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and whereas until then he had been most timid and cowed, from then on he became bolder and more courageous. Nevertheless, he awaited his arrival. But he, on his way down, having brought under his command the regiment of the Armeniacs, some willingly and some unwillingly, and the leaders of the theme, and having hastened his march, came and united with Komnenos. Then, therefore, believing his affairs to be secure, he handed over his wife and the wealth he had to his brother John and sent them out to the fortress of Pemolissa (Pemolissa is a rock situated on the bank of the Halys river), while he himself, setting out with his whole army, and having crossed the Sangarios river, proceeded slowly and at a walking pace towards Nicaea, being hymned and acclaimed; for he had decided that, having subdued it, he would have it as a base of operations against the unwelcome turns of fortune and thus advance forward. He also gave an opportunity for withdrawal to the troops and generals who kept their faith with the emperor. And indeed, when they learned of his advance on 2.627 Nicaea, they withdrew quietly and disbanded, the soldiers each going home, being fearful for their wives and children and other most necessary things; while the generals went to the emperor, becoming messengers to him of Komnenos's arrival. These were Lykanthes, the commander of the Anatolic regiments, Theophylaktos Maniakes and Pnyemios the Iberian, who commanded the phalanx of the Charsianites, and many others who were not very distinguished. But now the emperor, when the revolt was made known to him, and that the entire eastern Roman force except for a few had been moved against him, did not see fit to send ambassadors concerning peace, but as the revolt was still in its beginning and matters were inflamed, he too made preparations, and armed himself for battle in the way he could.

For having summoned all the western forces, and having appointed to command them from among the Macedonians those who appeared distinguished by noble birth and by previous deeds of valor, and having lavishly honored both the commanders and the soldiers with dignities and gifts and distributions of money, and having done similar things also for the eastern regiments that had not been led away with Komnenos, namely the Anatolics and those from Charsianon, and having put forward as general with full powers and commander for himself the domestic of the east Theodore, the eunuch of the empress Theodora, handing over to him also as co-commander and counselor, 2.628 as a man who had contended in many struggles and being the brother of Komnenos's wife, the magistros Aaron Doukas, he sends them out to battle against Komnenos. These two, therefore, having taken command of the said forces, and having crossed over by way of Chrysopolis, which is opposite the City, went to Nicomedia. And having arrived there, they sent men and demolished the bridge over the Sangarios river, so that the assault on them would not be easy for Komnenos, but, being made by a detour, might not go unnoticed. And setting out from there, they went up to Mount Sophon, and having pitched a fortified camp there, they prepared for war. And Komnenos, sending out scouts and spies everywhere, so that nothing of what was happening should be unknown to him, when he learned that the men around the domestic had already occupied the heights of Sophon, he also hastened his march and seized Nicaea. And having become master of it by assault, and having deposited in it whatever money he had and the superfluous part of his baggage, and having made it secure, he pitched a camp on the northern side of the city of Nicaea, about twelve stades away, and quartered there. Therefore, going out from each of the camps for forage, both the soldiers of Komnenos and those of the opposing side, and mingling with one another as compatriots and relatives and friends, they urged one another, some the emperor's cause

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καὶ ἕως ἐκείνου ἀτολμότατος καὶ κατεπτηχὼς ὑπάρχων τολμηρότερος ἀπ' ἐκείνου καὶ θαρραλεώτερος γίνεται. ὅμως προσέμενε τὴν ἐκείνου παρου σίαν. ὁ δὲ ἐν τῷ κατιέναι καὶ τὸ τάγμα τῶν Ἀρμενιακῶν καὶ ἆκον ὑπαγαγόμενος καὶ τοὺς τοῦ θέματος κορυφαίους, οὓς μὲν ἑκόντας οὓς δὲ ἄκοντας, καὶ τὴν πορείαν ἐπιτείνας, ἐλθὼν ἑνοῦ ται τῷ Κομνηνῷ. τότε οὖν ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῷ ἀσφαλεῖ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν εἶναι νομίσας, τὴν μὲν γυναῖκα καὶ ὃν εἶχε πλοῦτον Ἰωάννῃ τῷ αὐταδέλφῳ παραδοὺς ἐκπέμπει πρὸς τὸ φρούριον τὴν Πημόλισσαν (πέτρα δὲ ἡ Πημόλισσα παρὰ τὸ χεῖλος κειμένη τοῦ Ἅλυος ποτα μοῦ), αὐτὸς δὲ ἄρας μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ στρατοῦ, καὶ τὸν Σαγγά ριον περαιωθεὶς ποταμόν, ἀπήρχετο σχολῇ καὶ βάδην πρὸς Νί καιαν, ὑμνούμενός τε καὶ ἀνευφημούμενος· ἐγνώκει γὰρ ταύτην παραστησάμενος ὁρμητήριον ἔχειν πρὸς τὰ τῆς τύχης ἀβούλητα καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω χωρεῖν. ἐδίδου δὲ καὶ καιρὸν ἀναχω ρήσεως τοῖς στρατεύμασι καὶ τοῖς στρατηγοῖς τοῖς ὅσοι πίστιν ἐτήρουν τῷ βασιλεῖ. καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ μαθόντες οὗτοι τὴν πρὸς 2.627 Νίκαιαν ἔλευσιν αὐτοῦ ὑπεχώρουν ἠρέμα καὶ διελύοντο, οἱ μὲν στρατιῶται οἴκαδε ἕκαστος ἀπιὼν οἷα περὶ γυναικὸς καὶ παίδων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δεδιὼς ἀναγκαιοτάτων· οἱ δὲ στρατηγοὶ ἀπῄεσαν πρὸς βασιλέα, ἄγγελοι τῆς ἀφίξεως τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ τούτῳ γινόμε νοι. ἦσαν δὲ Λυκάνθης τε ὁ τῶν ἀνατολικῶν κατάρχων ταγμά των, Θεοφύλακτος ὁ Μανιάκης καὶ Πνυέμιος ὁ Ἴβηρ τῆς φάλαγ γος τῶν Χαρσιανιτῶν ἡγεμονεύοντες, καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ οὐ λίαν ἔχοντες τὸ ἐπίσημον. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς γνωσθείσης αὐτῷ τῆς ἀποστασίας, καὶ ὅτι περ ἡ πᾶσα ἑῴα Ῥωμαϊκὴ χεὶρ πλὴν ὀλίγων κεκίνηται κατ' αὐτοῦ, πρέσβεις μὲν περὶ εἰρήνης οὐκ ἐδοκίμαζε πέμπειν, ἀρχὴν δὲ τῆς ἀποστασίας ἔτι ἐχούσης καὶ φλεγμονὴν τῶν πρα γμάτων ηὐτρεπίζετο καὶ αὐτός, καὶ πρὸς ἀντιπαράταξιν τὸν ἐνόντα τρόπον ὡπλίζετο.

Μεταστειλάμενος γὰρ τὰς δυτικὰς ἁπάσας δυνάμεις, καὶ ἄρχειν τούτων ἀπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων τάξας τοὺς ἐκ γένους λαμπροῦ καὶ ἐκ προηγησαμένων ἀριστευμάτων εὐδοκίμους φανέντας, ἀξιώμασί τε καὶ δώροις καὶ διανομαῖς χρημάτων ἀφθόνως φιλοφρονησάμενος καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας, τὰ παραπλήσια δὲ ποιήσας καὶ πρὸς τὰ μὴ συναπαχθέντα ἑῷα τά γματα τῷ Κομνηνῷ ἤτοι τοὺς ἀνατολικοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ Χαρ σιανοῦ, καὶ στρατηγὸν αὐτοκράτορα καὶ ἄρχοντα αὐτῷ προβαλό μενος τὸν δομέστικον τῆς ἀνατολῆς Θεόδωρον, τὸν τῆς βασιλίσσης Θεοδώρας εὐνοῦχον, παραδοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ συνάρχοντα καὶ σύμβου 2.628 λον, ὡς ἂν ἐν πολλοῖς ἀγωνίσμασι κατηθλημένον ἄνδρα καὶ ἀδελ φὸν ὑπάρχοντα τῆς γυναικὸς τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ, τὸν μάγιστρον Ἀα ρὼν καὶ ∆ούκαν, ἐκπέμπει πρὸς ἀντιπαράταξιν τῷ Κομνηνῷ. ἀναλαβόντες οὖν οὗτοι οἱ δύο τὰς εἰρημένας δυνάμεις, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀντιπόρθμου τῇ πόλει Χρυσουπόλεως περαιωθέντες, ἀπῆλθον ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ. ἐκεῖσέ τε γενόμενοι πέμψαντες καθαιροῦσι τὴν τοῦ Σαγγάρεως ποταμοῦ γέφυραν, ὅπως μὴ εὔκολος εἴη τῷ Κο μνηνῷ ἡ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἔφοδος, ἀλλὰ διὰ περιόδου γινομένη μὴ λαν θάνῃ. ἐκεῖθέν τε ἀπαναστάντες ἀνῆλθον εἰς τὸ ὄρος τὸν Σό φωνα, κἀκεῖσε στρατοπεδείαν πηξάμενοι ὀχυρὰν τὰ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον ἐξηρτύοντο. Καὶ ὁ Κομνηνὸς δὲ ἁπανταχοῦ σκοποὺς ἐκπέμπων καὶ κατο πτῆρας, ὥστε μηδὲν τῶν γινομένων ἀγνοηθῆναι αὐτῷ, ἐπείπερ ἔμαθε τὰς ἀκρωρείας τοῦ Σόφωνος ἤδη κατασχεῖν τοὺς περὶ τὸν δομέστικον, καὶ αὐτὸς ταχυπορήσας καταλαμβάνει τὴν Νίκαιαν. καὶ ταύτης ἐξ ἐφόδου κύριος γεγονώς, καὶ ὅσαπερ εἶχε χρήματα ἐν αὐτῇ ἀποθεὶς καὶ τὰ περιττὰ τῆς ἀποσκευῆς, καὶ ἀσφαλισάμε νος, πήγνυται παρεμβολὴν κατὰ τὸ ἀρκτῷον μέρος τῆς πόλεως Νικαίας, ὅσον ἀπὸ σταδίων δώδεκα, κἀκεῖσε αὐλίζεται. ἐξερχό μενοι οὖν ἀφ' ἑκατέρων τῶν στρατοπέδων ἐπὶ χορτολογίαν οἵ τε τοῦ Κομνηνοῦ στρατιῶται καὶ οἱ τοῦ ἀντιθέτου μέρους, καὶ ἀλ λήλους ἐπιμιγνύμενοι οἷα ὁμόφυλοι καὶ συγγενεῖς καὶ φίλοι, προε τρέποντο ἀλλήλους, οἱ μὲν τὰ βασιλέως