THE HISTORY OF THE BALKAN VLACHS
263
forehead in token of submission. So with a Latin Emperor in Constantinople the Vlach and Bulgarian war continued only on a larger scale than before, as Johannitius in addition to
Comans was now helped by the Greeks. From the war that followed we can estimate Johannitius' qualities as a
40,000
general.
In a battle outside Adrianople the crusaders were utterly Dandolo the blind Doge of Venice and Villehardouin
defeated,
by a masterly retreat at night saved a portion of the army, but the Emperor Baldwin was captured and the appeals of Innocent III failed to secure the release of the royal captive, died or was done to death a few months later in Bulgaria. Shortly afterwards Seres fell into the hands of the Vlachs and
who
was destroyed and early in 1206 at Rusium the crusaders lost more than a hundred knights. Johannitius' policy of ;
destroying
all
the cities that surrendered soon alienated his
Greek allies. A new ally however arose in the person of Theodore Lascaris who by threatening Constantinople from the east enabled Johannitius to do as he wished in the west until in 1207 the crusaders made peace with Lascaris and so became free to oppose Johannitius in force. Henry had succeeded Baldwin as emperor at Constantinople, and the Marquis Boniface at Salonica was ruler not only of the district round the city, but of South Macedonia and Thessaly as well. These two were to combine forces and undertake a joint expedition against the Vlachs. It was arranged that in late summer they should meet at Adrianople, but the meeting never took place, as the Marquis Boniface was killed by a roving Bulgarian band. His head was cut off and sent in triumph to Johannitius. In the same year Johannitius himself was found stabbed outside Salonica he was probably murdered by one of his own men, but the pious inhabitants of the city attributed ;
his death to the lance of St Demetrius.
Johannitius was
who
succeeded by his sister's son Borilas when he was driven out by a son of
reigned until 1218
Asan who was known as Johannitius Asan or Johannitius II. Johannitius II, whose capital was the Bulgarian Tirnova, held the throne for twenty-three years and by employing