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promising both to receive holy baptism himself, and to persuade those with him to do this, 2.584 he was both raised to the rank of patrician, and had received three fortresses from those established on the banks of the Ister and many stades of land, and for the future was enrolled among the friends and allies of the Romans. The more important thing was that, as he had promised, both he and those with him undertook holy baptism, a certain devout monk named Euthymius having been sent, who performed the rites of the divine washing by the river Ister and imparted holy baptism to all. And being in a safe position, and having secured himself against sudden attacks, he turned to the defense against the enemy, and crossing the Ister, now with a thousand, then with two thousand, and again with more or fewer, and attacking by surprise, he inflicted the greatest harm and ravaged the Pechenegs around Tyrach, killing the men they encountered, but enslaving the women and children and selling them to the Romans. Unable to bear these secret attacks of Kegen, Tyrach sent an embassy to the emperor, reporting that the great emperor, having a treaty with the nation of the Pechenegs, ought not to have received their apostate at all, but since he had received him, he should prevent him from crossing over and harming those under the treaty; either, therefore, let the man be prevented from doing such things, or let him receive no alliance, or let the emperor know that he is drawing a most grievous war upon himself and his own country. And these were the messages of Tyrach, 2.585 but the emperor, on receiving the reports, even laughed aloud at them, if because of the threats of a Pecheneg he should become a traitor to one who had fled to him for refuge, and should prevent him from harming those who had harmed him, and he sent the ambassadors away empty-handed. And he sends letters both to Michael, the governor of the cities along the Ister, and also to Kegen himself, to guard the banks of the river carefully; and if any heavy force should approach, to report it by letter, so that some troops sent from the western tagmata might, with them, block the crossing of the river to the Pechenegs. He also sent a hundred triremes, instructing them to sail along the Ister and try to prevent the Pechenegs from crossing. And when his ambassadors returned empty-handed, Tyrach was angry and enraged and prayed for winter to come sooner. And now with the autumn season ending and winter having set in, the sun being in Capricorn, a strong north wind blew, so that the river was frozen solid to a depth of fifteen cubits. All guard duty therefore having ceased, Tyrach, seizing the opportunity he had prayed to find, crossed the Ister with all the Pechenegs, being, as it was said, eight hundred thousand in number, and established himself on the opposite bank, laying waste and destroying whatever he came across. And letters were sent to the emperor, requesting help as quickly as possible. But he, without even reading the whole letters, writes to the doux of Adria 2.586 noupolis (who was Constantine Arianites, the magistros) who had the Macedonian forces, and also to Basil Monachos, the governor of Bulgaria, who had the Bulgarian contingent, to come and unite with Michael and Kegen and with them to fight against the Pechenegs. When they had acted according to the imperial command and all had come together as one, Kegen, taking command of the Roman phalanxes, encamped in the open country, and attacking them daily by surprise, he caused the Pechenegs no small grief. For these, upon crossing the river, found a great abundance of animals and of wine and of drinks made from honey, things of which they had never even heard, and as they gorged themselves unrestrainedly on such things, a disease fell upon them, being a stomach ailment, and innumerable multitudes perished each day. When Kegen learned this from a certain deserter, and judged this to be an opportune moment to attack the enemy, when both by winter and by disease

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ὑποσχόμενος αὐτός τε τὸ ἅγιον δέξασθαι βάπτισμα, παραπεῖσαι δὲ καὶ τοὺς συνόντας αὐτῷ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, 2.584 εἰς πατρικιότητά τε ἀνήχθη, καὶ φρούρια τρία ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ὄχθαις ἱδρυμένων τοῦ Ἴστρου εἰλήφει καὶ γῆς πολλὰ στάδια, καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ τοῖς φίλοις ἐνεγράφη καὶ συμμάχοις Ῥωμαίων. τὸ πλέον δ' ὅτι καὶ ὡς ὑπέσχετο ἀνεδέξατο τὸ ἅγιον βάπτισμα αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, Εὐθυμίου τινὸς εὐλαβοῦς μοναχοῦ πεμφθέν τος, τοῦ τὰ τοῦ θείου λουτροῦ παρὰ τῷ Ἴστρῳ ποταμῷ ἐκτελέ σαντος καὶ πᾶσι μεταδόντος τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος. Γενόμενος δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ, καὶ τὰς αἰφνιδίους ἐφόδους ἀσφαλισάμενος, πρὸς ἄμυναν ἐτράπετο τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ περαιού μενος τὸν Ἴστρον νῦν μὲν σὺν χιλίοις, εἶτα σὺν δισχιλίοις καὶ αὖ σὺν πλείοσιν ἢ ἐλάττοσι, καὶ ἐξ ἐφόδου προσπίπτων, τὰ μέγιστα ἐκάκου καὶ ἐλυμαίνετο τοὺς περὶ τὸν Τυρὰχ Πατζινάκας, ἄνδρας μὲν τοὺς προσπίπτοντας ἀναιρῶν, γύναια δὲ καὶ παῖδας ἀνδρα ποδιζόμενος καὶ πωλῶν τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις. ταύτας δὲ τὰς λαθραίας ἐπιθέσεις τοῦ Κεγένους μὴ φέρων ὁ Τυρὰχ διαπρεσβεύεται πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, μηνύσας ὡς ἔδει τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα, σπονδὰς ἔχοντα μετὰ τοῦ γένους τῶν Πατζινάκων, μηδὲ προσδέξασθαι ὅλως τὸν ἀποστάτην αὐτῶν, ἐπεὶ δὲ προσεδέξατο, κωλύειν μὴ διαπερᾶν καὶ τοὺς ὑποσπόνδους λυμαίνεσθαι· ἢ οὖν κωλυθήτω ὁ ἀνὴρ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράττειν, ἢ μηδεμιᾶς τυχέτω συμμαχίας, ἢ γινωσκέτω ὁ βασιλεὺς ὡς καθ' ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ χώρας ἐφέλκεται βαρύτατον πόλεμον. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τὰ μηνύματα τοῦ Τυράχ, 2.585 ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὰς ἀγγελίας δεξάμενος πρὸς ταύτας μὲν καὶ ἐπε κάγχασεν, εἰ διὰ Πατζινάκου ἀπειλὰς προδότης γένοιτο τοῦ εἰς αὐτὸν προσφυγόντος, καὶ κωλύειν τοῦ μὴ κακοῦν τοὺς κακώσαν τας, τοὺς δὲ πρεσβευτὰς ἀπράκτους ἐξέπεμψε. γράμματα δὲ πρός τε Μιχαὴλ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῶν παριστρίων πόλεων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Κεγένην ἐκπέμπει, φυλάττειν ἀκριβῶς τὰς ὄχθας τοῦ ποταμοῦ· εἰ δέ τις ἐπίῃ βαρεῖα δύναμις, γράμμασι μηνύειν, ἵνα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δυτικῶν ταγμάτων ἐκπεμπόμενά τινα σὺν αὐτοῖς εἴργωσι τοῖς Πατζινάκαις τὴν τοῦ ποταμοῦ διάβασιν. ἔπεμψε δὲ καὶ τριήρεις ἑκατόν, ἐπισκήψας παραπλεῖν τὸν Ἴστρον καὶ πει ρωμένους διακωλύειν τοὺς Πατζινάκας περᾶν. ἐπανηκόντων δ' ἀπράκτων τῶν αὐτοῦ πρέσβεων, ὁ Τυρὰχ ἐχαλέπαινε καὶ ὠργί ζετο καὶ θᾶττον ηὔχετο καταλαβεῖν τὸν χειμῶνα. ἤδη δὲ τῆς φθινοπωρινῆς ληγούσης ὥρας καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐπιστάντος, τοῦ ἡλίου ὄντος ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγοκέρωτα, ἄνεμος ἔπνευσεν ἀπαρκτίας πο λύς, ὡς ἀποκρυσταλλωθῆναι μέχρι πεντεκαίδεκα πήχεων ἐς βάθος τὸν ποταμόν. πάσης οὖν φυλακῆς σχολασάσης, δραξάμενος ἀδείας ἧς ἐπιτυχεῖν ηὔχετο ὁ Τυρὰχ διαπερᾷ τὸν Ἴστρον μετὰ πάντων τῶν Πατζινάκων, ὄντων, ὡς ἐλέγετο, χιλιάδων ὀκτακοσίων, καὶ ἐς τὴν περαίαν ἱδρύετο, κείρων καὶ ἀφανίζων τὰ παραπίπτοντα. γράμματα δὲ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἐστέλλετο βοηθεῖν δεόμενα τὴν ταχίστην. ὁ δὲ μηδ' ὅλα τὰ γράμματα ἀναγνοὺς τῷ δουκὶ Ἀδρια 2.586 νουπόλεως γράφει (ἦν δὲ Κωνσταντῖνος μάγιστρος ὁ Ἀριανίτης) τὰς Μακεδονικὰς εἰληφότι δυνάμεις, ἔτι δὲ καὶ πρὸς Βασίλειον Μοναχὸν τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῆς Βουλγαρίας τὴν Βουλγαρικὴν εἰληφότα χεῖρα ἀφικέσθαι καὶ ἑνωθῆναι τῷ Μιχαὴλ καὶ τῷ Κεγένῃ καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν πρὸς τοὺς Πατζινάκας διαγωνίσασθαι. ὧν κατὰ τὸ βασι λικὸν ποιησάντων ἐπίταγμα καὶ πάντων ὑφ' ἓν γενομένων, ἀνα λαβὼν ὁ Κεγένης τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς φάλαγγας ἐν τοῖς ὑπαίθροις στρατοπεδεύεται, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπιὼν ἐξ ἐφόδου οὐ μικρὰ τοὺς Πατζινάκας ἐλύπει. τούτοις γὰρ ἅμα τῇ τοῦ ποταμοῦ δια βάσει ἀφθονίαν ζῴων εὑροῦσι πολλὴν καὶ οἴνου καὶ τῶν ἐκ μέλιτος κατασκευαζομένων πομάτων, ὧν οὐδὲ ἀκοὴν ἔσχον πώποτε, καὶ ἀνέδην τῶν τοιούτων ἐμφορουμένοις νόσος ἐσπίπτει κοιλιακὴν διά θεσιν ἔχουσα, καὶ ἀπώλλυντο ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἀναρίθμητα πλήθη. ὅπερ πυθόμενος ὁ Κεγένης διά τινος αὐτομόλου, καὶ καιρὸν ἐπι τήδειον κρίνας τοῦτον εἶναι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐπιθήσεσθαι, ὁπότε καὶ χειμῶνι καὶ νόσῳ