With what intent they could not say; but to the Emperor Alexius it seemed that the former Emperor had wished to divert the water from the lake into this artificial canal, and consequently he was led to the same idea and ordered the trench to be dug out very deep. He was afraid, however, that the river might be fordable at the junction of the streams, so he erected a very strong fort, safe and impregnable on all sides, by reason of the river and the height and thickness of its walls; and from this it got the name of ‘Iron.’
And now this ‘Iron Tower ‘ is a city in front of a city, and an advanced fortification of a fortification! The Emperor himself superintended the building of the fort from morning till evening, in spite of the great heat, for the sun had already passed the summer solstice, and he put up with the burning heat and the dust. He incurred great expenses in order to ensure by these means that the fort should be very strong and impregnable, and he lavished money upon the men who dragged the stones, one by one, no matter whether there were fifty, or a hundred, men.
Emperor himself presiding like a judge at the games
Thus it came about that they were not just anybody, but that every soldier and soldier-servant, both native and foreign, was stirred to help with the hauling of these stones by seeing the lavish pay and the Emperor himself presiding like a judge at the games. His craft was also shown in this for by the flocking together of so many men the hauling of these immense stones was made much easier. For the Emperor was ever like that, very deep in his ideas, and magnificent in executing them. The Emperor’s reign had proceeded as I have described up to the . . . Indiction of the . . . year.
Before he had enjoyed even a short rest, he heard a report of the approach of innumerable Frankish armies. Now he dreaded their arrival for he knew their irresistible manner of attack, their unstable and mobile character and all the peculiar natural and concomitant characteristics which the Frank retains throughout; and he also knew that they were always agape for money, and seemed to disregard their truces readily for any reason that cropped up. For he had always heard this reported of them, and found it very true. However, he did not lose heart, but prepared himself in every way so that, when the occasion called, he would be ready for battle.
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