Victory over the Turks – The Orphanage: Heresy of the Bogomils : Last Illness and Death of Alexius (1116-18)
I The doings of the Emperor in Philippopolis and with regard to the Manichaeans were such as I have related; after that a fresh potion of troubles was brewed for him by the barbarians. For the Sultan Soliman was planning to devastate Asia again and assembled his forces from Chorosan and Chalep to see whether he might possibly be able to resist the Emperor successfully. As the whole of the Sultan Soliman’s plan had already been reported to the Emperor, he contemplated advancing as far as Iconium. with his army and there forcing him into a closely contested battle. For that town formed the boundaries of the Sultanicium of Clitziasthlan.
Victory over the Turks – Therefore he solicited troops from foreign countries, and a large mercenary force, and called up his own army from all sides. Then, whilst these two generals were making preparations against each other, the old trouble in his feet attacked the Emperor. And forces kept coming in from all quarters, but only in driblets, not all together, because their countries were so far away, and the pain prevented the Emperor not merely from carrying out his projected plan, but even from walking at all. And he was vexed at being confined to his couch not so much because of the excessive pain in his feet, but by reason of the postponement of his expedition against the barbarians.
The barbarian Clitziasthlan was well aware of this and consequently despoiled the whole of Asia at his leisure during this interval and made seven onslaughts upon the Christians. Never before had the Emperor suffered so severely from that pain; for before this it had only come on him at long intervals but now it did not come periodically but was continuous and the irritation unending. Now Clitziasthlan’s followers thought that this suffering was only a pretence at illness, not really an illness, and that hesitation and indolence were disguised under the cloak of gout; and therefore often joked about it when drunk or drinking, and as natural orators the barbarians wove moral talks about the Emperor’s sufferings in his feet, and the trouble in his feet became the subject of comedies.
