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to attack the adversaries. But this message threw those around Komnenos into no small anxiety and confusion, if they were going to have such an enemy at their backs; for this reason they also held out in the camp, striving to learn the truth. But while they were occupied with these things, Kekaumenos remained, keeping his own opinion for the conspirators, but he restrained himself and delayed for such a reason. When, having left the capital, he was returning home, being in Nicomedia and having met a royal courier, he sent a message through him to the logothete of the drome, Niketas Xylinites, in simple and soldierly words: "As you know, o brother, your lord and emperor, considering Komnenos and me as nothing, and rejecting our petitions, 2.624 has sent us home in dishonor. But know that we are leaving. And he together with you, if you are displeased with our withdrawal, prepare to make us turn back, even against our will, by sending a force." And having said these things to the courier, he proceeded on his journey more quickly; but when he arrived home and Komnenos remained quiet, as if perhaps having no part in the deed, he fell into dread, and fears troubled him, fearing lest somehow Komnenos and the participants in the conspiracy, having formed another purpose, should wish to cover up the plot in silence, and he alone should bear the responsibility for the rebellion, as he had already made himself manifest through the message. And he considered and pondered how and in what way he would secure his own safety; for he neither had a force prepared beforehand, nor did the one he had seem sufficient to be arrayed against the emperor of the Romans, and what was more, he had not even conferred with the local troops, nor had he received assurance whether he would be accepted. And for this reason he was inactive, and seemed to be shrinking back to those who had not correctly conjectured his circumstances. For it happened at that time that two Frankish tagmata and one Russian were stationed in the region for winter quarters; about whom he was especially concerned, lest, if they became aware, having been arrested by them he might be sent away to the emperor. Fearing all these things, he restrained himself until he could secure his own safety. And now, being about to undertake the deed, 2.625 and having first revealed the plot to his own servants and relatives, and having already gathered a band of a thousand men around him, he then began to sound out even those who were not entirely certain, approaching first one by one the more notable men of the region, and then little by little sounding out the nobler and more soldierly men. And when for the time being he was able to draw the more notable men to himself, he then began to make a trial of the masses also; for having forged imperial letters stating that it had been commanded him, having taken up the three tagmata of the allies and the two of the Koloneians and the Chaldianoi, to go up against Samouch, and having ordered these five to be gathered in the plain of Nicopolis, thus he made his test; for on each day, contriving a muster, riding out early in the morning and standing far from the others, first he would call the commander and reveal the plan, that it was necessary to do one of two things, either to agree with what was said by him or to suffer the removal of his head, then he would call one unit and then another, and acting in the same way he put them all under oath, even the unwilling. And first he won over the two Roman tagmata, and after them also his own men, then he also brought his attacks upon those from the foreign nations. And having easily intimidated them and bound them by an oath, and now being 2.626 without fear, having gathered together the leaders and soldiers from Sebasteia and Melitene and from Tephrike and the rest of the Armenians, he set out on his march, having sent a forerunner to Komnenos, that he had set his own affairs in good order, and that he was now coming down with a heavy force. And these messages filled Komnenos with both gladness and spirit,

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τοῖς ἀνταίρουσιν ἐπιθήσεσθαι. αὕτη δὲ ἡ ἀγγελία οὐκ εἰς μικρὰν ἀγωνίαν καὶ ταραχὴν ἐνέβαλε τοὺς περὶ τὸν Κομνηνόν, εἰ μέλλοιεν ἕξειν τοιοῦτον ἐχθρὸν κατὰ νώτων· διὸ καὶ ἐκαρτέρουν ἐν τῷ χάρακι μαθεῖν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὀριγνώμενοι. ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ἦσαν ἐν τούτοις, ὁ δὲ Κεκαυμένος ἔμεινε τὴν οἰκείαν γνώμην φυλάττων τοῖς συνωμόταις, ἐπεῖχε δὲ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐβράδυνε διὰ τοιαύτην αἰτίαν. ὅτε τῆς βασιλίδος ἐξ ελθὼν ἀπενόστει ἐπ' οἴκου, γενόμενος ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ καὶ ταχυ δρόμῳ συναντήσας βασιλικῷ μηνύει δι' αὐτοῦ τῷ λογοθέτῃ τοῦ δρόμου Νικήτᾳ τῷ Ξυλινίτῃ, δι' ἀφελῶν καὶ στρατιωτικῶν ῥη μάτων· ὡς οἶδα, ὦ ἀδελφέ, ὁ σὸς κύριος καὶ βασιλεὺς παρ' οὐδὲν λογισάμενος τὸν Κομνηνὸν καὶ ἐμέ, καὶ τὰς δεήσεις ἡμῶν 2.624 ἀποπεμψάμενος, ἀτίμως ἐπ' οἴκου ἀπέπεμψεν. ἀλλ' ἴσθι ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἄπιμεν. ὁ δὲ ἅμα σοί, εἰ ἀπαρέσκεσθε τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ὑπο χωρήσει, ὑποστρέψαι καὶ ἄκοντας εἰς τοὐπίσω παρασκευάσατε, ἀποστείλαντες δύναμιν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἰπὼν τῷ ταχυδρόμῳ τῆς πορείας συντονώτερον εἴχετο· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἴκαδε γένοιτο καὶ ὁ Κο μνηνὸς ἠρέμει ὡς τάχα μηδὲν μετέχων τοῦ ἔργου, εἰς ὀρρωδίαν ἐνέπιπτε, καὶ δείματα αὐτὸν ἐτάραττε δεδιότα μή πως ὁ Κομνη νὸς καὶ οἱ τῆς συνωμοσίας μέτοχοι ἑτέρου γενόμενοι σκοποῦ σιγῇ βουληθῶσι καλύψαι τὴν ἐπιβουλήν, καὶ μόνος αὐτὸς εὐθύνας κομίσηται τῆς ἀποστασίας ὡς ἤδη καταφανῆ ἑαυτὸν θεὶς διὰ τοῦ μηνύματος. καὶ ἐσκέπτετο καὶ ἐμελέτα πῶς καὶ τίνα τρόπον ἑαυ τῷ περιποιήσεται τὴν ἀσφάλειαν· οὔτε γὰρ δύναμιν προηυτρεπι σμένην εἶχεν, οὔτε ἡ προσοῦσα ἱκανὴ ἐδόκει ἀντιπαρατάττεσθαι βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων, τὸ πλέον δ' ὅτι μηδὲ κοινολογησάμενος τοῖς ἐπιχωρίοις στρατεύμασιν ἦν, μηδὲ πληροφορίαν ἐσχηκὼς εἰ προσ δεχθήσεται. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἤργει, καὶ ἀναδύεσθαι ἐδόκει τοῖς μὴ καλῶς ἐστοχασμένοις τῶν κατ' αὐτόν. ἔτυχον γὰρ τῷ τότε καιρῷ δύο τάγματα Φραγγικὰ καὶ Ῥωσικὸν ἓν ἐπιχωριάζοντα τῷ τόπῳ πρὸς παραχειμασίαν· περὶ ὧν πλέον ἐφρόντιζεν, ἵνα μὴ συναισθήσεως γενομένης συλληφθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἐκπεμφθείη τῷ βασιλεῖ. ταῦτα πάντα δεδοικὼς ἐπεῖχεν αὐτὸν μέχρις ἂν ἀσφά λειαν περιποιήσηται ἑαυτῷ. ἤδη δὲ μέλλων ἐπιχειρεῖν τῷ ἔργῳ, 2.625 καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ θεράπουσι καὶ συγγενέσι πρότερον τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν ἀνακαλύψας, καὶ ἤδη χεῖρα περὶ αὐτὸν συστησάμενος ἀνδρῶν χιλίων, λοιπὸν καὶ τῶν οὐ πάνυ βεβαίων ἀποπειρᾶσθαι ἤρχετο, καθ' ἕνα μὲν πρότερον τῶν ἐπισημοτέρων τοῦ τόπου ἁπτόμενος, εἶτα καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν τῶν γενναιοτέρων καὶ τῶν στρατιωτικωτέρων ἀποπειρώμενος. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἠδυνήθη τέως τοὺς ἐπισημοτέρους πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπισπάσασθαι, λοιπὸν ἤρξατο καὶ τοῖς πλήθεσι παρέχειν πεῖραν· γράμματα γὰρ πλασάμενος βασιλικὰ ὡς εἴη προστεταγμέ νον αὐτῷ ἀνειληφότι τὰ τῶν συμμάχων τρία τάγματα καὶ τοὺς δύο τῶν τε Κολωνειατῶν καὶ τῶν Χαλδίων ἀνελθεῖν κατὰ τοῦ Σαμούχ, καὶ τὰ πέντε ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν πεδιάδα τῆς Νικοπόλεως ἀθροισθῆ ναι κελεύσας, οὕτω τὴν πεῖραν προσήγαγεν· ἐφ' ἑκάστῃ γὰρ ἡμέρᾳ ἀδνούμιον πλαττόμενος, πρωΐθεν ἐξιππαζόμενος καὶ πόρρω τῶν ἄλλων ἀφιστῶν, πρῶτον μὲν ἐκάλει τὸν ἡγεμόνα καὶ τὴν βου λὴν ἀνεκάλυπτεν, ὡς ἀνάγκη τοῖν δυοῖν θάτερον πρᾶξαι, ἢ συν θέσθαι τοῖς παρ' αὐτοῦ λεγομένοις ἢ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀφαίρεσιν ὑπο στήσεσθαι, εἶτα τάξιν μίαν ἐκάλει καὶ πάλιν ἄλλην, καὶ τὸν ἴσον τρόπον ποιῶν πάντας καὶ ἄκοντας ὥρκισε. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ὑπη γάγετο τὰ δύο Ῥωμαϊκὰ τάγματα, μετ' ἐκεῖνα δὲ καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους, ἔπειτα καὶ τοῖς ἐξ ἐθνῶν προσήγαγε τὰς προσβολάς. ῥᾳδίως δὲ τούτους καταπληξάμενος καὶ ὅρκῳ ἐμπεδωσάμενος καὶ ἤδη ἐν τῷ 2.626 ἀφόβῳ γενόμενος, τοὺς Σεβαστηνοὺς καὶ τοὺς Μελιτηνοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Τεφρικῆς καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν Ἀρμενίων ἄρχοντας καὶ στρατιώτας συναθροίσας ἥψατο τῆς πορείας, προάγγελον στείλας πρὸς τὸν Κομνηνόν, ὡς εἴη τε τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν εὖ διαθείς, καὶ ὡς ἤδη κάτεισι μετὰ βαρείας δυνάμεως. αὗται δὲ αἱ ἀγγελίαι θυμη δίας τε καὶ λήματος ἐμπιπλῶσι τὸν Κομνηνόν,