληθύϊ οὐ κατεδέξαντο εἴσω τείχους γενέσθαι, καὶ ταῦτα τῆς Θεοδοσιουπόλεως ἐκ γειτόνων κειμένης, μεγίστης πόλεως καὶ τεῖχος ἐχούσης ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἀνά λωτον, πολλὰ τοῦ Κεκαυμένου διὰ γραμμάτων καὶ ἀπειλήσαντος καὶ παρακαλέσαντος. καταλαβόντων οὖν τῶν Τούρκων καὶ ἁπτο μένων ἔργου, οἱ ἐν τῷ Ἄρτζε τὰς διόδους συγκλείσαντες καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων ἀναβάντες λίθοις καὶ ξύλοις καὶ τόξοις τοὺς ἐπιόν τας ἠμύνοντο. καὶ διετέλεσαν μαχόμενοι ἐφ' ὅλας ἡμέρας ἕξ. ἀγγελθέντος δὲ τούτου τοῖς στρατηγοῖς, ὁ Κεκαυμένος πολὺς ἦν ἐγκείμενος καὶ παρακαλῶν ἀπελθεῖν καὶ συμβαλεῖν τοῖς Τούρκοις τὸν νοῦν ἔχουσι πρὸς τῇ πολιορκίᾳ, καὶ μὴ καθῆσθαι τηνάλλως καὶ τρίβειν τὸν χρόνον, τὴν συκίνην προσμένοντας ἐπικουρίαν τὸν Λιπαρίτην, καὶ τὸν ἐπιτήδειον παρατρέχοντα βλέπειν καιρόν, οὗ τυχεῖν πάλιν οὐ ῥᾴδιον. ἀντιπίπτοντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀαρών, καὶ μηδέν τι διαπράξασθαι λέγοντος παρὰ τὸ βασιλικὸν βούλημα, ἡσυχίαν 2.578 καὶ αὐτὸς ἦγεν.

Ἀβράμιος δὲ μὴ κατὰ σκοπὸν χωρούντων αὐτῷ τῶν πραγμάτων, μὴ δυνάμενος πολιορκίᾳ τὴν κωμόπολιν παρα στήσασθαι, ὑπεριδὼν καὶ πλούτου καὶ λείας πῦρ ἐνεῖναι τοῖς δώ μασιν ἐγκελεύεται, καὶ εὐθὺς οἱ Τοῦρκοι δαλοὺς αἴροντες καὶ ὕλην εὔπρηστον ἐξάπτοντες ἐρρίπτουν ἐν τοῖς δώμασιν· ἀναφθέν τος δὲ τοῦ πυρὸς πανταχόθεν καὶ πυρκαϊᾶς μεγίστης ἀνεγερθείσης, οἱ Ἀρτζηνοὶ πρός τε τὸ πῦρ πρός τε τὰς ἐκ τῶν τόξων βολὰς μὴ δυνηθέντες ἀντέχειν ἐνέκλιναν εἰς φυγήν. καὶ λέγεται ἀπολέσθαι περὶ τὰς ρνʹ χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν, τῶν μὲν μαχαίρας τῶν δὲ πυρὸς παρανάλωμα γεγονότων· οὗτοι γὰρ ἐπεὶ κατισχυμένοι ἔγνωσαν ἀποσφάττεσθαι, γυναῖκάς τε καὶ τέκνα ἑαυτῶν εἰς τὸ πῦρ ἀπερ ρίπτουν. οὕτω τοῦ Ἄρτζε ληφθέντος, πολὺ χρυσίον εὑρὼν ὁ Ἀβράμιος καὶ ὅπλα καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ χρειώδη, ὁπόσα μὴ τῷ πυρὶ κατέστησαν ἄχρηστα, περιβαλόμενος δὲ καὶ ἵππον οὐκ ὀλίγην καὶ ὑποζύγια, καὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν καθοπλίσας ὡς ἔδει, ὑπέστρεψεν ἀναζητῶν τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν δύναμιν.