A knight Diogenes was made emperour:
Fortune to him did so great fauour
Constantinople holding in his hande,
As souerayne prince of al grekes lande.
Yet ther were some that grutched theragain
And had of him great indignacion,
The king of Perce Belset Tarquiniaine,
Fro him by force toke many a region,
Mesopotamie to his possession
Toke by strong hand through his chiualry,
Maugre Diogenes & almost all Surrye.
Belset Tarquiniā made him selfe so stronge
By manly force Diogenes to assayle,
And for Diogenes thought he did him wrong
He gan ordaine great stuffe and apparayle,
A day assigned they met in batayle:
Diogenes of froward auenture
He & his knightes brought to discomfyture.
Take he was, & brought by great disdayne,
In whom as tho there was no resistence,
To kinge Belset called Tarqumiaine:
And whan he came to his presence
Against him was yeue this sentence,
To lie downe plat and that king Belset
Should take his fote and on his throte set.
This was done for an hie dispite
Diogenes brought forthe on a chayne,
Without reuerence, fauour, or respyte,
At great feastes assigned was his payne:
And alder last put out his eyen twayne,
The whele of fortune tourneth as a ball
Sodayne clymbing asketh a sodayne fall.