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of the crossing. But when they were on the shore, Cataleim, saying nothing more than only, "Let him who wishes both for himself and all the Patzinaks to survive, follow," spurred his horse and entered the sea. Another, seeing this, did the same, and after him another, and immediately the whole multitude; and swimming across, they passed over near Saint Tarasius, some with their wagons, others having first thrown their wagons away. And having crossed over and quickened their pace, they were able to escape to their own people at Triaditza, with no one daring to resist or hinder them; for the suddenness of the attack made their journey easy for them. Having united, therefore, with the Patzinaks in Triaditza, they sent proclamations also to those settled in the other regions. Therefore, all becoming one assembly, and taking farming axes and sickles and other iron tools from the fields instead of weapons, they armed themselves, and having arrived at Philippopolis and crossed the Haemus, the entire multitude encamped around the so-called Osmos river in the Danubian plain, but Selte alone, remaining at Lobitzos, 2.590 rested. And just then Arianites, having gathered the Macedonian forces, pursued them from behind. And coming upon Selte encamped at Lobitzos, he was not strong enough to seize him (for he managed to escape), but having seized his entire encampment, he returned. And affairs in the west proceeded in this manner. But the sultan, as we said, being disheartened by the contempt shown to his ambassadors and the failure of his wishes, set out with his entire force and went forth against the land subject to the Romans; and having come down as far as the so-called Comnium, and being unable to accomplish anything worthy of mention (for the inhabitants of the region had already secured both themselves and their most necessary possessions in the fortresses; and Iberia is full of very strong fortresses), but not daring to advance further on hearing that the Roman forces were mustering in Caesarea, he returned, burning with anger and seeking to accomplish something great. And arriving at Vaspurakan, and finding everything there similarly fortified, he turned to sieges, and first made an attempt on the so-called Manzikert; now Manzikert is a city situated on level ground, but crowned with three walls and abundantly watered within by many springs; at that time it also happened to have brought in an abundance of necessities. The sultan, thinking he could easily take this by siege, because it was situated in a place easy to attack, pitched his camp very near and attempted to besiege it, and he remained for thirty 2.591 days besieging it relentlessly, using various city-takers and all sorts of siege engines. But since those inside vigorously repelled the attacks with the experience and intelligence of their general (who was Basil the patrician, of the Apocapes family), when he realized he was attempting the impossible, he decided to lift the siege and return. But Alkan, the leader of the Chorasmioi, checked him in his resolve, asking him to wait one more day and to entrust the war against the city to him. And pleased with the request, he delayed his departure. At dawn, therefore, Alkan gathered all the people around him, and having placed the sultan himself and all the most notable of the Turks as spectators on a certain hill near the eastern gate, he took the city-takers and went to the aforementioned gate; for there the walls of the city seemed lower and weaker, and the place had a rise in elevation which aided the siege, allowing those outside to shoot down upon those inside the wall. Therefore, dividing his force in two, and stationing one part on the high ground, he ordered it to use persistent archery, while he himself, having sheds woven from withes, covered on top with ox-hides and having wheels under the bases of the supporting pillars (they call such engines 'lessae'), filled with people carrying mattocks and pickaxes and other

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διαβάσεως. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ ἐγένοντο, μηδὲν πλέον εἰπὼν ὁ Καταλεὶμ ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον "ἑπέσθω ὁ βουλόμενος αὐτόν τε περιεῖναι καὶ πάν τας τοὺς Πατζινάκας" τὸν ἵππον μυωπίσας εἴσεισιν εἰς τὴν θά λασσαν. τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλος ἰδὼν ἐποίησε, καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνῳ ἄλλος, καὶ εὐθὺς τὸ πλῆθος ἅπαν· καὶ διανηξάμενοι περαιοῦνται κατὰ τὸν ἅγιον Ταράσιον, οἱ μὲν αὐτοῖς ἅρμασιν, οἱ δὲ πρότερον τὰ ἅρματα ἀπορρίψαντες. καὶ περαιωθέντες καὶ τὴν πορείαν ἐπι τείναντες ἴσχυσαν διασωθῆναι πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους κατὰ τὴν Τρια δίτζαν, μηδενὸς ἀντιστῆναι ἢ κωλῦσαι τολμήσαντος· τὸ γὰρ αἰ φνίδιον τῆς ἐφόδου εὔκολον αὐτοῖς τὴν πορείαν εἰργάσατο. ἑνω θέντες οὖν τοῖς ἐν Τριαδίτζῃ Πατζινάκαις διακηρυκεύονται καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις χώραις καθιδρυμένους. γενόμενοι οὖν οἱ πάντες ἄθροισμα ἕν, καὶ ἀνθ' ὅπλων ἀξίνας γεωργικὰς καὶ δρέπανα καὶ ἄλλα σιδήρια λαμβάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἀγρῶν καθοπλί ζονται, καὶ ἐν Φιλιππουπόλει γενόμενοι καὶ τὸν Αἷμον διαβάντες τὸ μὲν πλῆθος ἅπαν περὶ τὸν λεγόμενον Ὄσμον ποταμὸν κατεσκή νωσεν ἐν τῇ παριστρίῳ πεδιάδι, μόνος δὲ ὁ Σελτὲ ἐν τῷ Λοβιτζῷ 2.590 προσμείνας διανεπαύετο. ἄρτι δὲ καὶ τὰς Μακεδονικὰς ἀθροίσας δυνάμεις ὁ Ἀριανίτης καταδιώκει ὄπισθεν αὐτῶν. καὶ καταλα βὼν ἐν τῷ Λοβιτζῷ τὸν Σελτὲ κατεσκηνωμένον, τοῦτον μὲν κρα τῆσαι οὐχ ἴσχυσεν (ἔφθασε γὰρ διαδράς), τὴν δὲ πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ στρατοπεδείαν κατασχὼν ὑπέστρεψε. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς ἑσπέρας τοῦτον ἔσχε τὸν τρόπον. Ὁ δὲ σουλτάνος, ὡς εἴπομεν, βαρυθυμήσας διὰ τὴν τῶν αὐτοῦ καταφρόνησιν πρέσβεων καὶ τὴν τῶν θελημάτων ἀστοχίαν, ἄρας μετὰ πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς δυνάμεως ἔξεισι κατὰ τῆς ὑπηκόου Ῥωμαίοις· καὶ κατελθὼν ἄχρι τοῦ λεγομένου Κωμιοῦ, καὶ μηδὲν ὅ τι καὶ λόγου ἄξιον διαπράξασθαι δυνηθεὶς (ἔφθασαν γὰρ οἱ τῆς χώρας προασφαλίσασθαι ἑαυτούς τε καὶ τὰ αὐτοῖς ἀναγκαιό τατα ἐν τοῖς φρουρίοις· γέμει δὲ ἡ Ἰβηρία φρουρίων ἐρυμνοτά των), προσωτέρω δὲ προβῆναι μὴ θαρρήσας τῷ πυθέσθαι τὰς Ῥωμαϊκὰς ἐν Καισαρείᾳ δυνάμεις ἀθροίζεσθαι, ὑπέστρεψε τῷ θυμῷ φλεγμαίνων καὶ μέγα τι ζητῶν κατεργάζεσθαι. γενόμενος δὲ κατὰ τὸ Βαασπρακάν, καὶ παραπλησίως κἀκεῖ τὰ πάντα τει χήρη εὑρών, ἐπέβαλε ταῖς πολιορκίαις, καὶ ἀπεπειράσατο πρότε ρον τοῦ λεγομένου Μαντζικίερτε· πόλις δὲ τὸ Μαντζικίερτε ἐν γῇ ὁμαλῇ μὲν κειμένη, τείχεσι δὲ τρισὶ στεφανουμένη καὶ ὕδασι πολ λοῖς ἔνδον κατάρρυτος πηγιμαίοις· τότε δὲ καὶ ἔτυχεν ἀφθόνως εἰσκομίσασα τὰ ἀναγκαῖα. ταύτην οἰηθεὶς ὁ σουλτάνος ῥᾳδίως ἐκπολιορκῆσαι τῷ ἐν εὐεπιβουλεύτῳ ἱδρύσθαι τόπῳ, χάρακα πηξάμενος ἔγγιστα ἐπεχείρει πολιορκεῖν, καὶ διέμεινεν ἐπὶ τριά 2.591 κοντα ἡμέρας ταύτην ἀνενδότως πολιορκῶν, ποικίλαις ἑλεπόλεσι χρώμενος καὶ παντοίοις εἴδεσι μηχανημάτων. εὐρώστως δὲ τῶν ἔνδον ἀποκρουομένων τὰς προσβολὰς ἐμπειρίᾳ καὶ συνέσει τοῦ στρατηγοῦ (ἦν δὲ Βασίλειος πατρίκιος ὁ ἀπὸ Κάπης), ἐπείπερ ἔγνω ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρῶν, ἐβουλεύσατο λῦσαι τὴν πολιορκίαν καὶ ὑποστρέψαι. ἀνέκοψε δὲ τῆς ὁρμῆς αὐτὸν Ἀλκὰν ὁ τῶν Χωρασμίων ἡγεμών, αἰτησάμενος μίαν ἔτι προσμεῖναι ἡμέραν καὶ αὐτῷ ἐπιτρέψαι τὸν κατὰ τῆς πόλεως πόλεμον. ἡσθεὶς δὲ τῷ αἰτήματι ἐπέσχε τὴν ἀναζυγήν. ἕωθεν οὖν ὁ Ἀλκὰν τὸν ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ἀθροίσας ἅπαντα λαόν, καὶ θεωρὸν ἐπί τινος γεωλόφου κατὰ τὴν ἑῴαν στήσας πύλην τὸν σουλτάνον αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς ὅσοι τῶν Τούρκων ἦσαν ἐπισημότατοι, τὰς ἑλεπόλεις λαβὼν ἄπεισιν εἰς τὴν εἰρημένην πύλην· ἐκεῖσε γὰρ ἐδόκει τὰ τείχη τῆς πόλεως ταπεινότερά τε καὶ ἀσθενέστερα, καὶ ὁ τόπος ἀνάστημα ἔχων καὶ τῇ πολιορκίᾳ προσβοηθῶν, ἄνωθεν διδοὺς βάλλεσθαι τοὺς εἴσω τοῦ τείχους ὑπὸ τῶν ἔξω. διελὼν οὖν διχῇ τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τὴν μὲν στήσας ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀναστήματος ἐπιμόνῳ χρῆσθαι κελεύει τῇ τοξείᾳ, αὐτὸς δὲ σκηνὰς ἐκ λύγων ἔχων πεπλεγμένας, βοείαις βύρσαις ἄνωθεν ἐσκεπασμένας καὶ τροχοὺς ἐχούσας ὑπὸ τὰς τῶν βασταζόντων κιόνων βάσεις (λέσσας τὰς τοιαύτας κατονομάζουσι μηχανάς), λαοῦ πλήσας δικέλλας φέροντος καὶ σκαπάνας καὶ ἄλλα