The Emperor traveled by foot to ensure that their lands were protected from outsiders.  He received word that a man named Tzachas wished to become Emperor and began a campaign against him.  The emperor’s man Ducas was fighting Tzachas but had not been successful.  The emperor found out that Ducas had been fighting at dawn, and the sun had been in his eyes.  The emperor sent word to him not to fight until the sun had passed the meridian, and then he would be victorious.  After this, Tzachas did not want to continue fighting.  He was told he could leave but that he must not do harm to any of the Mityleneans.  Tzachas tried to take some of the Mityleneans with their wives and children captive  The emperor’s men were able to rescue the prisoners of war from Tzachas.

A few days later, Calyces had seized Crete, but he was stopped and murdered.  Rhapsomes avoided battle, but when he finally engaged in it, he abandoned the fight, trying to find a ship to take him away.  He eventually took refuge in a church but was caught and brought back.

Soon, Tzachas attacked and took possession of Smyrna.  The emperor planned to defeat him.  The sultan heard of this and set out for Tzachas whose foes were now approaching on land and by sea.  The sultan arrived and had dinner with Tzachas who drank too much.  The sultan killed him with his sword.

In Sec. VI Anna spares no criticism of what she thinks of the nature of the Frankish heart in battle and mind in strategy. The knight is valiant in the attack and will rush into a battle but hardly has the physical stamina to last long or devise a defense against the ensuing counter attack. "For the nation of the Franks in general is self-willed and independent and never employs military discipline or science, but when it is a question of war and fighting, anger barks in their hearts and they are not to be restrained; and this applies not only to the soldiers but to the leaders themselves for they dash into the middle of the enemies' ranks with irresistible force, especially if their opponents yield a little. But if the enemy with strategic skill often sets ambuscades for them and pursues them methodically, then all this courage evaporates. In short, the ranks cannot be resisted in their first attack, but afterwards they are exceedingly easy to master both because of the weight of their arms and from their passionate and irrational character."

Peter the Hermit and the Discovery of the Holy Lance

Anna, I believe has to tow the line between pius Christianity and obvious plays at mythmaking. While she earlier relates the story of her father and the veil of the virgin Mary she makes a point to share the mighty warriors turn in their despair to the musings of the manipulative Peter the Hermit who apparently leads them to the Holy Lance that pierced Christ as he hung on the cross. Without saying it, it may be implied that the discovery was a ruse. "They obeyed the bishop's instructions. And after a few days the bishop... urged them to dig on the right side of the altar, and there they would find the Holy Nail.' They did as he bade and as they did not find it, they returned all discouraged and announced that they had failed in their quest. He accordingly prayed still more earnestly and bade them conduct their search for the object more carefully. They again did his bidding and when they had found what they sought, carried it headlong to Peter, overcome with joy and awe." The talisman combined with what she's expressed about the nature of the Frankish heart was enough to spur the crusaders to victory. "The following day, they sallied out upon the Turks from a secret door... when the armies stood drawn up in squadrons on either side and were preparing for the shock of battle... they all shouted. "God with us! " and at full gallop... rode straight at Curpagan himself..."

The Fall of Jerusalem

In all of the Alexiad the Frankish siege of Jerusalem occupies just two sentences giving cause the the argument that the event itself was a small blip of the the history of the Islamic/Byzantine story. "They encircled walls and made frequent attacks on them and besieged the town and within one lunar month they took it and killed many of the Saracenic and Jewish inhabitants. When they had brought all into subjection and no one resisted them, they invested Godfrey with supreme authority by unanimous consent, and called him 'king.'

During the First Crusade (1097-1104), the Crusaders captured many cities but also faced many challenges along the way.  The Emperor Alexios wanted to support them while at the same time he needed to protect his own empire.  The crusader Bohemund and Alexios made a pact that if he was able to take it, Bohemund would give Alexios the city of Antioch.  In the end, Bohemund broke his promise, betrayed the pact, and that caused Alexios to launch an attack on Bohemund in Antioch.  During the attack, Bohemund devised a plan to fake his own death and to be carried out of the city in a coffin.  The plan was a success and Bohemund was able to escape the city alive and well inside a coffin to the island of Corfu.  In the end, Bohemund threatened Alexios that he would return to the continent, gather the support of warlike men of Lombardy, the Latins, the Germans and the Franks.  They would return and eliminate him and his empire with bloodshed and murder.