Before his victory over William II (November 7th, 1185), Emperor Isaac II
Angelos camped for a while at Kypsella in Thrace, now Ipsala in Turkey, 85
km to the south-west from Adrianople/Edirne. The town is located at approximately 300 km east from the battlefield of Dimitritsi. Both locations are on Via Egnatia.1 Before the battle, the army was marching and approaching Thessaloniki from the north. As Günter Prinzing has demonstrated, the camp in Kypsella must have therefore have been before, not after the battle.2 Niketas Choniates recounts that two Vlachs named Peter and Asan arrived at the camp to see Isaac II Angelos,
requesting that they be recruited in the Roman army (συστραλογηθῆναι Ῥομαίοις) and be awarded by imperial rescript (βασιλεία γράμματα) a certain estate (χωρίον) situated in the vicinity of Mount Haimos, which would provide them with a little revenue (πρόσοδον). Failing in their
request—for the punitive action of God supersedes that of man—they grumbled because they had not been heard; and with their request
made for naught, they spat out heated words, hinting at rebellion and the destruction they would wreak on their way home. Asan, the more
insolent and savage of the two, was struck across the face and rebuked for his impudence at the command of John, the sebastokrator. Thus did they return, unsuccessful in their mission and wantonly insulted.3 Since Isaac II was preparing for battle against William II, it is clear that Peter
and Asan were expecting their recruiting offer to be accepted, especially since