Then the Emperor divided his armyand sent the light-armed troops on ahead and himself rode in rapid pursuit ofthe Comans who were in mad flight. He caught them up near the Sidera Cleisuraand killed many, but took most prisoners; the troops that had been sent aheadrecovered all the booty from the Comans and returned. The Emperor spent thewhole night on the mountain-ridge of the Sidera Cleisura owing to a severestorm, and when day dawned arrived at Goloë. There he stayed for a day andnight, in order to do honour to the men who had fought bravely, and reward themwith very rich gifts ; and as he had accomplished his purpose he dismissed themall gratefully to their homes, and himself regained the palace in two days andnights.
Turks were overrunning the interiorof Bithynia
V After a short rest from his manytoils, he found that the Turks were overrunning the interior of Bithynia andplundering everything, and that on the other side affairs in the West werecalling for the Emperor’s attention. He was more troubled about the former thanthe latter (for his business was naturally to attend to what was urgent) and hedevised a device which was really magnificent and worthy of his brain, and bythis contrivance he safely fenced off Bithynia with a canal against the Turks’incursions. And it is worth while describing this contrivance.
The river Sangaris and the coast-linewhich runs straight as far as the village Chele and the other which turns tothe north enclose within them a large tract of country. Now this country waseasily devastated by the men who from of old have been troublesome neighbours,to us; that is, the Ishmaelites, for due to the entire absence of any who couldprevent them they came through the Maryandeni and from beyond the Sangaris, andthey used to cross the river and especially oppress the town of Nicomedia.
The Emperor wished to check these barbarianinroads and raids upon the country, and above all to protect the town ofNicomedia. Below the Lake of Baana he noticed a very long trench, and followingit up to its end he gathered from its position and shape that it had not beendug out by mere chance, nor been hollowed by nature, but was the cunning workof some hand. After making close enquiries about the place, he found out fromsomebody that it was indeed Anastasius Dicurus who was the originator of thistrench.
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