Now let us return to our former narration. Let it not be considered few or insignificant the sins of those who will not repent or regret, or who fail to see the punishment [162] of people close to them and neighbors—punishment which occurs according to the crime[s committed]. The cypress must weep for the pine, the buck-thorn for the olive, because it is not that all upon whom the Tower collapsed, according to the Lord's command, were without distinction worthy of death, but rather that kin and others understand the sins, while those at a distance learn from them and take care. The calamitous events which took place regarding Arcn had not occurred long ago, nor had much time passed that they became clouded over. Many had witnessed them with their own eyes and had no need to listen, for many districts and cities had been saved from that raiding. However, they revolted and rebelled not against mankind, but against God Who levels to the ground those lofty towers and transforms secure cities into mounds of earth. [The people] did not understand or remember the Lord's dread and threats, nor the dregs of His rage and wrath, [Whose cup] He lowers for sinners to drink from. They considered [that cup] empty. [This was] especially so for the fortress of Ani and her daughters surrounding which had learned arrogance even more, and clapped their hands against Heaven; while God moved the king of Persia to come in His place [g134] and to see what was [163] going on there. There was warfare in the country of Armenia for [the Saljuqs] wanted to enlarge their holdings and rule the borders of the other [Byzantine] kingdom. This transpired in 513 of our [Armenian] era [1063/64].

Now the [Saljuq] king came with many myriads of armed troops and entered our land, spreading dread and terror among those far and near. He trampled on and overturned many lands until he reached the city [of Ani] which had reached the limit of sinfulness. He pitched his tent opposite the city of Ani and spread his army throughout the breadth of the country. He tried and devised stragems to destroy that [city] gate of iron and the locks of copper which opposed his kingdom, but because he grew disheartened because of the fortification [of the place], although the battle was growing more intense, he wanted to depart. He did not know that the Lord had implanted discord, disunity and chaos between the guards and the princes. Just then, [the guards] leaving off fighting, took to flight; and, confused by fear, no one looked with concern upon his relatives or important friends. Rather, each was seized with fright. When the armed [Saljuq] troops which were fighting outside saw this, they made way over [164] the wall, and poured into the city like the foaming billows of the sea. Putting the Persian sword to work, they spared no one. Now the multitude of men and women applied to the kings' palace as if they could save themselves there, while others fled to the stronghold called Nerk'i [Inner] fortress. As for those who were holed up within the city, when the enemy saw that they were unprepared, lacking fighting men, food or drink, [the Saljuqs] surrounded them and terrified them so much that unwillingly they came forth [g135].

One could see there the grief and calamity of every age of humankind. For children were ravished from the embraces of their mothers and mercilessly hurled against rocks, while the mothers drenched them with tears and blood. Father and son were slain by the same sword. The elderly, the young, priests and deacons also died by the same sword. The city became filled from one end to the other with bodies of the slain, and [the bodies of the slain] became a road. From the countless multitude of the slain, and from the corpses, that great stream which passed by the city became dyed with blood. Wild and domesticated beasts became the cemetaries [165] of those corpses, for there was no one to cover over the bodies of the slain with the needed earth, no one to bury them. The lofty and beautiful palace was burned because of the injustices committed within it, while all [other] structures were transformed into mounds of earth. The usury and treachery there ended.

This is the fate of unjust cities which are built with the blood of others, are made luxurious by the sweat of the bankrupt, and which fortify their homes with usury and injustice, having no pity for the poor and indigent. They expect only pleasure and comfort and do not desist from foul activities. Rather, they are drunk from the desire which has seized hold of them. What becomes of such when the anger of the Lord strikes? They wither and are destroyed like wax in fire, be they kings or be they princes, as we have seen from what has been narrated. But the king of Persia, having ruled over numerous districts, returned to his own land with inestimable booty [g136].

Now there is no need to record or narrate in writing incomprehensible or extremely difficult matters since no one has imposed such a task upon us nor demanded it of us. Nor are we capable of such. Therefore, many important accounts included among such categories, we have omitted, leaving them to [writers] more eloquent and intelligent than we. Perhaps someone may request it of them, and [perhaps] I am encouraging the capable to undertake [such a task]. However, since omission of an account of the war between the two monarchs would damage [this history] not a little, we regard it as necessary to dispense with such a great event [even if only] in an abbreviated fashion.

Emperor Diogenes [Romanus IV Diogenes, 1068-1071] was more or less the sixtieth monarch after Constantine the Great, according to the enumeration of emperors. When he saw that the king of Persia had taken not a small part of his kingdom, and had put to flight the Greek lieutenants and taken back to his own land great booty and many captives, [the Byzantine emperor] ten years later decided [167] to make war, in order not to appear unmanly and frightened, and in order not to leave to posterity a bad impression of himself. With arrogance and in great rage, he crossed the sea, as though traversing the land. Halting in Biwt'ania, he assembled a countless host, for yet did he possess a broad and extensive kingdom whose borders stretched from the valleys of Phoenicia (where the great [city of] Antioch stands) as far as the fortress of Van, and the entire Rhshtunik' country opposite [the district of] Her. Seeing such a multitude of troops aseembled in one place [g137], he arrogantly grew proud, thinking it impossible to be vanquished by any kings born of this earth. But he did not remember the words of the prophet that the king does not triumph through the multitude of soldiery, nor does the giant [triumph] because of his strength, but rather through the right hand and arm of the Omnipotent.

Now with an infelicitous plan [the emperor] sent numerous troops under commanders along a different road, while he himself with a great host travelled East until he reached the great city of T'eodupolis [Karin/Erzurum], where he arranged the cavalry. Sin is dreadful and sinners are denied the wisdom and adoption of God, but most unbearable of all is arrogance [168] held by princes and kings, unschooled by the memory of arrogant folk in the past who were destroyed. That wicked disease destroys all who become affected by it, because the adversary of arrogance, according to the Proverbs, is none other than God himself. Consequently, [the emperor] did not allow his troops to rest until the other masses of soldiery arrived, such that encouraging each other onward to bravery and valor, they might have formed one great army, capable of terrifying the enemy. No, [the emperor] wanted to win the war using only those men he then had with him. He quickly reached the place where the king of Persia was encamped, by the borders of the district of Manazkert. There did he pitch his royal tent, opposite the Persian brigade, and he fortified the area around himself and designated the day of battle.

But the wily king of Persia out of fear sought to start the fight before the scattered troops could arrive to strengthen the emperor and make it impossible for him to fight. He considered it better to fight against two masses than against three. Therefore he hurried and speeded up the pace of preparations until the Greeks were forced to come out against the [169] prepared and organized Persians. And when, both sides had let loose with their insults, and clashed with one [g138] another in military order, when neither side appeared the defeated side, then suddenly a great brigade devoid of piety, rebelled from the Byzantine emperor and crossed over to the side of the enemy. As a result, many soldiers were killed, and thereafter they fought without resolve and not bravely and in an organized fashion. At this the Persians became aroused and turned bold and unconquerable. But since the Byzantine emperor was uninformed of what had transpired and did not know the reason [for the turn of events] he had filled up with rage against the Armenian troops and people and looked upon them with hatred. Yet, when he saw them fighting with dedication, when he saw the boldness of those braves who did not fear the able Persian archers, but rather were stoutly resisting and not turning tail and did not abandon the king as many had (no, instead they risked death so that after death they would leave a good name of loyal bravery), then did he display great affection for them and promise them unheard of rewards.

Now the emperor looked up from where he was seated, and he observed the champions, and he saw his troops [170] in confusion and flight. So he quickly arose and dressed and armed himself like a warrior and reached the field of battle like a streak of lightning. He made corpses of many of the Persian braves and quickly struck terror into the troops. But he did not know that the general of the Lord's troops who had appeared to Joshua and given him victory, was not with him. Nor did the Lord come to our troops with weapon and shield, nor did He unsheath His sword against the enemy and stop them. And the Lord of power did not intervene nor was He for us a horn of salvation and hope. Rather [g139], He kept His strength to Himself and betrayed us into the hands of our enemies and to the insults of our neighbors, and He gave us as lambs for slaughter. Our bows turned to dust, our weapons were destroyed, our forces weakened and deserted, for the Lord had taken away His power and the desire for valor from our troops and princes. He took from them sword and ability, and gave it to the enemy, because of our improper conduct.

Now they took [the Byzantine emperor]—that world-ruling lord of a great throne—and stood him before the king of Persia as though he were a frightened, guilty slave, hand-cuffed. But God, who strikes and then heals, whose humane benevolence is without limit, does not [171] destroy the one He is advising. Rather, He pardons us after a little temptation/trial so that we understand our weakness. He kept and pardoned that occupant of his foot-stool by kindling affection and concern in the heart of the beast-minded king of Persia, who looked upon [Diogenes] as upon a beloved brother. And he released him graciously and with much care.

But the one whom God had freed from the hands of foreigners was blinded by his own folk, treacherously, shamefully and then killed. And indelible blood rained upon that kingdom. Thereafter the power of princes and soldiers ended, and triumph was no more given to that kingdom. And the princes dealt treacherously and spitefully with one another, and justice of the court was ended. They achieved only the land's destruction, not its salvation. Meanwhile the Lord became filled with rage and sent many [foreign] peoples for vengeance. [He brought] from the Mountains of the Moon and from the great river crossing northern India, wicked peoples speaking foreign tongues to flood like gushing water over our lands; to establish their headquarters by the shores of Ocean Sea [? Caspian Sea] and to pitch their tents opposite the great city, filling up our entire land [172] with blood and corpses and eliminating the orders and religion of Christianity.

The king of Persia, Albaslan [Sultan Alp-Arslan, 1063-1072], then observed [g140] his great triumphs and the victories of the three battles he had waged. While it is true that the first time Manazkert remained impregnable, nonetheless he was able to overturn many lands with the sword and captive-taking. Furthermore [during] the second [invasion] he overturned Ani with the stabbings of swords, and then he set it on fire, leaving it a desert. Because of such [victories, Alp-Arslan] fearlessly and proudly went before the Byzantine emperor. But he had made this vow to himself that should he capture him [Diogenes] he would free him to return to his kingdom with affection and honor. He had confirmed this with an oath so that there be peace between the Iranian and Byzantine kingdoms. So, when he emerged triumphant from this [last] battle as well, when what he had wanted to come to pass did in fact transpire, and when the one whom he had dreaded and quaked at stood there before him, bound, like one of his servants, then did [Alp-Arslan] recall that compact which he had made with God. [Alp-Arlsan] elevated [Diogenes] and seated him on his right. [173] And he exalted him as a faithful friend and made an oath with him that "hereafter let there be no discord between you and me; rather, rule over your kingdom in peace, and we shall do the same with respect to the Persian lordship. But I shall keep what I took in battle, and no longer invade your land." And [Alp-Arslan] freed him with great honor. Subsequently when [Alp-Arslan] learned that [Diogenes] had been captured by his own lords and treacherously blinded, that he had not reigned as monarch but rather had been tortured to death, then did he fill up with wrath and rage. He wanted to avenge the one who had become dear to him. But then death overtook [Alp-Arslan, d. 1072] and he quit this world, following all those fashioned of earth, to [the place] where kings and paupers [dwell] together [g141].

Now when such disastrous tribulations and world-shattering misfortunes spread throughout the entire country, the southern fire rose up and burned those lofty strongholds and impregnable towers as though they were made of wax, the kings and princes grew weak and declined, and hope of an expected refuge left us. Rather, the Lord's wrath was visited upon us one and all. For the houses of prayer were pulled down, and the foundations of palaces for the foreigners were laid with stones which had [previously been] annointed with holy oil; the blessed sacrament ceased and we became the object of the pagans' ridicule and insult. We were abused, became lost, and were leveled to the ground; and we became like dried bones lacking any hope of breath or life. And the sins of our fathers were visited upon us, as vengeance for the sins of our ancestors was demanded of us. The punishment was visited upon us sevenfold, for the name Christian was considered an object of deriding jokes and insults. Right and the law quit us, nor was there room for our tears and sighs, since their [Saljuq] piety consisted of depriving, robbing and killing us. The clothing necessary [176] to cover our nakedness seemed evil to them. Thus when they saw us naked and disgraced, yet more did they rejoice. From the many disasters visited upon us we became lean and wasted and circulated about the country trembling and in horror. Our food gave us no strength and our drink was bitter from fear and from the threats of our lords. Because they did not believe that we possessed a God in heaven or that our prayers and supplications would reach Him. For the Lord willed that we be afflicted by such punishments, that we be persecuted and tormented, that every age be tortured, that we be exiled and denied His presence, as folk worthy of punishment and guilty; that we be dispersed and sent far away to live among foreign peoples, so that perhaps our rebellious, disobedient and unbridled natures be restrained, and that we be subjected to [g143] His scepter of counsel as was Israel in the days of Elijah, and Samaria in the days of Elishah. Yet they in any case, still had a ray of hope, the supervision of kings and princes and—what is more important—they had the gracious enlivening words of prophets by which they were fortified and were able to withstand the straitening trials visited upon them by the Lord. Our situation is more difficult and serious than anyone else's, [177] for we are without king, prince, lord or overseer, spiritually and physically, and we were unable to find a single place of refuge. Rather we are weakened and obedient under pagan kings and bear severe blows from their scepters every day. For since we did not serve the Lord, we must serve foreigners; and since we disdained fear of the Lord we are now daily consumed with fear [of the Saljuqs]. Because we worshipped the Lord lazily we must now revere and serve them day and night. Still, God did not punish us according to our crimes, but rather with kindness and mercy did He hurl us into the furnace of counsel, to bring us to our senses and make us useful.

For if You put our sins in a balance-scale, they will weigh more than the punishments which we have received from You, and Your torments are lighter than our guilt. Lord, subject us to all torments and misfortunes, but abandon us not; bring down upon us all trials and disasters, but, Lord, only deprive us not of Your love. It is better to place ourselves in Your hands and accept counsel and agony from You than to stand away from You, unschooled. It is better to approach You with torments and difficulties than to [178] depart from You and dwell in tranquility and ease. To us it is important that Your blessed name be upon us, that we be considered [worthy of Your] inheritance, that You accept us as Your people of the New Covenant [sealed] with the venerable blood [of Christ]. By Your creative [g144] will, withdraw not Your hand from us so that we not be totally worn out by the torments of those pagans who hate You. For all of this and more than was written in this book was visited upon us because of our sins.

Now we consider sufficient what we have written about the turbulent disasters occurring in our day, what we bore from the pagans, and we have presented this divided up according to place, land, and city, in sections. For we encountered not one day or time of tranquility or ease. Rather the entire time of our days was full of agitation and difficulty and yet more torments and disasters occurred as time progressed. Nor was there one of them [of the Saljuqs] well-disposed toward us despite the fact that they have lived among us for many years. Resembling the viper, their rage did not let up; resembling the fire, their greed had no bounds. For whatever they proposed regarding us was evil. Their words were full of treachery. Therefore [179] each morning dawned with them effecting yet another evil. Such were all of their plans: to wear out and exhaust us as an old coat, and to efface any memory of us in their minds, so that they would not look and find us alive. No, our cemetaries were to vanish under their feet.

For narrating this account we should have had the ancient chroniclers of history who would have stamped this book with their proper and appropriate words, bringing together without error what transpired in the present and the past, leaving behind themselves an account of what had happened. Accounts of our predecessors have done this. But as to what we have written in this book, it is not complete, but merely the beginning of things that happened, and what we experienced, for we were unable to put in writing or remember everything. However, we have set all of this down so that you would read and know that the causes of it all were our sins; and so that looking upon our writing you would be terrified by the face of the Lord and tremble with dread at His strength; and so that through confession and atonement done in advance you might stay His punishments, and not [have to] withstand them after they have descended [g145].

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