Those on board the fleet concentrated their efforts on
the gates, broke in three of them, and entered the city, while others
landed their horses from the huissiers. As soon as a company of
knights was formed, they entered the city through one of these gates,
and charged for the Emperor's camp. Mourtzouphlos[45] had drawn up his
troops before his tents, but they were unused to contend with men in
heavy armor, and after a fairly obstinate resistance the imperial
troops fled. The Emperor, says Nicetas--who is certainly not inclined
to unduly praise the Emperor, who had deprived him of his post of
_grand logothete_--did his best to rally his troops, but all in vain,
and he had to retreat toward the palace of the Lion's Mouth. The
number of the wounded and dead was _sans fin et sans mesure_.
An indiscriminate slaughter commenced. The invaders spared neither age
nor sex. In order to render themselves safe they set fire to the city
lying to the east of them, and burned everything between the monastery
of Everyetis and the quarter known as Droungarios.[46] So extensive
was the fire, which burned all night and until the next evening, that,
according to the marshal, more houses were destroyed than there were
in the three largest cities in France.
Pages:
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266