All these things that Frank, who was nervous and still in dread of the Roman fleet, recounted to Balduinus. That then is what happened to the Franks at sea; but on land things did not settle down without distresses and worries for the Emperoi. For a certain Michael from Amastris who was the governor of Acrunus, was meditating defection and took the town and began to ravage the surrounding country terribly. On being informed of this the Emperor sent George, the son of Decanus, against him with an adequate force.
Emperor without delay
After a siege of three months George took the city and sent the rebel to the Emperor without delay. The Emperor entrusted the care of the fortress to another man, but at Michael he shot a severe glance, threatened him with many things and apparently had doomed him to death; thus he instilled great fear into the man, and yet very soon relieved the soldier of his dread. For the sun had not set below the horizon before the prisoner was a free man, and the man condemned to death was the recipient of many gifts. Such was my father, the Emperor, on all occasions, and yet later on he met with much ingratitude from the whole world.
Just in the same way our universal Benefactor was once treated, our Lord who rained down manna in the wilderness, gave food to men in the mountains and made them pass through the sea with dry feet, and yet later He was set at naught and insulted and beaten and finally condemned to be crucified by the impious. But as I write this my tears gush out before my words, and I long to speak of these men and make a list of the ungrateful, but I restrain my tongue and beating heart and continually repeat to myself the words of the poet, “Bear up, O heart, for thou hast borne more horrible things already I ” This is enough about that ungrateful soldier.
The Sultan Saisan sent troops from Chorosan, some of whom marched through the lands of Sinaus, and the others through what is properly called Asia. On receipt of this news, Constantine Gabras, then Governor of Philadelphia, collected his troops and overtook the Turks at Celbianum; he was the first to dash upon them at full gallop and ordered the others to do the same and thus they routed the barbarians. When the Sultan who had dispatched these troops heard how many had been killed, he sent ambassadors to the Emperor to treat about peace, confessing at the same time that he had long desired to see peace between Mussulmans and Romans. For from afar he had heard of the Emperor’s prowess against all his foes, and on making trial of it himself he had ‘recognized the cloth by its edge,’ and the ‘lion by its claws,’ and though against his will had turned aside to thoughts of peace.
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