Anna Komnene

“ For in the guise of a dead man I eluded every eye and hand and mind, and now, alive and moving about and breathing the air, I send thee from this town of Corfu news which will be very distasteful to thy Majesty, and which thou wilt certainly not receive with overmuch joy. To my nephew Tancred I have entrusted the city of Antioch and have left him as a worthy opponent to thy generals. But I myself, who was reported to thee and thine as dead, am going to my own country as a living man to myself and mine and full of dire intentions against thee. ”

“ That artful man Bohemund who hoped to win the sovereignty of Antioch for himself once again spoke to the Counts, pretending to give them advice, saying, "We ought not all to fight simultaneously both against the enemy outside and the one inside, but rather split up into two portions in proportion to the number of the enemy fighting us on one side or the other, and then carry on the war in that way. And if you all approve, let my duty be to fight with the defenders of the Acropolis; and your business will be to fight vigorously against the foes outside." ”

“ Chapter IX Soon the Emperor learnt of the seizure of Laodicea by Tancred, and therefore sent a letter to Bohemund which ran as follows: "You know the oaths and promises which not only you but all the Counts took to the Roman Empire. Now you were the first to break them, by retaining possession of Antioch, and then taking more fortresses and even Laodicea itself. Therefore withdraw from Antioch and all the other cities and do what is just and right, and do not provoke more wars and troubles for yourself." ”

“ And from this I have learnt that the whole barbarian nation is hard to turn back from any undertaking upon which they have started, and there is nothing too burdensome for them to bear when they have once embarked upon difficult tasks of their own choice. For this man, who was not dead except in pretence, did not shrink from living with dead bodies. The device of the barbarian was unique in the world of our time, and was directed towards the downfall of the Roman hegemony. ”

“ Throughout the whole day the fate of the balance swayed equally for both sides, but when the sun set the Turks were routed and night decided the battle. Many fell on either side and yet a greater number were wounded. After gaining this brilliant victory the Franks fixed many of the Turks' heads on their spears and marched back carrying these like standards, in order that the barbarians should see from a distance what had happened, and lose heart through being defeated at the start, and therefore refrain from a strenuous battle. ”

“ The Latins in company with the Roman army reached Antioch by the so-called Oxys Dromos and paid no attention to the country on either side but drew their lines close to the walls, deposited their baggage and proceeded to besiege this city during three revolutions of the moon. The Turks alarmed at the straits which had overtaken them, sent word to the Sultan of Chorosan begging him to send sufficient troops to their assistance, in order to succour the Antiochians themselves, and also to drive off the Latins who were besieging them from outside. ”

“ The Roman fleet however did not venture upon a regular sea-battle with the Pisans, but made a series of swift, irregular attacks upon them. Landulph himself, first of all, drew close to the Pisan ships and threw fire at them, but aimed badly and thus accomplished nothing but wasting his fire. Then the man called Count Eleemon very boldly attacked the largest vessel at the stern, but got entangled in its rudders, and as he could not free himself easily he would have been taken, had he not with great presence of mind had recourse to his machine and poured fire upon the enemy very successfully. ”

“ And to make the corpse appear stale and odoriferous, they strangled or killed a cock and placed it with the corpse. And when a cock has been dead for four or five days its smell is most disagreeable for those who have a sense of smell. And this smell seemed to those who are deceived by outward appearance to be that of Bohemund's body; and that villain Bohemund enjoyed this fictitious evil all the more; I for myself am astonished that he being alive could bear such a siege of his nostrils, and be carried about with a dead body. ”

“ Let each one of us studiously try to win over the barbarian who guards our respective section. And if you like, let there be set as prize for the one who first succeeds in this work, the sovereignty of this city until such time as the man who is to take it over from us arrives from the Emperor. ”

“ John Ducas was extremely grieved at Caspax' death and for some time took the whole adrninistration of the fortress upon himself. In this capacity he went round and inspected the walls and ascertained the opinions of the inhabitants from men who knew; and as he felt that a brave man was needed, he appointed Hyaleas, whom he thought best of all, Duke of Smyrna. This man was a devotee of the War-God. Ducas left the whole navy to protect Smyrna, and then marched with his troops to the town of Ephesus which was held by the satraps, Tangripermes and Maraces. ”

“ Only be quite ready yourself and have all the people with you ready too and equipped with ladders. And not only you yourself must be ready but the whole army must be under arms so that directly the Turks see you after you have come up and hear your war-cry, they will be terrified and turn in flight. And this arrangement Bohemund kept secret. While these matters were in contemplation, a messenger came saying that an immense crowd of Hagarenes sent from Chorosan against them was close at hand, under the conduct of the man called Curpagan [2] . ”

“ When they had all taken leave of the Emperor, he assigned them Taticius, who was then Great Primicerius, and the troops under his command, partly to assist them on every occasion and to avert danger and partly to take over the towns from them if God allowed them to take any. So the Franks once again crossed the straits the next day, and all took the road leading to Antioch. Ile Emperor guessed that not all the men would necessarily depart with the Counts and accordingly signified to Butumites to hire all the Franks, who remained behind when their army left, for the garrison of Nicaea. ”

“ As Bohemund saw that the Turks were fighting very bravely, he sent to fetch the Frankish troops. They came up with all speed, and after that a serious and terrible battle took place. And the Roman and Frankish armies carried off the victory. As they travelled onwards, drawn up in troops, the Sultan Tanisman and Asan, who alone commanded eighty thousand armed men, met them near Hebraica. A fierce contest ensued as there were such numbers of troops, and neither side would yield to the other ”

“ But Bohemund's nephew, Tancred, a youth of independent spirit, maintained that he owed fidelity to Bohemund alone, and that he would keep it to his death, His own friends standing by and even the Emperor's kinsmen kept importuning him, and then he said, feigning indifference, as it were, and with a glance at the tent in the front of which the Emperor was sitting (it was larger than any had ever seen before) , " If you will give me this tent full of money and as much more as you have given to the Counts, then I too will take the oath." ”

“ For the nation of the Franks in general is self-willed and independent and never employs military discipline or science, but when it is a question of war and fighting, anger barks in their hearts and they are not to be restrained ”

“ Tancred with a small body of men pursued the fugitives, many of whom were killed and many wounded. When Curpagan arrived with his countless thousands for the succour of the city of Antioch and found it already taken, he planted his palisades, made a trench, deposited the baggage in it and decided to blockade the city. But before he could start on this work, the Franks rushed out and attacked him. A fierce battle then took place between them in which the Turks gained the victory. ”

“ Then Bohemund asked, "Did you come in the expectation of taking these towns from us by money or by the sword? " and the other replied, "The money has been given to our brave followers to make them fight bravely." Then Bohemund said in a rage, "Let me tell you that you will never be able to take even a tiny fort from us without money." After that he incited the troops under him to ride right up to the gates of the town. ”

“ Yet we captured Antioch unexpectedly and utterly routed the troops which had come from Chorosan to succour Antioch. In what way would it be just for us to deprive ourselves willingly of what we gained by our own sweat and toil? " When the envoys returned from him the Emperor recognized from the reading of his letter that he was still the same Bohemund and in no wise changed for the better, and therefore decided that he must protect the boundaries of the Roman Empire, and as far as possible, check his impetuous advance. ”

“ Those of the Turks who were accustomed to fighting bravely did not spare their lives but stood up to him, and submitted to a battle; the rest tried to secure their own safety by flight. Owing to the width of the plain and its not being broken by any marsh or hill or ravine, the Latins were able to overpower them all. Thus all fell victims to the sword, only a few were captured. After overcoming the Turks by this stratagem, he marched to Tripolis. ”

“ In short, the ranks cannot be resisted in their first attack, but afterwards they are exceedingly easy to master both because of the weight of their arms and from their passionate and irrational character. For these reasons, as his forces were insufficient against such numbers, and he could not change the Franks' decision, nor by better advice convert them to their advantage, he considered he had better not proceed any further, lest by hastening to the assistance of Antioch he might cause the destruction of Constantinople. ”

“ But opposite Syce a great tempest and violent sea arose and the ships were dashed on shore and half-broken, all except those Taticius commanded. Such were the events connected with the Pisan fleet. Bohemund with his extreme natural astuteness was afraid that the Emperor might proceed to seize Curicum, keep the Roman fleet in its haxbour and thus protect Cyprus and at the same time prevent his allies from Lombardy coming to him along the eastern coast. Because of these considerations he decided to rebuild the town himself and occupy the harbour. ”

“ Do not, we pray you, treat yourselves thus and run headlong into visible peril, when it lies within your power to live free from peril and return to your own country pluming yourselves on your riches and perhaps even becoming owners of lands. ”

“ He was afraid, too, in case the countless Turkish tribes overtook him, that the inhabitants of the regions of Philomelium would fall victims to the barbarians' swords, so he arranged to have the approach of the Hagarenes announced throughout the country. The announcement was immediately made and the order given that each man and woman should leave their homes before the Turks arrived, and thus save their persons and as much property as each could carry. They all elected at once to accompany the Emperor, not only the men but the women too.... ”

“ When the Counts reached the Capital the Emperor received them honourably, gave them much money and after they were sufficiently rested, sent them home full of gratitude. But Godfrey after being again elected king of Jerusalem sent his brother Balduinus to Edessa. Then the Emperor ordered Isangeles to hand over Laodicea to Andronicus Tzintziluces and the forts of Maraceus and Balaneus to the soldiers of Eumathius, at that time Duke of Cyprus; and go on further and do his best to get possession of the other forts by fighting. ”

“ Directly the other Counts and Bohemund got ear of the barbarians' attack, they selected two hundred soldiers from each Count's army and thus dispatched an army of imposing size to aid Isangeles' men; they succeeded in routing the Turks and pursued them till the evening. However the Sultan was not at all dispirited by this but armed himself at break of day and with his whole army occupied the plain outside Nicaea. When the Franks became aware of the Sultan's presence, they armed themselves fully and rushed upon the Turks like lions. And then a severe and terrible battle began. ”

“ In this manner then these ships were prepared; he next sent for Taticius, newly returned from Antioch, and gave him these ships and named him their supreme head. But the whole fleet he put under the command of Landulph and raised him to the dignity of Great Duke, as he was the most experienced in naval warfare. They left the capital in the course of the month of April and sailed to Samos with the Roman fleet. There they disembarked and hauled the ships up on land in order to make them stronger and more durable by tarring them over. ”

“ As the Counts firmly believe this they are plotting against your life. And now, I have done my duty by warning you beforehand of the danger that threatens you. And the rest is your concern, to take measures for your own safety, and that of the troops under you." Then considering the severe famine (for an ox-head was being sold for three gold staters) and also because he despaired of taking Antioch, Taticius departed, embarked on the Roman fleet which was in the harbour of Sudi, and made for Cyprus. ”

“ At this the sailors were so distraught by fear that they did not even give a thought to the men who had gone away from the ships for foraging, but left the greater number on the island, hurriedly loosed their cables and sailed away to Laodicea to Bohemund. When the sailors who had been left on the island to collect plunder returned and did not see their own fleet, they threw themselves into the sea in desperation, and were drowned. ”