512

When Liparites had already arrived, this army, having descended from the aforementioned stronghold, was encamped on the plain at the foot of the hill where the fortress of Kapetron is situated. Therefore, as the Turks were approaching sporadically, Kekavmenos again advised to engage them while they were scattered and still in disarray. But Liparites was unwilling because of the day; for it was Saturday, the 18th of the month of September, of the 2nd indiction, 2.579 and Saturday was considered among the unlucky days for Liparites, and warding it off as an evil omen, he was reluctant to fight. And so things were with the Romans, but Abramios, having learned through his scouts both where the Romans were encamped and that they were inactive, having drawn up his forces, came on in battle array. And when the opposing force saw this, it too was unwillingly drawn up opposite them, with Kekavmenos holding the right wing, and Aaron the left, while Liparites was arrayed in the center. And the hour was about evening. Now, facing Kekavmenos was Abramios, and facing Aaron was another general, Chorosanites, while opposite Liparites was Aspam Selarios, the half-brother of Abramios. And when the engagement took place, Kekavmenos and Aaron routed the wings opposite them and pursued them until cock-crow, but Liparites, suffering terribly at the fall of his nephew and charging with a violent rush, was captured when his horse was wounded and fell. And so he was in this state, and the Romans, having stopped from the pursuit and dismounted from their horses and having offered hymns of victory to God, shouting with one voice, "Who is so great a God as our God," awaited Liparites, expecting that he too was pursuing the enemy from behind. But since he appeared nowhere, they were at a loss, wondering what had happened. And as they were thus perplexed, a certain soldier from among those arrayed under him came and announced to the generals his rout and capture, and how Abramios, 2.580 having returned from his flight and united with his own brother (for Asan had fallen in the war), took up Liparites and the captured Iberians and returned to the so-called Kastrokomion, making a hasty journey. The commanders of the army were stunned at the news. Nevertheless, having spent a sleepless night, when day dawned and counsel was taken and it was deemed advantageous for all that each should go home, Aaron, having gathered his own people, departed for Iban (this is the metropolis of Vaspurakan), while Kekavmenos returned with his own men to Anion. But Abramios, content with the capture of Liparites, and judging himself more fortunate than any man because of the present good fortune, without meddling in anything else, but having hastened his journey, in five days arrives at the so-called Rhe, and from there goes away to the sultan, having sent ahead the good news and announcing the seizure of Liparites. He, for his part, seemed to rejoice and exult at the capture of Liparites, but he envied his brother for being deemed worthy of such good fortune, and he constantly plotted and sought a pretext to get rid of him. So then, when the emperor learned of Liparites' capture, he was wholly bent on rescuing him, and sending magnificent gifts and a ransom to the sultan through George, called Drosos (Drosos was the undersecretary of Aaron), he requested his freedom and a treaty of peace. But the sultan, having received the 2.581 embassies, and wishing to be a magnificent king rather than a sordid merchant, gives him back as a gift to the emperor, having taken the ransom, but having provided everything to Liparites, and having enjoined him to always remember the present day, and never henceforth to wish to take up arms against the Turks. And the one called among them "seriphos" fulfilled the embassy to the emperor for him; and this means the

512

Αὕτη δὲ καταλαβόντος ἤδη καὶ τοῦ Λιπαρίτου καταβᾶσα ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥηθέντος ὀχυρώματος ἔκειτο ἐν τῇ πεδιάδι κατὰ τοὺς πρόποδας τοῦ βουνοῦ ἔνθα περ ἵδρυται τὸ Καπετροῦ φρούριον. ἐρχομένων οὖν τῶν Τούρκων σποράδην, συνεβούλευε πάλιν ὁ Κε καυμένος συμβαλεῖν αὐτοῖς διεσπαρμένοις οὖσι καὶ ἀσυντάκτοις ἔτι. ἀλλ' ὁ Λιπαρίτης οὐκ ἤθελε διὰ τὴν ἡμέραν· ἦν γὰρ σάβ βατον, ιηʹ ἄγοντος τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνός, τῆς βʹ ἐπινεμήσεως, 2.579 ἐν ταῖς ἀποφράσι δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν τῷ Λιπαρίτῃ τὸ σάββατον ἐνο μίζετο, ὅπερ ἀποτροπιαζόμενος ἀνεδύετο πολεμεῖν. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐν τούτοις, ὁ δὲ Ἀβράμιος διὰ τῶν προδρόμων μαθὼν ὅποι τε οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ηὐλίζοντο καὶ ὅτι ἠρεμοῦσι, συντάξας τὰς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεις ἤρχετο συντεταγμένος πρὸς μάχην. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἡ ἀντίπαλος δύναμις ἰδοῦσα ἀκουσίως καὶ αὐτὴ ἀντιπαρε τάττετο, τὸ μὲν δεξιὸν ἔχοντος κέρας τοῦ Κεκαυμένου, τοῦ δὲ Ἀαρὼν τὸ εὐώνυμον, ἐν τοῖς μέσοις δὲ ὁ Λιπαρίτης ἐτάττετο. ἦν δὲ καὶ ἡ ὥρα περὶ βουλυτόν. τῷ μὲν οὖν Κεκαυμένῳ ἀντι μέτωπος ἦν ὁ Ἀβράμιος, τῷ δ' Ἀαρὼν Χωροσανίτης ἅτερος στρατηγός, καταντικρὺ δὲ τοῦ Λιπαρίτου Ἀσπὰμ Σελάριος ὁ τοῦ Ἀβραμίου ἑτεροθαλὴς ἀδελφός. συμπλοκῆς δὲ γενομένης ὁ μὲν Κεκαυμένος καὶ ὁ Ἀαρὼν τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἐτρέψαντο κέρατα καὶ μέχρι φωνῆς ἀλεκτρυόνων ἐδίωκον, ὁ δὲ Λιπαρίτης, πεσόντος αὐτῷ τοῦ ἀνεψιοῦ δεινοπαθήσας καὶ μεθ' ὁρμῆς βιαίας ἐλάσας, τοῦ ἵππου αὐτοῦ τρωθέντος καὶ πεσόντος ἁλίσκεται. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἦν ἐν τούτοις, οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι παυθέντες ἐκ τῆς διώξεως καὶ τῶν ἵππων ἀποβάντες καὶ τῷ θεῷ δόντες ὕμνους ἐπινικίους, ἐν μιᾷ φωνῇ βοήσαντες τὸ τίς θεὸς μέγας ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, προσέμε νον τὸν Λιπαρίτην, ἐλπίζοντες καὶ αὐτὸν διώκειν ὄπισθεν τῶν ἐχθρῶν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐφαίνετο οὐδαμοῦ, ἐν ἀμηχανίᾳ ἦσαν, δια ποροῦντες ὅ τι καὶ γένοιτο. οὕτω δὲ διαπορουμένοις αὐτοῖς ἔρ χεταί τις στρατιώτης τῶν ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ ταττομένων, καὶ μηνύει τοῖς στρατηγοῖς τὴν ἐκείνου τροπὴν καὶ τὴν ἅλωσιν, καὶ ὅπως ὁ Ἀβρά 2.580 μιος ἐκ τῆς φυγῆς ἐπανελθὼν καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ ἑνωθεὶς ἀδελφῷ (ὁ γὰρ Ἀσὰν ἔπεσεν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ) ἀναλαβόντες τὸν Λιπαρίτην καὶ τοὺς ἁλόντας τῶν Ἰβήρων ὑπενόστησαν εἰς τὸ λεγόμενον Καστροκώμιον, σπουδαίαν τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν ποιούμενοι. ἀπεπάγησαν πρὸς τὴν ἀκοὴν οἱ ἄρχοντες τοῦ στρατοῦ. ὅμως διανυκτερεύ σαντες ἄγρυπνοι, ἐπείπερ ἡμέρα ἐπέλαμψε καὶ βουλὴ προετέθη καὶ τοῖς πᾶσι συμφέρον ἐνομίσθη ἕκαστον οἴκαδε ἀπελθεῖν, ὁ μὲν Ἀαρὼν τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀνειληφὼς λαὸν ἄπεισιν εἰς τὸ Ἴβαν (μητρόπολις δὲ αὕτη τοῦ Βαασπρακάν), ὁ δὲ Κεκαυμένος μετὰ τῶν ἰδίων ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς τὸ Ἀνίον. ὁ δὲ Ἀβράμιος τῇ τοῦ Λιπαρίτου ἀρκεσθεὶς ἁλώσει, καὶ ὀλβιώτερον ἑαυτὸν κρίνας παντὸς ἀνθρώ που διὰ τὸ παρὸν εὐτύχημα, μηδὲν ἕτερον πολυπραγμονήσας, ἀλλ' ἐπιτείνας τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν, διὰ πέντε ἡμερῶν παραγίνεται εἰς τὸ λεγόμενον Ῥέ, κἀκεῖθεν ἄπεισιν εἰς τὸν σουλτάνον προπέμψας τὰ εὐαγγέλια καὶ τὴν τοῦ Λιπαρίτου μηνύσας κατάσχεσιν. ὁ δὲ τῷ δοκεῖν μὲν ηὐφράνθη καὶ ἠγαλλιάσατο ἐπὶ τῇ ἁλώσει τοῦ Λι παρίτου, ἐφθόνησε δὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ τοιούτου καταξιωθέντι τοῦ εὐ τυχήματος, καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐμελέτα καὶ πρόφασιν ἐζήτει τοῦτον ποιήσασθαι ἐκποδών. Τὸν μὲν οὖν Λιπαρίτην, ὡς ἐπύθετο τὴν τούτου κατάσχε σιν ὁ βασιλεύς, ὅλος ἐγένετο ἀναρρύσασθαι, καὶ δῶρα πολυτελῆ καὶ λύτρα πέμψας τῷ σουλτάνῳ διὰ Γεωργίου τοῦ λεγομένου ∆ρόσου (ὑπογραμματεὺς δὲ ἦν ὁ ∆ρόσος τοῦ Ἀαρὼν) ἐξαιτεῖται τὴν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ σπονδὰς εἰρήνης. ὁ δὲ σουλτάνος τὰς πρε 2.581 σβείας δεξάμενος, καὶ μεγαλοπρεπὴς θέλων εἶναι βασιλεὺς μᾶλ λον ἢ κάπηλος ἀνελεύθερος, ἀποδίδωσι τοῦτον δῶρον τῷ βασιλεῖ, λαβὼν μὲν τὰ λύτρα, πάντα δὲ τῷ Λιπαρίτῃ παρεσχηκώς, καὶ μεμνῆσθαι τῆς παρούσης ἡμέρας διὰ παντὸς παρεγγυησάμενος, καὶ μηδέποτε ὅπλα θελῆσαι τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε κινῆσαι κατὰ τῶν Τούρκων. ἀνεπλήρωσε δ' αὐτῷ τὴν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα πρεσβείαν ὁ λεγόμενος παρ' αὐτοῖς σέριφος· δύναται δὲ τοῦτο τὸ