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always with him, and he used him as a counselor, a deacon, and a minister for every service; whom, gradually advancing him with honors, he exalted and raised up to a great height, so that he held the first rank in the palace. This man, being resourceful and versatile, and always coveting the throne, made trial of as many of the senators as were at odds with the emperor, and revealed the plot. And as many of these as happened to accept the words of the conspiracy, he gently and affably took on and secured with oaths; but as many as were displeased at the mere hearing, he pretended to approve of and to admire their loyalty to the emperor, and said that what had been said was spoken for the sake of a test, and he swore to speak highly of them to the emperor. Finally, having corrupted many of the citizens and preparing a conspiracy, he was caught. And all the others who had conspired with him suffered badly, being tortured and stripped of their own property and sent into exile, but Romanos suffered no harm; for after the emperor had turned away from him for a short time, he was again forgiven and held his former position. 2.606 But the sultan, being angry, as was said, with his brother Abramios and constantly plotting against his life, continuously planned to kill him. Foreseeing this, that man fled to Kutlumush his own cousin, and together with him undertook the war against the sultan. Having joined battle with them at the place called Pasar, he is routed, and he kills Abramios, who was captured; but Kutlumush, having fled with 2,000 men and Melech the son of Abramios, sends an embassy to the emperor, begging to be received and to become an ally and friend of the Romans. And having come to Persarmenia and the place called Kars, he awaited the answers of the embassy; in the meantime, having besieged Kars, except for the acropolis, he had taken the city. After this, the sultan came in pursuit with his forces into Iberia; when Kutlumush learned this, he fled to Saba and Arabia Felix. And the sultan, being in Iberia, plundered whatever he came upon and set it on fire. Therefore the emperor hastily summoned Michael the Akolouthos from the west and sends him to Iberia; who, having arrived there and gathered the Franks and Varangians scattered in Chaldia and Iberia, hastened to prevent in any way possible the raids of the sultan. But that man, learning of his swift attack, and that having gathered an army he was hastening to engage with him, considered what was likely, the ingloriousness of the matter on either side, and that if he won he 2.607 would have conquered a servant of the emperor, but if defeated he would carry away no small shame, so he broke camp with his whole army and withdrew to Tabriz.

At that time also Michaelas, the son of Stephen, who had become leader of the Triballians and Serbs after his father, makes a treaty with the emperor, and is enrolled among the allies and friends of the Romans, having been honored as a protospatharios. There were sent to the emperor also from Egypt, from its ruler, an animal, an elephant, and a giraffe. But the emperor, wishing to drive out the Patzinaks completely, gathered forces from wherever he could from the east and the west and handed them over to Michael the Akolouthos, and ordered Basil the synkellos to take command of the Bulgarian armies, and sends both against the Patzinaks. When they learned of this, they set up a palisade at great Preslav, fortifying it with a deep trench and stakes. So when the Romans arrived, they shut themselves up inside the trench and were besieged. And since time was being wasted in vain for the Romans, who were accomplishing nothing worthy of mention, and a lack of necessities seized them, they proposed a council about what was to be done, and having decided unanimously to return, ordering silence in the dead of night and opening the gates

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αὐτοῦ διὰ παντός, καὶ τούτῳ ἐχρῆτο καὶ συμβούλῳ καὶ διακόνῳ καὶ ὑπουργῷ πρὸς πᾶσαν ὑπηρεσίαν· ὃν κατὰ μικρὸν ταῖς τιμαῖς προ βιβάζων εἰς μέγα ἐξῆρε καὶ ὕψωσεν, ὡς τὰ πρῶτα φέρειν ἐν βα σιλείοις. οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ εὐμήχανος ὢν καὶ ποικίλος, καὶ τῆς βα σιλείας ἐρῶν ἀεί ποτε, ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν ὅσοι τῶν συγκλητικῶν προσκεκρουκότες ἦσαν τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ τὸ μυστήριον ἀνεκάλυψε. καὶ τούτων ὁπόσοι μὲν ἔτυχον προσδεχόμενοι τοὺς λόγους τῆς ἐπι βουλῆς, ἠρέμα καὶ προσηνῶς ἀνελάμβανε καὶ ὅρκοις ἐξησφαλί ζετο· τοὺς ὅσοι δὲ καὶ πρὸς μόνην ἀπεδυσπέτουν τὴν ἀκοήν, ἀπο δέχεσθαι προσεποιεῖτο καὶ θαυμάζειν τῆς εἰς τὸν βασιλέα εὐνοίας, καὶ τὰ λεχθέντα δοκιμασίας ἔλεγε ῥηθῆναι χάριν, καὶ ὑπερλαλῆ σαι τούτων ἐς τὸν βασιλέα ἐπώμνυτο. τελευταῖον δὲ πολλοὺς διαφθείρας τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ ἐπιβουλὴν ἐξαρτύων ἐφωράθη. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες οἱ αὐτῷ συνομόσαντες κακῶς ἔπαθον ἐτασθέν τες καὶ τῶν οἰκείων ὑπάρξεων γυμνωθέντες καὶ ὑπερορίαις παρα πεμφθέντες, ὁ δὲ Ῥωμανὸς οὐδὲν πέπονθε φαῦλον· κατὰ μικρὸν γὰρ ἀποστραφέντος αὐτὸν τοῦ βασιλέως, πάλιν συνεχωρήθη καὶ τὴν προτέραν εἶχε κατάστασιν. 2.606 Ὁ δὲ σουλτάνος ἐγκοτῶν, ὡς ἐρρέθη, Ἀβραμίῳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐπιβουλεύων τῇ τούτου ζωῇ, ἐμελέτα διηνεκῶς ἀνελεῖν αὐτόν. ὅπερ προγνοὺς ἐκεῖνος ἀπέδρα πρὸς Κουτλουμοῦς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἀνεψιόν, καὶ ἅμα ἐκείνῳ τὸν κατὰ τοῦ σουλτάνου ἀνα δέχεται πόλεμον. οἷς συμβαλὼν κατὰ τὸ λεγόμενον Πάσαρ ἐκεῖ νος τρέπεται, καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἀβράμιον ἀναιρεῖ κατασχεθέντα· ὁ δὲ Κουτλουμοῦς φυγὼν μετὰ χιλιάδων ʹ καὶ Μέλεχ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Ἀβραμίου διαπρεσβεύεται πρὸς βασιλέα, ἱκετεύων προσδεχθῆναι καὶ σύμμαχος καὶ φίλος γενέσθαι Ῥωμαίων. καὶ ἐλθὼν πρὸς τὴν Περσαρμενίαν καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον Κάρσε προσέμενε τὰς τῆς πρεσβείας ἀποκρίσεις· ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ δὲ πολιορκήσας τὸ Κάρσε, πλὴν τῆς ἀκροπόλεως, παρειλήφει τὴν πόλιν. κατόπιν δὲ τούτου διώκων ὁ σουλτάνος ἦλθε μετὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ δυνάμεων ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ· ὅπερ μαθὼν ὁ Κουτλουμοῦς ἔφυγε πρὸς τὰ Σαβᾶ καὶ τὴν εὐδαί μονα Ἀραβίαν. ὁ δὲ σουλτάνος ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ γενόμενος ἐληΐζετο τὰ παρατυχόντα καὶ ἐπυρπόλει. διὸ καὶ κατὰ σπουδὴν ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν Ἀκόλουθον Μιχαὴλ μεταπεμψάμενος ἐκ τῆς ἑσπέρας ἐς Ἰβηρίαν ἐκπέμπει· ὃς ἐκεῖ γενόμενος καὶ τοὺς διεσπαρμένους ἔν τε Χαλδίᾳ καὶ Ἰβηρίᾳ Φράγγους καὶ Βαράγγους ἀγηοχώς, κωλύειν ἠπείγετο τὸν ἐνόντα τρόπον τὰς ἐκδρομὰς τοῦ σουλτάνου. ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος τὴν ὀξεῖαν ἔφοδον τούτου μαθών, καὶ ὅτι λαὸν ἀθροίσας σπεύδει τούτῳ συμπλέκεσθαι, λογισάμενος ὅπερ ἦν εἰκός, τὸ ἑκατέρωθεν τοῦ πράγματος ἄδοξον, καὶ ὅτι νικήσας μὲν δοῦλον 2.607 ἔσται βασιλέως νενικηκώς, νικηθεὶς δὲ οὐ μικρὰν αἰσχύνην ἀποί σεται, ἄρας παντὶ τῷ στρατῷ ἀνέζευξε πρὸς τὸ Ταβρέζιον.

Τότε δὴ καὶ Μιχαηλᾶς ὁ τοῦ Στεφάνου υἱός, καὶ Τριβαλ λῶν καὶ Σέρβων μετὰ τὸν πατέρα καταστὰς ἀρχηγός, σπένδεται τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις καὶ φίλοις τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐγγρά φεται, πρωτοσπαθάριος τιμηθείς. ἐπέμφθη δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, παρὰ τοῦ ταύτης ἀρχηγοῦ, ζῷον ἐλέφας καὶ καμη λοπάρδαλις. βουλόμενος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τελέως ἀπώσασθαι τοὺς Πατζινάκας, τὰς ὁθενδήποτε δυνάμεις ἀθροίσας ἐκ τῆς ἑῴας καὶ τῆς ἑσπέρας καὶ Μιχαὴλ παραδοὺς τῷ Ἀκολούθῳ, καὶ τὸν σύγ κελλον δὲ Βασίλειον τὰ Βουλγαρικὰ στρατεύματα ἀνειληφέναι κελεύσας, καὶ ἄμφω κατὰ τῶν Πατζινάκων ἐκπέμπει. ὅπερ ἐκεῖ νοι πυθόμενοι χάρακα ἐπήξαντο κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην Περισθλάβαν, τάφρῳ βαθείᾳ καὶ σταυρώμασι ταύτην κατοχυρώσαντες. ἀφι κομένων οὖν τῶν Ῥωμαίων συγκλείσαντες ἑαυτοὺς ἔνδον τῆς τά φρου ἐπολιορκοῦντο. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τηνάλλως ὁ καιρὸς ἐτρίβετο, μηδὲν ὅ τι καὶ λόγου ἄξιον διαπράττουσι, κατέσχε δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ σπάνις τῶν ἀναγκαίων, βουλὴν προυτίθεσαν περὶ τοῦ πρακτέου, καὶ δόξαν ἅπασιν ὑποστρέψαι, ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν σιγὴν παραγγείλαντες καὶ τὰς πύλας ἀναπετάσαντες