History, Book Four

hurches. Naval war with the Galatians. The island of Chios recovered by the Genoese. Deeds in the Peloponnese. The embassy of Cantacuzenus to the sultan of Egypt, and his response.

BOOK FOUR. CHAPTER ONE.

Thessalonian affairs. A synod against Barlaam and Acindynus. The persecution of Nicephorus Gregoras. The war bursting forth again between father-in-law and son-in-law, repressed by the prudence and authority of Empress Anna. Laudable charity toward wounded Catalans and sick citizens of Byzantium. Controversy between Matthew and Palaeologus regarding Adrianople and neighboring cities. Concerning the demand for Matthew to be made emperor. Peace and treaty between the emperors. Events between Palaeologus and Matthew. The unhappy end of Matthew. The monastic life of Cantacuzenus and his wife.

He attests to his fidelity in narrating. The argument of the book. The Empress with her children before the image of the Theotokos. The emperor swears, as he often did before. He gives thanks to God for being freed from slanders. Helena, daughter of Cantacuzenus, is betrothed to the young John, whom he commends. An oath is demanded of the subjects. Certain nobles refuse, desiring to be subject to Cantacuzenus alone: which he does not permit. An ordinance concerning the goods of the soil. Emperor John marries Helena, daughter of Cantacuzenus. The highest peace from discords and arms. A marquis from Lombardy schemes to occupy Byzantium, Thessalonica, and Aenus, as if they were hereditary cities.

^A Such a war among the Romans themselves was kindled for five years, and they inflicted upon each other so many and so grievous disasters that the Roman empire was nearly overthrown and destroyed to its foundations. We have explained precisely all these things exactly as they occurred, passing over nothing, keeping the ancient promise to say nothing for the sake of favor or out of hatred, but only what is accurately true. It remains now, therefore, to record those things which Cantacuzenus did while reigning as monarch, and the dispute and dissension that again arose between him and his son-in-law, the Emperor Palaeologus. For after he had discharged his oath and entered the palace, he found the Empress standing before the image of the Theotokos Hodegetria with her children, so that she might more effectively move the emperor to mercy and cause him to lay aside the memory of all the grievous and hateful events that had occurred during the war. ^B He first worshipped the icon of the Mother of God as a suppliant, and then swore before the icon, in the hearing of all, that he had neither meditated nor done anything whatsoever against her and her children before the war was moved by them; nor had he ever thought in any way to despoil her and the emperor her son of their rule, but that all things were mere fabrications of tale-bearers and invented slanders. His purpose from the beginning, he declared, had been to undergo any labor, and to spend whatever wealth he possessed for the common benefit of the Empress, her children, and his own glory, remaining in his monastic habit. Afterward, he rendered exquisite thanks to God that he had arrived living to that day, which would most clearly free him from slanders and unjust accusations, having made manifest by the very deeds both the wickedness of his detractors and his own moderation. Then, together with the Empress— ^C

Augustus and his son, the emperor, withdrew into the private apartment prepared for the emperor’s reception. There, a conversation was held concerning public affairs, and his daughter Helena was betrothed to the young emperor. For the elder emperor had at once been entirely won over, not only because of his affection for the young man’s father, but also because he saw him to be, if one may ^A say, a vessel of every kind of grace. For he displayed not only a stature worthy of the empire, but also a disposition not ignoble, showing forth seeds of courage and wisdom, both of which later blossomed in accordance with those hopes. In wisdom, indeed, he was second to none of his imperial ancestors, and he had often demonstrated to his enemies a noble confidence in daring. The following day, the emperor ordered those who were with him outside the city ^B and the nobles, soldiers, and other prominent men who were with the empress to pledge their faith to both emperors by oath, so that there might be no discord or division, and that all might be ordered under one empire. Those who were within with the empress gave thanks to the emperor and willingly took the oaths. But most of those outside, particularly the most prominent men, would not agree; they declared that they would obey only the emperor Cantacuzenus, and no other. For they said it was terrible if, after having endured so many great labors in the war, ^C and having sacrificed their wealth, their kinsmen, and themselves in order to defeat their enemies, they were then, just when they seemed to have prevailed, suddenly seen to be utterly conquered and defeated, and subject to those to whom they could have been subject before, if they had wished, while remaining free of many hardships. For three days they strove not to do the same as the others, nor to submit themselves to the servitude under the new emperor. But the emperor Cantacuzenus, seeing their resistance, delivered a brief and stern decision. He ordered those who did not wish to yield to his son-in-law to depart from his presence ^D as well. He said he did not wish to force anyone to serve him, just as he had not done previously; but if anyone wished to be assigned under him, it was absolutely necessary that he also acknowledge his son-in-law, the emperor, as lord. If they did not wish to yield to him, they should also take their leave of his own presence, as there was no other way for these dissensions and strife to be removed. The emperor spoke these things in anger. Those who had been resisting him, fearing the emperor’s threat, gave in and took the oaths as the emperor had commanded. After this, he issued a decree that no one should harass another[.]

...and if they were stripped of their fortunes, he relieved their poverty by other means. In this way, in a short space of time, he cut off all disputes and occasions for riots, and the well-ordered ^A republic once again enjoyed peace and tranquility. These things accomplished, he summoned his wife and daughters from Adrianople. When they arrived at the temple of the Mother of God, situated before the city (which, as it is called a fountain by name, so in reality is a fountain of healing for many diseases), Empress Anna went out to meet them. With the emperors present, along with the magistrates and the entire nobility, Helena, who was to be married to the young emperor, by the command of her father and Empress Anna, was adorned in imperial attire and hailed as empress. Then, all of them having gathered together with the emperors in the palace, the wedding was prepared, and all were relieved from the miseries of war and hoped for better things. ^B Indeed, not only did the Romans desist from mutual contentions and factions, but even foreign enemies, hearing that the entire Roman Empire was now subjected to the authority of Cantacuzenus, laid down their arms. For previously even the neighboring dynasts were laboring to scrape something away from it. The Marquis of Lombardy, a prince who was a grandson of the Emperor Andronicus the Elder through his son, and who claimed the empire for himself as if it were his due above all others (whose father, Theodore, had also litigated concerning the same with Andronicus the Younger), having learned that Cantacuzenus was ruling over the Romans and that, except for Byzantium, Thessalonica, and Ainos, he had taken away the entire remaining empire from the sons of the deceased emperor, ^C was considering how he might bring a fleet and take possession of these three cities for himself, as they were owed to him by paternal inheritance rather than to Cantacuzenus. He was greatly incited to this by the Cardinal Coumintzes, his wife’s brother, who was contributing no small amount of money for the building of ships, and otherwise providing no moderate sum for military preparations. And he was already equipped, so that at the beginning of the spring of that year, he would attack the Byzantines with a great naval force.

CHAPTER II

Truly, however, learning from a certain ^D Bartholomew that Emperor Cantacuzenus had already brought Byzantium and the entire empire under his control, he desisted from his undertaking. For this very Bartholomew, having been sent as an envoy by the Dauphin of Vienna to Empress Anna, when...

^A in the meantime he was discharging his embassy, and Cantacuzenus the Emperor had occupied Constantinople, he met with him. Having admired his prudence, he wrote letters to Pope Clement and to the Dauphin, by whom he had been sent; which letters, just as we had them, we have inserted word for word into this history. The one which is to the Pope is as follows: “Let the whole people of the Roman Empire exult, and let the entire world rejoice for the sake of the victory of such a great emperor. For a day sanctified for all Christians dawned on the third of the Nones of February, on which indeed God sent forth His angel to prepare His way before him, and with His own most radiant light to dispel far off the darkness of war, bringing peace as a branch of green olive. For this is the king of peace, a second Solomon, whose face all the earth desires to see. For behold, in order that the Lord might show that it was not by the strength of a horse, nor by the power of man, but by the power of God that this trophy was erected by the most excellent and most invincible lord, John Cantacuzenus, Augustus and Emperor, He opened the treasuries of His own power and poured out upon him the gifts of His own charisms; ^B giving over to him this queen of cities, I mean Constantinople, and the entire empire, by heavenly virtue and the power of arms and an outstretched arm, so that in him the perennial rivers of His gifts and mercy might appear more clearly. For this is he of whom the Scripture says: ‘Who could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed? And could do evil, and hath not done it.’ Indeed, truly imitating Christ, he rendered good for evil; mindful of mercy, and unmindful of iniquity. Who has also been a good soldier, according to the example of the first athlete, Stephen, who prayed for the persecutors who were stoning him, saying: ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge, for they know not what they do.’ Never since the world began has such singular and incredible virtue been heard of in a man, not in Octavian the Emperor, nor in Theodosius, ^C nor indeed in Augustus Caesar: that those whom he was able to lay low on the ground by the power of arms, to those he should grant his own kind mercy, forgetting all the evils committed against him. These things, therefore, and rejoice, most holy Lord, in such a fortunate, such triumphant entry, bloodless and in no way harmful to the Christian people; and again rejoice, because truth has been received through truth. For the truth of Christ has shown the truth of this innocent emperor, because truth and mercy have met together, and justice and peace have kissed each other. Indeed, I trust that this pertains to peace and the best state of the entire Christian people and to the increase of the trophy against the enemies of the cross of Christ: just as not without a moderate ^D

amount of harm has the discord increased over a very long time for the emperors of the Romans. Therefore, even if certain unspeakable crimes have been reported to your Holiness regarding the aforementioned most serene emperor and august lord, John Cantacuzenus (who is also now the father of the most serene emperor and august lord of the Romans, John Palaeologus), they ought by no means to be admitted or believed in any way whatsoever. For I believe that your Holiness will learn of these matters more fittingly, more truly, and more clearly from these very lords and emperors themselves, whether through envoys or through letters. These things Bartholomew wrote to Pope Clement VI concerning the emperors. ^A To Imbert, the Dauphin of Viennois, from whom an envoy also came to the Empress Anna, he gave this letter in these words: "Let the whole people of the faithful rejoice joyfully; let the chorus of Christians sing; let the most illustrious feast days be renewed in the sacrosanct churches; let them strike the stars with psalms; let the instruments of the monks sing to heaven; let these pleasant festivals roll through the mouths of all, and let them spread through the whole region, so that the clamor of those who rejoice may be heard, not only by those on earth, but also by the heavenly citizens. Hear, therefore, O heavens, what I shall speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. But indeed, who would not listen gladly, who would not carefully apply his mind to these words, that the hand of the Lord has surely been ^B made over the Roman Empire, because day has illuminated night, and splendor has put darkness to flight, and for those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, a light from the heavens has arisen? See how this light has arisen from above, so that He who sits above all, the Most High, might deliver this queen of all cities—not by magnificent military preparation, but by His own power—to the great and most illustrious emperor, Lord John Cantacuzenus, the father of the empire and of the emperor himself, and that up to this point the just judge has preserved this empire for him as a gift, so that it might be clearly evident to all that this was done by the Lord God, and not by man. For the most wise Solomon says: 'To everything there is a time under heaven, and all things are good in their time. A time to weep, and a time to rejoice.' So also at one time Christ said, 'My hour is not yet come.' And elsewhere, 'Father, the hour is come, and now is the time that Your Son may be glorified'; and immediately the paternal voice replied to the Son, 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.' Also in the Gospel we read that our Lord Christ said at the Jordan, 'I ought to be baptized by thee, and thou comest to me,' and Christ replied, 'Suffer it to be so; for so it becomes us to fulfill all justice.' Those words, 'Suffer it to be so,' signified that the time of exaltation and glory was not yet present, since the hour of blessing and grace had not yet come. This hour of light, therefore, has been reserved for the Roman Empire, lest, if this gift were suddenly and unexpectedly exhibited to the faithful, it might be held in low esteem. This is he who makes the heaven and the tempests serene. This is he who, after lamentation and tears, brings joy.

^A For which of the holy Fathers was raised in glory who had not first undergone tribulations? As the Scripture clearly cries out: "And He scourges every son whom He receives," and God says: "Those whom I love, I rebuke and chastise." Thus also the Psalmist, that heavenly citharoedist David, sang: "The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death." And in another place: "My father and my mother and all my acquaintances have forsaken me, but the Lord has taken me up." Do you therefore also take up, most beloved duke, this aforementioned emperor, whom God has taken up into the establishment of the empire, and rank him among the most prominent, whom God has preserved for the empire. "For all power is ordained by the Lord God for some good end; and he who resists the power of the ruling authority, according to the Apostle, resists the ordinance of God." ^B And see to it that you are not found to be one of those of that order who are rebuked by the righteous Job with these words: "These are those who rebel against the light; they are deserters of the light, which shines in the darkness without blame, since the darkness did not comprehend it." And set forth an example worthy of eternal memory to the worshippers of Christ, in how this great emperor bears within himself the image of the clemency of great Constantine: by which he forbade those infants in whose blood he was to be cured of leprosy from being slaughtered. And he has surpassed the humanity of him who ruled after Julius Caesar, Octavian (on account of whom he is called the king of humanity), our emperor, being equal to, if not greater than, the best emperor, Theodosius, in piety. ^C He has surpassed the equity and goodness of Scipio Africanus, who made Africa tributary to us Italians. For while many mortals of diverse ways and dispositions had offended such an emperor, and deservedly might have feared the penalty of death, as soon as he was within the walls by force of war, he did not harm any of them with any evil; but he desires to deserve well of all, good and bad alike, in this imitating God, who makes His sun rise on the good and the evil. How then should I not wish for these goods to be poured into the heart of these Christians? And how should I not place in the middle of my heart the lineage of the Romans, which worships Christ who was crucified (whom the Old and New Testament recognizes and follows), for the sake of whom neither are swords stained with human blood, nor is evil repaid with evil, ^D but rather is evil overcome by good? Since these things are so, I urge your ducal power to bind this Emperor John, whose name signifies the grace of God, to yourself with the tight bonds of friendship, and to endure neither doing nor hearing anything new against him. For this John is called grace, 712

^A and rightly so, being altogether gracious; and with the Apostle he is able to say: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace in me has not been void, but remains with me at all times." For since the tree is known by its fruit, and the fruit receives its praise from the tree, I trust in the power of Christ that the emperor thus set forth will be known by the fruit of his good works. For he listens with patience to all who report to him, answers with gentleness, examines with wisdom, and judges righteously. These are the four ^B that those who rule are duty-bound most strictly to possess; these are the virtues sought in the governance of wise leaders, regarding whom Plato the philosopher says that public affairs are in a happy state when their administrators are adorned with wisdom. Truly, the dignity of this wisdom is great, which has even made the Athenian Socrates equal to the supreme God. I, therefore, bear hopes that this man's reign will be for the peace of the Christians and the repelling of the Ishmaelites, and will be for the justice of the people through mercy for all his subjects, as it is written in the one hundred and twentieth chapter of Proverbs: "Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness." ^C Such things he wrote to Inimbertus.

Chapter III

themselves to the history, but that I might demonstrate how, by these praises of the emperor, the Marquis was persuaded not to attack the Romans with a great fleet. For previously, hearing many and terrible things about the emperor, all those who held power in Italy were authorizing the expedition to the marquis. But when these letters reached him from a man of sufficient credibility in their eyes, and the others were dissuading him from the expedition, the Marquis himself became less eager, not only out of respect for the virtue of the emperor, but also because he had already abandoned the hope of achieving something great, now that the emperor held the entire Roman sovereignty, as he was heard by all to be a great strategist. That man, therefore, was prevented by these things and was dissolving the army.

CHAPTER III.

The Emperor, since the patriarch John was still dwelling in the palace and was idle, went to him, greeted him gently, and then reminded him of what he had discussed with him after the death of the emperor, before the war was set in motion: namely, about those who were intending to concoct calumnies against him, and how he had begged him to show every effort on behalf of justice and the public good, and not to allow the empress to be persuaded by the slanderers and a civil war to be stirred up; but that he should drive them away like a plague and a common blight upon the Roman prosperity. And he reproached him not only because he had shown no spirit befitting him in the face of the slanders, but also because he had cooperated with the slanderers and was himself stirring up the war more than the others, knowing most clearly that they were lying and slandering. And the greatest thing of all was that, even after such great calamity ensuing from the war, the shedding of infinite blood, the enslavements, the confiscations, the prisons, and the common destruction, he had manifested no pity for those who were perishing, nor had he let up on his bitterness toward him until the end; but though he [the emperor] wrote many times and begged for peace throughout the whole duration of the war, not only was he not persuaded, nor would he listen to what was said, but he moved every stone and persuaded the others not to put an end to the war. Then he said, "Let us leave these things for now as they are not fitting for the present time; for I did not intend to speak now to reproach you for your ingratitude, but so that all might know that, even before they happened, I had precisely conjectured all that would come to pass through my experience with affairs. Now, had you not been deposed from the throne by the bishops before I entered Constantinople, no one would have harassed you concerning such things, nor would you have remained in the position you were in. But as for the perversity of the dogmas of which you are accused by the bishops, I would have judged and passed sentence if you appeared to be convicted of the charges; but if you had avoided the trial, nothing would have prevented you from being back on the throne. But since it has turned out in this way, that I cannot restore you to the throne once the bishops have passed judgment, yet I do grant a right of appeal, so that you may respond to the charges before me." The patriarch, [acknowledging] the emperor's... ^{B C}

gentleness and benevolence toward him, almost thought he was dreaming, given the unexpected outcome of events. For he had been anticipating some unusual form of death and awaiting all manner of mockery and supreme insults, reflecting upon how many wicked things he had committed against [the emperor] during the war. Then, now supported by better hope and refreshed from the fear that had gripped him, he praised the emperor greatly for his mildness and for the forgetting of past wrongs, and he offered profuse thanks for the sympathy and forgiveness he had been granted. He asked for time to deliberate on what he should answer the bishops, should he wish to defend his cause; the emperor granted this.

Three days later, the emperor returned to him, and while cheering him with very kind and festive words, he also inquired about the judgment, asking whether he wished for his case to be examined. The patriarch again praised the emperor profusely and affirmed that the judgment was according to his own wish; for he claimed he would wash away the charges once he stood before it. The emperor ^B immediately communicated the patriarch's request to the bishops and confirmed that, in his opinion, the request was just; this indeed seemed very agreeable to the bishops as well, for they maintained that it was not their desire for the patriarch to be driven from his throne unless he were shown to follow perverse doctrines that greatly diverged from the Orthodox religion. They fixed a day on which all were to gather at the palace to inquire into his dogmas.

When that day arrived, the bishops, the most prominent of the monks, and the most distinguished of the senators met. The patriarch was summoned; he delayed and declared he would not come. After being called a second and third time according to custom, he continued to evade the judgment. The bishops decided to ratify the decreed deposition, in accordance with the ^C sanctions of the Fathers regarding these matters. The emperor, however, did not permit it, but went to the patriarch himself and asked if he wished to appear to speak to the charges. When he openly refused the trial even with the emperor presiding, all the bishops by common consent put his abdication into writing. They issued a *tomus* concerning the dogmas, in which they all confessed that Acindynus and his sect—with whom the patriarch John, holding the same opinions, had been in fellowship, for which reason he was also cast out from his see—held perverse and impious views concerning religion, whereas Palamas and his followers ^D both understood and professed what was in agreement with the views of the divine theologians. In this way was patriarch John ejected from the throne, even before the emperor entered Byzantium. Yet he did not quiet down, but conspiring with certain ecclesiastics, bishops, and private individuals, he stirred up disturbances again and began to cast about.

Notes of Jacobi Pontani

Notes of Jacobi Gretser

BOOK IV

^A It was agreed by all that Acindynus and his faction, whom the patriarch John, having been deposed, favored, were thinking improperly and wickedly concerning the divine dogmas, while Palamas and those of like mind were speaking and thinking in accordance with the God-inspired theologians. Thus, then, was the patriarch John cast from the throne even before the Emperor Cantacuzenus had come to Byzantium. Yet he did not remain quiet after his expulsion, but by affiliating with himself certain persons, both from the bishops and from the laity, he again began to stir up tumult, insisting that he had been wronged by the verdict and accused the bishops who had deposed him. Hence, all of them—except those who sided with him—approached the Emperor and requested that he be cast out of Byzantium, so that the sedition and disturbance in the Church might thereby cease. It seemed best to the Emperor also that this would resolve the sedition, and he was sent to Didymoteichon. ^B But not long afterwards, being unable to bear such a change—for he had been cast down from a height of supreme good fortune to the opposite extreme—he first grew ill, and then lost his sanity, although not all at once; for sometimes, having regained his reason, he would again be deprived of it. When the Emperor heard this, he ordered that he be brought back to Byzantium so that he might receive care from physicians, but after he returned, he did not survive for long; rather, overcome by his disease and his distress of mind, he perished. But these things happened afterwards.

At that time, however, immediately after the deposition of John, there was much talk regarding who would be set over the Church. All the others, for their part, immediately considered no one more worthy than Palamas to be raised to the throne, not only because of his virtue and his philosophy of life, and his accuracy and experience in divine dogmas, but because he had clearly, from the very beginning, stood against the Emperor who had warred against them, claiming that he had unjustly stirred up the war to the ruin and destruction of the common good, for which reason he had been condemned to dwell in prison from start to finish. ^C But among the bishops and other prominent monks there was much dispute regarding the matter. For many of the more learned—and especially those who were distinguished for having exerted themselves on behalf of the Emperor during the time of the war, some having been confined in their houses, others in prisons, and others having been harshly treated in other ways—all hoped that the throne would be the reward for their labors; and each one proposed himself over the others. Seeing this contention, and forecasting that some sedition would arise in the Church from this unseemly rivalry, the Emperor resolved to do nothing of his own authority, but to leave the choice of a leader to the bishops. The majority, having agreed, chose Isidore, a man of good character and gentle, and one who was naturally adept at attaining all holiness, and fully trained in the disciplines of letters and the deep knowledge of dogmas. The Emperor immediately approved the election, and not long after he was ordained. ^D Now, while all the others, with the exception of none, were willing to be subject to him, those who had previously pledged the throne to themselves could not digest the fact that they had been passed over; and finally, through a love of power, they arrived at such wickedness that, having no other way to avenge themselves upon the Emperor and the bishops by whom they considered themselves slighted, they gave their names to the followers of Acindynus. Breaking away from the Church with a multitude of others, they vehemently disfigured it, even though a little while before they had removed John from the throne for that very same cause. And those who had previously seemed to be such great guardians of the dogmas, being passed over, were suddenly changed, becoming the defenders of those of whom they had been the accusers. One might rightly attribute this to him who, from the foundation of the world, has been the common enemy of the human race.

emerged. ^A For it was incumbent upon those prudent and, above all, honorable men, if nothing else, at least to consider this: that while there were many who were deemed suitable for the administration of this office, it was necessary that one be brought forward to rule, and the rest to be ruled. Now, blinded by excessive ambition and acting entirely against their own interests, they involved themselves and not a few others in the greatest ignominy and shipwreck regarding the faith. But these matters will be explained more clearly a little later, just as they occurred. The Emperor, learning how they had cut themselves off from the rest of the body of the Church, took it very hard and was grieved, not only because of the dissension by which they differed from others in the genuine doctrine of the faith, but because they were also his friends and, during the war, had endured many hardships for him; he believed that, although they were frustrated in their desire for the preeminent dignity of the patriarchate, they should nevertheless be rewarded with gifts and benefits as much as possible. But they, once driven headlong by the memory of the injury, and believing that their labors and zeal toward the Emperor could not be compensated by any other reward since they had not been deemed worthy of the patriarchal throne, simultaneously withdrawing themselves from him and from the truth, lacerated him with curses and, patronizing this lie, corrupted it, following in the footsteps of the false dogmas of Barlaam and Acindynus. Furthermore, Patriarch Isidore, shortly after his inauguration, having with him other bishops—as many as were present—while at the very beginning of the war Patriarch John was pronouncing the hymn of devotion over John Cantacuzenus, contrary to all law and justice, ^B having them, I say, with him, and ascending the so-called ambo so that he might be heard more clearly by all, rescinded the anathema in the presence of the people, even though John himself, when the Emperor came to him after occupying Byzantium, had annulled it in the presence of many. Nevertheless, it pleased Isidore that the same thing be done again for greater security.

CHAPTER IV

Orchanes, the Emperor's son-in-law, after he learned that his father-in-law had gained Byzantium and now certainly possessed the whole Roman Empire, such as it was, ^C came with his whole household to Scutari (as it is called by the natives), situated across from Byzantium, to congratulate him on his victory.

^A His victory concluded, the emperor immediately crossed over to him in triremes, and for not a few days they enjoyed each other’s company, passing the time in hunting, drinking parties, and tokens of friendship. The emperor and Orchanes, his son-in-law, dined at the same table, while his four sons, born to him of other wives, reclined on carpets at another table not far from the emperor, so that they might be seen by him, while the other illustrious Persians and Romans reclined in their view to eat. When they had enjoyed each other’s company for a sufficient time, Orchanes remained in the camp, but the emperor, accompanied by his daughter Theodora, the wife of Orchanes, and followed by the children of Orchanes and the rest of the household, returned to Byzantium. ^B Having spent three days there with the Empress Mother and his siblings, she later returned to Bithynia with the sons of Orchanes and the others of her retinue who had been honorably enriched by the emperor, their father. On the thirteenth of May, in the spring of the same year, in the temple of the Mother of God at Blachernae, the Emperor Cantacuzenus was crowned again by Patriarch Isidore, in the presence of the Empress Anna and the young Emperor John. And everything customary for the feast was performed, with nothing left out. Then he also crowned his wife, the Empress Irene, according to custom; and having returned to the palace, they gave themselves over to the drinking parties and festivities and all the other things that are known to brighten a feast. ^C Although he had previously been crowned at Hadrianopolis by Lazarus, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and that anointing with the holy myron would have sufficed for those of sound mind, nevertheless, that he might give no pretext to detractors who might say he had not been crowned at Byzantium according to the ancient custom of the emperors, he decided to be crowned again. On the eighth day after that, that is, the twelfth of the Kalends of June, which is the day consecrated to the memory of the most illustrious emperors Constantine and Helena, the wife of the junior emperor was given to him in the same temple of the Mother of God at Blachernae. For the temple of the Sophia of God, which in beauty and size surpasses the temples of the whole world ^D and is as it were a common ornament and glory of the Roman empire, a most beautiful specimen of magnificent structure and ambitious design, had collapsed in a huge earthquake one year before Cantacuzenus took Byzantium—not the whole of it, but the great portico together with the tabernacle and more than two parts of the roof. Therefore, the sacred rites and ceremonies of the emperors were performed at Blachernae, as had once been the custom.

Notes by Jacobus Pontanus

^A Yet the Queen Anna, having returned, set to work to complete the great portico from the platform, and afterwards the Emperor Cantacuzenus erected the rest including the roof, and saw to the remaining adornment of the sanctuary, as much as concerned the marble work and the delicate arrangement of the mosaics. Anything that was still lacking for the completion was later added by the new Emperor Palaeologus, when he held the rule of the Roman Empire alone. Serving both Emperors in this noble undertaking was Astras, the Great Stratopedarch, a man of first rank and a distinguished architect, and with him was a certain John Peralta, a Latin subject of the Emperor. ^B But these things happened later. At that time, since that great marvel of the world, this renowned church, was something worthy of tears to those who loved beauty, the Emperor John was joined in marriage to Helena, the daughter of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, in the church of the Theotokos at Blachernae, under the Patriarch Isidore. He crowned his wife according to custom, having himself been crowned previously by the Patriarch John; there were feasts and cheers, and public festivals were held as was fitting for imperial weddings.

When matters at home had been well-ordered by the Emperor, he turned himself towards external enemies and, having sent envoys to the Kral, he gave him abundant thanks for the honor and zeal which he had shown towards him at the time he had taken up arms against his own kinsmen, and he promised—when the occasion should arise—to return the favor ^C with justice and merit; provided, however, that the treaties remained inviolate, for it would not be right for one to blame the other for being an avenger if those treaties were broken by either side. For no law forbids a man who has been wronged from seeking damages from the one who caused the injury. He demanded that the cities which had been taken away from the Roman Empire after the treaty had been ratified should be restored: for this, he said, was written in the oaths. For not only had [the Kral] seized Pherae and other cities and fortresses of Macedonia, alongside Thessalonica, but he had also corrupted the most powerful men of Berrhoea with money and great promises ^D and had drawn them over to this point, that they drove out the Emperor’s son, Manuel, and surrendered the city to him, an act which caused the Emperor no small amount of distress. Manuel, accordingly, was staying in Thessaly with his uncle, John Angelus.

When the Kral heard the embassy, he could offer no just objection; indeed, he did not even deny that the oaths had been conceived in that manner, yet he was unwilling to return the cities, but took refuge in pretexts and inept excuses. The Emperor, in a second embassy, demanded that he cede the cities to him in accordance with the oaths; if he refused, he threatened war, and prayed him not to ascribe to him the future slaughters and enslavements; for, with the Roman forces broken and weakened by the civil war, he would be forced, even against his will, to use the aid of the Barbarians. He bade him consider what he ought to do. And when, even after that...

they understood that those cities were held by the Kral, and, disregarding the commands of their leaders, they poured themselves out for devastation, and laid waste to all the villages, and raided the cities bordering on Mygdonia, and killed very many and took no few ^A captives; and having driven off a very large amount of spoils of war, they turned back and crossed over the Hellespont to their home. When the Emperor heard of the disorder of the Barbarians, he was not a little vexed, since those very people, the army which seemed to be fighting as his allies, were destroying those for whose benefit he had seemed to choose to wage the war.

CAPUT V.

^B Under these circumstances, having sent a trireme into Thessaly, he summoned his son Manuel; and when he was in Byzantium, he declared him and his son-in-law, the Duke Nicephorus, despots. Matthew, the elder son, he did not specifically honor with any dignity, yet he exalted him with an honor above the despots, so that he might be next to the emperor, an honor which the first of the Palaeologan emperors, Michael, created for his son Constantine Porphyrogenitus, ^C and that dignity seemed to have something more than the rank of despots. He designated the brothers of his wife, John and Manuel, as sebastocrators. But seeing the Roman empire terribly shattered by the civil war and despised by its neighbors, and unable to defend itself due to a lack of money (for someone once aptly said that money is the sinews of war), and having neither the means to provide from his own house, nor from public funds—for all the imperial heirlooms had been consumed, and the common revenues had failed, the country having been utterly devastated by the war, and the cities of the islands and the mainland being either occupied by the enemies, or the rest suffering from extreme difficulties due to both external hostile incursions and internal civil strife; and there was no way to feed the soldiers, all of whom were useless and weaponless because of poverty, and there was no gain from them, though they were many and good—being pressed on all sides by ^D lack, he considered having all contribute from their own property, so that they who had could be saved themselves, and he might also save those who were in need. While he was meditating in this way, it seemed to him that he must refrain from force, since he was about to spend the very money collected for the sake of those who were contributing, but rather to urge them, by exhortation, to be willing to proceed to the action. And having convened a general assembly from every class of life of the citizens of Byzantium; for neither merchant was left out, nor soldier, but craftsmen also were present, and of the common people no few, and the superiors of the holy monasteries, and the procurators of the churches, and—

standing in the midst ^A he spoke thus: "Men, Romans, that the ancient prosperity of the Roman empire was something to be wondered at, and that of the Barbarians dwelling around it, some it conquered and held in subjection, others remained as subjects paying tribute, while the most illustrious and those who seemed to have been clothed with great power counted it a happy thing if they might have you as friends and allies and be treated on an equality with you, without being unfairly dealt with—this, even if not all of you do, you yourselves do not ignore. But these things, indeed, venerable and wondrous and now only spoken of, just as if they had been done somewhere outside of Thule, lasted until such time as there was a concern for the common glory in all equally, both emperors and private citizens, and public advantages were preferred to private ones. But from the time that ultimate strife and contention concerning the rule fell upon the emperors, and refraining from fighting the enemy along with their own kin, they clashed with one another, and the others, neglecting the common safety and the obedience which they owed to the laws and to those in authority, each busied themselves with their own private affairs—everything has been turned upside down, and we have been deprived of the greater part of our glory, and have come to such a state of weakness that our concern is no longer how we may subjugate others, but how we ourselves may not be ignobly and basely subjugated. ^B Now, that I myself did not plot against the children of the emperor, nor, craving rule, did I come to this through stripping them of their ancestral sovereignty, it is possible for all to take clear proof from the facts. For if, as the slanderers kept accusing, I had purposed this from the beginning, I would not now, after such a war and the manifold bringing on of disasters, and the loss of wealth, and such great misery of kin and friends, have ceased from my purpose, when I had everything in my hands; for which indeed I especially offer manifold thanks to the Almighty, that when they did not choose peace nor descend to agreements (although I frequently begged them much concerning peace), but had fought to the extent of their power, and had neglected nothing in this regard that came within their reach, I, being assisted only by the grace from above, emerged superior to all, so that I might not appear—because of oaths and agreements—but because of my ancient moderation and the friendship for that wonderful emperor, my most dear friend, to be sparing of his children and to be preserving their ancestral rule. ^C If, therefore, as I myself planned from the beginning, to direct ^D all my actions, as is fitting, toward the common profit of the Romans, and to spend such wealth as you know is mine, and to shrink from no labor or danger—if these things, I say, others had thought upon, and had followed me zealously, or, which is less, at least had not hindered me, at this time there would be no need for us to be deliberating about the retaining of our liberty."

Notes of Jacobus Pontanus

(84) Virgil also in Georg. I mentions the final, that is to say, the most distant, and the last of the islands explored and known to the Romans. Strabo, lib. IV: More obscure still is the history of Thule, because of its very distant location. They say that of all those whose names are reported, this one is the most distant toward the north; the poets use the name Thule to signify the greatest distance and a place most far away.

^A Had they ^B joined in readily, or at least, to speak more moderately, not opposed me themselves, we would not now be deliberating about by what means we ought to be saved, but—if it be not invidious to say so—about whom we ought to enslave. But since, through the envy of some malignant demon, these matters were thus contrived against us, and they eagerly took up arms against me, who was making great provision for the common salvation, and persuaded all the others, and wasted both our own resources and the public funds—no less against me than against you all, if the truth must be told—and destroyed the entire region from which the contributions were collected; and made the enemies formidable to us, partly by voluntarily abandoning cities to them, so that they might have allies against the Romans, and partly by neglecting others, so that they might be able to subjugate those, while they rendered us most weak through the scarcity of soldiers and the lack of funds; and thus, through these things, we have now been driven into straits on all sides. Since, I say, these things are so, it must be weighed by everyone, and an opinion must be brought forward by which the state of affairs may be amended, and we may be delivered both from the present misery and from that which we still expect. For the Triballians and Mysians, and the Persians, and whoever else of those who have power inhabit the neighboring provinces, are not satisfied with what they seized during the time of war; but, once having held us in contempt, they by no means wish to halt their greed.

I, for my part, would gladly see that day on which all the things insolently and wantonly committed against us are punished. For not even while the arms were still clashing did I, of my own will, seek the alliance of the Barbarians against the Romans, but was driven by necessity by those who were warring against me; for they, shamelessly abandoning cities and regions, persuaded the Mysians, the Triballians, and whoever else they could, to fight against me with all their might. Yet they themselves knew, on their own account, that once I had established my rule, they would not only acquire nothing more of ours, but would be forced to restore what they had seized, whereas with those others ruling, they would use them like slaves; wherefore they eagerly fought alongside them. Moreover, they did not remain unassailed by the Persians, but they themselves were the first to bring them in as allies against me, and later, not once or twice, but often attempted to make them fight against me, by giving much money and promising more. ^C Facing such power of enemies surrounding us from every side, myself being weak and also fearing lest they, having been overlooked, might take them as allies, I necessarily judged the alliance and friendship of those people to be something to be sought after. But now that affairs have been well judged by the Almighty, and all sedition and discord have been driven away, I will eagerly, together with you, exact the penalty for those deeds then dared. Therefore, so that nothing be omitted which seems profitable to us for both our reputation and the restoration of our former prosperity, speak out everything readily that you deem profitable, as I too shall advise what I think better, and shall more easily assent to those things said well by others. For know clearly that if we both decide and carry out what the time now demands, and from somewhere gather strength, we shall be more dear to our friends and more terrible to our enemies. But if, yielding to despair on account of our weakness, we embrace ease and tranquility, ^D and do not attempt to obtain the means by which we might survive, and gather strength, we shall find ourselves exposed to the [46, Latin col. ends: desperationi cedentes, otium et quietem complexi At ]

we shall sit, and we shall have nothing to expect within a short interval but servitude. For either, after having tried everything, we must command, relaxing nothing of our former glory and courage, or we must without doubt serve more powerful masters. Since, therefore, not only past glory is at stake, but also your future security and liberty, deliberate and do whatever you think will be of use to this end.

CAPUT VI.

^B The emperor spoke these things to all in common, but openly said nothing regarding the need to contribute funds; for he did not wish, as we have said, to seem to exact them by force, but rather that they themselves, for the sake of public utility, should choose to pay the tax of their own accord. The citizens who were most distinguished in speech and who excelled the others, said they were not unaware of the ruin brought upon both private and public affairs by this war, and that they understood the present deficiency of funds. They thought, however, that they also ought to do those things by which it might be possible for the Romans to return again to their ancient prosperity. And this will in no way be possible otherwise than if each person renders himself useful to the common good in whatever way is appropriate, so that the emperor may indeed advise rightly, and with his army meet the enemies, and attempt by every means to hinder their growth, and if he can, overthrow them, and recover the ^C captured cities; that the soldiers may show themselves eager in serving, and relax nothing of their former glory and courage, but respect one another in battles, and prove themselves brave men, as they will be the first to enjoy the fruits of their valor, and will share the benefits with those for whom they fight; that those engaged in trade, and those pursuing other gainful arts, may nourish the soldiers by contributing money, since it is not possible to be fed from the public treasury, which is exhausted. For the farmer, the merchant, and the craftsman, if he is secure, can provide both for himself and for the soldier who fights for him. But if he shuns contributing, it follows that he destroys himself along with the soldier—the latter by starvation, and himself and his children by starvation, siege, and the swords of the enemy; or at any rate, if he is subjected by the force of necessity, he will pay greater and more bitter tributes to his conquerors than [would be the case otherwise].

Jacobi Pontani notae.

^A

If he were enjoying security, he would be equally useful to himself and to the soldier fighting for him. But if he were unwilling to feed the other, he would destroy both himself and the soldier, the latter by famine, and himself and his children likewise by famine, siege, and the swords of the enemy; or if not this, then by necessity, having been enslaved, he would provide to the enslavers more and harsher taxes than what he might have contributed willingly to enjoy the rest in freedom. When the Byzantine citizens had spoken such things, the emperor praised them and spoke in support of their arguments, saying that it was necessary to ask for money in order to prepare against those waging war. If his own resources had not been exhausted by those who had fought badly and to the detriment of the public good, he would not have needed to raise a tax from them, just as he had not needed it in the past when great wars were being stirred up while the emperor Andronikos was still alive; for when the public funds did not suffice to meet those wars, he, as administrator of all public affairs, had provided what was lacking from his own means. ^B But now, since those [resources] had been lost to no useful purpose, and public taxes had failed because the land had been laid waste, he was forced to turn his eyes to this common contribution, so that if he could obtain moderate funds, he might easily restore the Roman empire, which had fallen. Having spoken these and other similar things, he dismissed the assembly, thinking that he had said something advantageous and useful for the common good.

But some of those who had been chosen to fight against him from the start—and they were not few—and especially those who were money-changers trading in their shops, even after the apparent reconciliation, remained hostile and held a grudge, and in every way attempted to hinder him and to ensure that nothing useful for the common good was done, so that their own wickedness might be most successfully hidden, and so that it might not seem that the Roman empire had been destroyed because of the war against the emperor (seeing that even after the peace and after everyone had been subjugated by the emperor, no benefit or cessation of evils had followed). ^C They themselves made a commotion, saying they would by no means contribute money, and gave the same counsel to others, saying that they would be treated very badly if they were now to contribute what the emperor, while still an enemy, had not been able to obtain, using the pretext of goodwill and care. For while he was making war, they said, he had plundered all the money of those in the suburbs, but had been able to take nothing of that which was within the city and in the hands of the citizens. Now he had both lost that [earlier wealth] and wanted to divert this [remaining wealth], hiding behind some pretexts of war preparations and other such deceptions; none of which, they claimed, would persuade them to yield any of their own goods, unless he were to apply open force and commit violence against their houses. Such things, and even more fearful ones than these, were disseminated among the common people, and there arose tumult and disorder, and all equally refused to contribute the money. The emperor, when he heard this, clearly saw the schemes of those who had brought about the wickedness, and was eager to punish those inciting the people to such things; ^D considering it absurd and completely outside of what is noble and just to neglect the salvation of all the rest because of the stubbornness of a few,

could not, but was forced both to resist them and at once to seek out money and other things opportune for war. ^A For this reason, he then desisted from well-conceived plans, which later was of significant harm to the commonwealth. For if, as he was meditating, he had prepared a naval force and equipped triremes to control the sea, the Roman state would not have been so distressed by the Latins at Galata. A little later, another intrigue also sprouted. For some of the senators—ones who previously had been enemies and attackers of the Emperor, and having brought others from the same clay into their society—wished to deceive the new Emperor John, while the Empress mother was unaware, as he was a youth and not yet mature in judgment; and, having crossed with him to the town of Galata, they planned to wage war against his father-in-law, the Emperor, with the hope that many ^B of the Byzantines would join them as allies. The plot having been reported to the Emperor, the schemers paid the penalty for their wickedness by being cast into prisons; but after a short time had passed, the Emperor granted them pardon again, and having released them from prison, he utilized each one again just as he found it suitable.

CHAPTER VII.

Furthermore, the most illustrious of those of noble birth who had followed the camp of Cantacuzenus approached him ^C and complained that they were being unfairly treated and violently handled by him, when he compelled them to swear servitude to the junior emperor and the Empress mother, who could never be reconciled to them purely and sincerely, but were rather watching for an opportunity to attack and destroy them. ^D This, they said, would seem almost like madness to wise men: if, having endured many laborious and harsh things during the war, they were now, in victory, to serve those who had fought against them, whom they dare not even look in the face freely because of the oath; for if they keep what they swore, those others will rule over them, and if they become perjurers, they will kill them whenever it pleases them. For behold, if this current plot had succeeded for them, nothing would have prevented them from being killed once defeated, or if they resisted in war, from being entangled again in their former miseries, fighting against their own kin, agitated as before by popular sedition, and suffering confiscations of goods, imprisonments, and other things similar to what they had experienced before. Hence they prayed that, being released from the obligation of the oath they had given, they might receive the power to look to their own interests. For both before they had been compelled by him to swear, and now, since those others were the first to transgress, if they had now provided for themselves, they would be free of blame. These things the illustrious men, attached to Cantacuzenus, said. To whom he replied that it is unjust that some should have sinned, and others be punished. For the Empress...

indeed, knew nothing of what had happened; but she appeared to be observing all the sworn oaths with precision. ^A And the Emperor, his son, was not justly to be held accountable, given his youth, even if those who acted with us were ungrateful. He wondered, most of all, at their folly and senselessness, if, after so many proofs of his goodwill toward the Empress and her children, they still doubled their suspicions regarding him and questioned whether he would remain favorable to them to the end. For that he showed his ambition in great matters—and such as no one who had reigned over the Romans had ever aspired to before, and that for this reason those attached to the emperors could not believe his intentions were sincere—was not in the least unreasonable. ^B For which of the previous emperors had ever dared this: that after the defeat of his opponents and the reduction of the whole empire under himself, he would again choose to elect the previous emperors as co-rulers? Or rather, if one must speak the truth, to assign to them the greater part of the authority, as if he himself were to use the power for only a short time, while the authority remained for them and the succession of their children? Certainly, none. The reason is that they were concerned with nothing else but transferring the authority from others to themselves, whereas he was concerned with no one else; but for him, it was not so. But he had been concerned from the beginning to appear as the savior and guardian of the children of the Emperor, his friend, and to be seen doing nothing unworthy of the friendship he bore him, even after his death. ^C And that his later accession to the throne was not a result of his own choice or will, nor of ambition, because he thirsted for imperial honors (which he could have obtained even while retaining the status he held), but was of necessity, the civil war already being ablaze; for it was not possible otherwise—with his own head already devoted to death in his absence—to save himself. Therefore it was not strange, he said, if they, in their inexperience with such great matters, were incredulous, but he did charge them with injustice in this: that even after the clear outcome of events, they still thought him ill-disposed toward the Empress and her children. For if he had possessed such a mind, he would not have let slip the opportunity when he held Byzantium by force, having taken it with arms, and the Empress was being besieged with her children in the palace, and aid was appearing from nowhere, and they were pressed by an extreme lack of necessities, and those accompanying them were plotting against them, and everything was in a narrow strait for them; a mere nod would have sufficed to destroy them all completely. ^D If then, when he could have done anything with ease, he chose not what was most pleasant, but what was most beneficial, and swore an oath for the oblivion of injuries, when no necessity compelled him, and he gave his daughter to the young Emperor, and performed everything that not even one of those contemplating the highest degree of benevolence would have hoped for, what reason is there to suspect now, and to imagine that he would ever be seen as a wicked person toward the Emperor, his son-in-law, and [one who] leaves no extreme of folly untouched? These things, he said, I have said both as a reproof to them for their ingratitude and as a response to your request. For what you contemplate is neither just, I add, nor possible to be done. For I cannot kill the Emperor, who is my son-in-law, nor, after having given my daughter in marriage, [strip him of] the empire

Empress, her mother, for matters of which she is entirely ignorant; rather, I wish all to hold them in the benevolence and honor which befits emperors. But as for those who have acted foolishly, and who have steeped themselves in this conspiracy, I shall demand the fitting penalties for their perjury. The Emperor, therefore, spoke such things to those in authority, in the hope that he would thereby deter them from being ill-disposed toward the Empress and the Emperor, his son-in-law.

But when they realized that they were attempting the impossible and, as the saying goes, were shooting at the sky, despairing of changing his mind, they turned toward the Empress Irene, thinking they would overcome her and persuade her to listen to them as if they were well-intentioned advisors. When she, however, replied with the same or even sterner responses, and commanded them to cease from bringing great new calamities upon the Romans, some of them, put to shame by these reproofs, remained entirely quiet. ^B Others, however—men whose whole life was full of turmoil and sedition—after a short pause, induced Matthew, the son of the Emperor, to seize Didymoteichon, Adrianople, and the neighboring small towns, and to establish a private principality with their help. The rebels’ pretext for this defection to him was that the Emperor, his father, after a thousand labors and dangers, and after demonstrating his ^C special affection for them—once their enemies had been defeated—preferred not only his son-in-law, the Emperor John, but also all those around him, with such benevolence, and would not allow them to recover the goods of which they had been plundered by them, but let them keep those goods, while scorning those who had lost them so as to cause them greater pain; and that he labored intently to preserve the rule for the junior Emperor, who even now, having spurned his oaths, was contemplating flight with his faction.

They argued that if these things went according to their plan, nothing would prevent another war from breaking out, and that he, along with all of them, would have to contend for his safety just as before. They urged him to think solicitously about these things, and not to await the time of danger in foolish idleness and thoughtlessness, but to look out for himself and for them, so that if the Emperor, the husband of his sister, were to become master of the entire empire—whether through the death of his father or in any other way—he himself, along with his friends, might be beyond danger. For they insisted that he should never consider the Emperor John, his relative, to be his friend, but an avenger by any means possible, and that he would labor intently to take his life as long as he thought he would contend with him for the empire, as one who was himself a son of the Emperor and justly entitled to inherit his ancestral rule. They advised him to take the aforementioned cities for himself and to cut them off from the rest of the empire—not completely, but so that after the defection he might again petition the Emperor, his father, and be permitted, under the security of an oath, to agree that they would serve in his army, with garrisons placed there: and that all the remaining authority over those cities, whether his father were alive or dead, would reside with him; for in this way, they argued, he and his friends would live securely, and the Emperor, the husband of his sister, even if he wished, could inflict no harm upon them. By such ^D persuasions, they gradually incited the young man toward defection, and sowed the bad seeds of an even worse harvest to come.

if he wished, could inflict no harm upon them. By such persuasions, they gradually incited the young man toward defection, and sowed the bad seeds of an even worse harvest to come.

Chapter VIII

Moved by their counsel, the son of the Emperor, because of the fear and dangers instilled in him, began the work as they had intended, and led the towns away from the loyalty of his father, having resolved subsequently to ask his father that he might be allowed to retain the rule over them for as long as he lived, though the leadership remain under the power of his father and his son-in-law the Emperor. Cantacuzenus, having learned of the affair, was very angry with those who had advised it, and was already planning retaliation against them. Afterward, however, tempering his anger with gentleness—because he knew that his son would be more easily reconciled through mildness—he sent his wife Irene, the son's mother, so that through her he might be restored to favor with his father and be recalled from his wicked undertaking. By her mere appearance, she most easily removed all obstacles and suspicions. For she was a woman not only prudent and skilled in the use of great affairs, which she could alter at her will, but she also loved her son Matthew ^B more than her other children, and was loved by him in return with extraordinary affection. Therefore, she did not need a long speech, but gave an order with only a word, and he perfectly complied with her command. Then, having rebuked the authors of the discord with very grave threats should they again reveal how clever they were in such treachery (for they were joined to her by blood), and having brought her son back to his original and complete obedience to his father, she returned to Byzantium, where she found the youngest, Andronikos, destroyed by the pestilence that was then raging, which, starting from the Hyperborean Scythians, had spread through nearly all the maritime ^C coasts and consumed a great part of the inhabitants. For it did not only traverse Pontus, Thrace, and Macedonia, but also Hellas, Italy, all the islands, Egypt, Libya, Judaea, Syria, and nearly the whole world in its circuit. The evil was so incurable that neither any diet nor the strength of a body could resist it, since it laid low all bodies—the strong just as the weak—and those who were treated with the greatest expense died no differently than the very poor. That year was indeed free from other diseases; but if anyone had been sick even a little while before, everything shifted into that type of illness. The entire art of physicians was brought to silence. Nor did it lay hold of all in the same way, but some indeed died immediately, not lasting even a little while, on that very day; others gave up their souls in that very hour. As many as...

[alt-version omitted]

survived for two or three days were first seized by a most intense fever; and when the disease fell upon the head, they were overcome by agony and an insensibility to everything occurring, as if they were being carried off into a deep sleep. ^A If they happened to recover, they would attempt to speak, but their tongue was sluggish, and they would utter many inarticulate sounds, as the nerves in the region of the nape of the neck had become paralyzed; they would then die very quickly. In others, the illness did not fall upon the head but upon the lungs, immediately causing inflammation within and bringing on sharp pains around the chest. They would cough up bloody phlegm, and their breath was strange and foul-smelling from within. Their throat and tongue, parched by the burning heat, became black and blood-suffused; and it made no difference if they drank much or little. They could get no sleep and were oppressed from every side. Abscesses, or ulcers, appeared on the arms above and below, and likewise in many cases on the jaws, and on other parts of the body in some persons—some larger, some smaller—and black pustules would grow. On others, like black stigmata, they erupted over the whole body; in some they were sparse and more transparent, in others darker and continuous, and all of them died in the same way from all these symptoms. For some were afflicted by all of these, others by more or fewer, and for not a few, even one of these symptoms was sufficient for death. ^B Those few, however, who were able to escape from the many died no longer of the same illness; they were now in a state of safety, for it did not seize them a second time so as to kill them; wherefore, should they be seized again, they were full of confidence. Furthermore, large abscesses formed on the thighs or arms, and when these were lanced, a large amount of foul-smelling matter would flow out, and the disease would be diverted into that, casting off the troublesome material. Many, though beset by all these things, recovered beyond expectation. There was no certain remedy from any quarter. For what was salutary for one was lethal to another suffering from the same, and one would acquire the disease from the treatment of another, and deaths multiplied, by which many houses were emptied of their inhabitants, and the brute animals perished along with their masters. But nothing was more miserable than the hopelessness. For whenever anyone felt himself ailing, no hope of survival remained; but, turning toward despair, they would abandon themselves and die instantly, adding the weight of despair to the disease. ^C This, then, was the form of the plague; it was beyond description, wherefore it was most clearly understood that it was not something innate and natural to human nature, but was divinely sent as a chastisement. Many were converted from this to health of mind and became better, not only those who died from this pestilence, but also as many as were delivered and retained their life. For then, having abandoned all vices, they strove for virtue, and many distributed their possessions to the poor even before the disease fell upon them. And if they ever perceived themselves being seized by it, there was no one so stony of heart and of such an utterly incurable and unhealable mind that he would not manifest repentance for his sins before God, at that tribunal of his

so insensate, that he showed no repentance for his sins, nor did he offer any pretext to the divine tribunals of judgment for being saved by God, unless indeed his soul was suffering from a truly incurable and remediless malady. ^A During that pestilence, very many died at Byzantium at that time, and the Emperor’s son, Andronicus, having been seized by it, died on the third day. The Empress, his mother, when she heard of the death of her child, being struck in the heart by the most violent grief, carried the memory of her son fixed in the marrow of her soul as long as she lived. For he was not only good to look upon, but also possessed a natural aptitude for all the graces that adorn young men, and he fostered no slight hope that he would prove himself worthy of those who had begotten him. After this, the Emperor, taking his son-in-law the Emperor with him, went out to the cities of Thrace and visited them all: partly to manifest to all the Emperor, who until then had been unknown to the cities, and to make it clear to all by his very actions that the young Emperor would succeed to his ancestral throne; and partly to train him for the labors befitting a soldier. The elder Emperor was delighted ^B to the core when he observed the youth being so fit for military campaigns and showing such great promise from the things he was already doing. For he endured labors and changes of diet without annoyance and with a cheerful spirit, and he did everything as if from long-standing habit.

CAPUT IX.

Having returned to Byzantium, the Emperor chose as ambassadors to the Pope of Rome, Clement: George Spanopoulos the protovestiarios, and Sigeros the praetor of the people, and among the Latins, a certain man by the name of Francis, a long-time servant of the Emperor and known to the Pope as a friend. ^C The heads of the embassy were, at the same time, to wipe from his mind the opinion which he had conceived concerning him. For he was not ignorant that the Roman Pontiff had heard how, during the time of the war, he had made use of the aid of the Barbarians, who had been killing the Romans and carrying off captives daily. Therefore, he desired excessively to instruct the Pope in the causes of those things which had been done: namely, that he had done it out of necessity when pressed by war, and not because he embraced the communion of the Barbarians. Then he asked that the expedition against the Barbarians, the enemies of the Cross, which the Pope himself and with him the princes of Italy and the West were meditating, they would now undertake with the Emperor. For he rejoiced greatly at their destruction and slaughter, ^D and he would be the greatest supporter, not only by granting an easy passage for the army into Asia, but also by proceeding with his own forces and eagerly joining in the struggle together with them.

^A For as regards the other advantages, he might easily have yielded to the emperors before him, but in his eagerness for noble deeds and his desire to see the Barbarians suffer the equivalent of what they had so long dared against the Christians, he yielded to no one. The embassy, therefore, was of this nature, and everything was proceeding according to the emperor's wish. For as the legates were explaining to the Pope the reason for their coming, he took up the discourse and recounted all the events of the war as accurately as if he himself had been present when it was taking place. When the legates were astonished and asked how he knew these things with such certainty, he said that he had heard them from Zampea, a lady of Savoy, who had been in the empress’s retinue from the beginning of the war to the end. She, upon the capture of Byzantium, had returned to her own country and had accurately related to him everything just as it had happened, having met with the Pope and concealed nothing of the truth. ^B The Pope praised the emperor and prayed abundantly for him, because, having been attacked unjustly and slandered by calumniators, and having endured so many evils during the war, once he had overcome those who withstood him with arms, he did not suffer any small-minded or ignoble reaction, nor did he harbor grudges against those who had acted wickedly toward him—even when they had previously been the recipients of many benefits from him—but rather, he appeared worthy of himself before the Augusta and her sons, and also worthy of the zeal of the emperor who was his friend, while to all others he was equally gentle and kind, not only not demanding penalties from anyone for the things committed, but on the contrary, diligently bestowing benefits in return. He praised him most of all for having joined his daughter in marriage to the young emperor and for restoring to him his paternal empire. The Pope, having treated the emperor's legates with the greatest ^C honor, in the first seats, in processions, in departures along the way, and in other respects as was fitting, finally sent them away, having sent along with them two bishops, one of whom was of the Minorite order, named William, and the other from the Dominican family, called Hugh de Spert, both most devoted to virtue and highly versed in secular learning. For this reason, they were most pleasant in social gatherings, and their conversation was highly persuasive. The emperor received them with great benevolence and honor, and he conversed with them and spent time with them pleasantly every day. They themselves considered it to be of the greatest worth to record in writing during the whole time they stayed with him whatever he had proposed each day and whatever he had discussed concerning these proposals, so that they might not slip from their memory. ^D Bringing these writings with them into Italy, and presenting them there to the Pope and to the wise men of that place, they demonstrated how great a man he was, and they themselves no less proclaimed his praises by word of mouth. But these things happened later. At that time, however, upon their arrival, they shortly reported to the emperor the nature of the embassy. Its primary content was, first of all, thanks and prayers regarding his care for the young emperor and the empress mother, because, as no one would ever have expected after such a savage war, and implacable enmities, and the wickedness of those who had slandered him, he did not look back at past events, but deemed it sufficient if he appeared clear of the causes of the war, and as if nothing new had intervened,

^A he preserved his ancient character, and the good will and guardianship toward the emperor’s children which he had held from the very beginning after his death. Furthermore, he announced the expedition against the Barbarians, and he explained that although it had been a matter of great concern for the Roman bishops before him, he himself had desired it far more, and had frequently discussed this matter at length with the lords of Italy, urging them all to work together for an enterprise that would result in the liberation of the Christians from the Barbarians. He declared himself ready both to provide money and as many troops as he could possibly muster, and to offer the largest contribution for the war. Now, driven even more by his own words and those of his legates, he gave thanks, showing how inclined he was to provoke an expedition against the Barbarians on behalf of the faithful of Christ. Furthermore, if, in addition to the other goods he was striving to secure for the Romans, he could also manage the union of the Churches, and through himself the sundered members of Christ could be joined together, he would thereby be the cause of great joy, not only to all men, but also to the heavenly powers and to God himself. ^B Such were the things the Pope proposed through the bishops. The Emperor, for his part, first gave thanks to the Pope for his benevolence, and for the fact that he had readily set out against the Barbarians, the enemies of the Christians. He said that he was doubly pleased by the war against the Barbarians: first, because it was to be waged for the common benefit of those called by Christ; and second, because he himself would be an ally and fellow-soldier in this noble struggle for those who were fighting. For he had determined, he said, with his fleet, his treasure, his arms, his horses, and everything else he possessed, to set out against them, deeming it the greatest possible gain to die struggling on behalf of such causes. As for the union and harmony of the sundered members of Christ and the peace of the Churches, he said that the extent of his desire and zeal for these could not even be expressed in words. ^C Yet, he was so prepared for this that if he had to be slaughtered for the sake of concord, he would not only offer his throat to the executioner, but would even eagerly offer the sword; or if it were thought that the union might be bestowed upon the Churches by the burning of his body and the scattering of its ashes, he himself would be the first to heap the wood upon the pyre through which he would be reduced to ash. Nevertheless, he said that such a great, wonderful, and unique undertaking, equal to all others, ought not to be done simply, rashly, or without consideration; but rather with much ^D and careful investigation, using all diligence to recognize the true good, and only then choosing the things that seem to embrace the genuine and secure faith. For he said it would be absurd and shameful to omit no part of diligence when deliberating about fleeting and perishable things—which bring no great profit to those who gain them, and only slight loss to those who miss them—lest what appears to be good be lost, while regarding divine things and the truth of the dogmas of the faith.

^A Having first deemed them worthy of inquiry, and having shown all zeal regarding the existing Good, one should thus proceed to the choice of those things which seem right and secure regarding the faith. For it is absurd, when deliberating about certain earthly matters, the profit from which is small, ...

Notes of Jacob Gretser

(m) These are vain, not to say empty, excuses and evasions of Cantacuzenus, the likes of which Nilus also adduces in his book on the causes of the schism between the Latins and the Greeks. For what has not been done by the Latins, especially by the Roman pontiffs, so that the Greeks might be recalled from their pernicious schism and return to the fold of Christ? With good reason may the Latin Church proclaim its zeal towards the Greeks in those words by which Christ, the spouse of the Church, declared his diligence and desire to help the Israelite people: "How often have I wished to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not?" What follows? "Behold, your house will be left to you desolate." We have the experience of Greece, which was reduced to solitude, as a witness. We can praise, in addition to countless others, two supreme pontiffs, Nicholas I and Leo IX, whose writings to the Greeks make it plain and testified how greatly they sought and procured the salvation of Greece. But Cantacuzenus desires a synod. These are the same wishes of Nilus and others. Yet how could Cantacuzenus hardly be unaware how many synods were called because of the controversies incited between the Greeks and the Latins? Was not the council at Bari celebrated by both Greeks and Latins in the time of Urban II, around the year of the Lord 1090, in which Saint Anselm convinced the Greeks with the most evident arguments? Anselm himself mentions this council in his book *On the Procession of the Holy Spirit*, and the author of the *Life of Anselm*, book II, who was present at that same synod, recounts the matter more fully. Or had the Lateran Council not already been celebrated under Innocent III, in the year of the Lord 1215, in which it was defined that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, with the Greeks themselves consenting, approving, and subscribing? What shall I say of the Council of Lyons under Gregory X, at which the Greeks likewise were present, and with all consenting, the Symbol was chanted with the addition: *Filioque*: thrice in Greek, thrice in Latin. I pass over the Council of Florence, because Cantacuzenus ceased to live long before it. I pass over the responses of so many supreme pontiffs regarding these questions; so that, consequently, he who seeks another judgment after so many judgments is not to be heard at all. Well did Capreolus, Bishop of Carthage, say in his letter to the Fathers of the great Council of Ephesus: "If anyone, regarding those things which have already been judged long ago, attempts to inquire once more, he will certainly be considered to be doing nothing other than openly doubting the faith which has held good until now." Hence, as an example for posterity, and so that those things which have already been long ago defined and constituted for the Catholic faith may obtain perpetual firmness, it is necessary to conserve undisturbed and unmoved all those things which were constituted by the holy Fathers in previous times; because, as the Emperor Marcian rightly says, "He does an injury to the judgment of a most reverend synod, if anyone strives to reopen and publicly dispute things once judged and rightly settled."

Regarding the unceasing zeal of the Latin Church to recall the Greeks from error, Gennadius says this in his book *For the Council of Florence*, cap. 5, sect. 16: "After the disobedience and schism, Nicholas I himself went to Constantinople in the time of Photius to put an end to the schism, and when they did not receive him, they were subjected to excommunication by him." After him, through the cycles of time, the supreme pontiffs did not cease to write and to exhort the Greeks to the conversion and obedience of the Church, until a synod was convened at Lyons, which the Greeks call the eighth; whose initiator was Pope Gregory X, and union followed. But they fell away again, and again they received the legates of the Church. A synod was convened in Constantinople with the legates of the Pope, in the days of John Beccus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and they embraced the union for a short time, showing obedience and peace, but afterwards they returned again to their own vomit. ^B But the leaders of the Catholic Church were not exhausted again from stirring them to obedience and peace. But they, having once become hardened, did not obey. The matter was therefore protracted down to our time, and we saw with our own eyes what many patriarchs and kings before us wished to see, and did not see. But we indeed saw with how much zeal our most blessed Pope Eugene IV of the Roman Church laboured in this holy work, with triremes sent and at his own expense, so that this great wound might be healed, and the great and admirable synod of Ferrara and Florence was celebrated in notable cities of Italy, with a great multitude of doctors and wise men, and those illustrious in theological knowledge and virtue. Finally, a decree was confirmed, conspicuous with all wisdom and truth, which was promulgated everywhere and received by all nations. But the Greeks, and those among them who are of worse condition, certain common and unlearned men, contradict this; and if anyone who has a share of reason contradicts the decree, it proceeds not from doctrine, but from a depravity of mind, from false and foolish presumption and vain glory, which they grasp at from the ignorance of the common people. So much for the Latins, Gennadius the Greek patriarch.

^C Moreover, not only was the matter discussed, debated, and judged so many times, but even the great obstinacy, stubbornness, levity, and arrogance of the Greeks, and the very genius of schismatics, could deservedly have deterred the Latins from calling a council again. "When the multitude is so confirmed and fixed in its faith," says the schismatic Gregoras, who lived at this very time, "that you might more easily change the nature of iron than lead them away even a little from their ancestral dogmas: what need is there for disputations (and Councils) that will profit nothing?" For as he also aptly uses the words of the Apostle, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can lead the people away from their ancestral institutions and decrees." These are the words of Gregoras at the end of book X of his *Byzantine History*.

The levity of the Greeks is argued by such frequent returning to their vomit. How many times were they pulled from their errors, and fell back into errors? They had scarcely arrived home from the Council of Florence, and soon they violated the faith pledged to the Latins: "The Greeks returning home," says Laonicus, book VI, "no longer wished to stand by those things which had been agreed upon in Italy: but laying hold of a different opinion, they no longer wished to adhere to the Romans in the matter of religion." From this, the Roman Pontiff was moved to send certain learned men to Byzantium to the Greeks, that they might come into conversation with them, who indeed did not admit the synod and the concord made in Italy. For Mark, Bishop of Ephesus, and Scholarius, the most learned of the Greeks, did not even from the beginning wish to give their consent to the dogma of the Latins. When it came to conversation and disputations, the Romans were able to accomplish nothing, but the matter left unfinished, they returned home.

Notes of Jacob Gretser.

These things concerning the fickleness and versatile genius of the Greeks, Laonicus, himself a Greek, writes. What he writes regarding Georgios Scholarios, who later became Patriarch of Constantinople and assumed the name Gennadius, is false, if Laonicus means that Scholarios never gave his assent to the decrees of the Council of Florence, like that Marcus of Ephesus; for he was not content merely to have given his assent, but he even published a most learned and valid apology for the decrees of that Council against the Greeks, which exists in Latin. Nor is it probable, as the author of *Turco-Graecia* has put forth without any authority, that Scholarios later disapproved of the synod’s decrees. For whence is this evident to that sectary? For Laonicus, whom he cites, does not say that he dissented after he had given his assent, but that he did not give his assent from the beginning, which in what manner it is true, was explained a little earlier. ^A Indeed, Gennadius did not write his apology for the Council during the Council itself, but later, when the Greeks were recoiling from the right path.

Pride, arrogance, and ambition of the Greeks are especially evident from the fact that they tried everything to claim the primacy for the Patriarch of Constantinople, even though divine and human laws were against them. Wherefore, since they could not deny that the Roman Pontiff is supreme in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, they tried to transfer this pinnacle of supreme dignity to themselves by a double fabrication; for first, they said that the primacy does not belong to the Pontiff by divine institution and concession, but by the nod, gift, and privilege of the emperors, and therefore it is in the hand of the emperor to take the primacy away from the Roman Pontiff and to decorate the Constantinopolitan prelate with it—nay, that they had actually done so when Rome transferred the empire to Constantinople.

Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius Comnenus, feels and writes this in Book 1 of the *Alexiad*; for when she had recounted I know not what concerning the Roman Pontiff, "these things," she says, "are perpetrated by him who presides over the entire world: ^B 'Just as the Latins say and think. For even this is a matter of their arrogance. For with the changing of the scepters from there to here into our royal city, and indeed also of the senate, and of the whole imperial order, the rank of the chief priesthood of the thrones has also shifted, and the emperors of old have given the prerogatives to the throne of Constantinople; and particularly the Council at Chalcedon, having raised the see of Constantinople to the highest prominence, made all the administrations throughout the world subject to it.'"

Just as the Latins say and suppose. For this is also an argument of their arrogance. For indeed, since the empire, the senate, and the entire imperial order were transferred to this royal city, the order of episcopal sees was likewise transferred, and former emperors had granted the primacy to the Constantinopolitan see, and most especially the Council of Chalcedon, which, having raised the Constantinopolitan prelate to the highest and first watchtower, subjected all the dioceses of the whole world to him. ^C This is Anna, or the schismatic to whom Anna Caesarissa lent her name; whose words Illyricus brings forward in the *Catalogus testium veritatis*, and the author of *Turco-Graecia*, who seems to have obtained Anna’s codex from the Augsburg library; that such people should rise up against the chair of Peter and the vicar of Christ with such lies and ignorance is no wonder: for falsehood has no stronger weapons than lies and ignorance. What is more ignorant than to suppose that the primacy of the ecclesiastical hierarchy depends on the whim of an emperor, and on the magnitude and majesty of a place or city? What is more mendacious than that the emperors Constantine the Great, and others who held the scepters up to the breaking out of the schism, made the Constantinopolitan Church superior to the Roman, or even equal?

Even the single Novella of Justinian on ecclesiastical titles and privileges evidently refutes this lie, where the first rank is deferred to the Roman Pontiff; the second to the Constantinopolitan: "The dogmas of the sacred councils, even as we receive the sacred Scriptures," says the Emperor, "and therefore we ordain according to their definitions that the most holy Pope of elder Rome is the first of all priests; ^D but the most blessed one of Constantinople, which is new Rome, holds the second place after the holy apostolic see of elder Rome." And in a Novella, just as the Roman Church enjoys the prescription of a hundred years, so the same emperor speaks. "As elder Rome obtained the origin of laws, so there is no one who would doubt that the pinnacle of the supreme pontificate is with her."

Furthermore, it is most false what Anna added concerning the Council of Chalcedon; for in that whole synod there is not a word by which any ecclesiastical primacy and care of all the Churches is deferred to the bishop of Constantinople. Anatolius, the Constantinopolitan prelate, did indeed attempt to establish a certain canon in the Council of Chalcedon for the favor, advantage, and preeminence of his own see: but in that canon, Anatolius and his followers do not bestow the primacy upon the bishop of Constantinople, but upon the Roman: they defer the second place to the Constantinopolitan, and they do not defer to him the care of all the Churches of the whole world, as Anna fabricates, but of Pontus, Asia, and Thrace. Furthermore, that canon was clearly surreptitious, of no moment and authority; since, with the legates of the apostolic see absent, it was not without craft composed to the prejudice especially of the Alexandrian Church. Wherefore, regarding the canon that had been composed, the legates of the apostolic see immediately protested, and in no way—because it had been done through extreme fraud and injury—did they confirm it with their votes and assent: regarding which he who desires more should consult the most illustrious Cardinal Baronius, Vol. VI of the *Annales*, in the year of Christ 451.

Nor does it matter that Anatolius in that self-same canon refers to the canon of the Council of Constantinople of the one hundred and fifty bishops under Theodosius the Great; for neither does that canon grant as much to the bishop of Constantinople as Anna fabulates, for it grants the second place, not the primacy. Furthermore, because that canon also flowed from the same source of ambition: and either it was not composed in that council, or if it was composed in it, it was composed by a few, not without fraud and fallacy, and never approved by the whole synod or by Pope Damasus, as Baronius abundantly shows in Vol. IV of the *Annales*, in the year of Christ 381. And yet the Greeks, and among them especially Nilus, place the fortress of their cause in these figments and impostures.

Nor does the Roman Pontiff for this reason have the primacy from councils or from emperors, because councils and emperors, specifically Justinian, testify and define in their decrees and laws that the Roman Pontiff is the first of all, because they do not attribute to him the first and supreme power by these sanctions, but declare and define what belongs to him by divine law; and that which belongs to him by divine law, they also will to belong to him by their law, that is, ecclesiastical and civil, as the interpreter of divine law; so that his primary authority and power can be the less called into doubt by the wicked. For the Roman Pontiff did not receive the primacy from councils or emperors, but from Him who said to Peter and the successors of holy Peter in Peter: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock," etc.; and, "Feed my sheep." Which has been said to none of the Constantinopolitan patriarchs. If Nilus had noticed these things, perhaps he would have poured out fewer absurdities in his book on the primacy of the pontiff. Other Greeks have tried to snatch the primacy to themselves by another way and reason; having observed, I suppose, themselves at the...

^A good to hold fast, and also concerning the heavenly word, and the doctrines of the faith that are not led astray.

Notes of Jacob Gretser.

Cantacuzenus, ^A nor would the divided members of Christ have declared an unseasonable war upon themselves. For either, as pure and simple doctrine, it would have been accepted by all without resistance (since common consensus would have approved it), or if it strayed even a little from what is right, it would have been committed to oblivion and silence by everyone alike. This is an ancient custom, and one held in esteem by the first heralds of the Gospel. For even Paul, however much he was caught up into the third heaven and taught ^B secret mysteries, communicated his Gospel to the apostles, saying he was in fear, lest he might "run in vain" by announcing things that were not pleasing to God. Moreover, this bold action did not even profit the first of the Palaeologan emperors, Michael; for a worse and more pernicious schism and dissension followed. Therefore, I will not allow myself to be persuaded to pursue novelties, nor to force others to do so, before an ecumenical council is gathered ^C which might determine what is to be securely believed; and this I do not only for the sake of the Church and the universality of Christians, but also for my own sake. For I am thus compared…

^D to Greeks: "You," he says, "consider the Latins as strangers to the faith, and you teach the simpler folk to flee from them as from the face of serpents; and this is clearly evident. And if any one of the Latins seems holy, you are unwilling to greet him, but rather you heap curses upon him. Though the Greeks be most wicked and foolish, if they only speak against the Latins, you consider them the holiest of all. Among many others, there is a certain man who is called Palamas, and Mark of Ephesus—a man not even in full possession of his mind, but a swollen boaster of wisdom, supported by no virtue or holiness—because they speak and write only against the Latins, you extol and celebrate them; you adorn their images and keep their feast days, and you adore them as if they were saints. But Catholics, even though the Church has long ago deemed them worthy of veneration as saints, you incessantly blaspheme; and you do the same regarding the Supreme Pontiff, for you do not consider him a Christian at all, because he is a Latin." These things are said by Gennadius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, which will shed light for those who read what is reported here and there in this history concerning Gregory Palamas—to whom Cantacuzenus was most addicted, as if to one endowed with remarkable holiness—when in fact he was such a man as is truly described by Gennadius.

But regarding what Cantacuzenus says—that if Asia and Europe were reckoned as they once were in the Roman Empire, a council would have to be gathered among the Greeks—that is not the case. For it is the office of the Supreme Pontiff, just as it is to appoint and convene a council, so also to determine the place. Concerning this, see Cardinal Bellarmine, Lib. I *De conciliis*, cap. 12 et 13. Finally, to conclude this passage, to Cantacuzenus, who was stalling and making delays, it could and should have been said, as Gennadius later testifies, what the legate of the Pontiff said to the Greeks after various disputations held with a certain monk named Barlaam: "It pleases me to say to you a brief and true word, which I have also been charged to say to other Greeks: 'If you are willing and hear me, you shall eat the good things of the land,' according to the prophet; 'but if you refuse and will not hear me, the sword shall devour you.' Did not the mouth of the Pontiff speak these things, asks Gennadius? Do you have anything with which to contradict this? Read and weigh whether it has come to pass, just as he himself said."

^A of the Palaeologi, Michael, this has not been successful, but the rift has grown worse, and the separation more grievous. On account of these things, I do not believe that even he himself would ever be persuaded, before an ecumenical council has been assembled, to declare his own opinion as secure regarding the faith, or would attempt to force such innovations upon himself and compel others; and this, not only for the sake of the Church and the entire fullness of Christians, but for my own sake as well. For I am so disposed that, while I am willing to be persuaded by all that might be established by the common counsel of the bishops regarding the faith, in the absence of this, I will pay heed to no innovation. I believe also that all the bishops, and others who are nurtured by the dogmas of the Church, would be most willing toward this; but if they were to be coerced, they would stop their ears in a lordly manner, and not even endure the first word. And yet, I do not believe that I myself would be considered by you credible regarding the faith of things to come, if I were to pass over so easily and without examination to the dogmas that seem right to you. For one who is not securely attentive to what has been handed down by the ancestors, and in which he himself has been raised, but instead abandons them readily—what faith could he have regarding those newly introduced? For this reason, I think it necessary, if it meets with your approval, that a council of ecumenical scope be held regarding such great matters, in which both Eastern and Western bishops will be present. And this having come to pass, faithful is God, who will not suffer us to wander away from the truth. If, therefore, Asia and Europe were still, as they were in former times, under the Roman Empire, it would have been necessary for the council to be assembled among us. But since this is now impossible—for the Pope is unable to arrive here, and it is not easy for me to depart so far from the Empire because of the continuous wars and the barbarians from every side who are encroaching upon us, as well as other dynasts who, though they do not differ from us regarding the faith, are nevertheless declared enemies—if it should seem good to the father, the Pope, we shall, by agreement, arrive at some maritime place situated between both, he with the bishops of the West and I with the patriarchs and the bishops who serve under them. And I am in hope that God, ^B by His benevolence, will lead us into all truth and will not permit us to return with the business unaccomplished. At length, he added that if it pleased the Pope for the council to be gathered, he should most swiftly send a messenger to him, both indicating that he had consented and informing him of the place and the time when and where they should assemble; for there would be need of a longer delay for him to summon the patriarchs and other bishops. These things the Emperor [replied] regarding the legation of the Pope, which the legates—who were bishops—vehemently approved, and having been honored with many gifts by him both before and upon their departure, they returned to Italy; and reporting the legation to the Pontiff, they praised the Emperor with many commendations and showed him the journals that had been prepared. The Pope, also professing that he was not averse to the council, sent quickly those who might tell him that he greatly embraced his counsel, and that a convening of bishops was among his most desired things. However, [he added that] he ought to gather all his bishops into one place and name the place and time for holding the council. Meanwhile, not long after, letters from the Pope were again delivered to the Emperor, by which he was admonished not to attribute the procrastination of the council to any negligence: he indeed considered that nothing should be placed before the restoration of the harmony of the Churches, and that he counted this one thing among the most necessary; but a very great war having broken out in Italy among the most powerful kings, with many thousands of men about to clash, it was fitting that he, primarily as a spiritual father, should persuade them to peace and tranquility. This being accomplished to his satisfaction, he would have nothing in greater esteem than, having consulted ^D

to the bishops subject to him, and to signify the time and place for them to assemble, and to discuss the uniting and pacifying of the Church. Then the emperor also, sending to the Pope one of his friends living in Galata, named John, of the Order of Preachers, offered profuse thanks for the forward will and diligence which he was demonstrating regarding the reconciliation of the Churches, and requested furthermore that ^A he should apply himself to the same matter, and that a war brought upon the Church, which could be removed, should not be overlooked through sloth.

CHAPTER X

Pope Clement dies. Tomprotitzas betrays himself and the town to the emperor. Persians, ravaging, invade Thrace; they are cut down and captured by the Romans at the town of Mesena. The remainder flee to a hill, from whence descending, at the emperor’s invitation, they surrender themselves. Nicephorus the Despot, the emperor's son-in-law, creates great danger for his father-in-law by his rashness. He is recalled from battle. The Persians are presented with gifts and sent away free. The audacity and virtue of the son of Matthew; reports of victory on both sides. On the emperor’s kidney disease and his constancy in bearing it.

While time was being consumed in such matters, Pope Clement ceased to live in the interim, and the concern regarding the synod vanished into nothingness. The emperor, taking along his son-in-law as emperor, led an army against Media, a maritime city on the Pontus, ^B whose governor during the time of the war, Tomprotitzas, appointed by the Empress Anna, did not wish to obey Emperor Cantacuzenus even after peace had been made between the emperors; but having gathered a large band of robbers around him, he was plundering the neighboring cities, and causing no small amount of harm. The emperor had previously overlooked him, being necessarily preoccupied with more important matters. But since those robberies, which were being carried out from Media, were causing not insignificant damage, he first attacked him with troops sent by land and sea. Then, leaving his son, Manuel the Despot, as governor in Byzantium, and having commanded that triremes be built, he placed Phaceolatus the Protostrator in charge of the work—for he understood very well that the Roman Empire was in need of naval power—and he himself marched out with the young emperor. When he arrived at Media, he ^C approached Tomprotitzas with words about obeying him and surrendering the city. The other, seeing that it was impossible to raise arms against the emperor, yielded in agreement and handed over the city. The emperor deemed him worthy of the benevolence and care that was fitting, and enrolled him among the more noble Romans. Once Media was recovered, he sent the young emperor home, and dismissed a good part of the forces, ordering them to depart to their own homes; he himself, with a few men, headed for Adrianople for the sake of public business, when on the journey it was reported to him that a Persian band, a little less than two thousand picked men, had crossed the Hellespont and were scouring the cities of Thrace in search of plunder. The emperor was distressed at this news ^D immediately,

^A and being unable to recall his own troops, as time did not permit, he feared that while he was busy gathering his army, the Persians might carry off their booty and cross back into Asia, leaving him to arrive in vain. Therefore, compelled by necessity, he marched with the forces he had against them, and on the following day, he approached near the Persians, who had pitched their camp by the mountain called Lippicus. It happened that the Persians had encamped in difficult terrain, and they were unaware that the emperor was nearby and desirous of joining battle. The emperor, however, did not think it right to engage his cataphracts against light-armed, nimble archers in a place broken up by difficult terrain, ditches, and ravines. For besides the fact that their numbers were vastly superior, the difficulty of the location would not contribute a little to their victory. Accordingly, he provided for his men to be massed in the most shaded places, suitable for concealing themselves, with great caution lest they be seen by the Barbarians. Thus they spent the remainder of the day, deceiving those who had their camp in the region. ^B When the sun was already setting, the Barbarians broke camp and proceeded to plunder wherever they pleased, and the emperor, keeping his army, followed them at a slow pace throughout the night, taking every care to remain hidden. On the following day, both armies arrived at the city of Mesene, and a clash having broken out, the Romans were victorious with great force; they killed most of the Barbarians and captured many alive. One of the commanders, called Caramachumet, fell in the battle. The remaining leader, Maratumanus, with the few who had escaped death at that moment, dismounted from their horses and occupied a certain hill, whence by shooting frequently at the Romans, wounding many men and horses, they defended themselves. ^C The emperor, having ordered his men to abstain from the battle, drew nearer and commanded the Persians to surrender, fearing nothing more severe; for he was not unknown to them, seeing as they had often fought in the civil war. They affirmed that they were prepared to die in arms fighting for themselves, and neither to cast away hope of safety nor to exchange the noble death in battle for base and wretched slavery. But when he called to them and urged them to trust that they would suffer nothing further, and to surrender willingly, they immediately approached, and surrounding him, they worshipped him, having him alone in their midst, and kissed his feet. As he was addressing them and rebuking the wicked deed, that they, being friends, had invaded his province, ^D the Despot Nicephorus, the emperor’s son-in-law, along with certain noble youths, rashly threw the ranks into confusion and cast the emperor into extreme danger. For they suddenly rushed upon the surrounding Persians and began to put them to death. The Persians, with drawn swords, could easily have slaughtered the emperor standing in their midst had they wished. However, judging rightly—as was the case—that this had happened against his will due to the disorder of the soldiers, they did nothing contrary to right. The emperor, as he saw some being killed, immediately commanded in the Persian tongue that they should flee to the hill for the sake of safety, for he was not entirely ignorant of the Persian language. Nine were lost in that assault, along with their commander, but they ascended the hill again and began to stir up the fighting. The emperor, inflamed with anger, [rebuked] his son-in-law...

and the soldiers away from the Persians, and set penalties for their lack of discipline; but to the Persians who had been caught on the hill he gave presents and sent them away free to their own land, not thinking it his duty to fail to save those who had committed their own safety to him in good faith.

At the same time, Matthew, the son [of the emperor], who held the command of the cities in the Chalcidic region, defeated a different army of Persian infantry; he met them as they were ferried across by ships to plunder the territories there—a force which was not small—and he killed some in the battle and took others alive, with none of his own men being left behind. It happened that he too was in mortal danger during that battle, for as he was riding with youthful, excessive daring into the enemy’s ranks, dealing destruction as he went and returned, his horse stumbled and he was thrown off. When the barbarians surrounded him, he fought back on foot; and he struck the one who first got near him with his sword and cut off his head. The others were terrified and retreated, and his own soldiers brought him another horse; he mounted it undisturbed and completed the victory, and immediately sent messengers to his father the emperor to announce the triumph. The emperor did the same toward his son, and it happened that the messengers carrying news of the trophies met each other in the middle of the road.

The emperor, after his victory, came from Mesene to Didymoteichos and suffered from his kidneys for a whole year, although in his entire life up to that time he had never suffered from any chronic illness; but at the turning of the eighth or seventh year, if he happened to be troubled by a tertian fever, he would immediately recover after the third episode. But on this occasion, having suffered pain in his kidneys even before the battle, immediately after the battle the sickness took hold of him resplendently. It seemed that he himself had provided no small cause for the pain. For during the battle, as he was streaming with much sweat from the effort of the struggle—and besides, it was the height of summer and there was a stifling heat—he put aside his arms and caught a breeze, and cooled himself more than was appropriate, from which it was suspected that the cause of the disease was increased.

The emperor, therefore, continued to be ill, and no art of the physicians was sufficient, although the physicians who were thought to be the most reputable were present there, until the following year, when [the illness] passed of its own accord, the physicians being unable to discern the cause from which it arose or how it was resolved. He continued his customary diet without being in any way damaged by the pain in his kidneys, and he would mount his horse-not infrequently—when he grew weary of staying on his couch, though with difficulty and not without pain.

JOANNIS CANTACUZENI CAPUT XI. Why the Galatae started the war. Their perfidy. The space above the city, and why they asked for it from the emperor. Why they are compared to donkeys. They burn the suburban buildings and the ships of the Byzantines. They fortify the hill by building a tower, and surround the remaining space with a wall and ramparts. The Emperor of Byzantium is requested by the merchants and craftsmen to take vengeance against the Galatae. Ships are constructed. The Galatae beg for peace, but refuse to yield the intercepted area. A machine from which stones are thrown into the city. From the city, stones are again cast into Galata by siege engines. The machine is submerged along with a cargo ship. A Genoese cargo ship is captured. What happened to the fifty Romans on board. The treachery of the Galatae. Description of the naval war. God punishes the Romans. The magnanimity of the emperor. The exultation of the Galatae in victory

While he was ill at Didymoteichon, ^A a war arose with the Latins of Galata, having the following beginning. This race of men has always been perfidious and hostile to the Romans, and most ready for perjury whenever they see that an undertaking of theirs can succeed. For during the lifetime of the Emperor Andronikos the Younger, they perfidiously occupied Phokaia and Mitylene—although their wickedness profited them nothing, since they were driven out from there with the disgrace that they deserved—and after his death, during the time of the civil war, they attacked Chios and conquered it, disregarding the treaty they had sworn to the Empress Anna. ^B Later, when there was peace and the Emperor Cantacuzenus was in control of affairs, they came and asked him to grant them the territory above the small town: under the pretext of expanding the town, since the space that then existed was not sufficient for habitation, but in reality wishing to cut off that space with a wall, so that they might not easily be besieged. For it was on a slope and, as it were, hanging over their heads, such that it provided no small damage if it should ever happen that they had to go to war with the Romans. For they were planning nothing small; rather, they wished to rule the sea ^C and exclude the Romans from sailing, as if the sea belonged to them. For they saw the Romans frequenting the sea more than in previous times, and having acquired not a few long ships and other cargo vessels, as the Emperor Cantacuzenus had devoted much effort to this; and they suspected that the Emperor would not tolerate this. Therefore, even before revealing what they were thinking, they wished to pre-occupy the suspicious places from which they thought they might be harmed. The emperor, not being ignorant of their crafty design, was preparing ships so that, if there should be need of war, he would not be unprepared; and he denied them the space entirely, for he knew that they would be kept from their perverse designs by fear rather than by equity and the sanctity of oaths. ^D For this reason, they are compared by other Latins to donkeys. For a donkey, if its driver happens to be too weak to strike it firmly with a stick, does not walk straight along the road, but wanders off, deviates, and, because of the driver’s weakness, stops walking. So too these men: unless they fear a punishment hanging over their heads, they will never do what they ought for any other reason. The emperor, therefore, knowing their wickedness, did not cede the place. They, however, seeing the triremes being built, and being indignant both at the frustration regarding the place and at the multitude of cargo ships which the Romans had, decided to make war, so that at once they might keep the Romans from the sea and fortify the place, if they could, even against the emperor’s will. And already they were gathering selected stones, while pretending otherwise, and the remaining ma-

material they were procuring in secret. ^A When it became known that the emperor was ill at Didymoteichon, thinking this was the most opportune time for their enterprise, they attacked suddenly by night, first against the Romans living across the water, and burned all their houses with fire. On the following day, having equipped their triremes which were already prepared, as well as all the small boats and skiffs that were there, they burned the houses of Byzantium outside the walls by the sea, and of the merchant ships, some they seized and others they burned. They also burned all the triremes that were under construction, except for three, which, once the evil had spread everywhere, they took from the place where they were being built, called the Cosmidion, and by the order of the emperor’s son, drawing them through the river that flows by the so-called Pissa, they dragged them to dry land, and having stationed a guard on both sides, they kept them safe.

In this way, the Latins openly waged war against the Romans, and from that time, being masters of the sea, they sailed up and down along all the shores, inflicting damage and ravaging everything with fire. Going out in full force, first they fortified the hill, building a tower at the summit, and displayed all zeal, men and women alike; not even the most illustrious among them disdained to join their labor with the others for the construction. Then, also occupying the rest of the area, they began to encircle it with a wall as far as the material sufficed, and the wall rose to a height sufficient for them, and they devised every other security from construction. ^B To the extent that they could not build with wood due to lack of material, they surrounded it with great stockades and crosses, and in a short time the whole place was taken.

When the emperor heard of what had been daringly done by those in Galata, he was no little pained that such things were suffered from the Latins who occupied Roman land, and who, as was just, ought carefully to be subject and obedient. Nevertheless, as he was, though still pressed by his illness, he arrived in Byzantium. Immediately, those in Byzantium, especially those occupied with trade and those spending their time in workshops, assembled at the palace and begged the emperor not to suffer them to be thus despised by the Latins in Galata, and to endure such irreparable things, but to demand penalties for these daring acts by equipping triremes. They themselves were ready to provide money for the war, as each might be able. For the destruction wrought by the Latins had touched those men more than others. ^C For the ships, the money, and the houses that were burned—the total was almost theirs. The emperor at first rebuked them for not using their zeal at the right time. For then, he said, when he himself had advised it, they ought to have provided the money eagerly; and had they done so, the Latins would not have dared such things now. For he saw, taught by long experience of affairs, that he had wanted to persuade them before it happened, which he thought would have been of great benefit shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, he himself, after it appeared that war must be undertaken, ordered the Byzantines to count out money, and he put Constantine Tarchaniota in charge of the collection, and gave him the task of building the triremes. However, as the Galateis held the sea, and it was difficult to transport timber for building the ships, they yoked oxen and mules, and from the mountains of Sergentis

^A they ordered it to be carried. And they were brought with very great difficulty and toil; and the triremes were being built at the dockyard called Contoscalion. The Latins in Galata, meanwhile, hoped that as soon as the emperor arrived, despairing of the war against them, he would concede everything they wanted, and would come to terms, leaving them as masters of the sea. But when nothing turned out as they expected, and they saw ships being built and preparations being made for battle, they changed their minds, sent an embassy, and began to speak of peace. The emperor, having reproached them for their wickedness and folly, in that, although they had never been wronged by him at all before or after, and had provided no pretext for war, they had shown such folly and had begun such great injustice and destruction, then ordered them to abandon the fortified area and tear down the walls; for in this way there would be treaties and peace with him, and he would grant forgiveness for the damage they had caused during the war. But they would not even listen with the tips of their ears, but said that they must either keep the area they had fortified ^B or they would not spare anyone who came towards them; and at the same time the war intensified, and they kept sailing around and destroying those they happened upon. When they made the sea impassable for the Romans, they placed a siege engine upon a large merchant ship, from which a stone of such weight as a robust man could lift was hurled; then, towing the merchant ship with triremes, they hurled stones into the city on all sides, but they caused no damage. The emperor, since for the present he could not meet them at sea, as he lacked triremes, sent troops from the mainland with orders to make frequent raids, and they caused as much damage as they could. However, he did not entirely neglect the sea, but having set up siege engines of supernatural size, he ordered stones to be hurled from Byzantium towards Galata; and they did reach it. And they destroyed many houses, especially those along the sea, and the stones caused no little damage to the merchant ships of the Latins. They ^C even sank the merchant ship that was supporting the engine, and those on board barely escaped the danger. The Latins sent an embassy to sue for peace twice and three times, but the emperor would not accept it unless they tore down the walls and abandoned the place. During this time, not a little time passed, and when the triremes were built, the emperor enlisted rowers and soldiers, and prepared everything else for battle, and set leaders over them: some at Pissa with three triremes, and Phaceolatus the protostrator; for others built at Heptascalon, he appointed the grand duke ^D Zamplacon, who strove most eagerly, and furthermore exerted himself to make his own even more perfect; for they were a sight to behold in their bulk, which he doubled, with wooden towers placed upon them and rowers covered by a platform above (upon which he positioned a multitude of heavy-armed men and light-armed troops, which was a great detriment to him in the battle, as will be told a little below). Furthermore, on the day before the triremes were to be led out from the naval yard, a merchant ship which had set sail from Genoa was sighted in the open sea, laden, as they said, with great riches. But oppressed by a calm when the winds ceased, it had cast anchor at the Prince's Island. Against it, the duke, with as many single-banked ships, set out from the naval yard by night and made an assault; and as the travelers defended themselves bravely, fire

was thrown in by the crew of the triremes, and having thus prevailed, they boarded the merchant ship, killed not a few of those who were defending it, and were already masters of everything. But when a rumor spread vaguely among the triremes that Latin triremes were sailing up from Galata, they took to flight, leaving behind nearly fifty of their own men on the merchant ship. And the rumors were completely false. The Romans who had been left behind on the merchant ship, realizing that the triremes had sailed away, and being at a loss what to do, entered into negotiations with the Latins, who were already victorious by force, and they agreed to extinguish the burning ship together, so that they might not perish with it. It was agreed that on the following day, if the Romans sailed up and recaptured the merchant ship, they themselves would save the Latins by begging the commanders; and if the Latins sailed up and seized the merchant ship, the Latins would do the same for the Romans, ^A which is what happened at dawn. For since the imperial triremes were not yet all prepared, the Latins sailed up and towed away the half-burnt merchant ship. Those who were on the ship saved the Romans according to their oaths. But when the imperial triremes were all prepared and nothing else was lacking, they all set out from the naval yard, adorned in a magnificent manner, and in the number of their hoplites, in their splendor, and in the size of their equipment, they were in no way inferior to the fleets of the Romans of old. Many single-banked ships followed, as well as light boats and skiffs carrying hoplites, all eager to serve in the campaign out of hatred for the Latins. And the Latins, terrified by the magnitude of this preparation, were thinking of everything rather than engaging in a sea battle with the imperial triremes; but having filled their own triremes, they anchored before the fortress, giving the impression that they would attack the imperial ships if they approached. They were so prepared that they would haul up their triremes with ropes if they sighted the imperial ships approaching, while they themselves would defend from the walls. They had the most wretched ^B arrangement; and as for the rest, the rowing was sluggish and they were eager to join others for safety. But God, who governs all things and justly dispenses to each his own, punishing the Romans, as is evident, for their past and many offenses, and allowing them to be overcome by those much their inferiors, behold, a great force of wind arises, and it overthrows the first triremes, on which were the wooden towers, and at the same time the soldiers with their arms, and the rowers, fall into the open sea, and in one moment all are seen to be empty of those they carried. At the same point in time, those who were standing on the boarding decks ^C of those that Phaceolatus was leading likewise slipped into the waves; and there was a great destruction of sailors and soldiers. Many indeed, because the ships were overturned near the shore, escaped, but about two hundred were suffocated in the waters, and from the company of Tzamplakon, Menali, the commander, and others...

and quite enjoying the Emperor's favor, perished. The Latins in Galata, taking heart, set out and dragged away the triremes, and with no one hindering or defending them, they gained the victory without bloodshed. The army on the mainland, with the Emperor's son, had wanted to engage in the work, thinking that the naval force would also launch an attack from the sea; but when they saw the Roman ships being drawn away empty, they too withdrew. The Emperor, seeing such a great force destroyed for no reason, groaned at such a calamity for the Romans, perceiving that God had acted thus because of His being offended. Nevertheless, he did not depart from his loftiness of mind, nor was he shattered by the defeat; but he suddenly gave orders to go get wood to build other triremes, and he appointed overseers for the works. ^B The people in Galata, counting that day as the most fortunate—the day on which they gained possession of so many enemy ships without having contributed anything to the defeat—were celebrating not only victory songs, but also their own salvation; for all their hopes of survival had hung by a thin thread. On the next day, having equipped all their own triremes, and having wreathed them as for a victory and decorated them splendidly, they sailed back and forth opposite the palace, dragging the captured imperial standards ^C as a mockery, as is the custom. And they imagined that the Emperor, having succumbed in spirit due to the adverse turn, would immediately put aside the war and seek peace, and grant them the space mentioned above. But as the outcome belied their hope, and they heard that he had commissioned the binding of new triremes, they requested peace through envoys. And at first they attempted the Emperor regarding the leaving of the site to them; but when they saw him intrepid and unconquered in spirit, thinking that that sad fortune was the price of other people's sins, and immovable in his previous conviction—that even if such things happened a thousand times, he would not grant them the site—and seeing him rather angry and raging because he had been defeated and was more eager to repair his forces, as if he had taken up arms for the first time, fearing that the long contention would not end well for them, they decided by agreement to yield the site; and peace was made on the condition that they would return that space to the Emperor, being satisfied with the old circuit. ^D They resisted the new fortification of the Despot, the Emperor's son, when he came with a band of armed men. But the Emperor, having summoned their best men, addressed them kindly and gently, and voluntarily granted them the site. For he said that his controversy with them was not about a small, valueless region, but about the right of the Roman Empire. For it did not conform with reason that they, having come and obtained very many benefits from the Roman Emperors, such that they ought to be subject and obedient by every right, should still act impudently and, against their will, wish to tear away something from the Empire. And for this reason, rather than for the possession of the site, had he resorted to war. Which, unless they served justice, he was certain to continue his arms so long as...

and the imperial banners, as ^A is the custom for those that have been conquered. But seeing the emperor undefeated in his misfortune and his purpose, they immediately decided to quit the war and proceed toward peace by surrendering the place. But since nothing turned out for them as they had hoped, and they heard that the emperor was again preparing to build triremes, they sent an embassy to discuss peace. At first, they tried to prevail upon the emperor to yield the place to them. But seeing that he was not in the least astonished, nor his purpose defeated, but rather that he considered that misfortune to be a payment for other sins, and that he held firmly to his previous resolution—and that not even if ten thousand such things were to happen would he willingly surrender the place, but rather was impelled with anger toward defeat and more eager for preparation, just as if he had only then for the first time engaged in the war—fearing that their great contentiousness might end in evil for them, they agreed to leave the place; and the peace was made on these terms: that they should surrender it to the emperor and withdraw to their former enclosure. And when the terms had been settled, they handed over the new fortress to the Despot, the emperor's son, who arrived with an army. The emperor, having summoned their leaders, addressed them mildly and affably, and of his own will he bestowed the place upon them. For he said to them that he did not contend over land of such size, as it was worth nothing, but over the rights that belonged to the Roman Empire. For it was absurd that they, being settlers, and having been greatly benefited by the Roman emperors, and having the right to be in the rank of those who serve, should then act shamelessly and wish to tear away a part of the hegemony against the will of the state. Because of these things, he said, he chose war rather than the possession of the place, and he had the intention to fight continuously to the point of destruction, if they should not wish to do what was just. But since they desisted from their stubbornness and left what had been seized, he would not be so petty as to deprive them of what they clung to so much and valued so highly. And immediately he ordered his son to lead out the army, having surrendered the place to the Galatians. They returned many thanks to the emperor with the greatest praises, and having gone to the emperor's son, since the place was being handed over according to the father's command, they again praised the emperor and sprinkled much gold upon the imperial banner, which the soldiers, by the command of the Despot, snatched up for the sake of play and pleasure. ^B Such was the beginning and ending that this war had.

Chapter XII.

But the emperor, hearing during that time of war what a massive and violent exaction of money had been committed by Tarchaniotes, and that the city was full of disturbances and lamentations on account of it, and that detractors and sycophants had seized the opportunity to invent unbelievable things—saying that two hundred thousand, or rather, as many gossiped, three hundred thousand gold pieces had been exacted—he decided to silence them by the deed itself. Having again gathered the whole people in an assembly, he demanded an accounting of the money from Tarchaniotes. He delivered it, with those who had paid even confessing that no more than fifty thousand had been exacted, beyond other not a little larger sums from the public treasury and the emperor's purse, which had been consumed in the preparation of the fleet. But furthermore, when he observed that many necessary duties were being omitted on account of the difficulty, and that the Romans were little inclined to contribute from their own means, and that the public revenues had failed completely, he imposed taxes previously unusual: that any cargo ship carrying grain bought in a foreign region, for half a medimnos, [should pay] a gold piece.

and likewise for other crops. For those engaged in the cultivation of wine, he decreed that they pay one gold piece for every fifty choes; but for those who bought from the cultivators, that they provide a double amount, not only as they were more affluent, but because they earned greater profits from the labor of others without ^A any effort of their own. And whereas it was an ancient law that all merchants pay a tithe to the public treasury, he himself instituted a fiftieth; from which, in a short time, nearly two hundred cargo vessels were added to the Romans—something which had never happened before—and they acquired a great naval power, and gained much profit from commerce, having already become masters of the sea.

Since Chios, as we have related, was being held unjustly and against the treaty by the Genoese, the Emperor sent an embassy to their prince (whom they call Doge), and to the senate and the people, demanding the island in accordance with the treaties and the oaths which they hold with the Roman Emperors. The Doge, ^B and the senate, and the people, said that the Emperor was making a just request, but that their holding the island was not upon their own decision or vote, nor by decree of the council, but that certain of the nobles among them, or patricians, had equipped the fleet at their own expense and seized it, whom they could not at present restrain; for this would require great expense and no small equipment; lacking such, they could not expel them from the island, but that with the passage of time, through effort and a certain amount of foresight, they would undoubtedly restore it to the Emperor. They replied with these things, and at the same time sent Jacobus Herminius and Autarus Pinellus, from among their own nobility, as ambassadors to the Emperor to offer guarantees concerning these same things. ^C The Emperor’s reply was not pleasing, and he sought a fixed day by which they should return the island; or else not blame him for perjury if he were able to take it by force. And they agreed that the Latins should hold the city of the island, itself also called Chios, for ten years, and enjoy the revenues, paying to the Emperor twenty-two thousand gold pieces annually. Furthermore, they would raise the imperial standard in the city according to custom; they would receive a bishop consecrated by the Church in Byzantium; and they would acclaim the Emperors on the Sabbaths, as is the custom; and the priests would make mention of them in the sacred mysteries, and be prohibited by no one. The rest of the whole island, ^D with the fortresses and the villages, would be under the Emperor, who would appoint a governor at his own discretion: and this man would rule the Romans who were moving about within the city, and settle their private disputes. And if any Latin should bring a lawsuit against a Roman, or a Roman against a Latin, the praetors or governors would pronounce judgment for them together, and would decide the case in accordance with the law of either party. After ten years, however, from [the time of] the occupation of Byzantium by Cantacuzenus, the Latins were to depart from Chios completely. These pacts the Genoese legates made with the Emperor. Simeon Benjazus, however, easily the prince of those who held the island, and the other men...

did not accept the agreements, but spoke out openly, choosing rather to be judged as enemies of the senate and people of Genoa than to withdraw from Chios. While the Emperor’s legates were in Genoa, a certain Zybus, the most powerful of the Chians—who had been established as prefect of Old Phocaea by the Genoese when Chios was surrendered to them, for it had come to them by surrender, being pressed by a lack of food, as we have said—sent to the Emperor. He first requested pardon for the surrender of Chios, saying that it had been done out of necessity rather than evil intent, and he urged him not to neglect the island, for if it were aided by even a small amount of assistance, he would have no difficulty in recovering it for the Romans. The Emperor praised Zybus and promised great things ^B because of this willingness, but he warned him to remain quiet for the time being until the legates returned from Genoa, for it was uncertain whether he might recover the island without danger. Furthermore, it was not appropriate for him, while acting as an ambassador to discuss peace and treaties, to simultaneously undertake hostile plans and wage war; it would be better if he followed the Emperor’s advice. But because of his eagerness and his boldness in the face of dangers and battles, he did not wait for the help from the Emperor, but trusting only in his own strength, he perished. For having gathered as many Romans as he could from Phocaea, he sailed unexpectedly to Chios, and engaging the Latins in battle, he defeated them soundly; he filled Chios with walled-in dead and wounded the prince, Benjazus, driving the others within the walls. But God ordaining otherwise, it happened that on that very day on which the battle took place, Andrea Petrilau, ^C a Genoese, while sailing past Chios from Smyrna to Byzantium, heard that his fellow citizens were being besieged by Zybus, landed on the island, and brought aid to the besieged. In the second battle that took place, with the victory again leaning toward the Romans, Zybus, fighting courageously, was struck by an arrow and died; and Chios, the Phocaeans having returned to Phocaea after the death of their leader, returned to the Latins, whom they had previously held for as long as they had the city of Chios. The Emperor sent Leo Calothetus to Phocaea to rule—a man who was a Chian himself, who during the time of the war of the island had been stripped of his prefecture by the Great Duke Apocaucus and had suffered greatly because of his goodwill toward the Emperor Cantacuzenus, the prefecture having been transferred to Zybus in his stead. This was ^D considered to have been the primary cause of the loss of Chios; for he was far better than the other in intelligence and foresight, and in knowing how to secure and protect the city entrusted to him against the enemy. He, having come to Phocaea, preserved it for the Romans, and it is held by them to this day.

and in knowing how to secure and protect the city entrusted to him against the enemy. He, having come to Phocaea, preserved it for the Romans, and it is held by them to this day.

CHAPTER XIII

^A Since the Peloponnese had been utterly desolated, not only by the Persians who invaded it with large fleets, and by the Latins who occupied what the Greeks call Achaia and were subjects to their own prince, but even more so by the inhabitants themselves, who were constantly warring against one another, plundering each other’s property, and killing one another—while villages were drained by external enemies, and cities were devastated by their own inhabitants, until they seemed not far from extreme ruin—the Emperor decided to bestow some care upon them. Having no elder son at hand, he sent his younger son, the Despot Manuel, as governor to the Peloponnesians with triremes, to assist them as much as he could. Upon his arrival, he first settled the civil discords, punishing the authors of them as was fitting, and striking terror into the others so that they would not attempt similar things. Afterwards, having formed a treaty with the Latins, he protected his subjects from their injuries, and engaging the Barbarians in battle and often defeating them, he ensured that they would no longer so greatly despise the Peloponnesians. By these means, ^B both the cities regained their former strength, and they seemed, in a way, to recover from great calamities, and the land began to be cultivated, with safety secured for the fields where the king’s subjects resided, and finally the Peloponnese, which shortly before had appeared more deserted than Scythia, was seen being farmed, and it provided not unnoble hopes of future prosperity. And he provided these benefits not only to the cities in common, but also privately to the powerful men of the Peloponnese; yet nothing that was done sufficed for them, but they could bear anything except for not engaging in factions and not acting according to their own character. Wherefore, since they could not do this among themselves for fear of the Despot, they all conspired against him with one mind and took up arms together. Certain treacherous plots and deceits were devised by a man named Lampudius, ^C of all the Peloponnesians the most skilled in these arts; he, having been defeated by the opposing faction and stripped of his possessions to the last penny, reduced to the utmost poverty, and despised even by the Despot on account of the wickedness of his character and his training in exciting seditions. Then, approaching him and entreating him, and binding himself with oaths that he would never attempt any new things, but would always be most devoted to him, he was received by him and restored to his former state, and many opportunities for increasing his wealth were given to him, so that now he was equal in power to his adversaries. For neither prosperous nor turbulent times, nor time which consumes all things, can consume their mutual hatred; ^D but they carry on their enmities even until death, and after death they seem to bequeath their rivalry with others to their children as a sort of patrimony.

^A Neglecting all the laws of Lycurgus, they adhere strictly to one alone of the Athenian Solon, who marks with infamy those citizens who have remained neutral during a sedition.

Now the Despot, because of the raids of the Persians—for a few of them were making many continuous crossings from Asia—judged that triremes ought to be constructed, by which he might sail around the island and ward off the pirates. Since this seemed profitable to everyone, and it was necessary for all to contribute money to this end, Lampadius voluntarily coveted the task of collection, having begged the Despot much, as if he would accomplish it better than others due to his experience and loyalty toward him. ^B Having obtained authorization, he went around all the Peloponnese and began to stir up opposition to the Despot. He reproached all the cities and villages for their willing slavery, and for the fact that they were not striving for their freedom in a manner worthy of their ancestors, but rather, like slaves, were enduring being led and carried off by the Despot. Finally, he persuaded everyone to fight against the Despot, asserting that either he would not be able to hold out while fighting against everyone at once, but would flee, leaving the Peloponnese behind, content to have saved his life; or, if he remained, he would be hemmed in by war on all sides and would perish.

Thus he persuaded them and gave a common signal to all that on the same day they should all attack their own commanders, ^C first taking control of them, and then marching against the Despot, who had already become weaker. Everything was carried out according to his counsel: for on the same day they gained control of all those who were in charge of the cities or villages. Then, having gathered from all sides in great numbers, both foot soldiers and cavalry, they marched against the Despot, with Lampadius and the other more powerful men leading them. The Despot, having armed his own men—all the picked troops he had brought from Byzantium, numbering about three hundred, and a few hired Acarnanians—marched against the Peloponnesians. They, not even able to endure coming into the sight of the enemy, turned in flight and scattered, city by city. ^D Then some of them immediately surrendered to his protection, asking for forgiveness, which they soon obtained; but others, who had more audacity for revolution, occupied the cities and foolishly did not receive the Despot. For if they could not hold out when they were all united, they hoped that by being divided into small units they would prevail. Later, however, even they, after much hardship and constant incursions and looting, realizing what was beneficial, surrendered to the Despot, begging to obtain forgiveness. He granted it to all, not hating them as much as pitying them for their folly, in that they had ruined themselves by attempting things beyond their strength when they could have been safe without danger. They remained quiet for no small time, bearing the rule under the Despot, not so much out of willingness from a peaceful spirit as unwillingly from fear; and with war being rekindled between the emperors, and the younger emperor Palaiologos now holding power, again,

because the father had abdicated the empire, they trusted that they could accomplish more; and furthermore, as the sons of Asanes, the sons of Isaac—who had been sent thither by the Palaeologus to govern the island—were calling them back to their duty, all of them together, including the despot, revolted, save for one city whose garrison held an acropolis that was impregnable by nature and by construction. ^A But he, using his own forces alone, once again gained control of all of them and brought them into subjection by his arms. Thereafter, having bid farewell entirely to warring against him, they surrendered themselves to peace and to honoring him, and they felt the greatest benefit from this; for it was permitted to them to farm the fields, to engage in livestock, and to acquire many properties and estates, whereas before the despot arrived there had been nothing save for the cities, and even these were afflicted by seditions and internal discords.

The Latins subject to the prince at first also set themselves to warring against the despot and harassing the cities, which they had not ceased doing even before. ^B But the entire audacity of this quickly turned out differently; for they themselves were rather afflicted vehemently by the war. When they understood this, they sent embassies, beseeching him earnestly, and obtained a peace treaty from the despot, so that they should indeed be subjects under the command of the prince, but friends and allies to him himself; and wherever he might require their service on the island or outside it, they would willingly assist him, serving at their own expense. Hence they also brought him aid quite often against the Persian marauders, and raised many trophies with him against the Barbarians; and they invaded Boeotia together against one of the Latin dynasts there, called Rantzerem de Loria, ^C and on account of his sweetness of character and his fidelity, they loved him exceedingly. For he had long since been found to have broken faith with no promise. Whence, if they are in need of anything from him, they do not even need his oath, since his word alone is sufficient for them for trustworthiness. Thus, the Peloponnese, filled with many goods by Manuel, the son of Cantacuzenus (on account of which it remains to this day undefeated by enemies), is even now administered by the same man with gentleness and with care towards his subjects.

CHAPTER XIV.

Now the emperor sent an embassy to the sultan of Egypt, Syria, and Judea on behalf of the Christians in those regions. The ambassadors were Manuel, Sergopolus, ci-

citizens of Byzantium, and Lazarus, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. It was necessary for him to be restored to his throne by order of the sultan, for otherwise it was not permitted for any of the bishops in those cities who serve these barbarians to be restored, God so permitting, on account of the many things in which we have sinned against Him, and still sin, we who take our name from Christ. ^A For this patriarch, while the Emperor Andronicus was still living, had been elected and consecrated by the co-bishops in the Holy City, as is the custom, and subsequently arrived in Byzantium to be confirmed by the emperor. However, a certain monk named Gerasimus, who had set out from there, assisted by some others in his audacity, made false accusations against the patriarch concerning matters for which he appeared to deserve being deposed. The emperor did not immediately revoke his patriarchate because of Gerasimus's accusation, nor did he treat the matter as false by simply hearing all the parties, but he ordered him to remain in Byzantium until ^B [the judgment was reached].

Notes of Jacob Gretser

(n) This is well put. Cantacuzenus acknowledges the fault, through which it happened that no bishop could be created or restored to his see if he had been expelled without the sultan's consent. God, he says, permits this on account of the many things in which we have sinned against Him, and still sin, we who take our name from Christ. The Greeks used the same excuse of old, when, after Constantinople was captured, they were completely subject to the Turkish yoke. They cast the cause of this most harsh servitude upon the sins common to all mortals; but Gennadius, having weighed the matter more accurately, said: "If you say, as you are accustomed to say, that these things have happened on account of our transgressions, it is not so. I will say that we do not provoke God to anger by our crimes any more than other Christian nations. For there are other nations more prone to wickedness and sin; how are they not afflicted like our most unhappy and miserable nation?" Woe to me in my misery; I am becoming something else from someone else, when I turn my mind to these things, and my heart is troubled, and my spirit seethes. And after some things: "Is it not remaining to weep and lament and search out the cause and see on account of what we suffer these things? I for my part can find no other cause than the schism, which has withdrawn itself from the obedience and subjection of the Roman Church. I discern it and it alone to be the cause of the destruction of our nation, because after we were divided from it, we received a curse, and we suffer the things we suffer, and for this reason we do not repent, but we become worse, and we attack the Church herself with curses, and we shamelessly vomit out things to be said and things to be left unsaid against her." If Cantacuzenus had attributed this cause to that unhappiness and calamity, he would have come closer to the truth. For the more the Orientals wandered from the apostolic see through various errors and manifold heresies, the more the Mahometans prevailed and subjected not only the laity, but also the clergy, and the princes of the clergy, patriarchs and bishops to themselves, so that they could not do anything at all without them. The same happened to the Greeks, as Gennadius laments in ways clearly worthy of tears. For by what tyranny and servitude the Greek bishops are now pressed by the Turks, and especially the Patriarch of Constantinople, the history of the "barbarian-mixed" (mixobarbara) regarding the patriarchs who held the Constantinopolitan throne after the city was captured by the Turks clearly teaches. For they are cast down from the see, and restored, and sent into exile, by the arbitrary will of the tyrant; no differently than the most wretched slaves. They likewise are agitated among themselves, as schismatics, and hence bereft of charity, by perpetual quarrels, as if the Turkish yoke and burden itself did not already create enough of a yoke and burden. Nor do they only cast each other out of dignity by frauds, but also by bribes. Therefore, he who brings more *Charatzti* (for this is what they call the annual tax to be paid by the patriarch: which, through the wickedness and ambition of the Greeks, reached one hundred and four thousand florins), and also more of the *Pescesii* (for this is the name of the tax to be paid by every patriarch at the beginning of his pontificate, which, through the same wickedness of the Greeks, ascends to three thousand gold pieces), he becomes patriarch. Let the reader unroll the aforementioned history inserted into the Turco-Graecia, and he will find nothing else to say than this: "The judgments of God are a great abyss"; and at the same time he will confer the cause of such great misery upon Cantacuzenus and the other Greek emperors who, by persistently remaining in schism, usurped for themselves those things that are not at all suitable for emperors, such as the confirmation of bishops. Who, from the foundation of Christendom, has ever heard of the Patriarch of Jerusalem being either confirmed by the emperors of Constantinople, or that he ought to have been confirmed? And yet this Lazarus sets out to Cantacuzenus for the sake of confirmation. The kings of Italy, the Arians, once arrogated this same right to themselves over the supreme Roman pontiffs, who could not perform their duties if the king's confirmation had not been obtained. But it is no wonder that the Arian heretics did this. What is more to be wondered at is that the Greek emperors retained this impious custom for many years after Rome was recovered from the Goths, against whom St. Gregory the Great inveighs in the most serious words in his *Exposition of the Fourth Psalm of Penitence*. It is also to be wondered at that schismatic emperors afterwards assumed this license for themselves over all bishops, as if it had ever been seen or heard that a sheep confirms and approves its shepherd, so that he cannot feed unless the sheep's vote is added. See the most illustrious Baronius, volume VIII, at the beginning, where he writes more about this indignity. How much better it would have been for Cantacuzenus to have consulted both his own interests and those of his Lazarus, and of all the Greek bishops, if (as the patriarch Gennadius later did) he had exhorted the Greeks to the pursuit of peace and charity with these words: "Let us approach the true union of Christians, let us acknowledge our sins, lest we become worse than the Jews, and lest by false persuasion, malice, and presumption we so obstruct our ears that we neither hear nor understand." Let us hear Christ shouting to the apostles: "He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me." It is surely permissible then to say: he who hears the Pope, hears the Lord; but he who does not hear the Pope, does not hear the Lord; but he who does not hear the Lord, hears the captives and those broken by the sword, that is, the Janissaries and the Pashas, for these are whom Gennadius means, because they are both from among the captives and are circumcised. The Greeks can sing with Jeremiah that lament: "Servants have ruled over us, there was none to redeem us out of their hand."

^A For this cause, let the matter be investigated; meanwhile, he sent an embassy to the sultan concerning certain other necessary matters, as well as about the Christians in Egypt, and no less also concerning this patriarch. He ordered those who were sent as envoys, when they arrived in Palestine, to investigate the situation regarding him together with the bishops. But the emperor having died in the interim, and a war having been stirred up against the emperor Cantacuzenus, the patriarch Lazarus, suspected of holding his views, was condemned in absentia by the patriarch John, without any trial, synod, or any other legal requirement; and in his place, his accuser, Gerasimus, bishop of the Holy City, was unlawfully ordained. ^B Lazarus the patriarch, seeing himself thus dishonored for no reasonable cause, but only because of the enmity borne against the emperor—and furthermore, because he was being provided with none of the necessities of life, living like an outcast, surviving on the scantest food, and lacking in all things—deliberated with himself about fleeing to the emperor Cantacuzenus, who was returning from the West to Didymoteichon. Having approved this plan, he went to Galata, the town of the Latins, seeking a way by which he might be able to reach him. But the magistrates of Byzantium, having discovered his flight, and with the knowledge of the patriarch John, sent word to Galata, demanding that the Latins hand over the patriarch of Jerusalem. The Galatians left the choice entirely to him ^C (o), either to communicate with them in matters of dogma and to dwell henceforth among them—whom they themselves were now about to treat most beneficially, and whom the bishop of Rome would later honor with great merits, and would include among the bishops under him—or else (as they threatened) to be handed over to those who were demanding him, from whom he would suffer inhuman treatment. But he was not so much terrified by these threats (96), as he mocked the stupidity of those who

Notes of Jacob Pontanus on Caput XV

Notes of Jacob Gretser

^A promising small and despicable goods, they hoped to turn them away from the customs of their fathers; but he, on the contrary, promised that it would be easier for him to call them back from their adulterous dogmas than for them to drag him, either by the offer of great goods or by the threats of the most terrible punishments, into error. When the Galatians saw that he was obdurate and unyielding, they delivered him in chains to those who requested him, who led him to the patriarch, by whom he was thought to be received cruelly. Yet he, revering the virtue of the man (for he was not ignorant of how greatly he had fought against the Latins who were inviting him to the communion of their religion, nor how he preferred to die rather than to depart from the right sense of his fathers), rose up for him as he approached, and greeted him humanely and gently; he bade him sit beside him, and conversing with him lovingly, called him a confessor. ^B Afterward, he dismissed him to a designated house, nor did he give the slightest indication of a malevolent mind, although he deemed him worthy of no provision. Wherefore, a little later, since he was being hard-pressed by poverty, he fled to the emperor, and remained with him for the rest of the time of the war; and after he obtained the mastery of all things, having returned to Byzantium, he enjoyed great provision from the emperor.

Sending this patriarch later with Sergopulus as an ambassador to the Sultan of Egypt, he asked the Sultan to do other things—whatever was beneficial to the Christians living there—and specifically to restore the patriarch to his see, having expelled Gerasimus, who was holding the bishopric against law and justice. The Sultan received the envoys honorably regarding ^C other matters, and performed all that they requested, and gave many thanks for the embassy sent to him. For he had heard certain marvelous things about the emperor, and was very desirous of his friendship; and in sending the patriarch to the holy city, he commanded the rulers of the barbarians there to expel Gerasimus, to honor Lazarus the patriarch, and to cause him no trouble as he was acting as bishop for the Christians throughout Palestine. He also sent letters to the emperor in these words: "In the name of God, merciful and compassionate. May the most high God always prolong the days of the empire of the great, the beneficent, the prudent, the lion, ^D the strong, the strenuous warrior, whose countenance no adversary can endure, the most wise in religion, and the most just in his place and region, the foundation...

of the faith and doctrine of the Christians, the unshakable pillar of all the baptized, the helper of the doctrines of Christ, the sword of the Macedonians, the Samson, the King of the Greeks, the King of the Bulgarians, the Asanians, the Vlachs, the Russians, and the Alans, the glory of the doctrine of the Iberians and the Syrians, the heir of the kingdom of his land, the lord of the seas, and of the great rivers, and of the islands, Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos. Let your Majesty always seek your desire from my sultanic power, and from our sanctified and enlightened court, and as we have every power to fulfill the love of your Majesty, and as it used to be between the ancestors of your Majesty and the ancestors of my sultanic power, and as the desire of the kings, the ancestors of your Majesty, was fulfilled by our authority, and they always gave us thanks, and sent to our sanctified court, and agreed with us, so again may the love of your Majesty be benefited, and its desire be fulfilled by our authority. And because that custom was broken and delayed for a long time, this writing was sent from us to be read before the great emperor, for the praise of the former friendship, and for the encouragement of the requests, that they may always be fulfilled with joy, and may become even greater, and whatever has come from you to the expansion of our most sweet kindness, we receive it with good will, just as we received them, and now well from the hands of the envoy of your Majesty, the lord Manuel, and we received them with peace, and we have recognized what was written inside. That which it sought, as to what is love and friendship, was the means between my father the great sultan—may the high God sanctify his soul—and the emperor of the Romans, the brother of your Majesty, as they had the custom, as you say, for the two houses to be one, and for envoys to come from him to me, and from here again to him, and you wish it to be, and for them to go and come according to the first custom. Again he asked concerning the churches of the Romans which are in the holy Jerusalem, and we have recognized that also. And we ordered that they should watch over the churches for which you sent word, and as for that which you asked, that we should hear the word of the lord envoy Manuel, and that we should answer him, and fulfill his requests, we have fulfilled what he wished.

^A Again, the envoy requested that, inasmuch as the former church of Saint George in the neighborhood of the Romans was in ruins, we might order it to be rebuilt; we heard his plea and fulfilled it. Again, he sought our holy decree to go to the holy Resurrection, that he and those of your empire who are with him might also worship there. We felt affection for whatever you asked, and we fulfilled it; and a decree was written for whatever the envoy petitioned us to have fulfilled at the holy Resurrection. And as he requested to go, we gave him a lord to accompany him, and he brought him safely thither, and he worshipped as he wished, and he returned with thanksgiving. ^B Again, the envoy requested that our high decree be issued, that the Christians found in the most holy place of Jerusalem, and the monasteries, and the churches, be protected, and that they have love and protection from the emir who is found there; and not only the local ones, but also those who come at various times for the worship of the holy Resurrection, and the Muslims who are found at times serving at the holy Resurrection, should not permit them to be scorned, beaten, or harassed, those who come at various times to the same holy pilgrimage, or the local ones; but rather that they should honor, receive, and govern them. And we ordered it, and a most high decree for these matters in that place was fulfilled. ^C Again, in that which your great empire reminded us concerning the matter of the patriarch Lazarus, that he had been sent away by the sanctified sultan Melek Nasar (may God forgive his sins in these his holy days), the envoy was to show and inform your great empire regarding such a matter as it came to pass. And it was fulfilled for the sake of such a patriarch; thus a high decree was released to the holy Jerusalem that they should welcome the patriarch Lazarus and keep him well, just as the former patriarchs. And we ordered, and the installation of such a patriarch took place, and he himself was sent to the holy Jerusalem with the envoy. Again the envoy asked for the captives who are found from the land of Romania, that we might free them. And we want your empire to know that we have such an ancient custom regarding the captives, ^D that an exchange be made, and we release those whom we have, and your empire in turn sends those of our slaves whom it has to us; nevertheless, we ordered it, and this request was fulfilled, and we freed as many as the envoy asked for.

The letter of the Sultan to the Emperor

and grant it to be formidable to your enemies, and keep you, and render you blessed by His mercy and beneficence. So be it, I pray, O God Most High. The letter was written on the fifteenth day of the month of Saapan, in the seven hundred and fiftieth year of Mahomet. And it was written by the supreme command of God. Glory to the great glory of the one God. Vows and adorations to that author of ours, Mahomet, together with his disciples, the most honorable creature of God. I give thanks to God Almighty, in whom I hope. So far the Sultan.

CAPUT XV. Gerasimus, preparing a new accusation, dies. The Sultan's successor is a persecutor of Christians. Why the archsatrap Sichun spared the Jacobites. Martyrdoms and apostasies of Christians. The punishment of Patriarch Lazarus; the kindness of the bishop toward him. The Sultan, ceasing from persecution, condemns the Christians to ignominy. Isidoros the patriarch creates bishops, and [sends] Palamas to Thessalonica, whom the emperor commends to the prefects. Their disobedience and desire for novelty, with deceit. Palamas, excluded, remains in Lemnos; the insolence and audacity of Andrew Palaiologos.

^B Gerasimus, having been ejected from the throne, hurried once again to the Sultan, intending to slander the patriarch and persuade him to drive him from the throne. But three days after his departure from the Holy City, he gave up his spirit on the road: so God judged, that by his just death the righteous man might be delivered from unjust temptations. And thus the patriarch performed his duties for a long enough time. But that sultan having died, another was raised to the principate, whom no manifest cause moved to persecute the Christians; but a certain Sichun, an archsatrap who had very great influence and authority with him, incited him. He was a man most hostile to all Christians, except for the Jacobite heretics, of whom a great multitude, with their own bishop, was seen especially in the Holy City, and throughout Egypt and Syria. He spared them ^C not so much on account of their virtue as from fear. For it is said that a great race, most stubbornly embracing the heresy of Jacob, inhabits the passage of the Nile, which the sultan of Egypt finds it necessary to win over with favors, because that people [has the power to divert] the Nile to another land.

^A Should this come to pass, all of Egypt and the rest of Syria, which are abundantly fed from there, would die out from famine. For this reason, the barbarians at that time were well-disposed only toward the sectaries of Jacob. As for all the others, they attacked them so fiercely that they sent many to the end of martyrdom through various and manifold kinds of torments, and not a few were also driven from the faith in Christ to their own [heresy]. It is truly worthy of tears that so many, while still holding to the faith in Christ, were led along to the Evil One through their works, and became heirs with him of the same hell. For it is not so—it is not so—that one who maintains an upright life along with the faith is ever abandoned by divine aid to suffer shipwreck regarding the faith. ^B And so, when they seized the patriarch Lazarus, they first tried to win him over with many flatteries and attempted to slacken his resolve and lead him away from the faith in Christ; believing that if they should overcome him, all Christians would immediately follow the example of their leader and be won over to renounce Christ, and that there would be no need to kill them. They preferred rather to have them living, having turned them from the faith, ^C than to kill them to no purpose. When such sycophancy was in vain, as he was prepared to suffer anything at all for the Christian faith and courted the hands of the executioners and seemed to desire their tortures and the distortions of his limbs, it was not possible for him to be a martyr who is not in the Church; nor can he come to Him who has abandoned that which is to reign, etc. He cannot show himself a martyr who has not kept brotherly charity. Paul the Apostle teaches and bears witness to this, saying: "And if I should have faith, so that I move mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods for the food of the poor, and if I should deliver my body so that I may be burned, but have not charity, I am of no profit," etc. They cannot remain with God, because they would not be of one mind in the Church of God; though they be burned, given to the flames and fires, or exposed to wild beasts, they may lay down their lives, yet that will not be the crown of faith, nor the glorious outcome of religious virtue, but the death of despair. Such a one can be killed, but he cannot be crowned. He professes himself a Christian in the same way that the devil also often feigns to be Christ, as the Lord Himself forewarned and said: "Many will come in my name, saying: 'I am Christ,' and they will deceive many." As that one is not Christ, even though he deceives in His name, so neither can he be seen to be a Christian who does not remain in the truth of His Gospel and faith. Saint Augustine, in book 7 of *Contra Parmenianum*: "Not everyone who is punished by the emperor (or sultan) in any question of religion is made a martyr," etc. Therefore, glory does not come from suffering, but suffering is glorious because of justice; and so the Lord, lest anyone should cast mists over the ignorant in this matter and seek the praise of martyrs in the condemnation of his own merits, did not say generally: "Blessed are those who suffer persecution," but added a great difference, by which true piety is separated from sacrilege. For He says: "Blessed are those who suffer persecution for justice' sake." But they do not in any way suffer for justice' sake who have divided the Church of Christ (as the Greek schismatics did), and who, with that simulated justice, try to be separated from the chaff before the time, and persecute His wheat with false accusations, while they themselves are rather separated from her, like the lightest chaff, by the various blasts of gossip.

^A Nothing, he said, can separate me from faith in Christ. When all hope of changing the man’s mind was abandoned, the barbarians omitted their blandishments as useless and turned themselves toward their own innate and beloved cruelty. Sichun ^B immediately sentenced the patriarch to death. The sultan, however, as we have heard, asked that he not be killed, but that he be punished for his disobedience in some other way. For he was not nearly as hostile to Christians (indeed, he was said to grieve at their slaughter) as Sichun, that evil man’s worse dwelling-place; that is to say, worse than the demon himself, a son of perdition who, in his murderous obedience to his father, could not be sated with the slaughter of Christians, but was rather tormented because he could not quickly eradicate the name of Christ from the earth. ^C The sentence of death was therefore stayed; but Sichun ordered five hundred blows with ox-sinews to be inflicted upon his bared body, thinking that he would not endure such a number of lashes, but would give up the ghost before the end, considering the limits of human strength. After the executioners had dragged him away and scourged him, they themselves were exhausted by the number of lashes they were delivering; but the athlete, having his mind fixed upon the God he longed for, implored heavenly aid, neither saying nor doing anything base on account of the bitterness of the blows. The tyrant, inflamed all the more by fury and anger, as if accusing himself of weakness and timidity, commanded that as many again be inflicted. ^D When they carried this out with all dispatch, the whole floor grew red with blood, and his flesh, torn asunder, fell away, and as the joints gave way, his bones were left bare of flesh. The patriarch, fainting from so great a torture, lay collapsing, still breathing a little; and his endurance of so dire a scourging struck the barbarians with amazement, that he should have held out against such torments. Afterward they asked him again if, yielding to the sultan’s commands, he would be willing to abandon his faith in Christ and participate with them in their religion. But as he refused with boldness, saying, "Nothing shall be able to separate me from faith in Christ," they carried him off and threw him into a certain prison destined for those condemned to death, intending that if he did not die from the blows, he would surely die later by the sword. But his fellow prisoners (of whom there were not a few among the barbarians, others having been sentenced to death for various causes), moved by a certain kindness and compassion for the sake of our common nature, treated him with no small care, and being skilled in the healing of such wounds, gradually restored him by healing his sores. He was still under judgment of death when the bishop of the Jacobites — although previously he had hated him on account of the diversity of their sacred rites and had desired him to be put to death — seeing him preserved beyond expectation, and considering this to be a monument not of human, but of divine power, began to embrace him as an athlete, to treat him with every honor and respect, and diligently to provide him with food as long as he was in chains. And after an interval of some time, Sichun’s soul having been snatched away, he himself obtained the patriarch from the sultan and led him out of prison, and also gave him the power to practice the Christian religion. For the sultan was (as we have taught) not prone to persecution of his own accord,

but was driven to it by Sichantes against his own judgment. Therefore, immediately after his death, it ceased, having only condemned the Christians to infamy. He excluded them from civil functions and, holding them as captives, ordered them to wear a garment of a certain color as a sign, so that they might be recognized as Christians—thinking that in this way he was inflicting some reproach upon them. But to them, that color did not seem more ignominious than the marks of Paul, with which he was adorned for the sake of Christ. “I,” he says, “bear the marks of our Lord Jesus Christ on my body.” Lazarus, moreover, the patriarch of the holy city, who, after his scourging, had directed the flock entrusted to him for no little time, was afterwards sent as an envoy by the sultan to the emperor John Palaeologus. Such, then, were the affairs of the prelate of Jerusalem from beginning to end.

Isidore, who, after John, received the task of governing the Byzantine Church, ordained bishops for many other cities, and also Gregory Palamas for Thessalonica. When it was necessary for him to set out for the church which had been allotted to him, the emperor provided him with letters to the leaders in Thessalonica—who were the *protosebastos* Alexis Metochites and Andrew Palaeologus, the prefect of the imperial table—commanding them to receive the bishop with all goodwill and honor. But they neither obeyed the imperial letters nor received the bishop; but openly denied that they were subject to the emperor. Under the pretext that they were of the party of Palaeologus, and for that reason were rebelling against the emperor Cantacuzenus, who had deprived him of his rule, in reality, however, they were seizing control of the Thessalonian prefecture for themselves. ^C For, perceiving that it was not easy for the emperor to come against them—since the Kral already occupied all of Macedonia except for Thessalonica, and since he would require great preparation if he were to march through hostile territory and encamp in the middle of enemy lands to besiege them (which they considered impossible)—and knowing that the Kral would value not only money but, if one may say so, his very own life, which was dearer to him than anything, above Thessalonica, they decided to shake off the emperor’s yoke. They threatened that, unless he left them alone, they would hand the city over to the Triballi. They determined to deceive the Kral by saying that, since they were abandoning the Roman emperor, they would easily go over to him; and for that reason, they would persuade him not to attempt to coerce them with arms, but rather to win them over with equity of mind and gentleness. Thus, by repelling one with the other, they sought to claim the city for themselves and enjoy it. And they proceeded in their treachery for a time. Gregory Palamas, the bishop of the Thessalonians, not being admitted by the prefects, turned back and settled on the island of Lemnos; and due care was provided for him by the emperor as was fitting. The prefects in Thessalonica, and especially Palaeologus—who had the Zealots around him—were a terror to the citizens because of previous examples, and all, out of fear, submitted to him, and did not dare to mutter anything against him. Hence also, a little later...

[...] to reconcile the city to himself through humanity and beneficence (for it could not be compelled by arms, and he sent edicts regarding benefits to be conferred both publicly and privately), but the Palaiologos, with the help of the Zelotes, whose audacity recoiled from no crime, burned them in the forum; regarding which matter, more will be said a little later.

763 CHAPTER XVI.

^B During that time, since the patriarch Isidore had departed from mortal life, having graced the throne for ten years, and having shepherded his flock with divine love, the emperor placed Callistus upon his patriarchal throne. Following his withdrawal from the mundane life, he had hidden himself in the monastery of the Iberians on Mount Athos. The emperor, hearing that he was an emulator of virtue and suitable for such a ministry, sent a trireme and brought him to Byzantium. Although the bishops were indignantly suffering this election—though not all of them, for others were nominating others—the emperor, having applied diligent effort, impelled everyone to consent; thus Callistus was preferred to the others by the votes of all. ^C And indeed, the emperor, both previously and during the time of war, when he was harassed by the seditions of the Romans, though he took up arms unwillingly and by necessity—and occupied himself with plunder, for otherwise he could by no means save himself and those with him—nonetheless, desiring to be released from troubles and deeming a life far removed from business to be most blessed, he grew weary of the tumults and the mass of cares arising after he acquired the empire. Longing for a calm and tranquil life, he communicated his thoughts to his wife, the Empress Irene; and both determined that, once the empire had been transferred to his son-in-law, they would dismiss human affairs and follow the institutions of the monks. And it was agreed that she herself would go to the monastery called that of Martha (she was the sister of Michael, the first of the Palaiologoi), regarding this as a debt owed by the emperor from his maternal inheritance, ^D and that, having put on the habit of the nuns, she would spend whatever remained of her life there; and that he himself, having submitted himself to Philotheus, the bishop of Heraclea in Thrace...

^A (not only because he excelled in both secular and Christian learning, but also because, having been trained in the solitary life almost from boyhood, he was so experienced in these matters through his diligence and longevity in holy living, that he had even been chosen by the Fathers there to be the head of a holy laura on Mount Athos before he became a bishop, and he also seemed capable of training others in such things), in the monastery of Saint Mamas, which is situated in a convenient place, and, for a city, is a most solitary location, and is therefore suitable for the care of the soul and for propitiating God for the stains contracted in life. ^B Nicholas Cabasilas and Demetrius Cydones also joined him in this retreat, men who had reached the pinnacle of secular wisdom and were no less philosophical in their actions, having chosen a celibate life free from the disturbances of marriage. For this reason, the emperor deemed them worthy of much favor, and held them among his foremost friends and associates.

First, then, after they had all deliberated together, it was decided to display their philosophy of life at the monastery of Saint Mamas, and to lead a life undisturbed and free from turmoil. Afterwards, changing their minds, they preferred the monastery of the Mangana (8), and that was ratified. ^C Wherefore the emperor assigned many possessions to the monastery, and took the greatest care that the necessities of life should be supplied from them. Yet no one, other than those who participated in the plan, knew of what was being done.

When everything was prepared, and all that remained was for him to order the affairs of the empire correctly, so that no dispute over the princedom might be left to the children of the deceased emperor upon his departure, nor any pretext for civil war be found by them, and he was now about to begin the work, letters arrived from Thessalonica, from other citizens as well as the protosebastos Metochites. ^D These letters attributed that former wickedness and impudence to Andrew Palaeologus, as the head and author of it all. And it was requested that he should, as much as he could, and as soon as possible, take counsel for the city, and not allow it to fall under the Triballi at the first opportunity should he not come to its aid, nor allow the Roman empire to be deprived of one of its two eyes (9); especially since, with Palaeologus ejected, all the citizens, except for the most wicked Zealots, were ready with joy to receive him and deliver the city.

For when, as we have said, the imperial letters in the public square, through which he was distributing many benefits to the city both publicly and privately, were burned by the Zealots and Palaeologus, the protosebastos Metochites considered the act unworthy, and thought it nothing else than a complete defection from the Roman Empire. Wherefore, having secretly discussed the matter with the citizens, and finding all equally indignant—

and having the army also ^A attentive to his commands, he stood openly against Palaeologus and the Zealots. Palaeologus, seeing the citizens forming against him, occupied the coastal districts, just as he had done before, and ordered all to take up arms, intending to defend himself against the Protosebast and the other citizens. But they, having learned what was necessary from their previous experience, did not give themselves over to inactivity and hesitation; but as soon as they perceived him arming himself at night with those in the coastal districts, they themselves set out without waiting for the daylight, and having gained the upper hand, they drove him from the city. The people plundered his house and those of the coastal guards, though no one died in the fighting. Palaeologus, despairing of his fortunes, immediately left the city and went to Crales, and from there afterward to the Holy Mountain of Athos. The Zealots, since they could no longer incite the people, nor plunder the houses of the wealthy, cast aside the mask ^B of pretending to strive on behalf of the young emperor, and worked instead to have the city betrayed to the Triballi. For Crales spared no expense in money and promised even more—a man who, in any case, used lavish gifts to hunt for fame. But there was nothing that he did not value less than Thessalonica; he knew that if he occupied it, he would recover his expenditures, and that he would not easily lose such a small portion of the Roman Empire, having added such a spacious city to those he had already occupied. Therefore, with lavish bribes, he drew the Zealots and, through them, not a few of the citizens to his side, so that they even openly argued that it was right and just to go over to him, seeing that he held the entire province under his own control, and was able to besiege the city and inflict the most severe harm upon it, and, if they surrendered, he was willing to afford them benefits. ^C When they rejected these conditions, he surrounded and besieged the city. When the Protosebast and those citizens devoted to the Romans saw this, and realized they could not prevail over the traitors due to the force that hung over them from without—especially since the people, bearing the siege with difficulty, thought that by being subjected to the Triballi they would be freed from their evils—and since they could not bear to see so great a city taken from the Romans and themselves reduced to the condition of slaves to the barbarians, for these reasons they besought the Emperor not to be unmindful of them, but to bring aid as quickly as possible, for if he delayed, the city would fall into the hands of the enemy within a few days. ^D Such things did they write. The Emperor thought it inhumane not to bring aid to so splendid a city in such dangerous distress; yet he was loath to abandon the purpose he had in mind and return to wage war and lead armies. Nevertheless, putting aside his own advantage for the common good of the Romans, he made every effort again so that Thessalonica would not perish. He wrote back to them, therefore, that they should cast off their sloth, oppose the traitors, and that he would send reinforcements shortly. He also sent an embassy to his son-in-law Orchan requesting auxiliary troops from him. He immediately commanded his son Suliman to serve the Emperor with twenty thousand horsemen. Wishing also to lead his son-in-law the Emperor himself on the expedition to Thessalonica, he [ordered] triremes, arms...

and supplies so that he might navigate with him safely into Macedonia. For he knew that the barbarians were jealous of the young Emperor, and would easily kill him if they had the opportunity. It is a barbarian custom among them to kill anyone who might contest their rule, and to spare neither age nor kinship. For this reason, even at the very beginning of the peace between the Emperors, after the young Emperor had married Helena the Empress, Orchanes—thinking he would do a favor to his father-in-law if he could find a way to kill the young Emperor—sent a certain eunuch named Mertzianes, along with several others who were admired among them for their physical strength and daring. They were sent under the pretext of necessary diplomatic business, but in reality, to kill him when an opportunity arose. One must not doubt this account, as if such things could not have been dared safely in the midst of the Romans. For they had a custom of committing such deeds not only against foreigners and strangers but even within their own people, and would willingly offer their own heads to death, because by slaying the enemy of their own dynasty, they would earn the greatest gratitude, and would bequeath that ruler's favor to their children and families as a kind of inheritance. Just so did this Mertzianes, for although he knew most clearly that he himself would also die, he nevertheless undertook the enterprise, betraying his own ^B salvation because of his devotion to Orchanes. When the Emperor Cantacuzenus learned of the conspiracy, he ordered the youth never to go outside the palace without him, especially while the barbarian envoys were staying in Byzantium; and he dismissed Mertzianes quickly, having given a response to the mission on which he had come. Because, therefore, of this hostility of the barbarians toward the young Emperor, he armed triremes and prepared himself as well. He had the intention—by a swift attack and for the present moment—to drive the Triballi away from the siege and to deliver Thessalonica from its dangers (for the season was already drawing toward the end of autumn); then, to leave the young Emperor there, while he himself returned to Byzantium and, having made preparations during the winter, would return with a greater and more long-lasting force. This did not please the Empress Anna at all; but she begged the Emperor and advised him not to leave their son there, but to return with him. For she said that she feared less the boy’s age, which was easily deceived, than the wickedness of the Westerners and their readiness for insurrection; and she exhorted him to take care lest, if the youth were deceived by them, sedition and war might be rekindled among the Romans, which would bring the greatest harm both to themselves and to the state. The Emperor ^C praised the Empress’s advice as true and just, and as full of both friendly goodwill toward himself and concern for the state, and he told her to be of good courage. He thought it was, in the first place, advisable to leave his son alone there only after they arrived at Thessalonica, since he himself would soon be departing from there; for the present, however, a kind of strike needed to be made, since the city appeared to be in grave danger—a danger brought upon it not so much by the infirmity of its inhabitants as by their perversity—and he added that, when he was there, he would [see that the] ^D

[the original text begins with the middle of the previous page, and the translation continues as follows:]

^A and [the Emperor] praised the Empress for her advice, as being true and just, and keeping strictly to the friendship she bore him and to a concern for the common good. He himself also exhorted her to be of good courage, as he would, after his arrival in Thessalonica, do whatever seemed most advantageous. For it did not seem to him, nor indeed was it in the best interest of the good [of the state], to leave the young Emperor there alone for a long time, separated from him. But for the present, he was making his expedition on account of the danger to Thessalonica, which he suspected was acute—a danger brought on not so much by the inability of the inhabitants to defend themselves as by their wickedness. Once there, however, and having driven out those who were betraying the city to the Triballi, he would leave the Emperor in the city for the winter, to prevent those who were betraying it, if any remained, from continuing. For they would certainly not wish—when he himself was present—to betray him and the city, even if they were driven to the height of wickedness. Then, once spring arrived, he would come also, with even greater preparations, and then, God helping, he would make his discourse not only concerning Thessalonica, but concerning the rest of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Acarnania, which the Triballi had occupied during the times of the war. By such words he persuaded the Empress, though she was not fully convinced.

CHAPTER XVII

^B When he learned that the Persian army was crossing the Hellespont, and the triremes were now prepared, he set sail rapidly, taking the young Emperor with him. When he was at the Hellespont, he left the young Emperor on the triremes, while he himself disembarked onto the mainland and joined the leaders of the army, and advised them how they should conduct their march. He took great care that they should not ravage Macedonia, since it would soon be his own territory, but that once they arrived at Thessalonica, it would be his business to see how the enemy’s territory should be harmed. He ordered his son Matthew, who was commanding the Roman forces, to lead the way before the barbarians, together with the commanders, toward Thessalonica. His purpose was that, once he had left the young Emperor there in safety, he himself, leading both Romans and barbarians, would break into the enemy's territory. When, therefore, he had correctly disposed the land army, as seemed best, he set out to sea in the triremes. In the course of his transit, he made a side-attempt on the walls of the maritime city of Eion in Thrace—which is now called Anactoropolis—which was commanded by a certain Alexius, a Bithynian, coming from a village called Belicoma, who had served during the civil war under the Great Duke Apocaucus and for a not inconsiderable time had acted as commander of a pirate galley. After the death of the latter, like others, he attempted, because of the interregnum, to engineer new circumstances. He not only brought this city under his own control, but also harmed Christopolis as much as he could, and oppressed the Thracians and Lemnians, desiring to tear everything away from the Roman Empire and subjugate it to himself. For this reason, the Emperor, sailing down, assaulted Eion and attacked the walls for two or three days. ^D He did not take the city, as the Alexians defended themselves bravely, but he burned to the ground every vessel and pirate trireme that Alexius used. While he was still lingering in those places, word was brought to him that the Persians who had come as auxiliaries had departed. It seemed then to many that the Persians had been urged to leave by certain Romans, out of hatred, clearly, for the junior Emperor, lest...

the Roman power should increase. But those who suspected this were entirely mistaken regarding the truth. For Orchanes, after the army had been ferried over into Thrace that it might advance into the West, sent letters secretly to his son Suliman, ordering his retreat; for he claimed that he was being invaded by the neighboring and most powerful dynasts of the Persians, against whom it was necessary for him to employ those forces. He commanded him also not to disclose the reason for his return to the Romans, lest the Emperor ^B get angry with him, but to invent some pretext, and in that way to return. Suliman, acting upon these instructions from his father, crossed the Hebrus, went off to ravage Moesia, and returned to Asia with a great number of cattle and human captives. Matthew, since he could not pass through the enemy territory with the Romans alone, because of the perennial rivers in the middle which did not allow for an easy crossing, and because the Triballi occupied the roads with a multitude stronger than the Roman forces he was leading, also turned back; and when the army was dispersed, he informed his father of the obstacles he had encountered. The Emperor was vexed at this ^C outcome, and having no idea what he should do instead, he set out from Eion for Thessalonica, and that night he remained anchored near Amphipolis, which the Triballi held. A man named Bryennius was in charge of it, a man most closely attached to the Emperor on account of an old acquaintance; the Emperor came to him at night in a small boat secretly, and held a conversation with him. Bryennius, desiring what was good for the Emperor, promised that he would do everything according to his will and would act with others of his friends so that they might provide him service at an opportune time; and he reported that more than twenty ^D Persian ships were moored on the banks of the Strymon for the purpose of plundering. The Emperor, having finished this nocturnal conversation, returned to the triremes, taking great caution that his meeting with the Triballian might not be discovered. At daybreak he invited the Persians to his aid, and they flew to him without delay; along with them he was carried to Thessalonica, where he found the people and the Zelotae at odds with the aristocrats, and the city afflicted both by external enemies and internal conspirators. But he dispelled every evil with his arrival, and the whole city, spending the day in celebration and redoubling its acclamations, received the emperors with joy. Upon his second arrival, Cantacuzenus, having called the people to an assembly, discoursed on the war which the Romans had engaged in against him: that the cause of this was to be ascribed not to himself, but to sycophants; and concerning the Zelotae themselves, who neither earlier, as if they were devoted to the junior Emperor, had taken up arms against him, but rather so that they might plunder the property of the wealthy—being themselves for the most part destitute—and now, nevertheless, having been corrupted by the bribes of the Triballi, they had betrayed not only the Emperor, for whom they had asserted they would fight, but the whole city for their own gain. And by many arguments he demonstrated that they had been malevolent from the beginning, not only toward the junior Emperor, but to all the Romans and the citizens as well: and he ordered the ringleaders to be seized, whom he also brought with him to Byzantium. Others he ordered to be driven from the city: but the Triballi he expelled from the ramparts around the city;

of the war to the Romans, claiming that he himself had not provided the causes, but those who had intrigued against him, and concerning the Zealots among them, that they had not moved the war against him out of previous goodwill toward the new Emperor, but in order to plunder the possessions of those who had them, being themselves for the most part destitute. And now, none the less, while trafficking with the Triballi, they were betraying not only the Emperor, ^A on whose behalf they claimed to be struggling, but the entire city for the sake of their own private gain. And he demonstrated from many facts that they were ill-disposed from the first, not only to the new Emperor but to all Romans and to the citizens. He ordered that the most prominent among them be arrested, whom he took with him when he returned to Byzantium. He ordered the others ^B to be expelled from the city; and he drove the Triballi from the fortresses around the city, some who fled even before the engagement, and others by skirmishes, sending out an army. In a short time, he rendered the region free of enemies; for before the Emperor arrived, the Triballi had distributed all the territory outside the gates among themselves.

CHAPTER XVIII

Afterward, four triremes arrived at Thessalonica from Venice, carrying as envoy one of the illustrious men among them, Jacobus Bragadinus; he promised great things to the Emperor on behalf of the council and people of Venice, if he would fight alongside them against the Latins from Genoa (for a very great ^D disagreement had arisen between them); and they requested that, after returning to Byzantium, he would choose to take up arms against them, for they suspected that, from the previous war, the Emperor remained ill-disposed toward the Latins in Genoa. But the Emperor refused them the alliance, claiming that he had business with the Crales, who, while the Romans were occupied with civil war, had taken away not a few cities and large regions of the Roman Empire. When the envoys promised that the Venetians would settle the matter with the Crales for him—for it had been decided in their senate, and they were under necessity to obey them—he was not persuaded even so, but providing them with gifts and treating them kindly, he sent them away. But the Barbarians, who were campaigning together with the fleet, not only had devastated the maritime shores of Macedonia before they joined the Emperor, but also, navigating into Bottia, they had defiled everything with plunder and ruin. In that place, besides others, they had captured the son of a certain man named Marcelatus, a leader of some shepherds, who were pasturing herds of cattle for the Triballi of Berrhoea; he was known to the Emperor, since he had once been one of his own shepherds. Relying mostly on this, he betook himself to Thessalonica, and prostrating himself at the feet of the Emperor, he begged for his captive son. The Emperor, moved by some instinct, taking the man aside, discussed with him that if he wished to receive his son back from the Barbarians, he should contribute his effort to the capture of Berrhoea—no other task than to place ladders against the walls only at night. The Barbarian accepted the condition most willingly, and pledged that he would perform even greater things, and confirmed that the matter would be by no means difficult for him. For he and certain other powerful Triballi of Berrhoea, while pasturing cattle, were accustomed to spend the night between the two walls of the city; in which there was no guard, so that he could easily, after persuading his companions, do a favor for the Emperor. Thus the Barbarian, having made a pact with him, departed, [to negotiate the liberation of his son] from the Persians.

if he would cooperate as much as possible in the capture of Berrhoea. The Emperor prepared himself to arrive at Berrhoea by night, and he ordered the commanders of the triremes, after equipping them and taking the Barbarians with them, to secret themselves at a certain perennial river not very far flowing from Berrhoea, as had been agreed, and to await the Emperor. He himself, leading the army from Thessalonica, along with not a few of those following from Byzantium—having procured horses from there—marched from the mainland toward Berrhoea, leaving the young Emperor behind in Thessalonica.

In Berrhoea, even before this, there were not a few Triballians settled by the Crales, not only soldiers, but also men of rank, both because of the other advantages of the city—for nothing of those things which make a city prosperous is lacking there—and because it is large and crowded with many inhabitants, not only a plebeian crowd, but soldiers and senators as well. The Crales had driven out most, or rather all, of these when he took possession of it; nevertheless, still fearing the defection of the city, he had settled there not a few soldiers and some of the distinguished men among his own. ^B He had built two citadels; one, fully completed, he occupied with a guard of Germans, situated near the gate called the Royal Gate; the other still lacked a garrison. For it was not a citadel, but rather a small city within a large one. For having cut off no small part of the perimeter of the former city, he was walling it off, leveling the houses, and erecting towers—behind one very large one, three smaller ones—and on the thickness of the walls between the towers, which were proportioned to them, he made double battlements so that, if it were necessary to go from one to the other, the movement would be easy; and if it should happen that the citadel were taken, the guards would be equally protected ^C from enemies both outside and inside. This, however, being such as it was, he did not manage to bring to completion, but the towers still lacked the appropriate height.

Because of the reasons I have mentioned, therefore, a large and warlike force of Triballians lived in Berrhoea, and at that time, because of the Emperor’s arrival, not a few of those settled in the villages had gathered there, for they too suspected that the Emperor would attempt to attack them. They kept the city under guard both night and day, and not drowsily, and were preparing themselves for defense if anyone should come against them. The Emperor, clearly knowing these things, did not attempt to attack openly; for he knew that he would not be able to overcome so many by force along with the walls; ^D but he inclined rather toward a stratagem, relying not a little also on the inhabitants, that they would rise up against the enemies if they perceived that he was inside, and thus would secure the war for him. Therefore, striving greatly that he might not be known to be going against the Triballians, he reached the river with his army according to his plan. But the triremes had not yet arrived. For when they were at the mouth of the river, because of mud piled up in the manner of a dike from the sea and the river (as is wont to happen), access for crossing could not be obtained; and the ship captains, in order to ready the ships,

^A were finding no device, but only grieved that such an enterprise was being lost. For they knew that the Emperor would not campaign against Berrhoea without them, but that once the day became clear, he would be forced to return to Thessalonica. The Emperor likewise was indignant, standing at the river, that the triremes were not present; he was ignorant of the cause of the delay, and suspected that, if the day were to pass, such an enterprise would be ruined. But while those in the triremes were at a loss as to what they should do, the sea suddenly surged, and having swollen a little, it sent the ships into the river with a gentle and mild tide. Joining the Emperor in a short time, they related the matter of the crossing, as if something extraordinary had happened. The Emperor, thinking that these things were arranged not by chance but by divine providence, was all the more encouraged for the operation, as if God were assisting him; and as quickly as he could, having led out the hoplites, the light-armed troops, and the barbarians from the ships, he marched toward Berrhoea in haste, leaving behind ^B as many as would suffice for the guarding of the triremes. As he was going, Merzelatus, appearing, urged him on in his march. For he kept saying to him that everything had been accomplished, and that he had entrusted the construction of the ladder to his companions. But when they were not far from the city, the Emperor again sent Merzelatus to see if the ladder had been constructed. And he, returning, said that not a single ladder had been constructed, and the Emperor was again in difficulty. But those who were with him, having cut timbers from the thicket equal in height to the wall (for those Berrhoeans who had been driven into exile by the Kral were serving with him, yielding to none of those with the Emperor in spirit and boldness; and they, most eagerly serving in all things, were keen for the capture of their fatherland), since they lacked nails, used ropes from the imperial tent and constructed ^C four ladders in a short time. And the hoplites and some of the light-armed troops, taking them up, with the Berrhoeans leading under Merzelatus, applied them to the walls, without any of the citizens inside knowing it; and they were the first to ascend, followed then by others of the hoplites and the light-armed.

When the Emperor perceived that his own men were inside, he immediately divided the army, and he himself, leading the Romans—cavalry and infantry—advanced to the ladders, while he ordered the barbarian contingent, together with the remaining Romans, to attack the acropolis, so that by attacking from many sides they might strike terror into the inhabitants. The soldiers who were already inside, first falling upon certain guards, seized them and warned them that they would kill them if they uttered a sound. Then, when they had come to the gate called Opsiccean, they encountered other guards, who were also citizens, and ^D urged them to help them and to break the bars. No sooner said than done. Opening the gates, they let the Emperor in. He, keeping a few of the notables with him at the gate, ordered the others to go inside and fight with the Triballian enemy; for the inhabitants alone were numerous enough to destroy them. For when they learned that the Emperor was within the walls, with a favorable acclamation announcing him to all, they immediately rushed upon the Triballi, plundered their property, and captured those they happened upon; and the Triballi, when they saw the city captured,

^A first ran together from all sides to their leaders, fully armed, either intending to defend themselves if they could, or to open the gates leading to the acropolis and flee. As the barbarians were shouting loudly outside the acropolis, they immediately despaired of all hope of safety, dismounted from their horses, and fled into the acropolis together with their children and wives, neglecting everything else. There were many of them—for there were thirty of the nobles, along with their wives and children, whom all the soldiers obeyed, and fifteen hundred soldiers. Since the walls and towers of the acropolis were not yet finished, the leaders with their wives and children entered one of the towers that was sufficiently high; the rest of the multitude of soldiers were either captured immediately or were hiding in houses among their friends. The Germans held the other acropolis for themselves, which was near the gate called the Royal Gate; and another crowd of laborers, said to be over ten thousand, who had been brought from the entire land under Crales for the building of the acropolis and were staying outside the walls, when they sensed the presence of the barbarians, even while they were still using large beams applied to the walls—because stones and other materials were being hoisted up—climbed up them and were saved by entering the city. When the emperor perceived that the city had already been taken by force, he also proceeded to the acropolis, being acclaimed by the citizens and escorted by them. When he arrived there, he found that everything had been plundered by the common people and the army, but he sent word and forbade the barbarians from entering the city, so that no harm would come to it as usually happens to cities captured in war. Then he ordered the Triballi who had hidden in the tower to come out, giving his word of safety, as they would suffer no harm from him. They came out immediately and did him homage; for they were all his friends. ^B The Germans resisted the commoners and the armored troops who had come from the triremes until the emperor arrived; for then they immediately abandoned the acropolis and surrendered. These were the very men whom Crales had joined to him as allies when he first sought to go to Berrhoea, for whom the emperor then felt great gratitude for their goodwill toward him at that time. For they did not abandon him in the camp at Thessalonica, although Crales had ordered them to, but even though many dangers surrounded them, they followed him eagerly as far as Berrhoea. ^C For this reason, although the emperor treated them as captives kindly and humanely, he sent them back to Crales equipped with their horses and even their arms, along with a gift for travel expenses. As for the rest of the soldiers, except for the thirty leaders, he wished for them to go home on foot, content with their clothing, for their horses had been plundered by the army; the remaining rabble, namely the porters and ditch-diggers, the soldiers led away at the emperor's command, further from the city, so that they would not be despoiled by the barbarians. ^D When, however, he wished to dismiss those thirty men honorably, they begged to be detained, lest they be accused of calumny before their prince, as if they had willingly surrendered together with the city. A little later, some requested permission from the emperor to go to their homes; others chose to flee; some were led to Thessalonica and fled from there; for they were not locked away in prisons, but were kept in monasteries without chains. Such things happened at Berrhoea, with a more fortunate

to Thessalonica and fled from there; for they were not locked away in prisons, but were kept in monasteries without chains. Such things happened at Berrhoea, with a more fortunate outcome for the emperor than he had dared to hope, and in a single day he had become master of so many of the enemy without any bloodshed. For none of the Romans or Triballi died, except for one barbarian, and even he was said to have been killed by the Romans. The barbarians, since they gained no spoils from the capture of the city—for the emperor would not allow them to enter it—besought him to let them raid the surrounding region of Kral. The emperor permitted this, and they drove off a vast quantity of cattle, though few human beings, as the area was wooded and overgrown, allowing them to escape easily.

CHAPTER XIX

Once matters at Berrhoea had been settled to his satisfaction, the emperor set out for Edessa with a larger army than he had brought to Berrhoea; for many had joined him from Berrhoea too. However, he did not place as much confidence in his present forces for the capture of the city as he did in the more prominent citizens of Edessa, whom he trusted would immediately defect to him and draw the rest along with them. But the outcome turned out to be far otherwise and entirely contrary to his expectation. For they not only revealed themselves openly as his enemies, but also stirred up the weak common people to the same effect, and standing upon the walls they hurled insults at the emperor, saying that it was utter folly that, when the Kral, with a far greater army, had besieged them for sixteen years and been able to accomplish nothing, the emperor should hope to subdue them in a short time with such a small force. The emperor was distressed to be thwarted by the city and soon despaired of the siege: not only because it was fortified by nature and by hand (for more than half of it is surrounded by a lake and is inaccessible to enemies, and the remaining part is encircled by very strong walls and huge towers, and in some places by precipices and impassable valleys), but also because a not insignificant band of Triballi was stationed there as a garrison; four of their own illustrious men were in command of them, whom the more powerful citizens assisted strenuously. Nevertheless, he decided to remain there that night, to depart the next day, and not to waste time in attempting what could not be accomplished. Against this opinion, the Roman nobles also...

^A agreed, and the commanders of the army likewise supposed that the capture of the city was impossible, based on their experience in the fighting. At night, some of the hoplites who had followed the Emperor from the triremes approached and asked the Emperor if he was planning anything regarding the city. When the Emperor asked them ironically what they thought best—to attempt the walls or to withdraw—they urged him to fight and begged him not to abandon the city due to the treachery of the Edessenes, since it was capable of being taken by force. They themselves promised to fight eagerly and persuaded the others from the triremes to offer their help. ^B Straightaway, this course seemed best to the Emperor as well; he agreed to the assault, ordered the hoplites to prepare ladders, and told the commanders of the army to keep the soldiers under arms at daybreak, ready to assault the walls.

When it was already day, he drew up his army. He stationed the barbarian contingent at the walls along the lake, from where it was impossible to take the city, so that if the capture of Edessa were to happen, the barbarians would have no way to enter and kill anyone inside. He himself, taking the strongest of the hoplites alongside the nobles, was stationed opposite the acropolis, where the walls were strongest and defended by the flower of the Triballi and the Edessenes. He stationed the other commanders with their regiments at the remaining parts of the walls, as each happened to fall, and they began the assault at the break of day. The battle became extremely fierce and unceasing until midday. ^C For those inside fought off the attack from the walls with great vigor, and those outside displayed marvelous deeds of daring and courage, especially the hoplites and the light-armed troops from the triremes, who spared not themselves. The Emperor had proclaimed by herald that the first man to plant a flag on the walls would receive a reward of four minas of gold, the second, three, and the third, two.

At midday, many of the defenders inside having been wounded and some killed, they leaned their ladders against the walls—the defenders inside now offering only weak resistance—and set fire to the gate of the acropolis. Once it was consumed, they poured in from there and from the ladders, and the city was taken, as they say, ^D by storm. The Emperor, once the capture happened near him and he was inside, did not allow the soldiers to break into disordered plunder, except for those who had been the first to enter and had made a small profit for themselves. Not a single Roman or barbarian from those with the Emperor died, though many were wounded. After the capture, the Emperor released all the soldiers who were Triballi to their homes, without their horses. He kept the four commanders under guard and drove out from the city those of the citizens who had sided with the Crales. He left behind two hundred soldiers, of both heavy and light armament, to defend the citadel. He appointed George the Lyric, a man most valiant and wise in war, as prefect of the city, and thus returned to Berrhoea.

Also, other castles and small towns around Edessa and Berrhoea came over: namely, Staridola, Petra, Soscus, Deura, Sirobus, and Notia; and of the Thessalian small towns, Lycostomium and Castrium. After granting the army some rest, the Emperor again undertook an expedition against the Serbs. This city, which is not small, lies on the border of Bottiaea and Thessaly, near which lies the rest of Thessaly, Prealimpus, and...

- ^A fectus ^B of the Cral’s forces, who appeared to excel others in prudence, fortitude, and military training. It is built upon the precipitous slope of a mountain, and from the very beginning, as one approaches, it appears higher than itself. It culminates at the summit of the mountain, divided and intersected by a triple wall, so that from the outside one would think there were three cities, one behind the other. It is surrounded on both sides by deep valleys. The space extending from the city to the plain and toward the valleys, where it can be inhabited, is full of houses and inhabitants—not only commoners, but also nobles and many stout and valiant household soldiers. The city itself, due to the position of the place with houses rising one above another, seems to have few buildings with many stories. Two of its parts in the lower section are inhabited by the citizens; the third, which is the acropolis, is reserved for the governor. It is difficult to approach and besiege from every side. Prealimpos, residing there, had no need of moats or of any labor for fortification, since nature had provided for this. And he, greatly distrusting the citizens, moved their children, wives, and property into the second or middle enclosure, while he expelled all the men into the last or lowest city; he commanded them to repel the emperor if he should invade, on behalf of himself and their children. He placed a guard of Triballi, of whom he was said to have over five hundred, in that middle city where the wives and children were. Those living outside the walls he would neither allow to enter the city nor receive their children and wives; rather, he ordered them to stand and fight in front of the houses, as the place was almost inaccessible and very difficult for attackers. Thus, he prepared himself to receive the siege. A rumor circulated that he was being held in the city against his will, and that, to avoid the battle, he preferred to flee to the cities of Thessaly. On the contrary, his own men dissuaded him from this thought: for if the emperor were to gain possession of that city, he would for certain gain all of Thessaly as well. Yielding to them, he endured the siege. After the emperor moved his camp closer to the city, he first sent the soldiers, with only a few remaining with him, off to plunder; the Romans and the barbarians likewise returned with rich booty, both from the Serbians themselves and from the surrounding villages. Afterward, drawing closer, they readied themselves for an assault. But those among the Serbians who lived outside the town, fearing an attack from the enemy, and because the Triballi would not admit them within the walls, ^C and because they were not hostile to the emperor, all by common consent surrendered themselves into his power and received the soldiers as guests. Those who were in the city also vehemently adhered to his side; however, on account of their wives and children, who were held in the middle part, they were forced to obey the Triballi. On the third day, the men, ready at the walls—with the locals especially inciting them and affirming that the city could be taken—began the assault. But because it was not possible to attack from every direction, as the places were for the most part hard and rugged, where an ascent was most possible, the emperor established the best of his archers and ordered them to drive back the defenders. Others formed a tortoise formation, rushed to the walls, and these

digging through, managed to penetrate. It happened that the house inside, which adhered to the walls, was empty of men; and when they were about to enter through it, the mistress of the house entered by chance, and noticing that the town was being captured, summoned the defenders with a loud cry. They ran up immediately, and by hurling javelins, drove them from the wall. And when the heat of the conflict was at its peak, a storm of rain fell rather heavily, and that detachment ceased the fight and retreated into the camp, since they could not battle simultaneously against the rain and the enemy, while the latter stood above on the walls, and they themselves slipped frequently into the mud.

The Emperor also, seeing that the first attack had been in vain and despairing that it could be taken by arms, and being unable on account of the rain and the winter to continue the siege, returned to Berrhoea; whom all the principal men of the suburb of the Serbians, except a few, followed with their children and wives, having no more of their property than they could carry with them. And they did this not only out of affection for the emperor, but also because, if they remained with the Triballi any longer, they expected poor rewards for their defection.

While the emperor was still staying at Berrhoea, from the most notable cities which had belonged to the Romans in ancient times, but had long served the Triballi, delegates came to speak in secret, begging him to come to them, promising that they would welcome him after casting out the Triballi. And not only from other cities, but also from Scopia itself, which is considered the royal capital of the Crales, and which Michael, the first emperor of the Palaeologi, separated from the Roman empire, envoys came openly in the name of the city, inviting him to receive the city in surrender. For the Crales, who had at that time set out against the Paeones, when he heard that the emperor had arrived, although he had immense forces, did not dare to oppose him; but considering all things as of little account, he wished to avoid a conflict. Whence also, when the citizens of Scopia sent an embassy to inform the emperor to advance towards them with hostile banners, and had requested aid, he first gave them hope, should the Romans attack them. But when the rumor of the advancing Romans and barbarians increased, and the terror doubled, he clearly refused aid to the Scopians, urging them to defend themselves as best as they could, as he could not come to them in the present circumstance. They, deciding by common counsel that it was an act of great madness to resist those against whom their own prince did not dare to fight with such an army, approached the emperor and surrendered the city, before they might experience harsher things. Afterwards, when the fear had subsided, they were summoned to judgment by the Crales and accused of defection, but they easily refuted the crime, as their archbishop acknowledged, who pronounced that they had done nothing against fairness, if, when the Crales was unwilling to assist but encouraged them to defend themselves, they had prudently and salutarily taken counsel for themselves to obey those who were more powerful. To such an extent were all the cities struck with panic at that time, that they spontaneously desired to belong to the emperor before they could be plundered. And not only the cities, but also the most powerful of the Triballi, who had previously been friends to the emperor, and who preferred to be subject to him

had they been, they would have been all the more willing, but because of fear they acted in secret with him and invited him to themselves, ready to bring him all the aid they could. Two defectors also came from among them, of whom one was very illustrious, of the family of Cralis, Chlapanus by name, who had under him a band of soldiers that was not to be despised and was wealthy in riches; the other was not very famous, yet he too had held governorships of cities and had led armies, named Tolisthlabus. And both of these brought forward the opinion and decree of the other dynasts, that if he were to attack Cralis, they would bring aid with arms. To the Emperor, since he did not have forces equal to the battle, it did not seem right that he should risk himself solely relying on defections, but rather that he should be prepared and move against the enemy at an opportune time. And then, indeed, leaving Diplobatatzes the Protovestiary as governor in Berrhoia, as one who knew how to adapt his counsels to the difficulties and shifts of affairs and was bold in battle, and setting Nicephorus the Tarentine over those who had arrived from Thrace, he returned to Thessalonica.

CAPUT XX.

Shortly after, with the cavalry and infantry and with his son-in-law ^C as a companion in the expedition, he went to Gynecocastrum. It is a most fortified castle, built from its very foundations by the Emperor Andronicus the Younger, at a distance of less than a day's journey from Thessalonica. It was held, having been captured along with others, by the Triballi, and it had a garrison composed of them and of Roman turncoats. Bessus the governor, having learned of the arrival of the Emperor, fearing that he might be captured by force, promised through a messenger that he would cross over to him of his own accord. Moreover, for the sake of making his word credible, he brought forward the holy relics he wore suspended from his neck (12), and all but swore that he would surrender the castle. The Emperor, thinking it would be best to receive the castle without slaughter and danger, summoned Bessus to him. When he came into the camp, he indeed confirmed by oath that he would defect to him and surrender the castle; he begged, however, that the Emperor should not at present enter himself...

^A or bring in a garrison. For his property, which was very great and scattered, would be lost, being plundered by the Triballi, and Crales, inflamed with hatred against him, would utterly destroy his relatives and his household. But if he waited fifteen days, until he could summon his household and his goods, he could then take over the fortress. ^B To these things the Emperor, being persuaded, and with him offering oaths upon the terms mentioned, returned to Thessalonica. Bessus, supposedly fulfilling what had been sworn, sent to the Triballi for his household, and sent livestock and his other possessions, and even to Thessalonica sent no small evidence of his goodwill toward the Emperor and his keeping of the treaty. But Crales, having already learned that the army from the continent, both of Romans and of barbarians, being so great, would turn back, and that the Emperor had arrived at Thessalonica with only triremes and a few barbarian infantrymen, and had taken Berrhoea, Edessa, and not a few other small towns, took heart. And taking an army, not very large, but yet much greater than the Emperor’s, he marched with speed upon Thessalonica. ^C And Bessus, immediately under him, joined the campaign with his own troops, having forgotten the treaties and oaths he had made to the Emperor. Crales, having come near to Thessalonica, sent an embassy to the Emperor; and first he reproached him for his thanklessness toward him, that having forgotten the favors he had previously received from him, he had taken advantage of an opportunity to campaign against his cities, and had occupied and expelled those who garrisoned them, and had deprived him of not a few riches—things he ought not to have done; rather, remembering the things that had been done for him, he should have preserved friendship toward him. ^D But since he had done what he ought not, he said that he accused him, yet thought that everyone — — — and that, as regards what had been done, he most of all wished, if it seemed good to him also, to meet with one another, and to discuss the differences, to make an agreement, and to lay aside the war, having renewed the pacts and the peace. Such were the things that Crales proposed by way of embassy, and to the Emperor they seemed best, and they agreed upon a set day on which they were to come together to the same place and resolve the differences, having made a treaty. And when the appointed day arrived, both Emperors went out armed, along with their companions. Crales likewise, armed with those around him, came near to Thessalonica, and met with the Emperors. After the greeting, Crales was the first to address the Emperor, saying: "You act unjustly, O Emperor, in starting a war. For I thought there was nothing in existence that could persuade you to be thankless toward me. For you know yourself...">

^A having been warred upon by those of your own race, and having been unjustly driven out of the Roman lands (for I would not deny that you were driven out, although you know the cause), you came to us, neither owing me any return for past favors, nor being indignant on your behalf for being wronged; but, if one must tell the truth, we were even counting the strife between you as part of our good fortune, since it meant that our own affairs were well-ordered.

"I, however, although those who were at war with you had made many embassies, and had offered money, and many cities, and the offering of a portion of the Roman empire, and—since they were exhausted—were asking for a single favor in return for all these things, namely, that I should hand you over to them as a prisoner, or that I should seize and hold you myself, I would not do it. But rather, I preferred your friendship to much money, and so many cities, and a large and good region. And not only did I not betray you to your enemies—although I could easily have done so, for you yourself are not unaware of the situation you were in at that time—but, in what concerned me, I offered you a military force twice, and even three times, for the sake of ^B alliance. Everyone, I thought, would remember this, and would never wish, even if they could achieve great things, to harm the cities that were under me. But you, as it seems, having forgotten all those things, have now come leading barbarians as if against an enemy who has committed the greatest wrongs. And as for my cities, some you took by arms, others by theft, and not a few through fear gave themselves over to you. And as for the soldiers dwelling there, and many of the notable men, some you killed in battle, and others you enslaved; and you offered them the freedom of their bodies as a favor when it seemed best to you, not so much gladdening them by the manumission as you had saddened them by making them slaves, since freedom after servitude was not as pleasant to them as the servitude imposed upon freedom had been painful. You have also carried off immense wealth and countless herds, all of which torments me and makes me judge you to be a very ungrateful and unjust man.

"Nevertheless, although I have been harmed so many times by you, I do not wish to be your enemy, but your friend and ally, just as I was before; and I exhort you, having cast away those base thoughts, to renew our former friendship and treaties, with each of us retaining what we now hold. But if it is grievous to you that I also possess some portion taken from the Roman empire, I would wish you to consider that you hold a much larger portion, taken from that which was proper to another; and it is fitting that both be content with these and, by establishing a treaty, practice peace. But if such things do not seem good to you, see that you do not, in addition to gaining nothing further, incur the reproach of greed and ingratitude toward friends and those who have done you well." ^C Such were the things the Kral spoke to the Emperor in the presence of many.

The Emperor, having paused for a short while, made the following reply to the Kral: "I believe that nothing has ever harmed the life of men from the beginning, nor caused great divisions and heavy wars, more than that each person is not a just judge for himself as he is for others, but frequently forgives even the most shameful things for himself, while demanding the most bitter punishments from others for even the most trivial offenses. And this is what has so greatly disturbed and embroiled human life, and has brought huge disasters not only upon cities and houses, but has destroyed entire empires, when either some, through insatiable greed, overturn others by means of a war unjustly brought upon them, or are themselves overturned by those to whom they had been unjust, who then justly and honorably avenge themselves—which I believe has just now happened to you. For if you had shown yourself to be an equitable and good judge in our common cause, you would not have swooped down upon so many Roman cities in violation of our treaty and oaths, and you would not have decided to perpetrate any new wrongs, nor would you, who ^D

^A have received few things from many, have pursued me for bad faith, ingratitude, and what is even more wonderful, for avarice. Now, that I came to you having been unjustly attacked by my own countrymen and driven from Roman soil, bringing with me many of my kin and friends, and no small amount of money; and that you, being yourself not overcome by the desire for the money—although both those I brought with me and those offered by the enemy were so great—nor by the surrender of so many cities and territory for the purpose of doing me harm, preferred my friendship to all else, I would not even myself deny. For I would be the most unjust of men, both to you and to others, who could have been incited to virtue by such excellent examples, if I did so. For the fact that, owing me no benefit, as you yourself said, you received me in my calamity, and were neither driven by your own nature to seek advantages for yourself from me, nor induced or forced by another to act unjustly or ^B unworthily toward me, but rather preferred honesty and justice to all those things that seemed to contribute to the expansion of your dominion, testifies that you are not only a man of high spirit and possessed of a certain zeal for immortal glory, but also a good man, excelling in intelligence. And for all these things, I confess that I owe you many thanks by right: not only because you did me no harm, when you could have done so most easily, but also because you heaped upon me greater honor than upon a friend. For almost as long as I lived with you, you ceded your principality to me, not only granting me precedence yourself, but also instructing all your subjects, as if I were their king, to obey me and to treat me with every veneration and honor. For which I owe you ^C even greater thanks than for the safety and preservation of my life. For if I am saved by you, I will certainly some day at last depart from this light; but the honor with which you have graced me will endure even after death, sung by all and by those who will be in the future. Nor is it only you whom I would justly praise for these reasons, but also your wife, who appeared most of all to be the cause of what was done for me; for she herself both counseled it and persuaded you alike, and the others who were in authority, not to be petty or to be good men for a reward, but to act gratuitously and out of ambition, holding it to be the greatest profit—this very thing—to choose what is good and just. And all those who were in authority, and the rest of the army, not only because you willed and ordered it so, but also being ^D moved from their own disposition, showed great kindness and gratitude toward me. For all of which I myself

^A am indebted, and which others, to whom the account shall come in time, will praise. What then is there to say? That I, having become unmindful of so many benefits, for no reason chose to make war and repay with evils those who had done me good? That would be of all things most absurd: to know how to give thanks with the tongue to those who have acted well, and not to choose to conceal the good things, yet in deeds to be ungrateful and appear to myself most contrary—I, who never held such a mind even toward those who have offended me much and have been the causes of great misfortunes. But rather, you yourselves have provided the causes of this dissension ^B and of the war currently moved against us from the beginning, and continue to do so even now; and this I shall attempt to make manifest from the facts. For as I was staying with you, it seemed right to establish a treaty and oaths for an alliance, and thus to attempt to provide for our mutual benefit. You, for your part, asked as a wage for the alliance many cities and territory belonging to the Roman empire; I, however, would not concede even one of the most trivial forts, but deemed it right to assist for nothing. For it was not only ignoble and illiberal for you, and bringing upon you much disgrace, to serve not for honor and friendship, but for hire—but for me it was the most impossible thing of all, for the salvation of myself and those with me, to abandon the Romans, even if they, being ungrateful, have stirred up the war against me. For it is not to enslave, but rather to free them from their enemies, that from the very beginning and up to the present I have expended my greatest effort. I declared at once that if it seemed good to assist for the sake of friendship and honor alone, I would do so; but otherwise, I would perform nothing illiberal, nor appear a traitor to the Romans who are my own kin, but would choose rather to perish myself, along with my children and kin, than to leave for the Romans of the future, on account of a present need, monuments of disgrace that would be remembered forever. These things, as you yourself also, having consulted with your wife and the chief men, judged2 to be both just and likely to bring no small honor both to myself and to you, we struck a treaty and conceived the oaths on these terms: that we should be friends and allies to one another throughout life, and that each should assist the other as best he might when the need called; and that cities and land under the Romans, as much as you yourself or your ancestors had taken from previous emperors while Andronicus was still alive, you should hold securely, and I should stir up no war concerning them, even could I take them away; but for those still left until that time, I should by no means, neither by craft nor by any device, attempt to take them away; but that you should assist me in regaining the Roman dominion until it was possible, warring against those who stood against me, and that those winning over or coming over while I was present, I should hold without doubt. If it should ever happen that, even in my absence, either you yourself, or one of the powerful men under you, should seize a city subject to the Romans, whether by treachery, or by siege, or by corrupting the citizens with gifts, or by any other method, it should be restored to me, and no one should any longer make the attempt to take it away by any method. And this one may prove evidently from the oaths entered into the records, by which you then ratified the treaty struck between us, in the presence of your archbishop and those of your nobles who are present now. Let us consider, therefore, which of us has kept those oaths: I, whom you accuse of such wickedness and ungrateful will and crime against friends, and of a certain insatiable greed; or you, who forsooth covet nothing belonging to others, but constantly cultivate friendship, and hold it as a sort of rule of life not to be easily changed with the times, nor ^C

^A lightly dissolving what has once been resolved upon. It seems to me, however, that I have left behind no token of my oath-keeping, my constancy toward friends, and my good faith, nor you any token of greed, perjury, and treachery toward friends. For when I was in Berrhoea, and some of the neighboring towns were coming over to me, I, as the situation required, endeavored to increase my authority; and having collected as many forces as I could, and having the Germans sent to me by you, I came to Thessalonica, having been invited by friends. You, however, immediately plotted against me, though I had provided no cause or pretext for war; and you counseled the Thessalonians to attack me, and recalled your Germans from the very battle line—actions which, if you do not admit it, all who were present will testify are those of the most hostile enemy. When I was returning from there, you sent a force to the Axius river to prevent the crossing, and all but ^B handed me over to the enemy with your own hand. For you drove me to such necessity that, had not God from above extended His hand for the crossing of the river, we would all have perished ingloriously, surrounded by Romans and barbarians alike. Such was the precision with which you kept your oaths, and these were written only a short time before! Nor were you satisfied with plotting in secret alone, but, yielding to the boasts and fabrications of Apocauchus, and having received money from him, as was rumored, you openly declared me an enemy, whom in your oaths you swore you would hold as an ally and friend for life. Not even you yourself, I think, would claim that this was acting in good faith. You sent me letters openly renouncing peace and alliance, and declaring an undeclared war—which even now, preserved until today ^C by me, one may see. From that time on, you ceased not to attack me both with manifest arms and secret plots. For when I returned to Didymoteichon with Amurius—after he had sailed back to Asia, in order to fulfill the promises made to Apocauchus—you led the flower of your army against me, and advanced as far as Mygdonia, openly coming against me. But when Persian infantry encountered you—whose ships the Latin triremes had burned—and your army, which you were sending against them, had been severely mauled by them, you yourself, struck by the unexpected event, retreated into your own province. And as for Manuel the Despot, my son, whom I had left as governor of Berrhoea and the other little towns, you openly besieged him, nor did you fail to corrupt the citizens with money, until you expelled him—hateful to them—to Thessaly. You for your part occupied the city, and also besieged Pherae for a long time; and when I ^D besought you and reminded you of your oath—since, distracted by the civil war, I was unable to come to those cities—you consigned my words to be torn by the winds: and, pressing them with want and ceaseless siege, you finally induced the leading citizens there to shift sides by means of money, and drew the city to yourself. And subsequently, with a great number of cavalry and infantry, you invaded the Roman provinces of Thessaly and Acarnania, and brought upon them that memorable calamity, so that the Acarnanians, because of the intolerable famine, were forced toward the maritime...

^A regions, and to surrender themselves to the barbarian slave-traders as an effortless gain, and to beg to be carried off to another land to serve as slaves for life rather than perish immediately of hunger. Later, when my cousin Angelos, whom I had sent to govern those provinces, had died, you seized the provinces for yourself, and in addition to these, many other cities of Macedonia that were under the Roman Empire, at a time when we were at peace with one another. Whether these are the acts of someone who loves, keeps sacred his oaths, and hates inexhaustible greed and rapine, or quite the opposite, let others judge.

We are far removed from such vices. Indeed, when Amurius came to my aid with twenty-four thousand barbarians, who were capable of shaking and destroying your entire principality, I took the most diligent care that your province should suffer no harm—although I had an honorable pretext for war, given your previous treacheries, the fact that you openly declared yourself an enemy by your actions, and that by these letters which you sent to me you were rescinding the peace and the oath, ^B and the barbarians were continually demanding this of me. Yet I considered it highly absurd and unbecoming of my person, due to your petty and abject spirit, and your inconstancy in honorable matters, to appear ungrateful to friends and faithless, if, to one who had previously bestowed such great benefits upon me, I returned nothing, but instead, because of certain tolerable faults, held him for the rest of my life as an enemy. After that time, even though I could have taken vengeance many times, I did not wish to; rather, having sent envoys, even before the capture of Byzantium, I begged you at last to follow the duty of a friend and not violate your oaths. But you did not care what law and justice demanded; you attempted to circumvent me with deceptive and captious speeches. I, although I knew all this most clearly, did not immediately take up arms against you, but strove always to ensure that I would not be thought to have rushed into making war upon you through some sort of timidity. ^C But when I perceived that my labor was in vain, and that my hesitation was taken not as greatness of soul and fairness, but as a neglect of civic duty and almost as betrayal, not even then did I rush into your province, but I strove to recover the cities that had been taken away, for which you accuse me of avarice and injustice—doing such a thing as the proverb says: thieves accusing others in addition! And you reproach me for greed, as if I justly envied you a smaller part, when I myself hold the greater part of the Roman Empire. But, my good man, you would find it difficult to prove that this is just and honorable. For we did not divide the kingdom of the Mysians or of some others, which belonged to neither of us; but since you have torn away no small portion of the Roman Empire, of which the right and authority are mine, you still demand that I give you thanks for the remainder. ^D As for me, it is unnecessary to teach that I ruled over the Romans even before this state which I now bear, since that is most well-known to all. But even if, having lived in darkness before, I had suddenly emerged as emperor, yet thus, in the likeness of the preceding emperors,

[The English translation begins, seamlessly following from the previous page:]

^A acting somewhat like the proverb, he says one should accuse the thieves; and just as if you were putting forward something rightful, you reproach me for greed, because, while I myself hold the greater part of the Roman Empire, I am unwilling to cede to you the lesser part. This, my excellent friend, does not even deserve a moment’s consideration as to whether it is seemly and just. For we did not divide between us the lordship of the Mysians or the Paeonians or of some other people, nor did it belong to anyone else; but having stripped away a not insignificant portion of the Roman hegemony that belongs to me, you deem yourself worthy of thanks for what remains. That I, even before coming into this state of affairs, ruled the Romans, there is no need to demonstrate, as all know it most clearly. But even if, living in great obscurity beforehand, I was suddenly seen as Roman Emperor, I would have considered it just, by all who had reigned before, to hold the power as a kind of paternal inheritance, and it would have been just for anyone to contend, not only concerning so many things which you yourself have deprived me of, but even over lesser things and minor matters, and to stir up war, if he were unwilling to perform what is just. But I have not only this claim of right, but also the oaths which you yourself made to me, even though I did not yet hold the entire Roman Empire. For it is absurd [to think] that then—lacking the surrounding catastrophes, the great hatred of the Romans toward me, or the fact that I looked to your aid so that I might become master of others, or any other of the difficulties then visible—I would have been persuaded to cede Roman cities to you, preferring rather to die than to admit anything unworthy, and [absurd to think] that I would have urged you to decree that the Roman cities were owed to me; whereas now, when I have the entire empire in my hand and am of such power that I can recover what was taken away, I would be of such a submissive and servile mind as to leave you the cities willingly, or to think that you, in requesting this, are speaking in accordance with reason. Therefore, I believe it is evident to all from what has been said that I have been neither unjust nor perjured, neither before nor now. If, then, even if not before, at least now you wish yourself to do what is just, and to restore ^B Acarnania, and Thessaly, and the other cities of Macedonia which you hold, I shall make but little account of past injustices, compensating for them by the friendship and honor you showed me when I was in need, and by renewing our former treaties and oaths, I shall again have you as an ally and friend, and I shall try to show myself once again from the beginning worthy of your honor and zeal. But if, on the other hand, you intend to do nothing that is just, but have decided to commit injustice and perjury once for all, I for my part shall cede nothing of what belongs to the Roman Empire; but I call God to witness—the overseer of deeds—and men, who were present then when the oaths were sworn and are present now, while I call for justice and desire to desist from war; God, I say, and men I call to witness, that unless I obtain my rights, I shall attempt with arms both to preserve what I hold and to recover the authority that was taken away. And if any difficulties should occur due to the war, do not blame me, but yourself, for those things that happen, since you are unwilling to allow me to remain bound by my oaths.

Such things, then, did the Emperor Kantakouzenos [say] regarding that which ^C

CAPUT XXI.

^A Since he could oppose nothing to this (for the consciousness of his injuries and treachery goaded him), he was silent for a while. Then he requested of the Emperor that they might withdraw and discuss their controversy without witnesses. He agreed, and they withdrew. There Crales confessed that he had not held his faith very sacred, and that he had occupied the cities of the Romans contrary to the treaty; yet he was not inclined to give them back, but begged that the Emperor might call to mind the benefits conferred upon him, and grant him this favor: that they might conclude a peace on these terms, that each retain what he currently possessed. But since the Emperor would not yield even the slightest portion, they parted without an agreement. Crales returned to the camp, and the Emperor to the city, having promised to meet again the next day. On the following day, having met, they spoke of the same matters; and neither would the Emperor yield regarding the occupied cities, nor would Crales suffer himself to withdraw from them—though Crales did say that he was held in such awe of the Emperor that if he ever chanced to see him in a dream, he would immediately wake up, and before he could fall asleep, he would pass the night in sleepless anxiety if he considered how he ought to make war, so reduced was he to straits by fear. ^B Nor did he hide this infirmity from outsiders, but openly told both the Triballians and the Romans who were with him that in all his previous life he had never feared or dreaded any mortal as he feared Cantacuzenus. And in that interview, when the Emperor asked why he had submitted to such disgrace by enrolling himself among the senators of Venice, while having a greater and more illustrious empire than they, he replied that he had been driven to do so by fear of him; and he added that it was no wonder that he had lowered himself to such a point, but rather a wonder that he had not dared something viler and more contemptible. Yet, although he suffered from such fear and was not ashamed to confess it openly, he nevertheless refused to restore the cities; and he asked that they might strike a treaty, content only with Berrhoea, and Edessa, and the other forts and small towns that had defected to him. He swore and affirmed that he did not hold onto the cities out of greed, but out of shame—a shame which he would instill not only into his own kin but also into other dynasts everywhere, if he seemed so smitten ^C and dejected by fear of the Emperor as to surrender without a fight so many cities, which he had possessed for so long, and for the sake of which he had endured so many toils and dangers with his army, having spent vast sums of money. The Emperor, seeing the man's obstinacy, said: "That my sincerity toward you, and that I have never allowed any duty of a friend to be missed by me, the past, and most especially the present time, can be sufficient witness. Because it pleases you to do nothing that is just and honorable, I must necessarily turn to arms, imitating wild beasts, which, when attacked by the javelins of hunters and driven through the forests, at first flee, and as much as they are able, avoid a contest with men, but when reduced to necessity and already close to danger, they turn; and while they defend their own lives most vehemently, they spare their own lives in no way. The same, indeed, I shall now do." Nothing c, C

^A less did I desire than to pursue you with war; but rather, as was equitable, to have you as a friend and ally, and to return the greatest thanks I could for the benefits you had previously rendered. Since, however, you have determined to do nothing upright or virtuous, nor to withdraw from the cities which you hold in unholy possession, it is necessary for me also to undertake what I feel to be for the good of the Roman state, and to shake off the yoke which the Triballi have impiously laid upon the necks of those people. But now, since the levies I have prepared are not yet present, I shall return to Byzantium, and having spent the winter in preparation, in the early spring I shall move against you with as great an army and as large an outfit as I can, with the intention that I shall either fall in battle, or else, beyond the liberty restored to the Romans by my efforts, I shall subject you and your people to slaughter and servitude. And since you know that I speak the truth, prepare yourself to resist and to do battle for the whole issue. ^B Crales, hearing the Emperor speak so gravely and seriously of war, and seeing that his resolve was immovable, became quite terrified and begged the Emperor not to be so fired with anger to start a war, but rather to find some way out of these evils, whereby the war might be ended, and he himself might not be entirely deprived of the fruits of the labors and dangers which he had endured in acquiring the cities. He submitted everything to the Emperor, and agreed to accept whatever he might judge to be better and more beneficial to both parties. The Emperor, seeing that to possess everything without toil was impossible, and that it was folly not to consent to peace if only a few things were relinquished, but rather to risk the whole, especially while the future was uncertain and the war could admit of many changes in the interim, and furthermore, considering that he would be bringing in barbarians—who, even when they seem to be allies, greatly injure the Romans—and also caring for the future ruin, ^C slaughter, and enslavement of the Triballi (of which he was solicitous, although they were enemies, as he was a worshiper of God), spoke to Crales, saying that truth, and justice, and what any good judge would approve by his own calculation, was nothing other than for him to relinquish the cities bound by oath to the Romans. But because he saw that he was so greatly caught up in the cities, and believed he would lose no small part of his life if he were stripped of them, he would indeed be doing a wrong to the Romans; yet, dividing the cities as he saw fit, and ceding as many as he wished, if it should seem good to him and he would be persuaded by his judgment, he might establish peace and a truce on these terms; but if he did not wish to, it would be permitted him again to make war, holding them all. And forthwith he assigned to the Romans Acarnania and Thessaly, Servia, and the towns situated within these toward the sea, and Berrhoea with Edessa, Gynae- ^D castrum, and Mygdonia, with the restored towns and the villages around the Strymon, as far as the borders of Pherae and the mountains called the Tantessani. Zichna, Pherae, Melenicus, Strombitza, Castorium, and other villages and small Macedonian towns which were outside the said mountains, he desired Crales to retain, and upon these terms a treaty, a societ-

and to abstain from mutual injuries. Thus the emperor distributed the cities; a distribution which pleased Kral, and so an agreement was reached between them, and peace made to the joy of both the Triballi and the Romans. ^A And in that same place the emperor invited Kral and his retinue to a magnificent banquet, at which the younger emperor was present, sharing in that munificence and gaining glory with his father-in-law.

CHAPTER XXII

Agreement on choosing nobles to hand over and receive the cities in the name of each. Kral is seduced, renounces the treaty, and excites his people against Cantacuzenos. Armies are led out on both sides. Neither begins the battle; each makes excuses. The emperor, about to go to Byzantium, warns the younger emperor to beware of Kral, who takes Edessa by treachery. The governor of Lysicus is punished and dies on the way; Edessa is destroyed and the greater part of the inhabitants are turned out naked. On the incursion of the barbarians. The emperor clears himself before the king of the Mysians. Council on keeping the barbarians away from Thrace and Mysia. A portent by which Alexander is confirmed against Kral. The emperor clears the naval force. The Mysian breaks his word. The emperor attempts to bring him back to his duty in vain.

^B After the banquet they agreed that on the following day the emperor should choose five Roman nobles to whom he would entrust the receiving of the cities; and that Kral should provide as many of his own men to hand them over. When this was settled and greetings were exchanged, the one withdrew to the camp and the others to the city. But when night came, some of those in the suite of the emperors came secretly to Kral and advised him not to hand over the cities, but rather to choose war against the emperor Cantacuzenos, claiming that he would be able to do little or no harm, as at present he did not have a force worthy of battle. ^C They argued that if he returned to Byzantium to make preparations there, they would persuade the emperor Palaiologos to enter into an agreement with him on the most favorable terms possible, and together they would take up war against Cantacuzenos. They asserted that it seemed intolerable to them that the man who had cast out the legitimate heir of the empire from his inheritance should rule. Kral was immediately drunk with joy and gave many thanks to those who had brought him the message, promising readily that he would fight alongside the emperor Palaiologos against the emperor his father-in-law, and that he would show him every zeal and goodwill. As soon as it was dawn and day had come, he sent to the emperor and renounced the peace made on the terms previously spoken of. He said that if the emperor wished to keep only the cities recently captured—or, better yet, return some of those as well—he would thereby persuade himself to abstain from war; but if he did not wish to do this, let him prepare himself and come out for battle, for he would fight with all his might. The emperor made light of Kral's words, for he knew that he could force him to comply. ^D However, he was greatly vexed at the Romans who were plotting these things; for he did not fail to perceive whence this change arose, and he despaired of the correction of affairs, thinking such things to be the prelude to civil wars and great seditions again. Yet, even though he was so affected, he announced that he would go out to fight on the next day. Kral, on the other hand, prepared himself and encouraged his men, saying that Cantacuzenos was not to be feared so long as he was being attacked by his own people, but that they should look forward with certainty to victory, and that they would retain the cities they had taken from the Romans. For, he said, he was like a man drowning in the waters, whom his own

^A attendants, if he ever were able to rise to the surface, press down to submerge him again, and allow him to be of no use either to himself or to them. But if he were ever to be delivered from his domestic difficulties, then, he said, everyone would yield everything to him, and he would take great care to have him as a friend. For, he said, to oppose him in war, if he were delivered from his domestic troubles, he considered to be neither to his own advantage nor to that of his people. Thus, Krales, trusting not so much in his own strength as in the dissensions and divisions of the Romans, once again rushed to war, and the next day at dawn, having drawn up his army in phalanxes, he marched out from the camp towards Thessalonica. The emperor likewise led out his infantry and cavalry forces and drew them up in opposition. Neither, however, attempted to begin the battle, but for a long time the armies stood still, facing one another. ^B Krales finally sent word to the emperor that either a peace should be arranged, if he wished to retain what each of them held, or battle should be initiated without delay. The emperor ordered the reply that he preferred the agreements of the previous day and would rather have him as a friend than an enemy, if he would restore the cities. But if he preferred war, he should advance a little and give the signal for battle; for in that case, he himself would not be the author of the conflict, but would fight vigorously as a defender of his own, calling God and men to witness that he was not committing an injustice, but rather being wronged, nor was he breaking his oath or wishing to be base toward a friend, but was repelling by necessity that which he himself did not desire. But if he moved first, and the emperor himself did not advance against him, he should count the victory as his own, as if he himself had fled the battle. When Krales heard the emperor’s words, he sent another message, stating that he too did not desire the battle; and if it appeared that he was moving his phalanxes after a short while, he should not think that it was an attack, but rather that the movement was a withdrawal to the camp. Such were the words of Krales; and after a short time, having turned back, he camped at his base for the night. The emperor likewise returned into the city with his army. On the following day, Krales crossed over the ^C Axios, plundered the regions around Edessa, and, having encircled the city, besieged it. When the emperor saw that he would no longer remain in Thessalonica, since there was nothing more of note to be done, he prepared to sail to Byzantium. As he was about to depart, he earnestly exhorted the young emperor not to trust Krales. For he knew that he was even then attempting to stir up the conflict between the Romans once more, so that he could keep the cities while they were preoccupied with one another, and he advised him to guard against his plots; for these were not minor matters, but concerned the empire itself, from which calamity would redound not only upon him, but upon other Romans as well. Even though he might say otherwise than is the case and might lie, promising that he would himself diligently help him to recover his paternal empire from the usurper and take vengeance for him, yet it was doubtful whether he would not only fail to restore the empire, as he promised, but would also prepare traps for his very life. He should place no trust in these words of his, and be certain that all these things were craftily devised so that he might instead securely devour what remained of the ^D empire. If, ignoring these admonitions, he were to trust Krales, then he would come to know how much harm he had done, when neither for himself nor for others would any fruit remain

Nor, indeed, did it profit the first-created beings, when they had been cast out of paradise, to know that they had been deceived by the serpent. ^A Having offered these and many other admonitions, and having taken his leave, he departed, leaving behind Andronikos Asan, the father-in-law, with the younger emperor. A little while after his departure from Thessalonica, Krales—aided by certain traitors from within the city—captured Edessa and destroyed it after its capture. He had reached an agreement with them, according to which, once they had prepared ladders and given the sign from the walls, he would approach. Then, they, the defenders who fought from within, would ensure security so that the city might be captured all the more easily. The affair was managed according to the pact. For when they were attacking the walls and the traitors gave the signal from them, Krales moved up the ladders; the soldiers ascended without opposition, and, immediately rushing in, broke them down to such an extent (for they were not high) that they made them passable for horses.

Lyzikos, the governor of the city, seeing the city being betrayed, went out with the garrison to oppose them, but realizing, now that the walls had been leveled, that his efforts were in vain, he retreated in haste to the citadel. Similarly, the commanders from Byzantium—who had been left by the emperor in the garrison—when they perceived that the city had been captured, they too fled for refuge to the citadel. Krales, having gained possession of the city, rushed against them while they were still trembling from the flight. ^B When they defended themselves from the tower (for the citadel was not yet well-repaired) and Lyzikos was wounded in the thigh, the garrison suddenly surrendered their arms, having received pledges that they would suffer no harm. But when the citadel also came into his power, Krales, as he had sworn, released the garrison and the governor, Makrodukas, having only stripped them of their arms. But he ordered that Lyzikos’s beard be plucked out in his presence, not only because he had resisted at that time, but also because, while Emperor Andronikos was still alive at Kastoria, he had been the author of great calamities for him. Then he ordered that he be bound and taken to Skopia, to pay the penalties for his audacity there. But he, due to the neglect of his wound and his other misfortunes, died while being led away. Krales abandoned the city to the soldiers ^C to be plundered, burned, and destroyed. The greatest and most noble part of the inhabitants, in the height of winter—in the month of January, as it happened—was expelled naked and scattered through Berrhoea and other cities. The most destitute of all, who had fled to the abandoned houses, were left behind there. Krales, with winter raging, having placed a garrison in the citadel, returned home. Rumor spread that very many soldiers and pack animals had died in the camps from the severity of the cold.

The emperor, having returned to Byzantium, inquired about Alexander, the king of the Mysians; for he was experiencing extraordinary distress on his account, because the Persians had made an unexpected incursion into his kingdom and had inflicted a most grievous disaster upon him. For a suspicion had seized Alexander that the barbarians had not invaded of their own impulse, but at the instigation of the emperor; this matter tormented him most vehemently, because although he had provided him with no pretext for plotting hostilities, he was nevertheless being harassed by him in contempt of their treaty. Therefore, having sent an embassy, he replied, first concerning the incursion of the barbarians, that it had not been done by his own will, but that they, being powerful in their own right, followed their own desires. ^D Yet he did not for that reason, on account of their...

^A greed and covetousness of others’ property, desist from helping one another as much as they could, and from restraining the barbarians, which they could easily do if they were in agreement. For if Kral had been willing to restore the plundered cities and to maintain justice as he had sworn, he would not have needed the alliance of the barbarians, whom he hated intensely; but he was compelled to use them, both to protect his present possessions and, if possible, to recover what had been seized. Against Kral, therefore, he would act in accordance with what seemed most advantageous; but as for the counsel he gave [to Alexander], it was that he should join his forces with his own to prevent the barbarians from crossing into Thrace without fear and at their own pleasure. This could be done if money were provided for the equipment of the triremes: for while his own naval forces were not lacking, the funds to provide for their maintenance were, but if he were to contribute as much as he could according to his means, the triremes would be brought into the Hellespont, and by sailing along the coasts, they would not allow the barbarians to cross or to harm the mainland. In this way it would be possible to escape the ravages of those people. But if Kral were not ^B willing to do what is right by both of them—for he knew that he himself had also been seriously injured by him—and if the power at hand should not suffice to compel him to do what was necessary, then they would use the barbarians themselves, bringing over as great a multitude as they might wish and, as they were not numerous, attacking them fearlessly to destroy them. Such was the substance of the Emperor's embassy. The King thought the Emperor’s advice was advantageous, and he agreed to the plan. Moreover, a certain event occurred that spurred him on further toward the task. For at a public festival being celebrated in Trinovus ^C for the people, and a great crowd having gathered from elsewhere, as the Emperor's envoys were passing through them, all acclaimed them in their own languages, saying that Cantacuzenus ought to be gratified in all things, and that peace should be made with him by all means, lest, if he were provoked to war, they themselves should perish by the swords of the barbarians, and they prayed that their wishes might be granted. When Alexander asked the envoys if they understood what was being said, and they replied that they did not, he had it interpreted to them in Greek, and he considered the people's request a very great omen that the matter would go well for them; which, furthermore, without being asked by anyone, he had persuaded himself was expedient, and he himself having immediately voted in favor of the requests, he dismissed the envoys. The Emperor, learning that Alexander had lent a sympathetic ear to his exhortation and was willing to contribute money for the equipment, was remarkably pleased, thinking that he could restrain the barbarians from raiding and devastating the Romans and the Moesians, and he resolved to prepare for a naval expedition to drive out the barbarians; and the naval shipyard in Heptascalon, which for many years had been filled with ^D mud so that it could not conveniently receive a merchant ship with its cargo, he cleared out that year. He was able to complete this great work, most useful to the city, with much labor and great expense, and with success. However, the winds snatched away the Moesians’ promises: for not long after, through their envoys, regarding the money to be contributed...

bor and great expense, and with success. However, the winds snatched away the Moesians’ promises: for not long after, through their envoys, regarding the money to be contributed, he reneged. For he said that Cral ^A, having learned of the matter, blamed him severely for having voluntarily agreed to pay tribute to the Romans, and for having allowed himself to be persuaded by deceit to give that which the Emperor Cantacuzenus could not obtain by force of arms. For this reason, he said, he could not fulfill his promises without bringing shame upon himself and his people. The Emperor, not a little indignant at this, attempted to teach him how much more profitable his [the Emperor’s] advice would be than Cral’s; for that man, being envious and insidious, always strives to disrupt those things which would be most advantageous to Alexander himself and his people. For he explained that Alexander was not paying tribute, as the other fraudulently invented, but was employing the money for necessities of the empire, except for what he paid out for the wages of his own soldiers, which he called tribute. But nothing had enough force to persuade Alexander. The Emperor, predicting to him the imminent slaughter by the barbarians, and testifying that he would then be struck with repentance for this madness, when repentance would be of no profit, ceased his exhortation. All of which happened shortly thereafter.

CHAPTER XXIII

After this, the Emperor, seeing a terrible confusion and disorder aroused in the Church, and that those who had embraced the heresies of Barlaam and Acindyrus had separated from the communion of the rest, and that many had been seduced by them, and that they were accusing the Church of perverse dogmas and demanding a trial, acting tumultuously every day and requesting to be called to account; and seeing that Callistus the ^C Patriarch, and other bishops, and the leaders of the monks—insofar as they held opinions contrary to those seditious men and schismatics—were likewise praying that a synod be gathered and the dogmas be examined, deemed it just not to disregard these things, but as much as he could, to consult for the peace of the Church; he permitted the synod to be held, and summoned by letters not only other bishops, but also Gregory Palamas of Thessalonica. Although from the very beginning, after the tides of war ^D

^A had subsided and he was in full control of the entire Roman empire, he considered it as necessary to settle ecclesiastical disputes and controversies as it was to settle civil ones. Gregory Acindynus, who was still alive—he who, along with Barlaam, was the author and patron of this schism—he summoned not just once, but frequently, and commanded him to openly accuse his opponents if he had any charges to bring. For the emperor wished, above all, to know the truth when the parties came together for debate, as it would become evident from their mutual arguments. Acindynus himself, indeed, did not dare to speak freely, but persuaded others of his own sort to go to the emperor and act as a nuisance, ^B claiming, as if they were wronged, that they were being falsely accused of corrupting the correct dogmas, when in fact those who were associated with Palamas were such people and deserved to be proscribed. Wherefore the emperor granted Acindynus greater freedom, urging him not to hide himself or stir up controversies through others, but to stand against his adversaries openly and by himself, so that he might either win—if he appeared to be cultivating piety more correctly—or, if defeated, be corrected; and not to act shamelessly by reproaching others for deviation from the truth when he himself was committing the same offense. Acindynus, upon hearing the emperor’s words, said he desired to respond to his adversaries openly, but feared that if he appeared in public, he would be held to account for those things in which, by supporting Patriarch John during the time of the war, he had offended the emperor. The emperor immediately issued an edict ^C so that Acindynus, fearing nothing harsh, might express without dread the dogmas he deemed true. Nevertheless, he, even with such freedom granted, continued to hide himself and live in obscurity until his death. After the man’s death, those who were of his sect took up the discord—joined by the prelate of the Ephesians and others who were indignant that they had missed out on the patriarchal throne they had hoped for, even though they had from the beginning condemned Barlaam, and later had fiercely set themselves against Patriarch John and Acindynus, and had by every vote deposed the latter from his office—for no other reason than that he had upheld the doctrines of Barlaam and Acindynus. They then stirred up trouble and accused the Church of both thinking honorably and teaching others regarding the dogmas of the faith things which the theologians had not handed down. For this reason, the emperor ^D decided that a synod must be convened to bring the dogmas into examination. When the leaders of the Churches from every side had arrived and both parties were present in the palace known as that of the Blachernae, and Emperor Cantacuzenus was in attendance, along with the most illustrious of the Roman nobility, they spent four days in the examination of the disputed points. It would be superfluous to recount here exactly what contentions occurred there between Palamas, the bishop of Thessalonian (for with him the struggle was primarily concerned), and the Acindynites (whose leaders and first-ranking men were the metropolitans of Ephesus and Aenus, as well as Gregory and Dexius). If it interests anyone to know those things, he may read the volume written on this matter, and that which refutes each point individually; it is more than sufficient for all.

^A were turned and they disputed with each other—especially Palamas, for the argument was primarily directed at him—and those who had chosen the side of Acindynus, of whom the leaders were the metropolitans of Ephesus and Ganos, along with Gregoras and Dexios, it is not necessary to recount these details. For if one is eager to learn such things, it is sufficient to consult the written Tome regarding these matters, where everything is detailed in parts, and one will know everything accurately. We considered it necessary to include only this in our history: that those who had chosen the doctrines of Acindynus were caught in the very act, holding the same views as Barlaam regarding the dogmas of the Church. For this reason, the synod judged that the bishops of Ephesus and Ganos should be deposed. As for Barlaam and ^B Acindynus, it explicitly decreed their separation from the rest of the body of the Church, as members infected with an incurable disease and incapable of any correction after their death. Regarding the others, it was decreed that if anyone, having repented, should agree to the sound dogmas of the Church, the Church ought to receive them and care for them as legitimate members, without any reproach or castigation for their previous actions. But whoever should remain obstinate to his last breath was to be punished with the same penalties as Barlaam and Acindynus. In accordance with this, a third tome was added to the two previous ones. For that tome, written after the abdication of Patriarch John (to which the Patriarch of Jerusalem also subscribed), exposes the wicked impiety of Barlaam and Acindynus and the corruption of their degenerate dogmas (for which reason Patriarch John himself was also deposed from his seat, as he ^C evidently held the same views as Barlaam). This third tome, which was the first drawn up after the judgment of the younger Emperor Andronicus, at the time when Patriarch John himself was the president of the synod and even signed it with his own hand, not only condemns Barlaam and Acindynus as unjust accusers of the monks, but also declares that if any other person should be found accusing the monks of things uttered or written blasphemously and heretically by Barlaam—or rather, against the Church herself—or should criticize the monks in such matters at all, he is condemned by our mediocrity to the same penalty and shall likewise be cast out and severed from the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ and from the orthodox system of Christians. Thus, the third tome followed the two preceding ones and pronounced the same judgments against those who had chosen the ^D path of Barlaam and Acindynus; and Patriarch Callistus, along with the other bishops, subscribed to it, as did before them the Emperor Cantacuzenus, and subsequently the younger Emperor John Palaeologus, who, being in harmony with the Church, also signed it in red ink. When the discussion of the dogmas was completely finished and the tome was already perfectly complete, while Patriarch Callistus was performing the divine liturgy in the temple of Holy Wisdom with the rest of the bishops, Emperor Cantacuzenus, adorned in full imperial regalia, entered the inner sanctuary and handed the tome to the patriarch and the rest of the order of bishops. Afterward, the disciples of Barlaam and Acindynus were ordered by the emperor and the patriarch to neither speak nor write anything about these dogmas, so that they might not pervert more sincere souls with their fallacies. Some of them obeyed and remained quiet, but others could not hold their tongues and continued, both by word and writing, to corrupt more people; wherefore they were punished by the emperor with imprisonment, which they endured for a time. The more prominent among them were kept in their own homes, lest they should engage in conversation with others.

and to the rest of the Church of the high priests, gave the tome. After this, those who had chosen the way of Barlaam and Akindynos, were ordered by the Emperor and the Patriarch Kallistos to say nothing and write nothing concerning matters of dogma, so that they might not corrupt and deceive the more innocent. Some of them complied and kept silent. But to others, silence was not enough; rather, even while conversing and writing, they corrupted many. For this reason, they were condemned by the Emperor to imprisonment, and they resided there for a time. Those among them who were more prominent were restrained in their own homes from having discussions with anyone; and thus, through fear, they ceased their wrongdoing. If any of them, even after their freedom to interact with all had been taken away, wrote to some or held discussions about the dogmas, they did so in secret, exercising great caution to remain undetected. ^B CHAPTER XXIV.¶ Nicephorus Gregoras, seditious and inimical to the Byzantine Church. Access to him is forbidden. He writes contumeliously against the Emperor and the Church. He also attacks the monks as gluttons and heretics, whom the Emperor defends. The fable of Atlantis applied to the holy monks. He pleads his own cause against a liar, concerning his journey to the monks on Mount Athos. Why he returned from there, and in what manner he undertook his enterprise. Concerning his association with Barlaam, and his diligence in securing ecclesiastical peace. At the end, he testifies that heresy was falsely attributed to him.

Now Nicephorus Gregoras ceased neither before nor after; but first, he wrote to his associates in Trebizond, accusing the Byzantine Church of deserting the correct dogmas, and boldly instructing them to withdraw from it as from something diseased. Then, to his friends in Cyprus—most of all to a certain George Lapithas, to whom he complained not only of the Church in general, but also individually of those in authority—he never wrote anything sound. Instead, he would deliberately fabricate falsehoods and slanders, accusing [the Church] of things that neither existed nor had even been spoken of regarding the dogmas. But when such bold outrages could no longer remain hidden, and it seemed a grievous matter to the Emperor and the Patriarch that he was a cause of equal destruction not only to himself but also to many others, they ordered the monks in the monastery called after the Uncontainable Place of the Savior Christ (for Gregoras had also lived among them for a long time) to allow no one to visit him, and to prevent him as much as possible from sending letters abroad and deceiving many by his frauds. When he was prevented from acting according to his own will, he raged no less against the Emperor than against the Church, and wrote against both. And against the Church, he set forth a censure of the tome produced at the Third Synod concerning the dispute between Akindynos and Palamas, always promising great things and [claiming] he would expose the tome as lying and containing things contrary to the decrees of the holy Fathers; yet he was never able to fulfill any of his promises. ^C For whenever he arrives at the very point of the proofs concerning the question at hand, as if forgetting what was in hand, he is led away to other irrelevant matters, or to the insults and slanders of certain persons—for these are most dear to him in every writing—or to some completely irrelevant tales; and he raves senselessly, quibbling in vain and uttering nothing pertinent. Against the Emperor, since he could not attack him to his face, he took the war between the Palaiologan emperors against one another as the subject of his discourse, and, partly through ignorance of the facts, partly ^D

^A by corrupting the truth for favor, and by lying as if in a fable throughout his entire account, he then proceeded in order to the war which was stirred up against Cantacuzenus in our memory. ^B He attributes to him many other crimes: enslavements, murders, slaughters, looting, and all the disasters that befell the Romans during that time of war, asserting that because of his love of power and his desire for imperial status, he had no regard for those evils. ^C But the point he attacks most sharply, and on which he dwells the longest, is this: that while Emperor Andronicus was still alive, he was so exceedingly desirous of the Roman empire, and, being unable to obtain it, he went to the monks on Mount Athos, who were judged to be holy men and inspired by God to foresee the future, in order to inquire about what was to come and whether the Roman empire would come to him. ^D Then, turning to the monks, he makes many dire accusations, speaking of them not only as Massalians and as corrupted in their orthodox dogmas, but also as unrestrained in drinking and drunkenness: "For they eat more than swine," he says, "and drink more than elephants." And when they have slept off their great drunkenness, they claim to know the mysteries of God and issue prophecies. And he has accused them of other things, from which every person except himself would have abstained. Then, having narrated the events regarding the war most mendaciously, and having arrived at the point where he was to set forth the dissension concerning the Church, he teaches how the Emperor offends the orthodox faith and subverts the ancestral dogmas. For which reason he does not think the judgment passed by him is worthy of approval, as one who clings to Palamas and has chosen the same perversion in dogmas.

When Emperor Cantacuzenus read these things—for they came into his hands—he said he would not speak a word regarding that volume of accusation, since he could defend himself most effectively. For if both his rectitude and his truth are demonstrated from this, because he speaks in accordance with the holy theologians and with the constitutions regarding the orthodox faith previously set forth by divine councils, and if he always strives for this and diligently attends to this matter, no other proof would be needed on his behalf, as that which it provides is sufficient. Indeed, the accuser himself might be a suitable witness, who in his other writings most freely censures the corrupted dogmas of Barlaam, when, lamenting the death of the younger Andronicus, among other eulogies he says: "Holy leaders of the Church, seek out the fervent zealot and assistant of the dogmas; you who dwell in mountains and caves, seek the bulwark and defender of your glory and honor. Leaders of the divine monastic retreats, [seek] the acropolis of your strength. Remember the final struggles on your behalf."

how he, his body already totally enfeebled by ^A wounds of war and the cauteries of physicians, and tending toward death, disregarded his own body and spared not his life, but eagerly came to the tribunal and the prelates; nor did he leave until he had ground down your tormentors and their depraved dogmas and the shipwrecks introduced into the Church, and delivered them into the lowest depths and waves of destruction and ruin. Such was also his opinion regarding dogmas, before he was perverted. For it cannot be said that the dogmas which in his own judgment the emperor condemned as the corruption and destruction of truth were one thing, and that the others, which were overthrown during my time away from the Church (against which [dogmas] it is ^B amazing how much zeal he employed), were another; rather, they were entirely the same. Likewise, he also lies regarding the holy ones on Mount Athos, whom he accuses of drunkenness and the vice of gluttony, when their life and morals plainly reveal their virtue and union with God, shining brighter than any light. For they were always as far from drunkenness and debauchery as their accuser is from the truth. The Greeks, indeed, tell in their myths that a certain Atlas, one of the gods expelled with Saturn, was ^C punished with this penalty by the leaders: that he should hold up the pillars of the earth, and so be crushed by the weight of such a burden. But I would say, with the truth itself as my witness, that these men were granted this honor by God, because of their great philosophy, so that by their prayers they might appease the Divine, and support and sustain the orb of the earth. But that I, while Emperor Andronicus was still alive, went to them and asked them to prophesy to me about the Roman Empire—whether it would come to me—he lies openly; and the most certain proof that he lies in this very matter is the fact that he was accustomed to lie so many times in other matters as well. In the first place, Empress Anna, who was conscious of all these things alongside me, bears witness to the truth. ^D For she moved me no less than the Emperor did, so that I might defer my plans to another time. I did not—as that liar says—go to the monks on Mount Athos at that time in order to extract future events from their predictions; but, before all else, so that I might commend the health of the Emperor—than which I had nothing better or more precious in my life—to their vows and prayers; further, that I might obtain their supplications on my behalf, since I was fearful of the punishments for my transgressions, which I would have to pay after death because I had so often offended God. As these things weighed on my mind, after a satiety of human glory, happiness, and delights, I was thinking of withdrawing from the tumults and [devoting] myself to some monastery.

And the monastery of Vatopedi seemed preferable; I immediately commanded the monks there, providing the expenses, to build dwellings for me, which exist even to this day, as a clear proof of the truth about the position I was taking. The reason, however, that I did not remain there at that time and take up the habit of monks, but rather returned to the emperor and the tumult of affairs, was neither a love for the world, nor any sluggishness regarding honorable ^B things, but the emperor himself, who was strangely attached to me, and did not think his own life worth living if separated from me. For when he learned the reason that drew me to Athos and the desire for the philosophy of life [there], namely, to free myself from cares and the turmoils of affairs, he complained of a great lack of affection on my part, saying that while I was seeking what seemed profitable for myself, I was neglecting public concerns, and, while leaving behind such a multitude of affairs, I myself wished to withdraw and enjoy tranquility. He was indignant, and called the matter an injustice, and a violation of the friendship toward him. But as I insisted that I wished to care for my soul, and claimed that nothing was more important, and showed that it was rather he who was acting unjustly if, while I wished to provide for this and prepare for myself some plausible defense at that fearful tribunal of God for the things in which I had offended Him, he himself appeared to be a hindrance, since he could not persuade me, but saw me strongly holding to my former intentions, he took the Empress as an ally. ^C Both of them together, using many words and persuasions, prevailed upon me not to do at that time what I wished. Although—for truth is a friend—I myself, even though I desired it intensely, could not be separated from the emperor on account of our most intimate relationship. However, I did not abandon that intention entirely, but at that time, however, I promised to return just as they requested. And when I had spoken to those holy men, I caused a dwelling to be built for me at Vatopedi. I returned to the emperor in Thessalonica. But my intention was, once my affairs were well arranged, to return, and to profess the same life and rules among those monks. A short while later, the emperor having finished his mortal life, since nothing else was possible, the entire administration of affairs was transferred to my shoulders, and I was detained even against my will. But when those sycophants had stirred up war and had brought me and my own into such extreme danger, not for my own sake so much as for the sake of the salvation of all, I endured becoming Emperor of the Romans, and I endured such a swarm of evils, having been warred against ferociously for such a long time. ^D For which reason Gregoras lies most impudently, in matters not only capable of being refuted, but most easily refutable. For as to his claim that I was attached to the party of Palamas, [and] passed an unjust judgment, and for that reason neither he himself—since in the dispute with judgment the same person was both judge and adversary—could...

^A be persuaded, as one who was both judge and competing in the trial against the judged, to prove himself easily lying. For I was not only ^B inclined from the beginning toward Barlaam, who initiated such a dissension, but I also had him staying as a guest in my own house, along with his brothers, and I deemed him worthy of much concern, and I held him among my closest friends; and indeed, regarding him, it was more likely that had I been "preoccupied" with a bias. For he was always with me, and he explained his own positions most accurately, and he instructed me continuously. Hence, it is not possible for anyone even to ponder that I knew what Palamas maintained regarding the things he advocated, while I was ignorant of what was said by his opponents. But if one must speak the truth, I encountered the latter persons rather before, and after the end of the war, since the entire empire of the Romans was under my control, I was so far from being inclined toward the others through lack of judgment, that I invited the Patriarch John—not once, but many times—to the trial, for he was about to be examined in these very same matters; for he was accused of the same things, and after him, again, Acindynus, since he himself, while hiding, would send others and persuade them to cause turmoil, as if they were unjustly accused by the Church of distorting dogmas, when they themselves were rather the adversaries who were corrupting them. I did not overlook this, but I ordered them to ^C proceed to examination and receive justice, and I provided assurances that they should expect no harm—for he said he was afraid that he might be imprisoned by my order. But even so, although he had received my word, he nevertheless hid himself, and he lay concealed until his death.

In the course of time, however, when Gregoras and others arose as successors to the heresy of Barlaam and Acindynus, and they disturbed the Church and appealed to the tribunal, I judged that the matter was by no means to be disregarded. But I assembled a synod of many bishops, and I summoned Gregory Palamas, the prelate of Thessalonica, to give an account regarding the things of which he was accused; although, to be sure, being a just man, I could have been content before with what had been decreed twice. For the most praiseworthy Emperor Andronicus, with the synod, had condemned not only Barlaam at that time, but also anyone who might appear later to think the same thoughts, and after this, in my absence, the Empress Anna, with the bishops, when they deposed the Patriarch John because of his wrong belief, and also those who thought or would think the same thoughts—when the majority of those who later spoke against him were themselves co-signatories, or rather the leaders of what was taking place—dealt with them. Since, therefore, as I said, I could have been content with what was decreed, I did not merely rest. For since, while I was emperor, these things were called into investigation, I had regard for justice and rendered a verdict [that was] true and just, ^D not out of hatred or for the sake of anything else. For since I did not set aside justice even regarding some small and contemptible matters of those who are in dispute, but judged truly and justly for all, much less would I have preferred anything else to the truth in a judgment of dogmas, where the matter at risk is God. But as though God himself were present and listening, after I had examined the dogmas clearly and purely, I found Palamas and his associates to be in full agreement with the holy Fathers and clearly following in their footsteps, while Gregoras and the others who opposed them were genuine adherents of the decrees of Barlaam and Acindynus.

Acindogus. ^A Indeed, it was already possible to learn from former books that their dogmas were in conflict with the truth and contrary to the piety delivered by the holy Fathers. Nevertheless, when we compared them with the teachings laid down by the doctors of the Church—as if they were canons—we saw, without any ambiguity, a clear and manifest perversion. For this reason, with all the bishops concurring, I acquitted those who were clearly of the right mind, and I passed judgment upon these others. Furthermore, as was just, I assisted the victors in every way; but for the vanquished, who had abandoned all sense of shame and would neither return to the truth nor remain peaceful—who were not content with their own destruction alone, but were dragging others into the same abyss, behaving insolently without any modesty, and displaying a degree of shamelessness beyond all measure (as has been the custom from the beginning for the enemies of the truth and the foes of the Church)—I imposed the proper penalty, or rather, a penalty far less than they deserved. For I did not make provision for them to suffer the evil they merited, but rather that they might not be able to do evil.

^B There is, I believe, a law also in other human, public, and private affairs, that a judge, before the litigants have stated their case, should condemn no one, unless he wishes to deviate from his duty. But once both parties have been heard, and victory leans toward one—as it necessarily must—he must add himself to the stronger side and compel the wrongdoer to do what is just. Yet, no one who is acting unjustly should on that account protest against the judge, nor denounce him as unjust, because he joined the side of the one who was wronged. By doing this now, Gregoras acquires a reputation not so much for lying as for madness and wickedness. ^C That he has allowed his legitimate sense of truth to be corrupted, and, having abjured his ancestral piety, has been swept away by the heretics Barlaam and Acindynus, and that—out of his own wickedness and the frustration of those things he had hoped for—he has not even spared his own soul, merely to take vengeance upon those by whom he thinks he has been harmed, no one should find surprising. For he who has not revered God himself, but because of his hatred for certain individuals has poured forth many lies against Him, would much less have been willing to refrain from [attacking] the Emperor, especially when he thought that the Emperor had caused him harm. ^D Yet, to my piety, and to my constancy in the true and ancestral religion, the whole Church—firmly established in the truth by the grace of God and diligently adhering to the apostolic traditions—will bear witness. And no less will Gregoras himself, my accuser, do so, who throughout the entire time of the war not only spoke much in my praise, but also, because of a certain benevolence toward me, was prepared to endure extreme hardship for my sake, at a time when I held the same convictions that I hold today. For I myself approved the condemnation of Barlaam, by which Emperor Andronicus struck him, and after his death, when John the Patriarch convened a synod, I again condemned Acindynus, and, with vehement indignation... [note: footnote(18) omitted]

and to suffer the ultimate things on behalf of the ^A truth, perceiving that I held the same opinions as I do now. For, in regard to the sentence pronounced by the Emperor ^B against Barlaam, I myself also gave my vote, and after his death I once again condemned Acindynus, while the Patriarch John was convening the synod, and he was not moderately indignant at the things for which Acindynus and the other monks were unjustly accusing Barlaam, while acting as his advocates.

CHAPTER XXV.

^BLater, when the writings of Gregoras came into the hands of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, he responded on his own behalf and demonstrated that Gregoras had written things that were false and incredible. Then, having summoned the most honorable and noble of the Romans with deliberate care, he caused both works to be read in their presence; and they all declared Gregoras a writer of falsehoods and a man of great impudence and levity, because he had not hesitated to commit to writing fabrications regarding public affairs that nearly everyone knew, to such a degree that he could be convicted of his lies most easily. Gregoras, having heard what the Emperor had done and how he had triumphed over his fabrications, was affected by no common sadness and came to him, complaining of that triumph as having been instituted to his own disgrace. He asserted that the things said against the tome were his own, but that as for those written against the Emperor himself, he did not know whose they were; he wished, however, to suppress them whenever he might encounter them, and said that if he had received them before they came to the ears of others, he would have consigned them to the fire. ^C The Emperor replied that he did not perceive at what his words were aiming. For if he did not want his writings to go out into the public, why did he undertake so much labor in composing them? But if, as is more equitable, he wished them to be public, he would properly owe him great thanks, since he had given them to be read in the presence of so many people who were illustrious and who knew how to admire the power of speech, so that he might both be praised and, while still alive, perceive the fruit of his labors and feel the glory: for the dead are delighted neither by praises nor saddened by vituperation. But if he grieves because his lies have been detected—which he himself devised with no foundation—the Emperor said he was not the cause of his pain, since he did not persuade him to lie so wickedly against the truth. It was necessary, however, not to indulge in this sorrow: for a little later, after his departure from this life, he would feel neither praises nor reproaches, whether he be reproached justly and truly, or otherwise: just as those whom he himself falsely accused by his many lies do not feel them. That matter, rather, ought to generate no small sickness and anxiety in us, lest in the future judgment, just as with other crimes committed in this life, we might in the same way pay the penalties for falsehood and calumnies. ^D

^A These things were done and said by Cantacuzenus later, when he had handed over the empire to the emperor his son-in-law, and had established for himself a quiet life under the monastic habit. Then, when everything concerning the synod had been completed and finished, and those who had chosen the sentiments of Acindynus were evidently convicted of impiety, he turned himself again to civil affairs and prepared to launch an expedition against the Triballians.

In the meantime, fourteen Venetian triremes sailed to the Latins in Galata. ^B Because they had arrived unexpectedly by night, they disembarked without being noticed and entered within the walls—since the gates of the town were left open at night, such was the pride and audacity of the inhabitants—and they inflicted no little harm. For when the guards noticed that the town was captured, they stirred up the citizens with shouts to repel the force. These, running unarmed from their houses toward the sea, wanting to know what this matter was about, were in part wounded and—many of them—killed. Finally, when the matter was understood, they armed themselves and, acting with spirit, drove out the enemies, who had accomplished nothing noteworthy and were fighting in a most cowardly manner. Yet they [the Venetians] all escaped to the triremes, with none of their men killed and only a few wounded, and after setting sail, they carried off some empty merchant ships with them and made them their own.

When it was already broad daylight, they tried twice and three times to set fire to the merchant ships that stood in great numbers in the harbor, but they were not allowed to approach any closer. Then, sailing past, they harassed others and captured certain merchant ships descending from the Euxine. ^C On these triremes, an envoy from Venice named Delphinus had also arrived to the Emperor, requesting aid for the war against the Genoese, and he promised that the Doge of Venice and the Senate would merit much from the Romans if he would grant the assistance. The prince of Ravenna made the same requests through letters, promising and imploring that he undertake to support the Venetians, whom he himself was also assisting.

The Emperor refused them the alliance, just as he had done before at Thessalonica, and added that he was doing them no injury if, besides being no hindrance to them in their war, he also did not fight against the Galatians. For even though they had often deserved war, and no one could blame or contradict him if he were to pursue past injuries, yet he would commit no harm against the friendship of the Venetians if he were to forgive their offenses of his own accord. ^D The Emperor therefore skillfully avoided the war in this way. For he thought it was far better, by abstaining from both sides, to devote his attention to the mainland and to liberate the cities of the Romans that were under the domination of the enemies.

The envoy from Venice and the others who had come with him bore the refusal of this alliance with great annoyance. The Galatians also, as they learned that their enemies were requesting aid from the Emperor, insisted through repeated embassies that they should not be despised; but that if they had previously committed anything wicked against him, he should grant forgiveness, and not increase the might of the enemy, nor in the future [should he allow anything] to be done through wickedness, but...

to do everything according to the Emperor’s will and to serve him precisely; at the same time they offered no small amount of money. The Emperor promised that he would refrain from fighting if they themselves could prove by their deeds that their promises were sincere; but he did not accept the money, thinking that such greed was not befitting for him, nor that it should appear that he was putting the common interest of the Romans up for sale for money. ^B The Venetians, seeing that the Emperor was not inclined to make an agreement with them—for they did not believe that they could do anything worthy of mention if the Emperor did not assist them in the war—were deeply troubled and resentful, though they did not appear openly determined to wage war against the Emperor; however, they did provide grounds for suspicion, for their treaties with the Romans were at that time nearing their end. They do not have perpetual treaties with the Romans, but [agreements] for fixed years, dating back to the times of Michael, the first Emperor of the Palaeologan line; when the term of the agreement expires, it is lawful for either party to wage war if they so wish. But if peace seems more advantageous to both sides, they renew the treaties and the oaths. ^C This custom between the Romans and the Latins from Venice prevailed for this very reason. When the first Emperor, Michael, recovered Byzantium for the Romans, as well as Thrace, Macedonia, and the rest of the West—which had been under the rule of the Latins for a little more than sixty years—he possessed a great infantry and cavalry force, and was well-equipped against all enemies, but he had not yet prepared a navy as large as the one he built later; for this reason, he feared those who held dominion over the sea, and managed the situation by doing what was appropriate for the time. However, when it was necessary to establish treaties with each party, he imposed port duties and a fixed sum of money to be paid to the public treasury by others who sailed to Byzantium or other maritime cities of the Romans for trade; and they complied, being unable to oppose him; for even down to the present day, they continue to pay these taxes. But the Venetians and Genoese, relying on their own power, ^D and sailing with large fleets through the Ionian, Aegean, and Euxine seas—to whose shores almost all the cities, or at least the greater part, were then subject to the Romans—refused to pay this kind of port duty, and wanted immunity to be granted to them in all trading centers. The Emperor, because he was then unable to move them by words or compel them by arms, struck a perpetual treaty with the Genoese, so that indeed they were entirely exempt in all the cities and trading centers of the Romans to which they sailed; but in some way they were subject to the Emperor, and if there should be need, they would send fifty armed triremes as auxiliary forces, with the Emperor providing only the rowers and the pay for the soldiers. If he needed the ships without those, they were to provide the same number with only their arms and commanders, and follow wherever the war was proceeding, and treat his friends and allies as their own. With the Venetians, because it was impossible to come to an understanding, he considered contending with price. But with another greater war looming, from the Frankish King, I mean Charles (for he was expected to arrive at Byzantium with a powerful fleet), and the Emperor preparing himself for naval battle, it was decided to sign a truce for fixed years with the Venetians, so that if ever he had finished the war against Charles, upon the expiration of the trea-

to prove their fortune in war against them. And from that time forward, this custom being established, the Venetians entered into a treaty with the Romans; and these treaties, when the term arrived, would be renewed. And if war pleased either side, it was permitted without reproach. Therefore, at the expiration of the treaty with the Venetians, as we were saying, when they could not induce the emperor to form a military alliance, they did not openly declare war; but taking their prefect, who lived in Byzantium, onto their triremes, they departed, with the intention that if they should find an opportunity, they would take vengeance upon the emperor.

CHAPTER XXVI

The Galatae, seeing the Venetians departing, and falsely imagining that the emperor had not denied them aid for their own sake, but rather that they had been unable to reach an agreement because they were demanding great things of one another—having, moreover, always been accustomed to repay those who did them well with evil (just as they say the Lacedaemonians of old did)—in order that they might appear to need no one and to yield to no one, out of extreme arrogance and pride, at midday, although the emperor had given them no cause for war, threw a stone with a machine at Byzantium. ^B When the emperor learned what had happened, he sent to their leader and the senate to inquire into the reason why they were initiating an act of war. They pretended to be ignorant of the deed, and attributed the cause of such an insolent crime to the one stationed at the machine. Then the ambassadors insisted that an example be made of him and his assistants (for it was by no means possible that he had acted without many others as helpers), for such was the command given to them by the emperor. The Galatae promised that they would do so immediately. ^C The next day, however, they threw another stone at Byzantium. The emperor, realizing what was the case—that because the Venetians had withdrawn, they had become emboldened and were full of contempt, and were beginning a war—immediately sent an envoy to them and declared war, and ordered that within eight days they should settle whatever contracts they had with the Romans regarding trade, debts, or any other pretexts, and come prepared for battle. Then he recalled the Venetians, who immediately returned with joy. With these, an alliance... ^D (20) That the Lacedaemonians were wont to compensate good deeds with evil is a common saying. Herodotus indeed, speaking of the Lacedaemonians before Lycurgus, says that they were the most depraved of all the Greeks in their morals, and had no commerce either among themselves or with strangers.

^A They immediately returned rejoicing, and he established an alliance and a treaty with them, although on much lower terms than he was previously going to impose, since he had greatly sought after the alliance of the Emperor, and they were promising certain things that were most advantageous to the Romans, for they valued the alliance of the Emperor most highly. But when they saw that he was unable to act otherwise—for already the Galatians were brandishing their arms—they withdrew many of the things they had previously promised. Nevertheless, a treaty having been made, the war with those from Genoa began anew for the Emperor. The cause of this war for the Venetians and the Genoese, which was the source of great calamity for both, was that as both were sailing to the Tanais for the sake of trade, a quarrel happened to break out between one of the Venetians and a certain Scythian, and the dispute proceeded as far as slaughter. While the Scythians were defending their countryman and the Latins were likewise defending their own, a common and public battle was joined between both races, and many of the Latins fell in that battle, and ^B by twice as many—and even more—did the Scythians fall. Afterwards, when the Latins had retreated to their ships, since the Scythians could do them no harm, being altogether unskilled in maritime affairs, they campaigned against Caffa—it is a fortress of the Latins from Genoa, inhabited on the coasts of Scythia—and waged war for two years, granting no truce. During this time, they both lost many of their own men in the battles and became the cause of great expenditures for the Latins. For they were unable to capture the walls, as those inside defended themselves bravely; but they seized many of the merchants’ goods throughout Scythia, and by compelling them to maintain a mercenary force for the defense of the town during the war, they inflicted no small losses upon them. But when the enterprise appeared fruitless to them, they dissolved the war, having established a treaty. After the conclusion of the war, the Genoese demanded that no Roman and no Venetian merchant, nor any of their own, should sail to the Tanais, using as a pretext that they might not again be forced ^C to wage war against the Scythians for some reason, though in truth they were setting up grounds for great gains for themselves. For they reasoned that if Caffa were established as a common trading hub for those coming from everywhere, they would benefit greatly by collecting money from everyone; or if they did not agree to that, that they should share in the costs of the war. However, it did not seem in the least advantageous to the Venetians to be entirely cut off from the Tanais, and to share in the expenses was not something they would even lend an ear to; but they said that no one would prevent them from sailing wherever it seemed profitable. And at the same time, they attempted to sail to the Tanais against the will of the Genoese; but the latter stopped them by force and confiscated their goods. Hence, a ferocious war was kindled, and no small amount of money and triremes was lost on both sides. Then, therefore, as the Emperor inscribed himself as an ally in the war with the Venetians, he was filling triremes with soldiers, ^D was mastering the sea with the Venetians, and was besieging the town with a force sent from the mainland. Jacobi Pontani notes. (21) Tanais is a city situated at the mouth of the river of the same name. Stephanus: Tanais, a city, of the same name as the river. It is a Greek city, built near the mouth of the river where it empties into the Maeotian marsh, and it is also called an Emporium. (22) Caffa, formerly Theodosia, situated on the shore of the Euxine Sea, a colony of the Genoese, about which see Petri Bizari, History of Genoa, book vi. In the year 1475, it was occupied by Mahomet, Emperor of the Turks, not without great slaughter.

^A And first, indeed, on both sides, the naval and land forces, making an attack, burned the outlying houses (except those which were underneath the walls themselves). Then the column from the continent made frequent attacks day by day and besieged them closely, so that they did not permit the Latins even to come outside the walls. The emperor, however, dividing the naval force into two parts, left one part there for the siege; the other he sent into the Euxine Sea to harass the Genoese, which they did most amply, for they captured goods and not a few merchants, and burned many cargo ships.

When they returned from the Euxine, they prepared for the storming of the walls, although the emperor was strongly opposed to it, thinking that because the walls were most formidable and had so many defenders stationed upon them, there was no hope of victory in attacking them, but rather that the matter would be brought to a conclusion by the length of the siege. And the Venetian commander, Nicholas Pisani, for this reason kept urging it—to whom it seemed that an assault should be attempted because he was inexperienced, and he blamed the Romans and indeed everyone else, as if it stood because of their cowardice that Galata was not captured, which could be done very easily if the Romans would cheerfully unite their forces ^B with them. Wherefore the emperor, although he knew most clearly that he was attempting things which would not commend a prudent and experienced leader, nevertheless, fearing that he might be thought to have let slip out of his own hands through some cowardice that which could be won, humored the spirit of the Latins. Among other things prepared for the assault, he joined together two very large cargo ships, and joined them as much as he could with beams, and placed a wooden tower upon them, the height of which exceeded the walls of Galata. That tower had three stories, in which the soldiers stood to fight. From the same, two very long yardarms were projected, which they thought would reach the walls, upon which the craftsmen, having compressed planks like a floor, had laid a bridge to the walls. They believed, moreover, that those providing the ability to cross safely from the tower would enable certain magnanimous men, advancing from there, to join battle with the defenders of the town on the wall and prove victorious. And the invention would have succeeded for them if the ends of the yardarms had reached as far as the walls. But because not a little was lacking in length, the machine was useless.

A similar bridge, without a tower, Phaceolatus the protostrator also built at the order of the emperor upon a large cargo ship, and upon the extremities of the yardarms he placed a wooden base or grate, so constructed that it could be moved by certain ropes and levers upon which it rested, and upon it he heaped wood suitable for feeding fire; with this intention, that he might place the ignited grate upon the towers of Galata (for most of them were constructed of wood at the top), so that through the tower the houses also might be caught by the flames if the wind were favorable. But because the yardarms fell short, his plan came to nothing. Furthermore, the Venetians built a third machine like ladders upon a ship against the walls. Everything being now ready from the sea, and those things that were necessary from the continent, they...

^A sought for scaling ladders and iron tools with which they might pierce the walls; and they willingly brought up bundles of wood, which, with the wagons themselves, they would cast into the moat, to be used for crossing and for firing the gates if need be. And when nothing more was lacking, the infantry and cavalry led out by the Lord Manuel, Asanes, brother of the Empress Irene (whose lieutenant or minor commander was the protostrator Phacrases), besieged Galata. ^B And the naval force was already prepared so that at daybreak on the following day it might be brought up to the walls, and the people of Galata were themselves preparing to resist. For they had brought down to the sea all the merchant ships and triremes they possessed, one after another in front of the walls, tethered by cables from the battlements, so that they might not be carried away entirely, but could easily be pulled back in for the time being, and they deemed these things useful for warding off the siege engines. But the sinking of the merchant ships was of the greatest advantage to them; for they were protected from the fire by the water, and they prevented the enemy ships from approaching the walls. The Emperor, therefore, having arrived with the land army, passed the night there; and he ordered the protostrator Tarchaniotes, who commanded the imperial triremes, and the Venetian commander, Nicholas, to attack from the sea at daybreak, just as the cavalry and infantry would attack from the continent at the same time. The total number of triremes of the Romans and Venetians in that battle was thirty-two. ^C It so happened that during the same night a trireme arrived from Venice to Nicholas, which reported that seventy triremes had set sail from Genoa and were heading toward them; and the Doge and the Senate ordered him to take counsel for himself and his ships, lest he be cut off by the enemy's fleet and perish. For the people of Genoa, having some time before risen up against the powerful men among them and defeated the aristocrats, had sent some into perpetual exile and deprived others of their civic status, deeming them unworthy of the Senate or any magistracy, but instead pressured and humiliated them in every way; for they preferred to live under a popular government rather than be ruled by those men. Then, indeed, they had appointed a certain Simon ^D Buccanegra to head the republic, and this the people and the Senate had approved. But as this war with the Venetians flared up, when they saw they could not resist unless they were aided by the powerful—because there was need of much money and greater equipment—they decreed the return of the aristocrats from exile, chose them for the Senate, and ordered them to take charge of the republic. The powerful, when they foresaw that if, with angry spirits, they spurned reconciliation with the people, it would come to pass that while the people were worn down by the Venetians, they themselves would suffer the same calamity, and considering it shameful—nay, most shameful—to betray their liberty of their own accord because of the people's charge against them, and to submit to a wretched and base servitude, serving those far inferior to themselves, they reproached them for wickedness and folly, because the aristocrats—

^A thus effortlessly mocked them, having no other accusation to bring forward than that they were better than the multitude; they nevertheless stoutly undertook the war for the common good, providing both funds and arms and all other necessaries, and they prepared a fleet of seventy ships and, appointing Paganino Doria—the most distinguished man of the Oria clan, and ^B by reason of his wisdom, courage, and experience, superior to the rest—as commander, they sent him forth to war. Nicolaus, the Venetian commander of the triremes, when he received intelligence regarding the enemy fleet—though otherwise most bold for battle—was seized with fear and immediately thought of flight. But so as not to impede the prepared siege, he concealed what he had heard from the Emperor; and with his own triremes and the machine upon a transport, he kept his formation under arms, positioned only just outside the range of missiles, giving the appearance of one about to fight while in reality abstaining from the work entirely. At daybreak, the Romans, fulfilling the Emperor's command, drew near to the enemy's walls with their triremes and with the engines on the transports. But the ^C engines, because they could not reach them, were useless. Nevertheless, the soldiers who were in them, having drawn closer, hurled missiles at the defenders and wounded many, as did those who were fighting from the triremes. Not a few, however, were wounded on the Imperial side, and some even fell. The commander Tarchaneiotes was also wounded in the right elbow by a missile, which pierced both sides of his protective gear, even though he was wearing a cuirass (so great was the force with which the shaft flew), and he came near to death. But by divine providence he was saved, ^D enduring many and unbearable pains; for it was with difficulty that the wound healed over the course of two years. The Emperor also, from the mainland, gave orders to press the attack and to drive the wagons loaded with supplies into the moat, so that it might be passable for the ladders to be applied to the walls. They did so, though not all. While the soldiers were still busy with this task, the Galatans, having abandoned the naval battle, rushed out to the area of the wall facing the continent where the fighting was most intense; with the gates opened, they sallied forth and having set fire to dry brushwood, they burned everything including the wagons themselves, and they wounded a great number of men and horses on the walls: nor did they themselves, in return, suffer fewer wounds. The Emperor, now perceiving the effort to be in vain—though he had foreseen it would be so—sounded the retreat, and while he immediately ordered the infantry to withdraw, he himself with the cavalry spent the night in the camp. The next day he remained with his armed men before the gates of Galata for a long time, but no one from among the Latins came forward to oppose them, nor did they cast a single missile. Then, since no one came out, he withdrew to Byzantium. Nicolaus, the Venetian commander, concealing the reason for which he had refrained from battle, wished to depart entirely, and having said only this—that he had received a mandate from the Senate and the Doge to return—he bade farewell and sailed back to Venice, leaving the war against the Genoese to the Emperor alone, who was blockading Galata from the sea with his own triremes.

he ordered the army to invade, and with the trench ^A filled, to bring up the wagons, so that they might serve as ladders to the walls. And they brought ^B them up. Still, while the soldiers were engaged in these things, those at Galata, having finished the battle from the sea, ran to the point of the walls towards the mainland that was suffering the most, and threw open the gates and rushed out, and cast fire upon the wood and burned all the wagons together with them; they also wounded many men who were shooting from the walls, and not fewer of them were wounded as well. The emperor, seeing that the enterprise was already impossible, although he had known it before, led away the army, and ordered the infantry to withdraw; he himself, keeping the cavalry, remained on the camp and passed the night. On the following day, having brought the armed army, he drew it up before the gates of Galata; but no one of the Latins came out against them, nor did they aim a projectile at them. From there, since no one came out to fight, he returned to Byzantium. Nicholas, the leader of the Venetians, having hidden the reason why he had refrained from the battle, and wanting to withdraw, only saying this, that he was ordered to do so by the council and the duke, departed for Venice after making arrangements, leaving behind only the war against the Genoese, which he was besieging with his own triremes from the sea, and sending frequent detachments of troops from the land, and doing everything from which it was possible for them to suffer evils, and not insignificant ones. Nicholas, sailing away towards Venice, encountered the enemy fleet, but perceiving them, he fled with all the speed he had, and the enemy pursuing him, he arrived before them at a small town, which is subject to them, and saved the triremes without losing any, and protected the small town, which easily would have been captured had they not arrived first and entered.

CHAPTER XXVII

^C In this state of affairs, the war between the emperors began again, and received not small causes. For those who had remained in Thessalonica with the young emperor John were not content with the present situation, but were attempting new things, and were inciting John to take up arms against his father-in-law, even though they themselves appeared very gracious and most friendly and intimate with Emperor Cantacuzenus. For they said that it was grievous to them that he was being treated so unjustly, defrauded of his paternal empire. Indeed, they said that it was not only unjust that he, having taken the entire empire for himself, had left the name of emperor empty and completely bare for him, but that he had also, as it were, condemned him to exile, and abandoned him in the midst of enemies, having applied no care [to him], as he had promised upon departing: but [rather] by inventing causes for wars, he himself held the Roman principate, while he threw him away as a man of no worth, either to be besieged by the Triballians, or to be betrayed by such a turbulent populace, headstrong to every audacity. These things, they said, must be noted, and they must consider how he might recover the empire of his ancestors, in which, indeed, there would be no future difficulty. For Crales, who was hostile to Cantacuzenus, would gladly assist with all his power. They themselves also, although they would by no means refuse [even] the shedding of their own blood for his sake, would eagerly struggle together both with money, and with arms, and with their bodies. They urged him, therefore, that he should not [hesitate] to act...

Those men were impelled to incite a war between the emperors not only by the baseness and wickedness of their characters, through which they were readily drawn even to the most shameful deeds, but especially because they had been corrupted by Kral with money, that they might stir up a Roman war between them again. To these the young emperor, being entirely ignorant and inexperienced in craftiness and corrupt ways of life and speech, and thinking that he was being advised justly and for his own benefit, and that they were exerting themselves for his sake, gave his consent. And he began to number his most bitter enemies among his closest friends, and discussed with them from where and how he might renew the war against the emperor, his father-in-law. ^B It seemed necessary, therefore, before their designs became known, to remove Andronikos Asanes from Thessalonica; for they suspected that he would oppose them in the greatest matters, not only by standing against the other [plans], but also by advising the new emperor to refrain from such absurd undertakings, and not to destroy voluntarily the sovereignty of which he would shortly be master, if he behaved honestly and candidly toward the emperor, his father-in-law. Therefore, approaching him with a simulation of friendship, they demanded an oath of silence, [saying] that they were going to disclose the most secret and essential matters to the new emperor. When they had received the assurances, they dared to speak, claiming that he had pledged to Kral to wage war against his father-in-law, and that nothing was lacking in the agreements and compacts, and that Kral would assist the emperor with the most eager zeal and alacrity. However, since this man is disposed to disturb and confuse matters, and knows how to use the marketplace, he had ^C craftily devised this as well, in order to make the emperors more alienated from restoring concord: that he should receive him [Asanes] as a hostage; for he pretended that he did not trust the new emperor, lest he might plot against the army which he was about to provide as an ally, and destroy the differences by settling with the emperor, for which reason he insisted on obtaining you [Asanes] from the new emperor. When the emperor knew that he must wage war, especially by holding to the alliance of the Triballians, he yielded of necessity. And one must consider and devise some machine by which he himself and the present state of affairs might be saved. They, therefore, having thus concocted this plausible deception, brought forward their plot. ^D Asanes, being unaware of the trick—for he had known those men to be formerly most devoted to the Emperor Cantacuzenus, and furthermore, because rumors were echoing about him from every side that the young emperor was intending to stir up a war against the emperor, his father-in-law—believed what was said and was greatly troubled. Rendering them many thanks for their goodwill toward the emperor and himself, he then begged them to advise him on a way by which he might turn aside and escape the impending evils. They said that nothing was more advantageous than to depart for Byzantium with all speed, as in this way he would both escape the danger and explain to the emperor what was happening, so that he might bring help to the wavering situation very quickly, and not admit any slackness or delay. If the junior emperor attempted to detain him, they promised to manage his departure faithfully, urging and persuading him not to act by force, nor to his departure ad-

- ^A versetur. In this manner they deceived Asanes, who, being terrified by their threats and having found a trireme prepared there, sailed away to Byzantium and reported to the Emperor everything he had learned from them, asserting that the young emperor was openly embarking on war. When Asanes had departed, those who were fomenting the war, having gained much freedom, persuaded the young emperor to send an embassy to Kral. He accepted this readily and promised great things, pledging with troops, money, and all his power to aid him against his father-in-law the Emperor and to recover the authority that had been taken away. He did and suggested everything that he thought would keep the war between the emperors indissoluble, having first made agreements with the Emperor that he considered most advantageous for his own rule.

The Emperor Cantacuzenus was greatly troubled by these reports, for he was secretly informed daily by his friends ^B and believed it necessary to go there in person to dissolve the conspiracies against him. But because the Latin war was then raging, it was not possible for him to leave, nor to raise other troops, since those he had were necessarily engaged in the aforementioned war. Because he saw, therefore, that he was prevented from sailing to Macedonia, he sent Empress Anna to her son, hoping her speech would turn him back from that indecent undertaking and restore him to harmony with him. He addressed her as follows: "Neither you nor anyone else is unaware of the great calamities that civil war has brought, not only to the subjects of the Romans, but to the princes themselves. After this had finally come to an end, and all public and private affairs were now progressing for the better, the envy of some demon disturbed this peace and quiet, and once again stirred up impure men and sycophants, in no way inferior in wickedness to their predecessors, who are attempting to stir up a more savage war. For they load the ^C young emperor, your son, with lies, and since he is young and not yet familiar with the tricks, deceits, and the mutability of men's characters in either direction, they deceive him so thoroughly that he obeys them as if they were friends solicitous for his sake and as if they were applying themselves with all their heart to recovering his paternal empire, although in truth they are most hostile enemies to both him and all the Romans; whereas he considers me a conspirator and an enemy, I who love him from my heart and strive for nothing that would not ensure that he has not only his paternal principality, but one even greater and better, as far as possible. He has even begun a war, having made terms with Kral to receive Tribal warriors from him and lead them against me; which, I judge, will be of no benefit to him, nor to the subjects, nor to us. The evils that are impending are so pernicious, and I do not think anyone else besides us could so easily dispel them. But if, besides this, the Latin war did not press upon me, I would have arrived with my arms, ^D and I would have broken up that conspiracy not only by my presence, but even by the mere report of my arrival, with no effort. For they would not have been able, as the saying is, even if they had put on the helmet of Hades, to escape and save their lives. But because it is fitting that I be present for the impending fight, it is right for you to sail to Thessalonica, to settle this discord, and

^A to quiet the threatened war, by instructing our son how harmful it is for him, while holding the sovereignty, to destroy it—a sovereignty which, in a little while, he will possess himself, without wars or troubles. For myself, if the war against the Triballi had not been stirred up, and if this Latin war had not now unwillingly come upon me, I would long ago have handed the tiller of the empire to him and have professed myself among the monks: a thing which I am prepared to do again, not long ^B hence. You, however, must strive to call back those seditious men, those who are a plague to the community of the Romans, with well-considered sternness, with rebuke, with horrible threats, and finally with every method.»

Such were the things which the Emperor Cantacuzenus discoursed to the Empress Anna, persuading her to sail to Thessalonica to bring the sedition already in motion to peace. At first, she mildly reproached the Emperor, as one who does not listen to the best-intentioned advice, and who was urging her not to leave the son alone in Thessalonica while he was still a youth, and one easily able to be deceived and led astray from what is right, and that too while spending time with the most wicked men, who would ensnare even someone most clever and taught by long experience regarding their wiles and tricks, using frauds and flatteries. But since these things were so unfairly composed, and those things which did not lead to any advantage had prevailed, she decided that she would willingly set out to her son, and that, once she arrived in his presence, she would dispel all those odious things. ^C The Emperor assigned a well-equipped trireme to her. Upon entering Thessalonica, she found the war already ablaze; for all the agreements and conditions with Crales had been settled, by which he was to assist the younger emperor, and Crales himself, with his wife, was encamping near Thessalonica, urging on the civil war of the Romans, from which they hoped for gains, and by no means small ones, for themselves. Indeed, they feared Cantacuzenus, and they displayed an ardent zeal for the younger emperor, desiring to persuade him from this that they loved him and were grieved by the thought of his being wronged, when nevertheless they were doing entirely the opposite, and not sluggishly at that. For in exchange for important and many things which they had stolen, they were returning some worthless things of no value. These, therefore, as if they were spiderwebs, the Empress scattered by her arrival and presence. ^D For she admonished her son as was fitting, and she turned him, because he knew how to honor his parents, and to obey in all things which their great love suggests. But as for the factionaries, she terrified them with an anger that was boiling over, and compelled them, by the threats of the most severe punishments, to abstain from their most wicked deeds. To these things, she sallied out to Crales, and after addressing him and his wife, she showed them that they were acting against justice and right, as if brandishing thunderbolts and heavenly scourges against them, because, beyond the fact that they were hurting the Romans so often by their perjuries and by violating treaties, they were also setting them against one another in civil wars, by which, through mutual slaughter, they were destroying them.

were dying, they might securely possess their property. Through these words, it was brought about that, blushing openly at the foulness of their deeds, they departed with their business unfinished. The younger Emperor, wisely complying with the Empress mother’s admonition, nevertheless asked of the Emperor, his kinsman, the town of Ainos and the cities of Chalcidice, which Matthew, the Emperor’s son, governed, to be for himself as a separate principality; otherwise, he would return in all matters to be under his authority. Having heard this petition, Cantacuzenus expressed astonishment that he, who would shortly be lord of all, should yet have so small and narrow a mind as to wish to rule over only a few places. Nevertheless, he promptly granted it and ordered that those should be sent who would receive them in his name; he himself, on the other side, sent those who would surrender them in his name. In this way, most of all, the war then budding between the Emperors was suppressed by the Empress Anna. ^B

Chapter XXVIII

Verily, Paganus, the commander of the Genoese fleet, having pursued the ships of Nicholas and the Venetians in vain, as they were already in safety, also put in at Euboea and laid siege to it. He assaulted the walls frequently and fiercely, but those defending from within defended themselves with equal courage. Seeing that he was acting in vain, he turned his course against the Romans: for he had heard that the Emperor had also become an enemy and was besieging Galata. Carried forward to Heraclea in Thrace, he dropped anchor there that night and remained; on the following day, he set out into the deep as if about to sail for Byzantium. But since the winds were blowing with monstrous intensity, by the evil fate of the Heracleans they returned and descended into their harbor. The rowers ran out to gather greens from the suburban gardens, and two of them being caught on the road, the Heracleans immediately cut off their heads. Those who were in the triremes, raging with wrath on account of their fellow-countrymen, took up arms and implored their commander ^D to lead them to the city to exact punishment for this injury. Paganus tried to restrain them and to turn them away from the siege, asserting that they were by no means in their right mind, if they were to lose many more men for the sake of two who had been killed. “For there,” he said, “it will be necessary for many both of our men and of theirs to perish, inasmuch as they will not allow their own who have fallen to remain unavenged, since they can summon more and stronger men from other cities. For us, the situation is different. For if, of those present, some—

^A are lost, it will be impossible to replace them from anywhere, and the result will be that our force becomes weaker, whereas we must keep it as intact and unmolested as possible, as we have to fight against such a great power of Romans, Catalans, and Venetians combined." The general spoke these words, acting at once with prudence and with the skill of a seasoned commander, but also wishing not to do harm to the affairs of the Romans out of his affection for the Emperor Cantacuzenus, for he was one of his friends.

Paganus, then, tried in this way to persuade the camp to refrain from battle with the people of Heraclea; but they would not be persuaded, rather they were indignant that they were being restrained. Martinus Ntemoros, also a commander of a trireme, coming into the middle, testified that the general was acting unjustly and betraying them. For such great preparations and such great expenses had been made for no other reason than to inflict damage upon the enemy. But now when they could most advantageously take Heraclea with their arms, and damage the power of the Romans, and benefit themselves as much as possible, they were being ^B hindered by the general's untimely benevolence toward the Emperor. He ordered a scribe to record what had been said, so as to accuse the general publicly before the people and the Duke as having committed high treason.

Martinus uttered these threats. The general, fearing that if he were summoned as a defendant before the people and convicted, he would be punished with death, yielded to the assault. Immediately, the entire troop from the triremes poured forth armed, and surrounding the city, they began the assault on the walls. And since the walls facing the mainland were in many places vulnerable (for they did not think that anyone would invade from the mainland), and the citizens were otherwise unarmed and unprepared, and too weak to resist such great forces, the city was taken by the might and power of the Latins, even though at the very moment of the assault on the walls, a troop of cavalry had come from Byzantium, which the Emperor had sent to defend the city. For he had suspected what was to come when he perceived that the fleet had sailed toward Heraclea. ^C And the Despot Nicephorus, the Emperor's son-in-law, who was governor of the Thracian cities on the Hellespont, had come with an army to help the Heracleots, and Manuel Asanes, the Despot, brother of the Empress Irene, sent an army from Byzia to assist them. But because they arrived at the very crisis of the battle, they came in vain.

For as the ruins of the earlier settlement still stood before the gates of the city, the Latins had stationed their finest archers there, who kept the cavalry back from the entrance of the city until it was taken by the rest. When the Heracleots saw that they were captured and that the Latins were running to the houses for plunder, they opened one small gate of the city and went out, and many, especially of the common ^D people, were saved by fleeing to the cavalry, since the Latins did not dare to pursue them outside the city because of those same horsemen. The notables were especially taken into custody, with their wives, children, and no small amount of possessions. For Heraclea had never been captured since the days of Andronicus, the first of the Palaeologi of this name. The Latins, having made their plunder, obstructed all the gates facing the mainland. Then, having selected the primary citizens and women, and leaving behind on the triremes as many as they judged would be sufficient to guard the city,

they went to Galata with the others, taking their captives with them. They made sufficient use of the grain and other provisions they had found in the city upon its capture to last throughout the time of the war, and this provided them with great relief and comfort during that long period. ^B The Emperor, when the enemy fleet arrived, ordered all the merchant ships and triremes, which were docked at the Heptascalon—having previously been cleared out by him, as we mentioned, and capable of holding not only those but many more ships—to be launched for the defense. Because of this, the Latins were able to cause no harm to the Byzantines. Furthermore, the Emperor neglected nothing that the situation required, both before and after the arrival of the fleet; he repaired the walls facing the sea most excellently, restoring those that were significantly ruined, raising the lower sections higher, and from the Gate of Eugenius to the so-called Wooden Gate, he dug a deep trench, having ordered all families to move inside the walls, and he summoned not insignificant forces ^C from Thrace: thus did he prepare everything for repelling the Latins if they should attack. Martinus again tried to persuade the commander and the trierarchs to attempt the walls of Byzantium. But the commander openly opposed him, saying that Martinus was giving useless advice, for the Byzantines were more powerful than the people of Heraclea. "Even if," he said, "the reinforcements that were coming to them had been able to arrive, not only would they have kept the city unconquered, but they would have deprived us of many brave men. But for the Byzantines, the situation is far otherwise; they have, as we see, excellently repaired and restored the walls, and they have neglected nothing that was necessary, and they have provided a multitude of infantry and cavalry for the defense—men against whom it is difficult to contend even in the open field, let alone behind walls. ^D Besides all this, the Emperor himself is present, whom we have heard is second to none in our age in prudence and the practice of the art of war. I believe it is not the act of a wise man to rush into clear dangers that lie before one's eyes without hope of any advantage, but rather to reserve one's strength for an opportune time and for the utility that will arise a little later." The commander thought this course best, and convinced the others of his opinion, except for Martinus, who did everything he could to incite the soldiers to battle, repeatedly claiming that Byzantium would easily be subdued by so great a force. But Paganus, wishing to show by the situation itself that Martinus was pressing the attack ignorantly and overconfidently, ordered the soldiers to take up arms as if to fight. They took them up, sailed past, reconnoitered the strength of the Romans, and all agreed with the commander that one should not fight against such power; they condemned Martinus as being remarkably foolish. For as soon as the Genoese moved from the harbor, not only was a great host of Romans seen in arms along the walls, such that they seemed to be crowded together from the narrowness of the place, but also at the sea before the walls, from the Gate of Eugenius to the Wooden Gate, many cavalry and heavy and light-armed troops stood drawn up in a single phalanx. Thus the commander of the Latins, suddenly turning back, stationed his ships in the harbor.

Chapter XXIX.

The Emperor, believing that1 so great a fleet would not remain inactive, but fearing that it would attack the cities in the Pontus, which were subject to the Romans, sent suitable aid to each city to resist the enemy, so that they might have the strength to withstand such a great force. While the other cities received this assistance gladly, offering great thanks to the Emperor for his care regarding them, and themselves preparing what was necessary for defense, the Sozopolitans rejected the force sent by the Emperor, claiming that they had no need of foreign help, as the natives were numerous and brave enough to defend the city. They did not admit anyone into the city except Crybitziolax, the brother of their commander, and the garrison force, thus slighted, returned to Byzantium. ^B Before the report of the Sozopolitans' actions could be brought to the Emperor—for had he heard of it sooner, he would have compelled them to receive the military force even against their will—they were captured by the Latins, who arrived unexpectedly. For when the Emperor’s force had turned back from that place, the Latins attacked as if by agreement. The Sozopolitans, having prepared nothing—neither for the repair of the walls, nor for the maintenance of arms, nor for anything else that was necessary—were easily captured, having resisted the great force not even for a little while. By their own folly they brought about their own ruin, and they caused the Emperor no small grief that so beautiful a city, abounding in all good things, should have perished.

The Latins, once they held the city, looted it freely for not a few days, even taking away all the votive offerings from the temples, and whatever gold and silver was in the city, digging through houses and searching secret places on all sides with curiosity. When they had snatched and consumed everything, and were already about to raze the houses and hand the whole city over to the flames, the leaders of the Sozopolitans approached the commander of the enemy, begging him not to destroy entirely such an elegant and flourishing city, to no profit of his own, and to leave it a desolate ruin for those sailing past as a monument to his own and his followers' impiety and disdain for beautiful things. They begged him instead to be moved by some mercy for their great misery and to spare the town for a fixed sum of money, which they would journey to Byzantium to pay. Thus they prayed to the leader, who, out of humaneness and gentleness…

they themselves would derive no benefit, but would leave behind a city so beautiful, razed to the ground and uninhabited, a monument to their own lack of judgment and their lack of generosity toward noble things, and having received some small pity for such great misfortune of theirs, ^A they sought to spare the city for a fixed sum of money. ^B Being brought to Byzantium to pay this, they [the people] made such entreaties to the commander. He, thinking that he might win a reputation for philanthropy and mildness, and at the same time that the army would be benefited by the money—for they were in need of a great deal of expenditure for such a long and extensive preparation—agreed, and settled on a fixed sum of money to leave the city completely, and the grain, and all the other equipment useless to them. Having taken the best of the citizens as hostages for the payment of the money, they returned to Galata and the other populace, and abandoned the city. Afterward, some of the Sozopolitans, having been permitted to go to Byzantium by the Latins, and having borrowed money from the Byzantines on behalf of themselves and the rest of the city, paid the Latins what had been promised and returned to their homeland. The best of the Heracleans, both men and women, were held in chains by the Latins, and money was demanded for their release, which it was impossible to pay from anywhere, as all their belongings had been destroyed by the enemy, and none of their friends were sufficient to provide aid. But for the redemption of such great misfortune, there sufficed for them, instead of everything, Philotheus, who had been entrusted with the rule of their church. For by the providence of God, he was absent from the city when it was being captured, and he contributed the greatest things to the freedom of the citizens; for like a good shepherd, he laid down his soul ^C for his flock according to the word, not once, nor twice, or thrice, but even many times. For having scorned all fear and danger from the enemy, he sailed over of his own accord almost every day to Galata, and held discussions with those who held the captives. ^D Being a man of singular character, venerable for his holiness, and most experienced in both外 [secular] and our own sciences, and able to speak and persuade in a meeting, he effected so much that they did not refuse to release them for a moderate price. However, because not even that moderate amount was available to the citizens, he himself voluntarily obligated himself to the Latins to pay that gold within fixed days. Thus, by his pledge, they were released and went begging to their kinsmen and friends for what they would pay. And he continued doing this in the same way until he had freed everyone from their bonds. He obtained the release of the poorer and more obscure captives without ransom, because the Latins looked upon and revered his virtue and his ready will for his flock. For virtue knows how to win admiration for its cultivators even among enemies, however much barbarians they may be, to say nothing of domestic ones and friends. After this, when the city had been occupied by the Latins and the citizens had reached their former freedom to a man, he brought about the gathering of those who had been dispersed, so that it might be inhabited anew; and with many words he exhorted them not to be broken in their spirits by their present misfortune, but to consider it a lesson for living in the future, and he put his hand to the work usefully for his own part, not only searching for sacred vessels, books, and icons from the monasteries of Byzantium, coming there himself and asking for individual items, so that they might help the wretched as much as they could (for everything had truly been devastated by the Latins), but he also begged the emperor to remit the taxes. He, being inclined toward doing good by his own nature and of his own accord, and moved by the calamities of the cities, granted to not only the Heracleans but also the Sozopolitans a remission of all public taxes.

the Latin was abandoned; and as the citizens had been saved from captivity, he restored the city once more from the beginning, gathering together the dispersed citizens and exhorting them with many words not to despond over their misfortunes, but to consider their present distress a tempering exercise for their future life. He also assisted them with works, as much as was possible, not only by providing sacred vessels, books, and icons from the religious houses in Byzantium, by personally visiting them and begging everyone to contribute what they could to those who had suffered, for everything had been utterly ruined by the Latins; but he also petitioned the Emperor to grant immunity from taxes to the citizens. The latter, being of his own accord inclined toward noble deeds and then being moved by the plight of the cities, granted full tax exemption from public levies not only to those of Heraclea but also to those of Sozopolis, from which the cities easily recovered themselves and remained settled in their former state. Thus did it come about regarding the distress of the cities and their subsequent restoration. ^A

CAPUT XXX. The leader of the Venetian fleet is a timid procrastinator. Upon being implored, he approaches Byzantium, albeit with danger. The Genoese are defeated in battle. The Catalans receive a great blow. The treachery of the Galateans against them. The defeat of the Genoese and Venetians and Catalans likewise. The great spirit of the Genoese leader. The timidity of Nicholas ruins the victory. The anger of the Emperor and the Catalan leader against him. The extraordinary charity of the Byzantines toward the wounded and sick Catalans. How the negligence of the Venetian leader afflicted them.

Caeterum Nicolaus, commander of the Venetian ships, having departed from Euboea for Venice, was preparing a fleet to match the Genoese. Twenty-six triremes also came from the Catalans, carrying a large and fine army, and having united with those from Venice, they set out against the enemies. Nicholas held the command of seventy ships in total; for both the Doge of Venice and the Senate had entrusted their authority to him, and the King of the Catalans had ordered the admiral of his ships to obey Nicholas in all things and to follow wherever he might command, since he was well experienced in the islands and the coastal regions along the Aegean and the Euxine [Sea], where they thought they would most likely engage the enemies. ^B Yet Nicholas, although he led an army far superior to that of the enemies, wandered around the islands out of cowardice, fleeing battle, and despite being frequently urged by the Catalan leader to advance against the enemies and not to weary the soldiers in vain by sailing around the islands during the winter season and wasting time, he would not be persuaded. The Emperor, likewise knowing the cause of the delay, sent an embassy once and again, summoning Nicholas as to sure victories, and exhorting him not to fear the enemies but to bring the fleet against them, especially to Byzantium, where he himself would also contribute most significantly to the war. At first, he evaded the ambassadors by delaying his arrival. Then, with winter already waning, and being much entreated by the Emperor's envoys and by the Catalan leader—for that man was not only keen in perceiving what needed to be done and experienced in the art of war, but was also most noble in the courage and boldness he displayed in battles—he was with difficulty persuaded, and taking heart with his fleet, he put in at the island of Prinkipo, which is uninhabited and not far from Byzantium; and having rested the army there for two days—for it had been for the most part severely afflicted by the winter, and especially the [army] of the Catalans, ^C whose ^D

limbs had been ^A many of them mutilated by the cold—on the third day, having set out from Prinkipo, they sailed fully armed toward the harbor of the Byzantines at Eptaskalon. They had formed the intention that there they would join with the imperial triremes, for they were inside the harbor and armed, and then proceed against the enemies. Paganus, the general of the Genoese, having with him seventy ships—for he himself also commanded those that he led—had been arrayed against the enemies in Chalcedon, opposite Byzantium, both during the previous days in succession and on that day as well, but he did not dare to engage them as they approached. However, seeing that they were making their haste toward the harbor of the Byzantines, he remained in his battle array, hoping that the enemies would encounter some unexpected fate from the wind and, falling [into chaos] among themselves, would be destroyed. And this almost came to pass. For ^B since a very strong south wind was blowing on that day, with difficulty and by force they completed the voyage from Prinkipo until late in the day. When they were near the harbor, being shoved by the violence of the wind, they were in danger of falling upon the shallows which are strewn everywhere before the walls, so as to protect the walls against the violence of the waves. At this point, Constantine Tarchaneiotes, the general of the imperial triremes, who was a good man previously, and who at that time gave the greatest proof of courage and was filled with spirit, rowed out of the harbor and, having his own triremes, went straight toward the enemies, opposite the flagship. Behind him also went the general of the Catalans. And a third, Nicholas, also pressed forward, having by now taken heart. The Genoese, however, with the wind pressing them and the enemies advancing, did not even withstand the clash; but having turned back, they rowed as they could toward Galata. The enemies pursued them; but since the sea there is shallow, and there was no way to flee further, at the place called Brachophagous, which has many underwater reefs—as indeed the Genoese, being familiar with the places, had previously known—they cast anchor upon the current. And standing firmly at anchor, they fought no more a naval battle than a land battle. Those from Venice and the Catalans, having come up with the Romans—the Romans, as being local, avoided the reefs and fought with experience, and they were destroying the enemies. Nor were those from Venice any less effective. But the Catalans, being completely inexperienced in the places and rushing upon the enemies with all too much zeal, some fell upon the reefs and shattered their triremes, ^C and others, being turned back by the force of the waves, not fighting from the prow but with the triremes turned sideways, and in the confusion [they were] tumultuous, were not a little praised. Nevertheless, they provided admirable examples of undaunted spirit and courage, having killed many and having defeated nearly all the adversaries. Yet more of them perished not so much from the enemies' weapons as from lack of experience of the place, falling upon the shallows. But night intervening prevented the Genoese from being killed ^D to the last man, wherefore, it being already deep night, they were scattered, those who had survived; and having brought their ships to land wherever fortune took each one, they remained scattered until the light. From this, the Catalans received a very great defeat. In the shallows.

^A for, colliding and shattering their triremes, some were drowned while armed, being unable to swim to the shore. Of those who were able to escape, the greater part were captured by the Galatians through a deception; for the latter, suspecting what had happened, went out with lights, and those who had been cast ashore thought they were heading towards Byzantium. They followed them out of ignorance, and a crowd of Catalans arrived at Galata, not knowing where they were being led. And at daybreak, the sea was seen to be full of corpses and wreckage. Both camps had suffered no small loss in that battle: twenty-eight Genoese triremes perished with all on board. Of those remaining, more than half had fallen in the war or were wounded. Of the Venetian and Catalan triremes, sixteen were lost with their crews; and not a few from those which remained were wounded and dead. Of the imperial ships, not one was lost. Some, however, fell during the battle, and many were wounded. Nevertheless, the imperial ships with their allies held a clear victory. ^B The battle so crushed those from Genoa that on the following day, when a crowd arriving from Byzantium attacked two of their triremes—which had been unable to flee and were unable to sail away—they carried them off to Byzantium with small boats, no one offering resistance. The survivors, having arrived at Galata, when the Venetians and their allies had departed upon their return voyage, having abandoned all their ships, entered Galata. ^C Only the general remained inside, as if ashamed to suffer the same fate as the many, and to cast away the remaining hopes of salvation. For he deemed it better, if it were necessary, to be captured than that he himself should also strive to seek safety by flight, abandoning the ships.

Then, moreover, the timidity and sloth of Nicolaus corrupted that illustrious and wonderful victory. For if he had been obedient to the emperor, who was urging him to attack the enemy on the following day, nothing would have prevented him from capturing all their ships and destroying the men themselves with siege and famine. But, not only failing in his fear to set up a trophy, he came to a certain harbor at the straits, known by the inhabitants as Therapea. Paganus, the leader of the Genoese, seeing no enemy approaching, ^D encouraged the soldiers to board the ships again, and not to be so disheartened as to be entirely terrified and flee shamefully: but now, having regained the ships, they should remain, lest they seem to have utterly despaired; if they should see the enemy approaching, they should not despair, but trust their safety to the walls. Moved by these words, they returned to the ships which they had stationed before the fortress, with the intention that if the enemies should attack, they would not fight, but [would leave] them to them.

^A Such a manifest and wonderful victory, however, was ruined by the cowardice and irresolution of Nicholas. For if he had obeyed the Emperor, who advised attacking the enemies on the following day, nothing would have prevented him from capturing all the enemies' ships and destroying the men themselves with siege and famine. But out of cowardice, as if abandoning the setting up of a trophy, he departed to a certain harbor, called locally Therapia. ^B Paganeus, the commander of the Genoese, seeing no enemy approaching, exhorted the army to board the ships again and not to be so struck with terror by the enemies that they should tremble even when they were absent and flee ignobly. He urged them, rather, to get on board the ships now and sit there, so that they might not appear to have given up entirely. "And if," he said, "you see the enemies approaching, I myself will not prevent you from being saved by getting inside the walls." In this way he persuaded them again, and they were taken into the triremes and anchored before the fortress, with the intention that if the enemies were to attack, they would not fight a sea battle, but would surrender the triremes to the enemies. The Emperor, aware of the cowardice and weakness of the enemies, kept sending and exhorting Nicholas to return to the enemies once more, as the victory could be won without bloodshed; and the Emperor himself, moving to the harbor where he was anchored, attempted to persuade him by explaining the weakness of the enemies. But he remained invincible to every entreaty of the words; he was concerned only with how not to engage the enemies again, using his cowardice and indolence as a screen, and showing a small wound which he had received during the battle. ^C The Emperor, however, was in no small measure vexed and angered that such a victory was being squandered by Nicholas, but he could not persuade him despite much pleading. No less incensed was the leader of the Catalans, seeing what kind of trophies he was being deprived of by his colleague. He told the Emperor that he was under the necessity of following Nicholas and that he could not do anything without his approval, for such were the orders he had received from his king. Had this necessity not existed, he would not have needed Nicholas to attack the enemies, but unaided he would have attempted and succeeded in the task, relying on the bravery of his own men and their excellence, as well as on that of the Romans; for they had appeared to him most brave and most experienced in battle. Though saddened, the Emperor encouraged him, who was himself eager for battle, with exhortative words, and attempted to persuade Nicholas once more, while the Catalan leader praised the Emperor's opinion and requested that he comply with what the Emperor advised for the better. But he lent his ears to any other speech rather than that concerning the battle; instead, he openly refused, and in this way spent a little more than thirty days achieving nothing. ^D Immediately after the battle, the Catalans brought the wounded, all that there were, and the dead, who were very many, to Byzantium. The Byzantines received them with great kindness and treated them with much philanthropy, as they were nearly dead from hunger and cold; they provided them with the necessary clothing and all aids for their health, so that they might not waste away and perish there, already exhausted and lost. They detested, however, the great inhumanity and cruelty of Nicholas, because he had destroyed an army flourishing in strength, most skilled in battle, and far superior in vigor to his own forces, having weakened and lost them as if by voluntary negligence. For having set out from their own region during the summer, expecting to destroy the enemy in a short time if they encountered them, or to fall by them (for such was the spirit in which they went to war), they had neither provided themselves with thick garments to defend against the cold of a winter expedition, nor with sufficient provisions, but had embarked upon the sea ill-equipped in both regards. And since Nicholas was enduring the time badly, sailing around the islands, and avoiding the battle out of cowardice, when, despite their urgent entreaties, they could not prevail upon him to lead them against the enemy while they were still strong and vigorous (for as hope far exceeded the reality and food supplies began to fail), he, constrained by necessity and fearing that they might perish entirely from want, ordered half a ration of food to be given to each, both soldier and rower,

no more than a barley-cake, and that meagerly supplied to them as if to make them barely subsist. ^A Then, when extraordinary storms arose, they destroyed those who were entirely naked and starving. Nicolaus, however, cared nothing for any of this; but even when putting in with his ships to ports friendly to them, he took as much care as possible of his own things, but for the allies, though they were better than he could even say, he showed no care—such a lack of gratitude did he show toward his friends.

The Byzantines, whom he rightly blamed for much, showed the exact opposite toward the Catalans, ^B pitying their such great misfortune. For they were not only completely naked, but were, to speak poetically, images of the dead, breathing only a little, and believed to be alive by the fact that they moved. Most, however, could not even move, their limbs being deadened by the severity of the cold. They attended to the sick with such concern and diligence as one would show even to their nearest kin. And this noble work, full of humanity, was practiced not only by the more powerful citizens, ^C and holy monasteries, and the houses built for the common reception of strangers—a work truly admirable among the Romans and full of much philanthropy—but even by the common people themselves, and those engaged in workshops and crafts; nay, all were vying with one another as to who could surpass the other in their zeal for those in distress. And having thus well restored them, and deemed them worthy of the necessary care, they sent them off to their triremes, which were already sailing away; ^D the Romans were extolled with wonderful praises, and they expressed great thanks for the care shown them.

But those whose ships had perished, and who were necessarily left behind in Byzantium—about two thousand of them—the emperor decided to send back to their homes by land. However, more than three hundred remained of their own accord, whose mercenary services the emperor later employed in the expedition; and they indeed proved themselves to be brave warriors. But these things happened later.

Notes of Jacobus Pontanus

(32) *Mazam* was cheaper than bread; the latter was usually made from wheat, the former from barley. Stephanus describes this in his *Thesaurus*. Xenophon, *Cyropaedia*: "If anyone thinks they eat or drink less pleasantly when they have nothing to add to bread except cress, and have only water to drink, let him remember how pleasant bread is to one who is hungry, and how sweet water is to one who is thirsty." (33) He alludes to Homer’s *Odyssey*: "Images of the dead who have labored," to whose *Nekyia* M. Tullius alludes in Book I of his *Tusculan Disputations*.

HISTORIES BOOK IV, CHAPTER XXXI

Genuenses ultro hostes lacessere statuunt. Orchanes cur Venetis infensus; Genuensibus mittit auxilia. Imbellis animus Nicolai, cui irascitur maxime Catalanorum dux, ac præ dolore correptus morbo decedit, cui Monean subrogatur. Nicolaum imperator ad pugnam frustra sollicitat; et tandem ut mentis expertem missum facit; cum Genuensibus fœdus jungit.

^A Then, when the Genoese saw that for many days no enemy was advancing, they suspected that the enemy were terrified of fighting them; they began to take heart, and determined that they themselves must advance against them, so as to strike them with greater terror. They prepared everything necessary for battle, and sent an embassy to Orchan requesting him to become their ally, offering him no small amount of money and promising that their favor would be engraved forever in the hearts of the Genoese people and senate. He gladly consented, not only enticed by the money, but because he was also offended by the Venetians; for they had arrived with such a great fleet at the borders of his principality without deigning to acknowledge him—not only as an ally and friend, but even with so much as a mere greeting. He sent a great force of infantry and cavalry to the continent across from Byzantium, and commanded that they assist the Genoese as much as possible and cross over to Galata. At that time, the Persian aid was of the greatest benefit to them. For when they were already prepared and lacked nothing further, they brought forward two large merchant vessels with wooden towers built upon them, in which they stood; furthermore, they transported a huge multitude of armed men to the opposite continent in all the ships they had. With the Persians following by land, they landed directly opposite their enemies.

^B The Emperor immediately brought a large force of infantry and cavalry from Byzantium, accompanied by the younger Emperor Palaeologus (for he had recently returned from Thessalonica, as will be related in a short while), joining his own triremes ^C with those of his allies, and urged Nicolaus to join battle. But he was so far from being persuaded that, miserable man, he thought only of bringing up stone-throwing engines from Byzantium and setting them up on land, so that he might repel the pressing enemy from the shore. Even if these might have seemed useful for something, they would have required not a little time to build, when the enemy was already present and could have attacked repeatedly that very day. Thus, due to fear and madness, there was nothing in his mind that befitted a sensible commander who understood what the situation required.

But Punson, the son of Nisantas (for that was the name of the Catalan commander), was consumed by rage, and, if he could, wanted to tear his colleague Nicolaus to pieces, considering the insolence and contempt of the enemy that they had suffered because of the commander’s cowardice, even though they excelled them in all respects. He denounced the profound imprudence of their king, in that he had subjected himself and his army to such a creature, who differed in no way from the meanest and most cowardly. Since, however, he was suffering from a fever—the beginning of the sickness that was to be the shameful deeds of Nicolaus, from which evils ever increased (34)—he affirmed that he would die from it, as shortly after...

^D (34) The note of Jacobus Pontanus. It seems he should respond to that particle; it should have followed, regarding the particle, that...

the world. ^A And it happened, whether from bitter feeling and anger against his colleague, or from some other cause aiding it, he was consumed by sickness and perished: a man noble in his own home, and in prudence and military skill inferior to none, who had stood brilliantly in battle. In his place, Monean de Soltis, a Catalan, was elected leader—not, indeed, a famous or noble man, but one excelling others in intelligence and experience, and most warlike. Nicolaus, setting out from the station where he was anchored, along with all the triremes, came to Byzantium, leaving the enemy behind. They, fearing lest he attack Galata (where the defenders were at that time standing ready, because all were on the ships), followed after him. The emperor asked Nicolaus again to engage the enemy as they approached, since he saw that the victory would be manifest, but he did not move him, as he was clearly thinking of everything rather than battle. The emperor, perplexed and not knowing which way to turn, exhorted Monean, the leader of the Catalans, to advance against the enemy with the imperial triremes. For he thought that, out of shame, Nicolaus would not fail to assist him, and that he would have a defensible argument before the king if he were to be sought for disobedience by Nicolaus—that is, that the man to whom he had ordered Nicolaus to be subject in all things was dead. Monean confirmed that battle was highly desired by himself and his men, and he castigated the excessive timidity of Nicolaus, who was willingly letting the present victory slip from his hands out of a base spirit. Nevertheless, he said that he could not act against Nicolaus’s will; for he depended upon him in the same way as the previous ^B leader had depended upon him. Moreover, it seemed entirely foolish if both victors and vanquished, expecting to pay the penalty to their own prince for disobedience, were to nevertheless enter into conflict in both cases at such manifest peril. For if they were to win, they would suffer the ultimate punishments with disgrace because they had not obeyed (for so, he said, was the custom among them); or if they were to be overcome by the enemy (for the outcomes of battles are uncertain), those whom the war had spared must die. On this account, unless Nicolaus allowed it, he could not engage with the enemy. The emperor, being thus most occupied with the prospect of battle and incensed by the stubbornness of his allies (for the Romans alone were unable to withstand so great a fleet of the enemy), there appeared out of the Catalan force three triremes, of exceptional size and properly equipped with all their other gear, in which were most warlike and courageous soldiers. Thinking, therefore, that Nicolaus would be excited by this addition to advance against the enemy, he was happy and conceived a better hope, and consequently he immediately set himself to impel him toward it. But he, by this very action, declaring that he would not fight, left his station (he was stationed at the Gate of Eugenius) and, sailing around the citadel, took his stand at the gate named for the martyr Barbara, in the greatest swell of the waves. ^{C D} (34) The note of Jacobus Pontanus. It seems he should respond to that particle; it should have followed, regarding the particle, that... just as shortly after came to pass. Whether from bitterness, etc. Thus we thought that what seemed to be missing should be added to complete the sentence. (35) Cic., pro Milone: Add the chance, add the uncertain outcomes of battles, and the common Mars: who often overthrows and strikes down the one who is despoiling and exulting, even by the hand of one who has been cast down. Homer, Iliad, VI: Common Mars, and in turn destroys the destroyer. See the proverb, Mars is common.

^A As the allies were not persuaded—for the Romans were unable to resist such a fleet of the enemy with their own forces alone—three triremes of great size, recently arrived from the Catalans and resplendently equipped for all other needs, were suddenly seen, carrying many very brave and experienced fighting men. Thinking that, heartened by the addition of the triremes, Nicholas would advance against the enemy, the Emperor was glad and in better spirits, and he again attempted to urge him on. But he, making it manifest by his very deeds that he was not mad, left the naval station, for he was anchored at the Eugenius gates. Having sailed around the acropolis, he came to the most exposed part of the current and cast anchor before the gate called that of the martyr Barbara; the Catalans and Romans were compelled ^B to follow.

The Emperor, knowing that the place was dangerous—for generally, if a wind blows from the sea or the east, the swelling sea beats against the walls, and many rocks, both hidden under the water and those cast down in front of the walls to hold back the surges, had been placed there by the foresight of those who first enclosed Byzantium with walls—advised them to withdraw from that place and not to expose themselves voluntarily to unexpected dangers. When Nicholas replied to the Emperor that they should rather defer to his nautical expertise, just as he and everyone else deferred to him in matters on the continent, and that he should not meddle in things he did not understand, as if they were conducting their anchorage with great skill, the Emperor left him to his own devices, as one entirely bereft of his senses.

He ordered Tarchaniotes, the commander of their own triremes, to withdraw as quickly as possible to where he could spend the night in the greatest safety, and not to share the danger with those foolish men. Tarchaniotes did as he was ordered. But as sudden and indiscriminate winds fell upon them in the night, and the sea swelled up, the Venetian triremes and all the allied ships barely escaped being dashed against the walls and destroyed by the waves. Nevertheless, four of the Venetian ships and three of the allied ones were shipwrecked. The men, arms, and other rigging were saved, with many of the Byzantines assisting and sympathizing with them in their danger; the imperial ships spent the night in ^C safety, not even sensing the turmoil of the sea. Thus poorly did the commander of the Venetians fight at that time, and as if willingly and of his own accord, he surrendered the victory to the enemy having overcome the dangers, and by both his words and deeds he filled the Emperor with much distress and grief.

After that storm and the shipwrecks, even while the Emperor urged him to wait, he departed without even taking his leave, abandoning the Emperor alone to the war. Yet the Emperor did not even then abandon the alliance, but even after the departure of the allies, he deferred the war for forty days, hoping the allies would return. But when it was reported that they had crossed the Aegean, thinking that no one could justly blame him if he made a pact with the enemy who held command of the sea, since the allies had abandoned and openly betrayed him, he made a pact with those from Genoa who most readily accepted the resolution of the war against the Emperor. After this, they too departed for their homes.

CHAPTER XXXII

at Methone. Peace between the Venetians and the Genoese. Paganino, with the nobles, is driven into exile; a return to the original state. Palaiologos [seeks to restore] Byzantium.

Chapter 32

^A In the same year, Nicolaus, having repaired the triremes that were still in good condition, and having taken on others from Venice and the Catalans in addition to those he already possessed, along with others that joined him, set out again in search of the enemy. In Genoa, however, the people and the doge, blaming the general Paganino—who had served perfectly well in his duty and was the one chiefly responsible for their not having been utterly destroyed—removed him from command. They appointed Antonio Grimoaldo as general of the fleet. Having equipped himself with other ships in addition to those he already had, and having prepared the other necessary things he lacked, he attacked the enemy at the island of Sardinia. A battle took place in which he was soundly defeated, losing thirty-two triremes. The Catalans at that time blamed Nicolaus all the more for not having obeyed the Emperor's exhortation to engage in a naval battle near Byzantium, where their forces would have been superior and the imperial fleet would have come to their aid, and where the enemy, had they been defeated, would have had no refuge and would have been forced to surrender and be destroyed entirely.

^B The people of Genoa, however, broken in spirit by so great a defeat (for they lacked the money to build another fleet, and the common people were pressed by great scarcity of grain, since the Venetians ruled the seas after their victory and would not allow grain to be imported, and they themselves possessed no farmlands from which they could draw sustenance), judged it worthwhile to submit and subject themselves to the most powerful prince of Milan, ^C who could best provide for their poverty. For he was most wealthy in money and abounded not only in cavalry but also in infantry, of which they were in need. Furthermore, he possessed an ample and fertile region from which he could feed them by importing grain from everywhere. By decree and through ambassadors, they surrendered the city to him. He accepted this gladly. For even before this, he deemed himself blessed if Genoa, which was a neighbor, should become his possession. Solemn oaths and agreements were made between them, so that he would help them with money, arms, soldiers, and everything he possessed against their enemies, while they, as long as he lived, would acknowledge him as their lord; they would never rebel, they would accept from him a prefect, and the whole policy of the state would be changed and governed according to his will.

^D [index: Jacobi Pontani nota: entries preserved]

^A Thus, the Genoese, pressured by the war, were compelled to act in an ignoble and slavish manner, casting aside their former arrogance and pride. Having dismissed Simone Boccanegra from his office, they accepted a prefect sent by the Lord of Milan. He, now acting with concern for them as if they were his own people, provided grain and other necessities in abundance, as well as money for war preparations, and he ordered them to fit out triremes again against the enemy. When the fleet was ready, they appointed Paganino as admiral once more, having judged Antonio’s military inexperience to be quite great.

When the Venetians heard that the enemy fleet was approaching again, they too sailed out to meet them with Nicholas as their commander. Elated by their previous victory and having neglected the Catalan alliance (as they had previously neglected the Emperor’s), they were defeated at sea by their opponents near Methone. Almost all their ships were captured by the Genoese, save for a few, and their admiral was taken prisoner, later meeting his end in a Genoese prison. After this blow, both sides, exhausted by the war, sent embassies to one another regarding peace; they brought an end to a war that had grown so large from a small cause, and which had been extremely detrimental to both parties.

^B Once peace was established and no further evil was expected, the Genoese considered it unworthy of them to harbor any ill will toward those who had benefited them, yet they acted wickedly against their benefactors. First, they expelled Admiral Paganino from the city—who had distinguished himself in both campaigns—banishing him into perpetual exile, along with the most prominent men, even though they had no criminal charge to bring against them. Afterward, they also defected from the Lord of Milan and expelled the prefect he had appointed for them with ignominy, once again designating Simone Boccanegra as the head of the republic. By this method, they repaid the great solicitude and care he had shown them.

Thus ended the war among the Latins and with the Romans. ^C Emperor Palaiologos, spurred on primarily by his mother, left Thessalonica and came to Ainos, intending to travel from there through Thrace to Byzantium to see his father-in-law, the Emperor. The governors at Didymoteichon—Arsenios, the Grand Papas, Zamplakon, and the Protostrator Tarchaniotes—suspected that Emperor Palaiologos would pass through Didymoteichon. Mindful of his previous actions at Thessalonica regarding the agreement he had made with the Kral concerning a coalition, and how they had jointly conspired to wage war against Emperor Cantacuzenus, they were fearful. They worried that, if they admitted him into the city, they might be acting against the will of Emperor Cantacuzenus and provoke his anger; they feared that they would appear to be showing him ingratitude and abandoning him to join the opposing faction. Therefore, they sent to ask him in what manner they should behave toward the younger Emperor. He replied by stating how servants ought to behave toward their master, and that free access should be granted to all, and that obedience should be rendered to the Emperor, not only by them but also by all the other cities universally. Accordingly, they welcomed him as he arrived. After he had stayed at Didymoteichon for a few days, he departed for Byzantium, where he lived for a long time with his father-in-law the Emperor, while the Latin war was still raging at its peak. Cantacuzenus, well aware of the disagreement between his son Matthew and his son-in-law, intended to summon him as well, and...

^A they were inquiring how it was necessary to behave toward the young emperor. The emperor also gave orders, as is fitting for servants toward their masters, that they should also provide every access ^B freely, paying attention to the emperor—not to them alone, but to all the other cities as well. ^C Whence they also received him eagerly, having arrived from Aenus. The emperor, however, having spent a few days in Didymoteichon, departed from there to Byzantium, and spent no little time with the emperor, his son-in-law, most especially while the Latin war was at its peak at that time. But Emperor Cantacuzenus, knowing that there were certain differences between his son Matthew and the emperor, his son-in-law, regarding one another, thought it necessary, having sent for the other also, to resolve the differences for them, having them tell everything in his presence regarding matters in which they thought they had been wronged by one another. And he was summoning both his son and the emperor, his son-in-law, preparing to keep them both until he could establish stable reconciliations for them. Now the son, having recently taken over Adrianople, and the emperor, his father, having handed over to him the small towns around it, and being occupied with the concern for them, was late in coming to Byzantium according to the emperor’s order, with the intention of arriving a little later. Since the young emperor was in a hurry to come to the cities that had been handed over to him, the emperor permitted his departure, having added Didymoteichon to the previous cities which he had allowed him to rule. And he permitted Queen Irene, his wife, to accompany him, who was carrying Manuel, the younger of the sons; but he left Emperor Andronikos, his son, and Irene, his daughter, to be raised honorably by their grandmother at the court of the queen. But as the young emperor was already about to set out, the emperor, his father-in-law, exhorted him to other matters: neither to incite any war against the brother of his wife, nor, being persuaded by bad advisors, to consider him an enemy, while he had suffered nothing unjust at his hands. For it would be better for him to have waited until he himself could arrive to resolve, in his own presence, whatever they disagreed upon due to pettiness toward one another. But since his departure was necessary and urgent for him, and he himself was unable at this present time to arrive in Thrace on account of the war against the Latins and reconcile them to one another, he was not to change any of the existing arrangements until Queen Irene, the mother, having arrived at Didymoteichon, could remove every pretext for war and pettiness. Having given such advice, the emperor sent the young man off with his wife. But after a little while, he ordered Queen Irene, his own wife, having arrived at Didymoteichon, to reconcile the son with the emperor, his son-in-law. He also sent along Philotheus, the Metropolitan of Heraclea, and Metrophanes of Melenikon, men who were worthy of respect in the eyes of those who saw them, both for their way of life and their speech. In addition to these, he also sent John Philes, who was among the nobility, and who, because of his virtue and philosophy of life, refrained from all affairs and lived privately, taking great concern for a sober and just life. At once they were to reconcile him with both his sons, and at the same time they were to be witnesses to her if she did not show the same care toward both, so that no

not to be accused later by calumniators, who could claim the contrary of what had been done, should things ^A not turn out according to the wishes of his sons. He empowered the Empress and those sent with her to resolve the other disputes of the youths, putting everything in their hands as God and prudence should dictate. However, regarding the established order, they were to change nothing: the junior emperor was to hold Didymoteichon and the other cities which he had been granted and to act in whatever way he thought best. But he was to hinder no one in those regions not yet entrusted to him, but rather remain under the Emperor as before. Matthias, the brother of his wife, was to be considered a servant according to the law of emperors, but also a brother, and the junior emperor was to show him all benevolence and friendship, as was right. He was to conduct no inquiry concerning the authority, but allow him to lead his subjects as he thought best, yielding to him in such superiority, for he was indeed a father, and able to correct the youths if they stumbled in anything. As for Matthias’s son, he was to hold Adrianople and the other small towns, and to regard his brother-in-law as emperor, lord, and master, rendering him all goodwill and honor. Yet he was not to be under compulsion to be examined by him concerning the authority, but only by his father alone; for so it was just, and provided no pretext for dispute or sedition. Such were the mandates given to the Empress Irene and those with her concerning the sons. When they arrived ^B at Didymoteichon and tried to act according to the things ordered by the Emperor, on other points the junior emperor was compliant. But when he was also required to pledge his faith to his wife’s brother by means of his own hand, that he would never in any way hinder him in his authority, he did not comply. He said that he accepted the statutes of the senior emperor and argued against nothing, but that he would write nothing; for he had no need of such letters. The Empress, along with the bishops, opposed him, saying that he was not acting justly and was providing a pretext for suspicion and war to the brother of his wife. For the Emperor had sent us, they said, so that the former disagreements might be dissolved and no pretext for war might ever exist among you, and it is fitting that you also obey. For it will provide no small suspicion if you are unwilling to confirm by writing that the authority possessed by the brother ^C of your wife is unaccountable to you. The Emperor replied with the same things again, and it was clear that he would not be satisfied with the present situation. Since the Empress and those with her were unable to persuade him, they returned to Byzantium without having achieved anything regarding their purpose. They reported to the Emperor all that the junior emperor had said to them. To him, this immediately seemed to be the beginning of evils, and he suspected that the junior emperor would be incited against Matthias, the brother of his wife, by his attendants. Nevertheless, it seemed necessary, since the war against the Latins had already been settled, that he should go there himself and dissolve every pretext for war. He began to prepare, intending to arrive at Didymoteichon shortly. Meanwhile, the attendants and intimates of the junior emperor, and especially those who had previously ^D favored the cause of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, were inciting him to war, asserting that it was no work to…

recover what had been unjustly snatched by the Emperor Cantacuzenus from the young emperor, and besides, he was establishing his son as a rival. For what else was it to entrust the government to him without accountability, other than to provide that there be a second emperor? They advised him not to allow his antagonist to grow in strength, but to suppress him at once from the beginning. ^B Following this advice, he openly launched the war; for immediately gathering whatever army there was in the cities he governed (the original language: ἣν ἦρχε στρατιὰν συνηθροικῶς), he marched upon the cities subject to the emperor, his father-in-law, and made not a few of them his own, with all people gladly defecting to him and being happily disposed toward the change. After this, he also summoned Persian aid—having at that time for the first time occupied a fortress in Thrace called Tzympe—and marched against the brother of his wife, who had provided no pretext for war. And he easily took possession of the small towns he had previously governed, whose inhabitants were ready to defect. Then, arriving at Adrianople, the gates were opened to him by the populace, who gladly received him and offered him full entry. ^C Matthew, the son of the emperor, having with him the Sebastokrator Nikephoros Cantacuzenus, his uncle, and others of the best men around him, occupied the citadel, for he had previously stocked it with provisions and otherwise readied it as best he could. He sent a message to the emperor, his father, signifying that he was being besieged by the emperor, his brother-in-law. The young emperor, however, having seized the city, while leading the populace and the following army, besieged the wife’s brother at the citadel, and executed daily, determined assaults upon the walls in succession. For he was anxious to force the surrender of the citadel before the emperor, his father-in-law, could arrive. Those inside, however, were able to achieve nothing, as they were spiritedly defending themselves and enduring the siege. ^D The populace of Adrianople, moreover, was not only troublesome to the emperor’s son in its daily wall-fighting, but also attacked him with insults and contumelious taunts. Some of them, who were most ill-disposed, even cursed him quite bitterly and with base abuse. But the Emperor Cantacuzenus, when he learned that his son was being besieged—and as he was already prepared for departure—hastened with speed toward Adrianople, leading an army of Romans, in whom he had the greatest trust, and a small number of Persians whom his son-in-law Orchanes had provided when he asked for them. In addition to these, he also had a company of Catalans who remained in Byzantium from the triremes. When the young emperor learned that the emperor, his father-in-law, was coming against him—being otherwise not capable of battle, and with the citadel especially well-held, and fearing that the city might easily be captured from there—he left a day early, arrived at Tzernomianos, and took possession of it through the commander who yielded it. From there he departed to Didymoteichon, leaving the Persians and not a few Roman soldiers in Adrianople to guard the city. On the following day, the Emperor Cantacuzenus, having arrived at Adrianople and learned that the emperor, his son-in-law, had retreated, sent and exhorted the

citizens to come over to his side and surrender the city. ^A For, driven by an irrational impulse and a state of frenzy, thinking they would resist the emperor on their own, some, armed before the gates, drew up in battle array, including the Persians their allies; while the light-armed troops were on the walls. Although the emperor exhorted them to come over, they not only did not obey, but even initiated the battle, using archery. The emperor, seeing that weapons were needed against those so senseless, gave the signal for battle to his own men. At once, both the Catalans were inside the walls through the citadel, and the rest of the army, having attacked, routed those who were drawn up outside, and the city was taken from both sides. The Persians, their allies, seeing those with whom they were drawn up already defeated, seized what they could and went over to the emperor. ^B Immediately, those who had rushed in with the emperor took few as prisoners, for there were few also; though those of the Adrianopolitan citizens who had spoken most ill of the young emperor under siege were fleeing, fearing lest they pay the penalty for their insolence. The common people, however, even though defeated and having fared badly, did not thus abandon their hostility toward the emperor; but those who had not been captured, having gotten inside the city and seized the strongest of the towers, and having barricaded one of the streets with large beams, stood and fought off the emperor's men as they approached. But the latter threw fire against the houses. And with no great effort, they overcame those who were set against them. For they turned immediately; some hid in secret places, others took refuge as suppliants in the temples. The soldiers were plundering the houses and tearing them down. In that battle some were wounded, but no one was killed. When now everything was in his power, the emperor ordered the fire extinguished, the soldiers to abstain from violence and plunder, and the masters of the houses to retain what remained for themselves, and to harm no one. Truly, those who had been enslaved by the barbarians were ransomed within a few days by their own kin with money. For not the whole city was plundered, nor entirely; but insofar as there was furniture and household goods, which the soldiers later sold back to the owners at a tolerable price, and especially the Catalans, who had plundered more than the others and considered them useless to themselves as foreigners and homeless men. ^C After this, the Emperor Cantacuzenus, remaining at Adrianople, harassed the cities that had revolted to the young emperor and which he had not himself brought over (for he thought he should spare the latter, and not try to recall them to himself), by sending troops. In particular, he harassed the Zernomianenses with ravages until, worn out, they surrendered themselves and their city to his power. For they, driven by folly and a sudden, reckless impulse, with no necessity compelling them, had not only revolted, but had also made it known by letters that they would neither submit to him nor acknowledge him as emperor; but that he should not omit to do whatever he could against them. Whereupon, carried away by anger, he took vengeance in a manner worthy of their madness. ^D He did not move his army against Didymotichum, nor did he harm it by any evil act, because he greatly loved the young emperor. For even in this open war, he attributed the blame chiefly to his advisors; and what was being done, he did not approve of. Regarding his inclination toward his son-in-law, he had in no way diminished it up to that point. The young emperor was not failing himself either, but was pressing the cities of Cantacuzenus, and was seeking help from the Cral by pact; who, without any hesitation, promised it if he would give him his brother as a hostage. The emperor ordered without delay that the Despot Manuel set out to the Cral as a hostage. Once he was received, an equipped army was sent, five thousand cavalry, whom Cosmitzus Borilobices, one of the most noble of the Triballians, led. Alexander also, the King of the Mysians, was asked and sent aid; for Cantacuzenus was always suspect to him, as though the Persian...

one of the most noble of the Triballians, led. Alexander also, the King of the Mysians, was asked and sent aid; for Cantacuzenus was always suspect to him, as though he would not prevent the Persians from overrunning his land. And Emperor Cantacuzenus, not being ignorant that the ^A younger emperor was bringing the Mysians and Triballians against him, sent for a Persian army from Asia, from his son-in-law Orchan. Thus both sides prepared with great equipment to make war against one another. But while the allied army for the younger emperor was delayed, he thought it necessary to go to Aenus, and after settling certain agreements with those from Venice, to return again to Didymoteichon. On the way to Aenus, the army from the Triballians happened to meet him, which he had sent to Didymoteichon, having joined with them the more distinguished of his own retinue, and the greater part of the soldiers, so that they might spend time with them until he returned from Aenus.

CHAPTER XXXIV

At the same time, Callistus, the Patriarch of Constantinople, offended by the discord of the emperors and interpreting it as a common calamity for the Romans, took with him some chosen bishops and monks and betook himself to Adrianople to entreat the emperor that he might desist from the war against his son-in-law, as it was a nursery of many evils. The emperor, replying that such had been his mind from the beginning until that day, regarding both war and peace, and that he considered the latter to be the root of all good things, and the former, on the contrary, of all miseries, sent them to Didymoteichon to the younger emperor, saying that if they persuaded him, no obstacle to peace would arise from his own side. The patriarch, upon arriving there, found that the son-in-law had set out for Aenus, and that the auxiliaries from the Triballians and the Mysians were present, whom the Romans sent by the emperor to bring them had led and encamped by the Hebrus, not very far from Didymoteichon, though not together, but separately and apart. ^C The camp of the Mysians was, however, nearest to Didymoteichon. They had the intention that on the following day they would all together attack the fortress of Empythium, which Emperor Cantacuzenus had secured with a garrison, and inflict the greatest damage. On that same day, it happened that the Persian aid designated for Cantacuzenus, having crossed the Hellespont, also pitched its camp at the Hebrus, and did not know that the enemy was encamped nearby, and was in turn unknown by them. There were no less than ten thousand horsemen, under the command of Suleyman, the elder son of Orchan; and they themselves on the following dawn [approached] Adrianople.

ri, ac nescire hostem prope tendere, vicissimque ab eo nesciri. Erant equitum non minus dena millia, duce Sulimane, Orchanis filio seniore: qui et ipsi sequenti lumine Adrianopolim ^A ad imperatorem pergere cogitabant. At dawn, they too departed from their camp and made for the emperor. Meanwhile, the Triballi and Mysians, together with the Romans by whom they were led, marched in arms toward the fortress, when suddenly both armies caught sight of one another. The Mysians, immediately dreading an engagement with the enemy, fled in terror toward Didymoteichon, offering many thanks for the flight that had saved them. The Triballi and the Romans withstood the charge of the Persians, but having resisted for a short time against those who were more numerous and stronger, they yielded to their prowess. Struck by the terror of the enemy and plagued by their own unfamiliarity with the terrain, they did not flee by the road that leads to Didymoteichon—by which not a few could have escaped—but wandered onto the plain adjacent to the Hebrus, where all but a few perished. As they fled through the wide, open plain, void of trees and forests, and providing no refuge, while riding very lean horses, some were slaughtered and others were caught and carried off as captives. For the horses of the Persians were the exact opposite: extremely swift for running and highly trained for endurance. Cosmitzus the commander escaped with a few men; as for the rest, some were cut down, others were taken alive. In that struggle, the outstanding courage of the Roman nobles shone forth, all of whom were surrounded and captured by the Barbarians; some of the common soldiers were killed, others captured, though the greater part arrived at Didymoteichon unharmed. Thus, the alliance of the young emperor was destroyed, a fact which distressed him most of all and utterly shattered his position. ^B After their victory, the Barbarians, having seized the tents, captives, and a multitude of arms and horses, came to Adrianople to the emperor. Having encamped there for a few days, they broke into Mysia of their own accord, and, having inflicted no small devastation upon the fields, they returned to Asia with their booty. As they were retreating through Thrace, the young emperor, having returned to Aenus after the miserable fall of his allies, sent envoys to the satrap Suliman, endeavoring to win him over with gifts and gently worded letters and to bring him to his own authority. In these letters, when he ought to have made mention of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, he did not address him as Emperor, but merely designated him "Cantacuzenus" without any addition. The Barbarian, having heard the envoys kindly, sent back gifts and promised to aid him henceforth. Then, marveling at the great iniquity of Palaeologus, he took care to have those same letters conveyed to Cantacuzenus. The Barbarians were already back in Asia, and Callistus the patriarch having held many discussions regarding peace with the young emperor, after he obtained nothing fair (the nobles ^C surrounding him obstructing him and inciting him toward war instead, urging him not to admit anything base or low on account of the calamity suffered, but to persist in his original intentions, assuring him that he would be entirely superior to the enemy and would recover the empire), returned to Cantacuzenus at Adrianople, and denounced the perversity of those men who, for the sake of their own expected profit, betrayed the common good and fanned the flames of war. He ^D

^A, seeing the war grow, was filled with sadness, and condemned the adversaries of peace as authors of many new miseries to the Romans, and as criminals. However, not yet having abandoned hope of peace, he sent once more his cousin Manuel Cantacuzenus and Metrophanes, the bishop of Melenicon, as ambassadors to the younger emperor, admonishing him to desist from these new actions and abandon the war. But since his counselors openly resisted and repudiated the peace, the ambassadors returned empty-handed. Cantacuzenus, no longer delaying, began to harass the cities that had deserted him, especially Morrha and other Rhodopeian cities subject to the Romans (for many had surrendered themselves to the younger emperor), with troubles and damages. Afterward, he sent cohorts and ordered them to infest the Chalcidice. He did not, however, wish to harm the inhabitants themselves—for he did not think it just to bring inconvenience upon those whom he himself had willingly handed over to the younger emperor, as if they had done him an injury—but he was compelled to do so because the Morrhenses, partly because of the proximity of the war, and partly because that region was more suitable in winter time for its warmth and for providing an abundance of fodder, had moved a great force there. Therefore, the soldiers invading those places avariciously plundered not only the Morrhenses but also the local inhabitants, since even if they had wished to, they could not easily distinguish and discern them. He forbade any harm to be done to Didymotichon on account of his son-in-law. The Morrhenses, therefore, being vehemently agitated and vexed by arms, returned to the faith and authority of Cantacuzenus. The son-in-law, perceiving that his forces were gradually melting away and that affairs were slipping backward, sought peace through ambassadors, with the condition that each side should retain what it held. He ^B replied that he valued peace above all things and that nothing was more acceptable or desirable to him, especially peace with those who were very dear. He said that, taught by experience and because he was a father, he ought to provide that the son not be involved in his former evils, and to remove the causes of factions and innovation. For if someone were to see his son spending his time in drinking, gambling, and other such worst things, consorting with drunkards and vicious men, or being most addicted to hunting and squandering all his money for this purpose, buying dogs for hunting ^C and horses, while still writing him as the heir of his goods, he would not seem to be acting according to reason. Therefore, he ^D sought that the cities already bestowed upon him, and also Didymotichon, be ceded to him; but that the Roman nobles who were with him, whom he himself had not of his own will attached to him—whether they had their domiciles at Didymotichon or elsewhere—should be detached from him and be subject to him as before, so that they would not again incite him to war and new actions. Nor should they fear that this defection would be more serious for them.

ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι, καὶ τὸ πατέρα εἶναι πρόνοιαν αὐτὸν ^A μὴ τοῖς ἴσοις πάλιν τὸν υἱὸν περιπεσεῖν· ἀλλὰ τῆς στάσεως περιελεῖν τὰς αἰτίας, καὶ τῶν νεωτερισμῶν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἴ τις ὁρῶν τὸν παῖδα περὶ μέθας, καὶ κύβους, καὶ τοιαύτην ἐξώλειαν ἠσχολημένον, χρημάτων κύριον ποιῶν, καὶ φαύλοις ἀνθρώποις, καὶ μεθύουσι συνεῖναι ἐπιτρέπων, ἢ περὶ θήρας ἐπτοημένον ἀκρατῶς, καὶ πάντα χρήματα πρὸς τοῦτο προϊέμενον, εἰ κύνας παρείχετο θηρευτικάς, καὶ ἵππους, νοῦν ἂν ἔχοντα ἐδόκει πράττειν. Διὰ ταῦτα δὴ τῶν μὲν πόλεων, ἃς πρότερον αὐτὸς παρείχετο παραχωρεῖν, καὶ αὐτοῦ Διδυμοτείχου, τοὺς μέντοι συνόντων αὐτῷ Ῥωμαίων τοὺς ἐπιφανεστέρους, οὓς μὴ αὐτὸς ἐκοντὶ παρέσχετο συνεῖναι, ἀντ' ἐν Διδυμοτείχῳ, ἢ ἄλλοθί που τὰς οἰκίας ἔχωσι, τούτους δὲ μὴ συνεῖναι ἐφιέναι, ἀλλ' αὐτῷ δουλεύειν, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον, ἵνα μὴ αὐτῷ πολέμων αὖθις, καὶ νεωτερισμῶν αἴτιος ὀφθῶσι. Δέον μέντοι μηδ' ἐκείνους μηδὲν ὑποπτεύειν πείσεσθαι δεινὸν διὰ τὴν ἀποστασίαν. Οὐ γὰρ ὥστε ἀμύνεσθαι αὐτοὺς βούλεσθαι ὑπάγειν ἑαυτῷ, ἀλλὰ μὴ πρὸς τὰ βελτίω ἐναντιουμένους ἔχειν· ἐπηγγέλλετο τε παντάπασιν ἀμνηστήσειν τῶν προϋπηργμένων. Ὁ μὲν οὖν νέος βασιλεὺς ἑτοιμος πάντα ἦν ποιεῖν, ὅσα παραινεῖ βασιλεὺς ὁ κηδεστής, καὶ χωρεῖν πρὸς τὴν εἰρήνην· οἱ στασιασταὶ δὲ οὐκ εἴων, ἀλλ' ἐνώλυον πάσῃ δυνάμει, καὶ μᾶλλον ἔχεσθαι παρήνουν τοῦ πολέμου, εἰδότες ὡς, ἂν ὑπὸ βασιλέα γένωνται τὸν Καντακουζηνόν, οὐκέτι χώραν ἕξουσι στασιάζειν, καὶ νεώτερα κινεῖν, ἐξ ὧν τὸ κοινὸν μὲν διαφθεροῦσι Ῥωμαίων, αὐτοὶ δὲ ὠφεληθήσονται ὀλίγα.

^B Ἐπεὶ δ' οὐ προὐχώρουν αἱ συμβάσεις περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, σφοδρότερον βασιλεὺς ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς ἐπηνέχθη τοῖς περὶ τὸν νέον βασιλέα, ὥστε μηδὲ δυνηθῆναι ἀντισχεῖν. Διδυμότειχον γὰρ καταλιπών, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ἃς εἶχεν, ἐκ τῆς Αἴνου πρὸς Τένεδον ἐπεραιώθη. Συνείπετο δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ βασιλὶς Ἑλένη ἡ γυνή, Μανουὴλ τὸν νεώτερον τῶν παίδων ἔχουσα, μεῖζον εὐτύχημα, ἄν τις εἴποι δικαίως, ἧς ὅσον ἐδόκει κακοπραγεῖν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ. Πάντα γὰρ ἑαυτὴν παρέσχετο τῷ ἀνδρὶ λυσιτελοῦσαν οὐ παρὰ τὸν τοῦ πολέμου μόνον χρόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα τὸν ἐπίλοιπον, καὶ κατὰ τὴν πρώτην πλάσιν βοηθὸς ἐν πᾶσι τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἐγένετο, τήντε φυγὴν συνδιαφέρουσα ἀλύπως, καὶ πάντα ὑπομένειν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου οὖσα παρεσκευασμένη διὰ φιλανδρίαν. Ἐφιλονείκησε γὰρ οὐ τὰς οὖσας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἐπί τισι πλεονεκτήμασι πάλαι ὑμνουμένας ^C ὑφ' ἁπάσας παρελάσαι, φρόνημα μὲν γενναῖον ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ παράστημα ψυχῆς εὐγενοῦς ἐπιδεικνυμένη, συνέσει δὲ καὶ ἀγχινοίᾳ οὐ τῶν γυναικῶν τὰς πρώτας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνδρῶν τοὺς διὰ ταῦτα θαυμαζομένους παριοῦσα. Ἀτυφίας μέν τοι καὶ μετριότητος, καὶ γυναιξὶν αἰδοὺς πρεπούσης, καὶ πάντα τὰ καλὰ ἐπιβολῆς, καὶ εὐφυΐας, καὶ τῆς ἐπιφαινομένης καὶ διὰ τῶν λόγων, καὶ τῶν ἔργων κοσμιότητος, οὐδεὶς οὕτω φθονερός, οὐδ' ἀπείρατος καλῶν, ὅστις ἢ παντάπασιν ἂν ἔλοιτο συκρυπτεῖν, ἢ μεθ' ἁπάσης μὴ μεμνῆσθαι τῆς ὑπερβολῆς. Μέγιστον δὲ ἁπάντων ὅτι λαμπρότητα βίου ἐπανηρημένη, καὶ ὥσπερ νόμους θείσῃ ἑαυτῇ, οὔτε χρόνος, οὔθ' ἕτερον οὐδὲν ἤμβλυνε τὴν προθυμίαν. Μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ δεῖ τι καὶ καινότερον εἰπεῖν, καὶ συναυξανομένην ἔχει τῷ βίῳ, καὶ ^D [alt-version omitted]

all-surpassing. These things, then, are but a few of the many good qualities possessed by the empress Helen; for we did not choose to eulogize her, but rather that we might know what kind of goodness human nature has been able to bring forth in our own times.

CHAPTER XXXV

After the younger emperor had crossed over to the island of Tenedos, all the towns under him came over of their own accord to the emperor Cantacuzenus; he, complying with their wishes, was improving their condition and appointing those whom he saw to be most obedient to him as governors. The younger emperor, having equipped one trireme and a few smaller ships, arrived at Byzantium, taking care to use diligence lest his arrival be unknown. For he hoped that if only his friends heard of his arrival, they would persuade the people to admit him into the city, since the common people of Byzantium, as well as those of other cities, were ^B marvelously inclined toward the young emperor. His arrival in the city having been announced at dawn, there was no small tumult, and a clamor arose throughout the city, and no little confusion. But the empress Irene, neglecting nothing that was necessary, immediately summoned her most trusted kin and friends, those most obedient to her, and entrusted the guarding of the city to them; she commanded them to make the rounds surrounded by a ring of soldiers, to deter the people, and to block all access to the young emperor. They performed the orders, and those who were inclined toward the young emperor, fearing the danger, dared nothing new, but went around with the others so as to avoid suspicion, and showed themselves most ready to guard the city in order not to be suspect. The young emperor, since his hopes were thwarted, sailed around the city, then landed nearby at Galata, opposite Byzantium; having spent the following night there, at dawn on the next day he set sail again for Tenedos. During the departure, those in the imperial triremes poured forth many and most unworthy insults against the emperor Cantacuzenus, very similar to those that Apokaukos, the Grand Duke, had heaped upon him during the time of the war. When this ^C reached his ears, he was greatly pained, as he considered that the young emperor would never have erupted into such folly unless he had intended a war of extermination against him. Although rebuked later by his father-in-law, he maintained that this had been done without his knowledge. For as he was in the hull, or the belly of the ship, and because of the accompanying noise of the waves and the murmuring of the words, he heard nothing of the sailors’ insolence in indulging in curses. But of these things, a little further on. After he returned with his wife and son to Tenedos, he came to Thessalonica. The emperor Cantacuzenus, residing near Bera, having heard that his son-in-law had sailed to Byzantium, hastened toward him with no small force, with his son Matthew following. He did not come upon his son-in-law, since he had already run off to Tenedos, but he encountered no small confusion and ^D disturbance, especially among the nobles. For on the third day after his arrival, all of them entered the palace in a body, and said they were ignorant of what such a great wavering in both directions could mean, so that they themselves were unable to know to whom they should adhere. For if they were clearly to follow the younger emperor John—

^A—as heir to the Roman empire, why does he not make it manifest to them, so that they might neither fight, but rather serve him who is soon to be over them? For it would be foolish, and of the most absurd, to be ignorant toward the master, and to appear as enemies, from which they would not be able to destroy him—since he willingly yields his authority—but they would harm themselves, their children, and their relatives most grievously, having appeared as enemies to one whom they will necessarily have to serve. But if he himself considers them enemies and desires that they eagerly fight against him, some firm hope must be provided regarding the future, by which, having been persuaded, they will fight willingly. This hope would be to designate his son Matthew as emperor, so that, all doubt having been laid aside, they might eagerly fight against the new emperor, having already gained a firm hope that, if they prevail over the enemies, they will have him and his son as emperors for their entire lives; or, if they themselves are defeated, they will die together with them. The nobility spoke such things. And the emperor ^B replied: "That your request is just, and reasonable, and that you ought to know which side you favor when you turn your arms against the other, I would not deny. For as soon as we had put an end to the war by defeating the enemies, and had made a treaty with the Empress Anna and my son-in-law the emperor, I myself compelled you to know and recognize that man as lord and emperor; and not in secret only, but often with many listening, I proclaimed Palaiologos as successor to the Roman empire while I was still alive and after my passing. But now the very condition of affairs has compelled me to act otherwise than I wished, and it is consistent that you should be very perplexed by this. If, therefore, we were dealing with goat's wool, it would not be difficult to speak forth at present whatever came to mind, and not to follow up with great detriment from having blurted out thoughtlessly and inconsiderately what might have come to the lips. But since we are dealing with matters that are of the greatest importance among us ^C (for what is greater than the empire?), matters must be discussed among you after having been weighed much and often beforehand, so that we may consider what is profitable and just. And not only this, but you yourselves, both each one individually and all collectively, having accurately examined and weighed the matter, must be prepared so that each will pronounce the opinion which he deems will be profitable for Roman affairs in general, and for you each individually." Thus was the answer to the petition of the nobility postponed, and the assembly was dismissed. ^D

Jacobi Pontani Notes

and benefit to all, both to the Roman state in general and to each one of you individually. ^A Thus the speech of the emperor, in which he had deferred his defense against the demand of the senators, had concluded.

CHAPTER XXXVI

^A Directly, the emperor mounted his horse and, having arrived at the church of the Mother of God, the Hodegetria, and having offered his prayers, he returned from there to find the patriarch Callistus, having gone to his house in person. He recounted to him everything that the dignitaries had come to him concerning [the promotion of] the emperor ^B and his son, and he asked to be taught what he should answer them if they demanded the response he had promised. The patriarch replied that for the moment nothing occurred to him, but that in two days, having considered the matter, he would come to the palace and respond to the petitioners with what he deemed just and appropriate. The emperor, glad, granted the appointed day and, satisfied with the patriarch’s words, returned to the palace. The third day dawned, yet the patriarch neither appeared at the palace, as he had pledged, ^B nor did he discourse at all on the matters proposed. At dawn on the seventh day, leaving the patriarchate, he went to the monastery of the martyr Mamas, his own special retreat, and sent a messenger to inform the emperor that he would come neither to the palace nor back to the patriarchate unless he confirmed to him by oath that he would never appoint his son Matthew emperor. The emperor took these words hard and judged that he was acting toward him very unfairly. In turn, he sent ^C someone to say that he thought such words would not appear consistent to men of sound judgment. For if he were calling upon him to support the proclamation of his son with his authority, and he himself did not feel it was proper, nor wished to do so, it would not be unreasonable for him to demand an oath that he would not be forced to assent to such things. But if nothing of the sort had yet been decreed, and the matter was still being examined as to whether it was just and beneficial, or not, and he himself was being called to put forward his own vote on what seemed best, why demand oaths regarding a matter that had not yet reached a conclusion? For it is equally possible, if all should assemble for the same purpose, that it might be both approved and blocked. He again begged and urged him to come to him so that they might consult together on what needed to be done. ^C The patriarch refused, and though called again and again by the emperor, did not appear. Those who were asking for the son of the emperor to be declared emperor entered the palace again and sought their answer. The emperor drew out the time, that he might deliberate further on that matter. Not many days passed before his leading men and nobles, and those who were from the military roll, gathering together, with one voice begged him to appoint Matthew emperor. D Since the emperor could no longer prolong the deliberation (for he had already delayed it quite enough) and saw that the gathering was always growing with greater numbers, he stood in the middle and began in this way: "Those who perpetually repeat their words on the same subjects, and blunt the ears of their listeners by always bringing in things contrary to their previous ones, are in error in the same way; especially when those who listen do not"

merely learn repeatedly by words about the same subjects, but have also followed the events themselves, from which they have obtained a clear and manifest proof of what is being said. ^A Since therefore I have been fought against unjustly after the death of the Emperor, and have endured many and all kinds of difficulties, and plots, and dangers, and since, after such an onslaught of evils, and with the help of the Almighty, I have overcome all who were arrayed against me, and did not render back equal measure, but strove to add every excess to my magnanimity, and since—as you all surely know—I have not only easily forgone everything else, but even the very Empire itself for which I seemed to have suffered such terrible things (for I joined my daughter in marriage to the young Emperor, and immediately gave him a share in the rule, and did not in any way deprive the Empress, his mother, of her former status, that she might be, and be called, mistress of the Romans), I think it unnecessary to speak further, as all of you know these things most clearly and require no proof from me regarding them. ^B But that after the treaty was established I kept their dignity at heart, and bestowed upon them every service and every gift of benevolence, and never provided them any opportunity for war in any instance, I shall now attempt to demonstrate clearly. For immediately after the cessation of the war, when certain of the most illustrious among you were aggrieved and refused to take oaths of servitude to the young Emperor, and judged it heavy and burdensome, having fought against him with all their might until that day, to submit and subject themselves again now that he was defeated—and they begged me not to constrain them with such a necessity, but to allow them to owe their submission to me alone—I refused; and out of love for honor and justice, and disregarding the labors and dangers they had undergone for my sake and their long and incredible calamity because of my son-in-law, the Emperor, I freely denied them. I ordered them to leave the Roman realm unless they were willing to swear the oath to them [the young Emperor and Empress] and submit perfectly, just as they thought it fitting to submit to me. ^C And indeed even more perfectly, because it is not my intention to transmit the Empire to my sons, but to leave it as an inheritance to her who will pass it on to children and children’s children. Following this demand of mine, they swore the oath, albeit reluctantly. Again, when certain of those devoted to the Empress, eager for innovation, had conspired among themselves to seize the young Emperor by fraud and go to Galata, and to stir up war against me with an army collected from wherever they could, those who were caught received the wages of their wickedness. ^D But those who were not well-disposed toward the Emperor, seizing on this as a pretext, clamored to be released from the bond of their oath, and to be able to do what seemed to them to be in their interest. I, however, remained deaf to these things, and cleared the Emperor and his mother of all blame, as if they were unaware of what revisionist plots they were hatching, and I ordered the petitioners to refrain themselves, and not to seek a pretext for heaping troubles upon the Roman Empire anew. When they did not cease even so, but, having deceived my son Matthew, persuaded...

him to establish a private princedom by seizing certain cities and cutting off a region from the whole empire, I ^B did not surrender my fatherly affection, nor did I behave carelessly or sluggishly toward these events, as if they were trivial and unworthy of singular care; but I made every provision to turn my son away from these incongruous acts. I sent the Empress, his mother, to urge him not to undertake such revolutionary changes, but to serve securely both myself and the Emperor, his brother-in-law. Indeed, one who examines it might find many such things done by me throughout the whole time. From these it is possible to gain the clearest proof that I neither did nor thought anything from which one could assume I wished to deprive him of the Roman Empire; rather, that I did everything so that it might remain secure and stable for him. But he did not measure out to me a like mind in return. For having been left by me at Thessalonica to be the guardian of that city until I should return, having prepared and armed myself, he played the part of a bad guardian. Listening to wicked and impious men—who were betraying not only the whole Roman Empire for the sake of small profit, but even him for whom they seemed to be laboring to retain it—he openly ^C declared war upon me, I who was doing everything to make his realm more blessed and extensive. Breaking the treaty that existed between us, he made a pact with the Kral and allied with those who were deserting, so that he seemed painful to me alone, who loved him most of all. Yet I did not immediately turn to retaliation, nor did I in the least diminish the love I felt for him; but while I held primarily to blame those who were leading him on to such things, I thought it necessary to grant him much forbearance, not only because of his youth, which is easily led astray by wicked men, but also—if one must tell the truth—because I was overcome by my love. Having sent his mother the Empress, I did everything by which I thought to turn him away from those base enterprises and to bring him back to his former affection for me. She did all these things well and with the spirit befitting her. When later he asked that cities be assigned to him to possess privately—as many as he wished, ^D so that he might rule them individually and render no account of the administration to me—I thought it a petty request, and one not fitting for him to make, as he would shortly afterward be the master of all and was desiring to rule a small part before the proper time. Nevertheless, thinking I should gratify the young man's desire, I gave them willingly, and for the sake of honor I added Didymoteichon, a city comparable to the others which he was seeking all at once, as you yourselves know well. When he had come to Byzantium, I admonished him on whatever pertained to his duty, and persuaded him to have no one dearer to him than me, and to consider anyone who attempted to persuade him that I was otherwise disposed toward him as his capital enemy; for the proofs of my most sincere intent stood firmer than any speech could demonstrate from the deeds themselves. Thus I sent him off rejoicing, and he rejoicing, to his province, and I ordered my wife to follow him; to such an extent did I fear no evil from him. And because I knew that he felt sinister things regarding my wife's brother, and thought that he was plotting against his property, and

was attempting to win him over to his own side in some way, I considered it necessary for me to go to Thrace myself, to dissolve this petty-mindedness and to persuade them to be well-disposed toward one another. But being held back at that time by the war against the Latins, and not being able to be absent from Byzantium, I sent the Empress to do everything that I would have done, and to reconcile my sons to one another. ^A But the result fell out differently from what I had surmised. For not only did the young emperor do none of the things that were needed, but after he had sent away the Empress, his mother-in-law, without having achieved her goal, he immediately proceeded to war. He captured other cities—ones that I had not granted to him—and campaigned against my wife’s brother, by whom he had not been harmed in any way previously. Having shut him up in the citadel of Adrianople, he besieged him, leading not only Romans, but also barbarians as his allies. ^B Since there was no room for delay, I arrived at Adrianople as quickly as I could, rescued my son from danger, and caused no trouble for the young emperor, who had shortly before yielded to Didymoteichon, but instead sent envoys and begged him to lay down the war. But he, persuaded by those who were inciting him and setting little store by my advice, waged war no less than before, and did everything else that is natural for an enemy, and he summoned an alliance from the Triballi and the Mysians. ^C When those whom I had summoned from Asia were destroyed by the barbarians, he too sent an embassy to Souliman, the leader of the Persian army (for he thought it would be profitable for him to persuade him not to be an enemy), and he also sent letters in which, when he mentioned me, he did not address me as Emperor, but merely as Cantacuzenus. This pained me greatly, as I took it to be the clearest evidence that he had become hardened in his resolve to continue the war against me as long as he possibly could. ^D And now, in these final matters, since he could not remain in the cities of Thrace, being no longer able to resist the war any longer, he crossed over to Tenedos and, having acquired a small naval force, he plotted against the most vital points; for it is not the same thing for the cities and islands that are under my rule to be enslaved as it is for the very hearth of the empire itself to be attacked unexpectedly. And since this action is so grave, he dared something else far more serious and hateful. For he permitted the rowers, and especially those of his own trireme, to revel with insults against me with impunity—a thing he would by no means have dared to do, I think, unless he had firmly fixed within his mind the resolve to wage an immortal war against me. Since, therefore, from beginning to end I have always shown myself to be the same person toward him, and like my own self, and I have never provoked his arms, I think that with these things I have said, faith is established for anyone. Since, however, he himself has refrained from none of those things which he thought would be bitter to me, I believe that there is no one among the prudent who would rightly blame me if, with my resolve now changed, I should set aside my earlier decisions; for I do not wish to grieve him out of any levity or rashly and without cause, but I am driven to this point by him. For what sort of thing is it for him to insult me petulantly and to strive in every way so that all may understand that he rejects peace, while I, as if deprived of sense and maimed,

…of the things that are happening, be stirred? How, therefore, could that perpetual succession in the empire, which I was always meditating, and which you desired, be mine to deprive him of, unless he repents and compensates for his previous wickedness with equal goodness? ^A To designate my son Matthew as emperor would no longer be my act alone (for until now no circumstance has ever been able to drive me to this, although often during the time of war, when the rationale for the deed could be rendered most plausible, you asked me for it), but yours, first of all, who have demanded this of me and demonstrate in this a special inclination and zeal, since I judged that you were asking for things that were at once just and salutary for yourselves and for the republic. I shall do, therefore, what you requested. But it will be your part to hold as ratified what shall be decreed by me, and not to show such joyful desire for the matter today, but on the morrow or the day after, should some difficulty arise, straightway to sing a different song. Such were the things he complained about, because of which the emperor believed that what he was about to do, he would do justly. For the rest, the junior emperor, after the end of the war, being accused by his father-in-law of these same things, so as to bring forward in some way the reason for his abdication and for the substitution of Matthew, could indeed not answer the other points; but as to the fact that in his letter to Suliman the Persian he had not called him emperor, he did not consider that he himself bore the blame, but his scribe. ^B He believed that being involved in many anxieties and distracted by a thousand affairs, he had not been present at the writing, but had imprudently signed it with the red ink. Similarly, regarding the insults from the triremes, he said he knew nothing, nor had he wished them to be cast, but that being at that time in the middle of the ship, he had not perceived what was being done ^C more insolently at the stern. But these things happened later.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

When the emperor had decided to declare his son emperor, ^D some days after that speech, with the nobility present in the palace, he was proclaimed, and red buskins were put on his feet, and a tiara adorned with gems and pearls was placed upon his head according to custom.

And he was counted among the emperors in the acclamations, and in the commemorations of the emperors made during the sacred services. But the emperor, his father-in-law, ordered that in the commemorations and in the acclamations, the name of John be passed over in silence. He did, however, order that the empress Anna and his grandson, the emperor Andronicus, be acclaimed as before, and be named in the sacred rites. Yet he did not strip him of the title entirely, for if he ever happened to speak of him before many, he would call him emperor. ^A For such reasons, the war between the emperors broke out, and it grew to such a point that Cantacuzenus, although previously prepared with his whole mind to leave John as successor to the empire, was compelled to bestow this honor upon his son Matthew. He immediately sent him to Adrianople, while he himself remained in Byzantium, diligently endeavoring to put the best possible end to the controversy that had arisen between him and the patriarch. For he understood that it was now clearly time for the new emperor, Matthew, to be anointed with the holy myron according to custom. ^B Accordingly, he also summoned as many bishops as he could most conveniently from the cities throughout Thrace. When they were present, along with those who were residing in Byzantium, he ordered them to assemble in the palace; there he inquired of them all in common as to what should be done regarding the patriarch Kallistos. When they replied by agreement that he must be recalled to the throne, since he was accused by no one, the emperor immediately embraced their counsel and chose two bishops, Daniel of Ainos and Joseph of Tenedos, and as many others from the more prominent clergy of the Church of Byzantium, namely Cabasilas, the sakellios, and Perdikas, the keeper of the sacred vessels, and sent them to the monastery of the martyr Mamas to the patriarch. ^C He called him back to his throne and authority, saying that no one had taken [the office] from him, and that it would be better not to proceed so thoughtlessly where one ought not, nor, acting out of poor judgment, to abandon the throne and the flock of his own will, and—while busying himself with matters that did not concern him at all—to linger now here, now there, doing none of the things that were needful. For if he had remained on his position and had advised against proclaiming the son, adding some necessary reasons to his arguments, perhaps he might have hindered it; but now, he observed, one of the foremost reasons that persuaded them to act as they did was that he had not attempted to hinder the matter with words and exhortations—and perhaps with entreaties, as he ought—but through force and, as it were, with some sort of machinery. But since what had already occurred could not be undone, and the dissension and conflict would profit nothing more, he ought to return to his seat and to his own authority, and anoint the new emperor with the holy oil, as was the custom; for it was not right that he who was adorned with the other imperial regalia should not also be crowned in the ancient manner. ^D These things the emperor communicated to Kallistos through the envoys, and all the bishops approved them. When the patriarch heard the embassy, he made no response to the matter; but he cursed with a decree of anathema the one who imposed such a necessity upon him for this reason. Then Daniel, the bishop, being enraged on account of the anathema pronounced by him, [deeming] that to exhort him further regarding the purpose for which they had come was superfluous, since with justice

he held that if he neither wished of his own accord to return to his dignity, nor could he in any way be compelled by another to do so, it was not permitted for anyone to force him, nor to install another upon the thrones. "Consequently," he said, "nothing else remains, if you continue to insist on such things, but to introduce another patriarch into the Church." And the patriarch said, "I myself would desire this most of all." Upon these things, the envoys returned to the emperor and the synod and reported whatever the patriarch had answered to their words. Perdicas, however, one of the envoys, said that the patriarch had pronounced an anathema against whoever would constrain him in this matter; but that he himself was ignorant of what he meant by "in this," [or "for this"]. The fellow-envoys asserted that they desired nothing else by this, than that he come again to the rule of the Church, since he had firmly refused it, and neither willing nor compelled would he wish to return to it again. The envoys having thus disagreed, they met again with one another, and the emperor ordered the secretary of the Church to write everything down, so that no controversy might arise in the future regarding what had been said, if ever it should be necessary to examine it.

After this, as the bishops were turning their minds to the question of who ought to preside over the Church, since the one who had been established had openly refused and had imposed a necessity such that no one could stir a word with him regarding the same matters, the emperor said: ^D "Regarding the choosing of the bishops, the laws laid down by the first masters of the Church, that is to say the disciples of Christ, and the holy Fathers who followed in their footsteps (namely, that the bishops, being gathered in one place and calling down the grace of the Spirit from above, after having first appeased God with many prayers and supplications—so that He might make manifest to them him who will correctly, justly, and most pleasingly to God preside over the Church of the faithful, for which He Himself, having become like us and having put on human weakness, poured out His blood, and that they should choose whomever He Himself reveals, and having set forth three who seem to be the most worthy, they should grant the choice of one to the emperor, and whomever he himself chooses, they should create him pastor of the Church), this neither have I been ignorant of up to now, nor do I think it is not most clearly known to any one of you. But just as it is accustomed to happen in other sins, that although we are not ignorant that we are sinning, nevertheless, led by a vicious habit or deceived by the blandishments of pleasure, we willingly precipitate ourselves into evils and subject ourselves to unpraiseworthy affections: so too does it happen in the choosing of bishops. For when we know that it is a sacrilege for us to first decide in our own mind to whom we wish to commit the affairs of the Church, and afterwards to trifle openly and, mocking God, to let you invoke superior grace and to select him whom we ourselves had long before selected not by words alone, but by the very deed itself—nevertheless we are evilly and foolishly bold—a thing which has been done not only by me quite often, but also by the preceding Roman emperors, if not by all, then certainly by the majority. But regarding them, in view of the reverence due to our elders, I shall say nothing sinister; but as for myself, I say that I am convinced by almost all counts of injustice and iniquity toward God. And because I have recognized my fault and have condemned myself, this one thing remains, I think: to appease God for the things committed, and henceforth to take the greatest care not to fall into the same evils, unless I happen to be sick in mind.

insanable, and deliberately so in honorable matters, ^A even to those who are clearer than the sun, in that we are blinded. Therefore, since there is now a question of naming a patriarch, I restore to you your ancient freedom. It will be less a concern for you than for God, to whom it will be a great care to reveal to you someone who will look after the Church well. Afterwards, I also shall choose one from the three, as is the custom." Thus the emperor spoke in the assembly, about the manner in which, according to the ancient rite, a patriarch ought to be elected. When on the following day they had gathered again and were deliberating over the business, the emperor sent once more to admonish those of what had been said the day before, urging them to act diligently: for he had found himself, as it were, defending himself before God, having completely yielded to them in the election of the patriarch, and having demonstrated to all mortals what his own sentiment was. They, having honorably offered thanks for his piety toward God and his reverence toward them, and having prayed for a heap of many good things, after invoking the divine grace of the Holy Spirit, choose ^B three: Philotheus the bishop of Heraclea, Macarius of Philadelphia, and Nicholas Cabasilas, who was still a private citizen. They send the names of those elected, written down, to the emperor, who preferred Philotheus; and he, not long after, all legitimate procedures having been observed, having been consecrated patriarch, administered the Church for some time; for he was removed from his station briefly, as we shall remember below. But he administered it excellently, and as was fitting, being renowned for the greatest gentleness, character, and speech. Patriarch Callistus, having hidden for a long time in the monastery of the martyr Mamas, fled first to Galata, where for a time he concealed himself among the Latins. From there, through their cooperation, he arrived at Tenedos to the junior emperor, by whom he was treated very benevolently, as one who had prepared such great hardship for himself for his sake. Since the tumult regarding the Church had ceased, ^C and it possessed all order and harmony, Matthew the emperor, having come to Byzantium together with his consort, CHAPTER XXXVIII. Matthew is crowned with his wife. The Pergamenian Tenedian [is the] author of the defection of the islanders, [and is] sent in chains to Thessalonica. Cantacuzenus leads the Persians who were holding the castle of Zympe out of Thrace with money. An earthquake lays low the maritime cities of Thrace. Calamity of the peoples; the Barbarians occupy the cities with a garrison. Humanity of the Byzantine naval commander. The perfidious Suliman leads colonies into Thrace. His zeal in repairing Callipolis. Cantacuzenus lays waste the Moesians, and demands back the cities from Orchan. Suliman’s excuse is refuted. By his father's exhortation, he returns the towns. Cantacuzenus begins his monastic life. [was] at the temple of the Mother of God in Bla-

^A crowned according to custom by Philotheus the patriarch and his father; furthermore, he himself crowned his wife according to custom. Such things took place in Byzantium. Now the younger emperor Palaeologus was in Thessalonica with the empresses, his mother and his wife, and he held the island of Tenedos, having left there a certain Italian named Martin as prefect when he departed for Thessalonica. A certain Tenedian, the most powerful man of the island, who had stayed for no short time in Thessalonica with the young emperor, later fled from there and, having arrived in Tenedos, persuaded the other citizens also to revolt from the young emperor. They drove out the governor whom he had appointed over them, and lived in a manner as if they were autonomous. When the young emperor learned of the revolt, having equipped triremes from Thessalonica, he sailed against the Tenedians. They, however, readily submitted once more, handing over the Pergamenian, whom he sent to Thessalonica as a prisoner to be guarded; he himself lived on the island with his wife, the Empress Helena.

The emperor Cantacuzenus, considering it a grievous matter ^B that the Persians were established in the cities of Thrace (for they held a certain fortress there, Tzympe by name, as we have mentioned, in Thrace), did not attempt to drive them out by force and arms, for he knew that he would not be a match against such a multitude of barbarians if he were to stir up war against them while the Roman army was destroyed by civil war. By another method, however, he pondered how to drive the barbarians out of Roman territory. Having sent an embassy to his son-in-law Orchan, he requested him to surrender that fortress and to recall the barbarians from Thrace; for he said that he was not acting justly nor in accordance with the goodwill toward him by holding a fortress in the middle of Roman soil. When Suliman, the son, excused himself, claiming that the fortress was held by him and that he required some compensation for its abandonment, the emperor offered to pay ten thousand gold pieces generously. ^C After a short time, he sent the gold to the barbarians; and they, in return, sent those who would surrender the fortress to the emperor.

While things were in this state, as the judgments of God are, an immense earthquake occurred unexpectedly, at the beginning of spring, at the start of night, which nearly destroyed all the coastal cities of Thrace. For not only did houses fall upon those dwelling within them, killing many, but also the walls of the cities were cast down from their very foundations. The common people of the cities who had not been destroyed by the ruins, seeing that they would neither be able to restore the fallen walls nor prove a match to defend themselves against the barbarians who might attack, and fearing that they might be seized into slavery by them, took their children and wives and set out during the night ^D toward the other cities which they supposed had not collapsed from the earthquake. With heavy rains, snow, and unbearable cold occurring, some were killed by the frost (especially women and infants), while the rest, with few exceptions, all those who had overcome the cold and fled toward the intact cities were intercepted by the barbarians they encountered. For the latter, having learned that the walls of the cities had collapsed, perceived the situation for themselves, believing that they would either gain possession of the fugitives or, if they remained, would easily overcome them now that the walls had collapsed, and so at dawn they went against them. It happened, therefore, that they both captured those who were fleeing and placed garrisons in all the towns. Callipolis, however, remained...

^A which was the most illustrious of the coastal cities in Thrace that had fallen to the barbarians, had also collapsed even more than the others; yet all its people were saved in the ships that were many there. It happened also that a warship, which the emperor had sent for the Despot Manuel his son to travel to the Peloponnese, was anchored there for the night from Byzantium. When that great disaster occurred, the admiral, seeing so many about to perish, brought the warship to the shore and, taking on board as many as it could hold, turned back to Byzantium, ignoring what lay ahead. ^B Suliman, the son of Orchanes, when he heard what had happened in Thrace while he was staying at Pegai, a city on the opposite side of the Hellespont, disregarded the agreements he had made with the emperor to restore Tzympe, and crossed with great haste to Thrace. There he brought over many of his own people with their wives and children and settled them in the cities, restoring those that had been demolished. He showed the greatest concern for Callipolis. For he repaired the walls from the foundations and made them better and stronger than they were before; he forced many of those of good standing among his own people to move to that city, and he established a large garrison there; he was also painful to those in Moesia, ^C coming against them with large armies, enslaving cities, and plundering the entire territory. The emperor was distressed not a little by this disaster, but having no power to defend himself against those doing the wrong, he made continuous embassies to Orchanes, his son-in-law, and demanded that he return the seized cities. For he argued it was among the most absurd things that they had refused to surrender a single fortress to him without reaching settled agreements for money and leaving, yet now they were holding so many cities, and in addition to that, not even returning Tzympe according to the agreements, and this while a truce and deep peace existed between them. Suliman, arguing that he had not captured the cities by war or force, but that they were deserted and demolished, and that he had occupied them without doing any wrong, the emperor insisted ^D that he was doing them the greatest injury, and that the excuse offered served nothing for their defense; for it did not matter, he maintained, whether they entered through the gates or from somewhere else, but it was necessary to look at whether they held them justly according to the treaty. While the emperor was engaging in such diplomacy with the barbarians, Suliman held onto the cities completely and would not even endure to hear of leaving them; but Orchanes, the father, conscious of his own wrongdoing and violation of the treaty, and wishing greatly to satisfy the emperor, agreed at once to return the cities to the emperor. Suliman, however, being unwilling to let go of what his son held...

[...the emperor] promised that he would restore the cities entirely, and immediately invited the emperor to the Sinus Astacenus so that they might meet there. He, having approved of the plan, ordered triremes to be equipped. For these reasons, Cantacuzenus was in a way compelled to declare his son Matthew emperor. He had, however, decided that, once declared, he would subject to him a part taken from the Roman Empire to hold as long as he lived, provided that it would not be permitted for him to leave any successor upon his death, but that the whole should return by right of postliminy to the Emperor of the Romans—whether to John his son-in-law, or, upon his death, to his son Andronicus—and that he himself, having laid aside the war, would recall John, yield the whole Roman Empire to him, and remove himself from the turmoil of affairs, devoting himself to divine things and seeking to render the celestial deity propitiated and friendly to him. He was meditating these things after his son’s creation. He then came to Nicomedia with his triremes and sent envoys to his son-in-law Orchan, asking him to come there for the reason already mentioned, in accordance with their agreement. Orchan excused himself due to illness, saying he could not at present rise from his bed. When the emperor took this badly, thinking that this illness was being used as a pretext, and urged him to come to Nicomedia as he had promised, Orchan confirmed on oath that he was truly ill and that there was no simulation or pretense in the matter; he begged for pardon and promised again that after a certain number of days, when he had recovered, he would fulfill his promises. The emperor, frustrated, returned to Byzantium. ^B

Chapter XXXIX.

Philotheus the patriarch, knowing what the emperor was turning over in his mind regarding the two emperors, his son-in-law and his son, begged that he might be sent in the place of an envoy to Tenedos to the younger emperor, [so that he might] lead him to the opinion of his father-in-law and settle the war. The emperor, with the triremes already prepared and requiring no new expense for this purpose, preferred to set out for the island himself and repair the concord with his son-in-law. For he reckoned that as soon as he heard he was approaching, he would immediately come to meet him and beg for pardon for his transgressions; and since he himself was not averse to a pacification, he would most easily bring the state back to tranquility again. With this design, he set sail from Byzantium with his son Matthew and his wife, so that they might travel down to Aenus, and from there to Didy-

^Amotichum, and Adrianople; he himself would turn toward conciliating his son-in-law. Because he was not sailing there to wage war, but rather for the sake of peace, he did not put in immediately at Tenedos, but anchored at a small, uninhabited islet near Tenedos called Mauria, and remained there for the rest of the day and the following night. The next day he weighed anchor and moored at another islet, similarly small, called St. Andrew, hoping that an embassy from the emperor his son-in-law would arrive concerning peace. But when nothing happened according to his hopes—for some of the naval commanders accompanying him, being ill-disposed, sent to the young emperor and advised him not to accept the peace, but rather to choose war, claiming they would cooperate in everything—he did not even then approach the city on the island where the young emperor was staying, but moved to another part, to a locally named river, the Borium, as if the trireme crews intended to obtain water there. But the soldiers and cavalry accompanying the young emperor, when the triremes were sailing down, came to the river and began to shoot from the land, attempting to block their landing. His men, however, pressed forward, landed, and took water there. The emperor, seeing that his forbearance was producing nothing (for he neither chose to fight his son-in-law and damage the island, nor did any hope of peace remain, since the young emperor not only had not sent an embassy as he had hoped, but was even openly incited to war), departed from there as quickly as possible to Aenus. There Matthew, the new emperor, disembarked with his wife, and from there they departed for Didymotichum and Adrianople. Emperor Cantacuzenus, having stayed ^B near Aenus for four days, returned to Byzantium, while Emperor Palaeologus remained in Tenedos, neglecting nothing that could be done for the sake of his authority. He claimed later, after peace had been made, that when his father-in-law was sailing toward him, his naval commanders had secretly discussed with him that he should not make peace nor send any embassy; yet that he himself had not for that reason refrained from peace, knowing that they were not advising what was better or what was generally advantageous, but because Matthew, the son, had arrived, at which he was very vexed and took it badly—as if he himself were in need of him, and, as though desperate for war and defeated in his purpose, seemed to be fleeing to accept him as a colleague in the empire. About the same time, Suliman, the son of Orchan, campaigned against the Galatians in eastern Scythia with a large army, and during that summer captured two of their most prominent cities, Ancyra and Cratea. Having returned from there a victor at the beginning of autumn, both he and his father sent an embassy to Emperor Cantacuzenus, stating that they wished to hand over to him the cities in Thrace, just as they had promised; it was for him to decide when it pleased him to receive them. The emperor responded to this courtesy with a generous expression of thanks, and sending the envoys away with magnificent gifts, he appointed a day on which he himself, and those who were to hand over the cities in their name, would appear in Thrace so that, with the Barbarians driven out, he might lead in his own garrisons and provide for them as well as possible. And he was already preparing himself for this. Meanwhile, Palaeologus, equipped with the one trireme he had and having acquired a few more, suddenly set a course from Tenedos, unbeknownst to all, toward Byzantium, and arrived by night at the naval station of Heptascalon. Fame

having spread through the city, a terrible confusion and disorder ^A seized everything, and the populace was eager to fight for the new emperor, but fearing the power of the emperor Cantacuzenus (for they thought he would immediately arm for battle), they hesitated and retreated. When the emperor Cantacuzenus learned that the emperor his son-in-law was inside Byzantium, he forbade any movement toward battle and slaughter; and Cydones being present, who was constant in the palace, not only because he was most dear ^B to the emperor, but because as a companion in private matters he had to be with the emperor by night and day, he addressed the empress Irene with these words: "If it had not been our previous determination to withdraw from affairs and tumults, and putting on the monastic habit to hasten toward that future glory and radiance, there would be nothing so necessary and so fruitful at present as to assemble the soldiers and forthwith go to meet the enemies, sparing no one until we had expelled them all from the city—which would have been easy to do, as far as one can conjecture from their weakness and our strength. However, if, whether we win or lose, it is necessary to bid farewell to these things, what need is there for battle and slaughter? And since no profit comes to us from it other than stains upon the soul caused by bloodshed and the sharp stings of conscience throughout all our life (to say nothing of the punishments stored up in the future for those who dare such things), why do we not rather make the arrival ^C of the emperor an occasion to abandon everything and provide only for our own safety? For if we cannot extinguish the war between father and son-in-law, but they still contend for the empire, it is surely necessary to see whether it might be possible to do so without blood and slaughter, as we wished, which would be a work worthy of prayer. But now matters have come to such a necessity that we must either withdraw from these things of our own accord, or by fighting kill our enemies, or perhaps even die ourselves if it should happen. Since, therefore, both to be defeated is most shameful and calamitous, and to win is likewise most unhappy, why do we not wish to consult both the common good and our own? ^D To this counsel of the emperor, the empress did not demur, but agreed to what the emperor deemed best. Further, those who favored Cantacuzenus most intensely were gathered in the palace, not only soldiers but also not a few of the nobility, and they were in no small turmoil, as all urged an attack upon the enemies. The Catalan mercenaries, in particular, were raging and clamored to be sent against the enemies; they would, they said, expel them from the city with no trouble at all. But the emperor, since he denied the opportunity for battle as altogether useless, and deemed that his plan should by no means be made manifest to the soldiers (lest he diminish their audacity, zeal, and alacrity toward him no little, reasoning as was likely that no one would reward their prowess if the emperor were to abdicate the empire, and were thus attempting to give them words and retard their impulse), "If," he said, "the war were against foreigners, by whose destruction one might enjoy pure joy void of all sorrow, not even I would have persuaded you"

^A to defer the battle, or decline it, but rather to attack the enemy immediately. For if we had conquered, we would have brought back the glory of fortitude and a daring spirit; and for those who fell in battle, as for brave men, there would have been a renowned memory among posterity. Now, because our adversaries are for the most part kinsmen and fellow-citizens, this very fact stands most in the way of our reputation: for equally whether conquered or conquerors, we shall stain our fame in the eyes of posterity. But if any faith is to be placed in me—a man experienced for so many years both in the toga and in military service, and one who thoroughly understands the vicissitudes and difficulties of affairs—let us allow them to weary themselves in vain and to no purpose, and let them know for certain that they will gain nothing from their wickedness. We, however, ^B thinking on what befits prudent and brave men, shall await soldiers from other cities. For when my son understands what has happened—as he will—he will arrive most swiftly with his army; and Nicephorus the Despot, my son-in-law, and Asanes the Sebastocrator, and other leaders, whom I shall summon by letter. When they have all arrived, the enemy, not even daring to come to blows but struck with terror, will grant us a bloodless victory." Having said these things, he immediately gave letters in the sight of all, by which those in Byzantium were summoned. He also wrote to the leaders of the Barbarians throughout Thrace, that they too should come to his aid without delay. ^C But all these things were feigned on account of those at home; for he was already prepared to abdicate the empire and to send a messenger to those who had fallen away. Although, even if he had most wished to secure it for himself and repel the enemy by force, not even then would he have made use of the subsidies of the Barbarians. For Philotheus the Patriarch, when he ascended the holy seat, conversing with him regarding this matter, affirmed that it did not please God for Barbarians to be led against Christians, and for certain farmers, or even innocent soldiers, to be killed, since they had been compelled by their lord and were under absolute necessity to perform the commands, while those who had committed the injuries lived most securely. For even in the time ^D of civil war, as initiators and slanderers paid the penalty for their wickedness with none, or very few, of their own, an innumerable multitude of them—who had contributed nothing to the inciting of the war—perished; and afterwards, when Crales committed injuries and acted perjury, and took away no small part of the empire, he had repaid the author of the detriments with light or no damage by introducing the Barbarians; but he had been the cause of huge evils to others, who were abducted into slavery by the Barbarians and perished. Wherefore, he was to remember how he had been rebuked by him, as he had thought he was doing most rightly while he warded off strangers who were bringing harm by using Barbarian forces (since the Romans, consumed by civil war, were not sufficient to take vengeance) and brought them against his own fellow-tribesmen, so that they might not, by employing the aid of those others, destroy themselves and their own. But as for those who perished, he claimed they lacked a just defense if they paid for the sins of others by dying. And while he begged him not to use Barbarians in the future against those who were named Christians by Christ, even though they were strangers and most injurious, but to leave their punishment to God,

to restrain ^A from bringing against those called by Christ the barbarian force, or destroying certain farmers, or soldiers, who are led by their own master, and having every necessity to do what is commanded, while those who commit the wrongs are most in safety. For indeed, during the time of the civil war, while the instigators and false accusers paid the penalty for their wickedness either not at all or by only a few, the myriad multitudes who had contributed nothing to the war perished; and later, when Kral was acting unjustly, and forswearing himself, and taking away no small part of the principality, [the emperor] brought a barbarian army, and caused the unjust man little or no harm, but became the cause of great calamities to ten thousand others, who were enslaved and destroyed by the barbarians. Concerning this, [the emperor] himself also passed judgment on himself, knowing that he did indeed feel he was acting justly in defending himself against the foreigners who were committing injustices by means of the barbarian power—the Roman [army] not sufficing for defense because it had been corrupted by the civil wars—and bringing [them] against his own kin so that they, not using them [the barbarians] themselves, might destroy him and his associates; but he had no reasonable defense for those who were perishing, if they themselves paid the penalty for others' lack of judgment. Having been entreated no longer to use barbarians against those called by Christ, even if they be foreigners and have committed the greatest injustices, but rather to entrust justice against them to God, by whom it is easy to restrain those who do wrong, even if they are puffed up with the greatest pride, and to offer this favor first to God, and to Him the [favor] of not staining his soul with such defilements, the emperor was persuaded and promised no longer to use barbarians against anyone, saying that he had nothing to reply to so true and just an admonition; but rather he owed him many thanks, because he took thought for him so that he might not sin, and that he accepted what was said as if it had been decreed by God. This he also guarded strictly afterwards, and he did not conceive of transgressing any of the things promised. But in order that those around him might not be disturbed, but rather remain quiet while expecting that he would do what they wished, until such time as he could set his own affairs in order and depart from the tumults of this life, he feigned such things.

The young emperor, having waited in the New Arsenal until day came, since no one came out against him, and the populace already in its entirety was turning toward the war against the Emperor Cantacuzenus, and the one [the populace] was plundering the houses of those who were attached to him, especially those of Phakeolatos and his kin, as having been those most to blame for seizing Byzantium through treachery in the time of the war, and the others were plundering the imperial treasury in the arsenal, arming themselves, and provoking the emperor to lead them against his father-in-law, he also subsequently took confidence and proceeded to the palaces, and having come to the Porphyrogennetos house, he passed the night there.

CAPUT XL.

On the following day, the populace, stirred up by a furious impulse, tore down and overturned the houses plundered the day before, together with the very floor-beams. Afterwards, coming to the palace, they plundered the building ^C called the "castellion," finding it empty of guards, and ransacked the houses of those living there. And going toward the palace, not all at once, but scattered and in disorder, they skirmished from a distance throughout the whole day, and some of them fell, and others were wounded by those who were hiding inside.

^A The Catalans, sallying forth, drove off the combatants and threw fire into the houses before the palace, burning some of them. Matters having reached such a state of sedition and tumult, Patriarch Philotheus, fearing an attack of the people upon himself, fled from the Patriarchate and hid in a secret place; for he suspected that the young emperor was ill-disposed toward him, as one who had been brought in to replace the patriarch Callistus (who had done and suffered everything for his sake), and who seemed to be doing and undertaking everything on his behalf. ^B On the third day the young emperor, having sent Angelos, the master of the Canicleion, as an envoy to Emperor Cantacuzenus—a man most suited for this embassy by reason of his prudence and learning, and who was in high favor with Emperor Cantacuzenus—discussed terms, so that both might remain in power and pledge mutual amnesty regarding their differences. Emperor Cantacuzenus gladly accepted the embassy; for this was what he desired above all things, so that, with the war among the Romans having ceased, he might withdraw himself entirely from these unstable and worldly affairs. And oaths were taken upon these terms: that Emperor Cantacuzenus and the young emperor, John, should govern affairs; that the young emperor should cede primacy in all things to his elder, and offer him all due honor and obedience, just as before. As for the money collected annually from the public taxes, as much as was required for the soldiers' pay, for the equipment of the triremes, and for the other necessary public administrations should be spent by the prytaneis (as was the custom); and whatever remained beyond these needs, the emperors were to share equally among themselves for their household expenses. ^C Emperor Cantacuzenus demanded the oaths not because he thought them necessary—for he knew that he would very soon withdraw from affairs, and he sought them only for the sake of honor, so as not to be thought inferior to the young emperor—but also so that neither side would exact retribution for the injuries committed by those who had fought on behalf of the other, either while both emperors were living, or if it should happen that one of them were to depart from the world; but rather that they should grant full amnesty for what had been dared, and neither deprive them of their revenues nor of the dignities they held. And that Matthew Cantacuzenus, while remaining in the imperial station, should hold Adrianople and the cities of the Rhodope subject to the Romans for his entire life, being independent and holding [his] authority unaccountable; and that the young emperor, John, should never incite war against him regarding the cities assigned. ^D Upon these terms, Emperor Cantacuzenus was to restore to the young emperor the fortress at what is called the Golden Gate, which he himself held by a Latin garrison; it was most strong, and almost impregnable by its construction. To it belonged two towers from the circuit of Byzantium, between which was the gate leading into the city. These towers were of the greatest magnitude, and, beyond the form and manner of other buildings, were constructed perpendicularly from the foundation to the summit, composed of huge marbles prepared for this purpose by the work of stonemasons, so that because of the extremely tight fit they required neither sand nor any other mortar; but only by mutual iron clamps, as it is said, were they joined where they touched one another, and outwardly they appeared to consist not of many [stones], but of a single stone polished for that purpose. Wherefore it was not apparent where they were to be approached or breached, nor [could they be damaged] by any machine or artifice like others.

^A Once the Emperor Cantacuzenus had become master of the Roman Empire, he restored these, as much as was necessary, from the neglect of time and placed a permanent guard over them, as if they were a citadel. When these oaths had been sworn by both emperors, the sedition was immediately suppressed, and the younger emperor, having cast aside all suspicion, reached the palace to meet his father-in-law. He was received by him with the greatest kindness and cheerfulness, and after a prolonged conversation on necessary matters, he returned to his former residence. ^B After the oaths were sworn, Andronicus Asanes, the Sebastokrator, arrived from Bizye with troops from Byzantium to assist Cantacuzenus. He kept him in the palace with his army for three days, and having praised his readiness and zeal toward him, he sent him back, saying that as he had now made a covenant with his son-in-law, he had no need of his services. Furthermore, he wrote to his son, and to the Despot Nicephorus, his son-in-law, and to the other commanders to turn back, for peace had been concluded and order restored. He wrote the same to the Barbarians in Thrace; for they too were proceeding to Byzantium, having been summoned by the emperor as we have said, and they turned back from the middle of their journey.

But from the Hieron of the Propontis, towards the east, another not insignificant multitude of Barbarians arrived at the palace, thinking that Cantacuzenus stood in need of aid, and they begged to be admitted and unleashed against the enemy. ^C The emperor gave them many thanks for their prompt and benevolent spirit, but replied that he had entered into a covenant and taken oaths with his son-in-law, that he had no need of them, and he ordered them to return home. He made these things known to the Barbarians not only through messengers, but personally as well, speaking to them by the light of lamps outside the walls of the palace where they were waiting, in a place where he could be seen and heard. Moreover, he himself would go out from the palace to the house where the younger emperor, his son-in-law, was staying, and would deliberate with him concerning the administration of public affairs. They also deliberated together ^D regarding the Barbarians in Thrace, whether or not to war against them, in the house of the Grand Logothete Metochites, along with all the senators and those who were distinguished by their noble birth.

And while the rest were shouting immoderately, and each was striving to put forward the most useful opinion for the time, the younger emperor and those who held the chief authority in his retinue inclined toward Cantacuzenus, holding their attention upon his opinion, whose speech was as follows: "For you who are more incited to war against the Barbarians, and who hope for a most easy victory, I would indeed wish that God may bless your counsels and bring them to their end. But I shall not keep silent on what I think beneficial for us at this time. Truly, it does not seem to me, nor to any man of prudence or experience, that one should undertake war and precipitate oneself into danger without first weighing one's own strength and that of the enemy, but trusting instead in the fickleness of fortune. For to be well-equipped with arms, money, and soldiers gives a sure confidence of safety; but fortune is slippery, and often deceives. Now, it is not unknown how great is the power of the Barbarians against whom we are now meditating war."

^A For they are in no way inferior to us in military training; they far surpass us in number, they are better equipped, and more ready for an expedition, serving their lord without any pay and entirely for free. Furthermore, since they have occupied not only our regions and cities in Asia, but now also in Europe as well, they will fight readily to conquer the rest, buoyed by good hope and the example of their past successes. Indeed, in the past, power was not lacking to us against far greater numbers, so that we could not only expel them from our province, but even invade their own lands. But folly, rashness, and a concern not for the common good, but for the most careful management of each man’s private affairs, have now brought us to such a state of weakness that we consider it a gain if we do not even lose what remains. For our army, once splendid and conspicuous, has dwindled to a small number and come to poverty; the contributions of common revenue have vanished entirely; and I do not think that most of you, or indeed almost all of you, would be able to endure the might of the enemy for any length of time if money for the war is not supplied from elsewhere, as you would not spend your own for very long. All of you, when weighing these things in your minds, ought to consider not only how we might move from peace to war, but also how we might defeat the enemies, or at least depart from the conflict without any disaster. ^B I, for my part, do not counsel you to abstain from war against the Barbarians due to my own cowardice, nor can I allow myself to be surpassed by any of you in hatred toward them; indeed, if it were possible, I would have crushed them all myself, and I would have deemed that most glorious for my own fame. More than that, if it were permitted that I be slaughtered by anyone, and that my very death should bring ruin and destruction upon them, I would have most willingly and promptly cast away my otherwise sweet life, so great is my hatred for them—both because they are entirely different in religion and customs, and because for a long time now, and for many years, they have heaped unspeakable disasters upon the Romans; they have harmed almost everyone, and to this day they have not become sated with doing injury, but have poured into Thrace as well, occupying many cities and ravaging all our possessions. What then, one might ask, since I so detest them, is the reason that I have not previously desired to attack them, and why do I now discourage you who are so eager for it? ^C Why? It is because I assess our present forces, and I find that we have neither been equal to them in the past, nor are we now. "Therefore," someone might object, "do you think that we should, with faces veiled in shame and having utterly despaired of safety, endure the blows in silence, and in all things obey the Barbarians as if they were our masters?" By no means; but we must rather wage war, and apply ourselves to this, if to anything at all. Yet I do not advise this ignorantly and overconfidently, as if our boldness would be good for nothing other than for us to lose even what still remains, in addition to the things that have already been snatched from us and which we have not yet recovered. What, then, is my opinion? ^D

That money must first be procured, and foreign forces found that are capable of facing the enemy’s armies. For our domestic forces, even if the equipment should be superb and they have reached the peak of strength and boldness, will not in this state be equal to the enemy for battle, as long as they remain as small—and indeed they are small—as they are now. ^B In addition to this, a fleet must also be prepared, by which we may cut off their reinforcements. For if they themselves hold the sea, we shall be in need of no small or contemptible force: since we shall be compelled to wage war not just with Orchan in Thrace, but also with all the Barbarians in Asia, who, feeling our power, will most readily hasten to the aid of their fellows. For their master and leader in error (Mahomet) has clearly persuaded them that, because of the immortal rewards which are laid up for those who have lived their lives chastely here, he who teaches them this delusion will enjoy those rewards, and that whoever, fighting against us, either falls in battle or kills the greatest number, will partake of them. ^C For these reasons, I advise that they should not be attacked with arms at this time, but that we should first make provision for money and allies. For the present, peace is to be confirmed with them through envoys, and we must strive to recover the cities in Thrace by a certain providence and wise counsel, and obtain them by their surrender; just as this has been done by me with singular care, and today, if only you wish it, it can be done. When the Barbarians have been driven from your borders, however, the war, if we should wish to undertake it against them, will be less laborious, since we shall need only a naval force. We shall also bring the Moesians and Triballians, who have deserved equally ill of us, to a point where, embracing our friendship, they may restore what was snatched away, frightening them with the arms of the Barbarians; or even, if it pleases us, we shall compel them with a hostile army. These are the things which I have judged to be expedient at this time. But if, in your deliberations, those things which are contrary should please you, I shall not hesitate to say that you will be preferring useless things over useful ones. I wish, however, that I might rather be a false prophet, than that your hopes should be deluded. ^D Thus did the Emperor Cantacuzenus discourse in the council concerning the war against the Barbarians, insinuating in a somewhat obscure manner that he would soon relinquish these affairs. Those who had gathered, as many as were of any estimation and name, did not oppose him at all. But the younger ones, and those who were of little intelligence, caviled much at his speech about peace, and hinted that if he had wished to trouble the Barbarians with war, he could have done so greatly, but that because of his daughter married to Orchan, knowing that fruit to be shared, he had willingly neglected it: and that now, of his own accord, he was urging those things which he thought would be to his advantage, for the sake of the same interest. Then they professed that they preferred war, and asked others to go over to the same opinion; for they would not find the Barbarians to be more cowardly than they themselves were, but...

[alt-version omitted]

[index: entries preserved]

Notes of Jacobus Pontanus

fearing that those despoiled would be given over to the Barbarians, or indeed that we shall compel them, if we so wish, to carry it out. Such, then, are the things which I have judged to be to your advantage at the present time. But if, upon deliberation, it should seem otherwise to you, I shall not hesitate to speak of the points which you will choose as being disadvantageous; but I pray that I may fall short in my judgment rather than that you should be disappointed of your hopes." Such were the things spoken by Emperor Cantacuzenus before the assembly regarding the war against the Barbarians, hinting somewhat obscurely that he himself would, before long, withdraw from affairs. Those who were gathered in the assembly, as many as were of any significance, said nothing in opposition; but the younger and more foolish ones, having greatly reproached the Emperor for his arguments concerning peace, and having hinted that even before, when he was able to do great harm if he chose to make war against the Barbarians, he had deliberately neglected the public interest on account of his daughter who was living with Orchan, and now he was also deliberately suggesting the opposite of what is thought to be advantageous for that very same reason. They further stated that they themselves preferred war, and required the others to vote for the same. For they said that the Barbarians would not find them lacking in deeds; but they would know clearly that they were not fighting against women, but against men. And when the young Emperor said absolutely nothing at all regarding his own opinion of the affairs, but was examining within himself to which side he should incline, Emperor Cantacuzenus rose and dismissed the assembly, seeing that it was not easy to persuade them, as they were carried away by great indiscretion and reckless boldness; and he avoided wishing to appear to use force, having already prepared himself to withdraw entirely from the throne to the young Emperor after a short time. For it was in his power, if he had especially wished it, to confirm the decision for peace, having little regard for those who were calling for war as being entirely disadvantageous to the common interest. The war against the Barbarians, therefore, did not end well for the Romans, having been ignited after a short time by those who were then creating the tumult.

CAPUT XLI.

^B Emperor Cantacuzenus, on the third day after that, went with the young Emperor to the fortress at the Golden Gate, to surrender that place, or propugnaculum, to him according to the agreements. When they came near to the temple of the Mother of God, which is called the Source of every healing, in both reality and name, the young Emperor stopped there; but Emperor Cantacuzenus proceeded with a few men into the fortress, to persuade the guards to surrender without a fight, which the Latins alone accepted gladly. For, assuming that he had been unable to come to them before then, but had now found an opportunity and was arriving to help them hold the fortress and defend it bravely until his son arrived—whom they knew to be summoned as an ally, along with the other leaders—they exhorted him joyfully, encouraging him to be confident, as they would fight firmly for him and for themselves, and would easily overcome all their adversaries, not only because of the firmness of their own resolve and the strength of the fortress, which was very difficult to capture because of its construction, but because they had also stocked grain and other provisions in abundance, since the Emperor had liberally supplied them, so that it might suffice for lavish feasting for three years from that time even if they were besieged. But when the Emperor told them what manner of agreement he had made with his son-in-law for the sake of peace, and that he had come for this reason, to surrender the aforementioned fortress to him, they received it with incredible distress and grief, and falling down they begged him not to do this; for with little effort

^A they could expel the new emperor, Byzantios, from there once their army arrived. Johannes Peralta ^B, their leader, especially implored the emperor himself, and persuaded the others, as he had for a long time past been associated with the emperor and had undergone many dangers on his behalf. For he had been fighting alongside him when he was staying among the Triballi during the time of the war, and he had provided many proofs of his goodwill toward him, never undergoing any change during that time, when even those who seemed to be the most friendly were found to have changed their allegiance along with the state of affairs and the times.

When the emperor claimed that it was impossible to satisfy their request, for it was not his practice to retract what he had once decreed, and insisted that they hand over the place, they asked for time to deliberate, so as to consider among themselves what course of action would seem to serve their interests best. This being granted, they left him in the courtyard and gathered inside the citadel; there, their leader proposed that they should demand an oath from the emperor that he would not hand the fortress over to the new emperor, Paleologos, and that he should either remain with them or, if he did not wish to be besieged, return to the palace and do as he pleased, and they would easily endure the force of the Byzantines on his behalf. If he approved of neither, and deemed it worth the effort to surrender the bulwark, they would surrender it, having first received his word with an oath, not because of cowardice or because they were deserting him, but so that they might first provide for him and then for themselves in the best way possible. They reckoned that, once he had surrendered it to his son-in-law out of necessity, he would later feel great gratitude toward them and would repay them with many favors, because out of goodwill toward him, even if reluctantly, as it appeared, they had acted in the way that was most beneficial to him.

The others immediately supported this plan; for they knew him to be one of the most faithful servants of the emperor, and that he would do nothing contrary to his will. Then, barring the doors of the castle from within with bolts, they signaled from the battlements what had been agreed upon; at this the emperor was soon deeply incensed, feeling anger toward them as deserters, yet he could not punish them as they deserved. As he could do nothing to further his goal and was beset by deep perplexity, he ordered everyone to gather in one place with their leader. At first, he questioned them in the Latin language, in which he was well-practiced, as to whether they recognized him. When they all replied that he was their emperor and lord, "Then," he said, "if you do not wish to surrender the fortress, but have once and for all broken your faith and decided to oppose ^C me like enemies, I shall deliberate later on how I should punish your wickedness. But for the present, I shall immediately send letters to the king of the land that bore you—a man of no faith—denouncing each of you by name, and declaring you to be utterly corrupt and depraved, and not worth a rotten nut: because when I had handed over the castle to you, and had spent great sums on your pay, and had never given you any offense, you have in my hour of greatest need ^D conspired to cheat me by force and injustice, so that you may be infamous among all mortals, no one may trust you with anything, and all may flee from your sight and company." These things the emperor said to the Latins, who, placing themselves in the greatest danger,

went out from the fortification and begged him in the most earnest manner to pardon their audacity, claiming that they had not done what they did out of any wickedness, but because they thought it would be to his advantage. They surrendered the fortification to him, and he, immediately summoning the young emperor, his son-in-law, and receiving the keys from the Latins, handed them over to the new emperor. He, having sent away the Latins, introduced a guard of his own men; ^B but after one day he razed all the repairs and abandoned the guarding of the place entirely.

The Emperor Cantacuzenus, then, lived in the palace along with the Empress Irene and those around him, who were not few in number; but the young emperor lived in a certain noble house called the Eagle. The Byzantine populace, whether urged on by some, or as the multitude is wont to be—carried along by thoughtlessness and a rash impulse—desired the change in an absurd manner, and they were rioting in disorder, ready for every crime. It was said that even some of those who had been in the palace, and who previously appeared most well-disposed, had changed their minds and were plotting; and that earlier, when the young emperor entered Byzantium, they had planned to stab the emperor's horse during the very battle. For they thought he would immediately move against the young emperor; ^C and when the battle did not take place, but they moved to negotiations, those people—ignorant that the Emperor Cantacuzenus wished to relinquish the rule shortly, before the requested army could arrive—were eager to kill the emperor. For they believed that if the army arrived, he would surely lay claim to the empire again and would punish their crime against him.

But the Emperor Cantacuzenus, as he was intending to withdraw from affairs in a short time, planned to bring the young emperor into the palace and, having handed over the rule to him, to depart. When this seemed good also to the Empress Irene, he went to the house where the young emperor was staying and invited him to the palace, saying it was absurd for him not to reside in the palace with him, but to wander outside, moving from house to house, so that it might appear to others that they mistrusted one another. For no one could say that the palace was not sufficient for the habitation of both; for as it was then, it had sufficed for many years. ^D The young emperor agreed and promised to come shortly, and begged him to eat breakfast with him in that same house. While the emperors were dining together, a great noise, terrible confusion, and disorder were heard from outside. For the common people had gathered around the house where the emperor was staying, and thinking that they were acting in a way pleasing to the young emperor, they fell upon those they believed to be friends of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, and ordering some whom they encountered to descend from their horses, they snatched them and mounted them themselves. Others they found without riders and carried them off in like manner. The emperors, having understood the cause of the tumult, gave the task of calming the crowds and retrieving the horses to some of their attendants; these obeyed the order, and having received back the horses, returned them to their masters and drove away the common people, having chastised them with words, and indeed with many blows.

were snatched up by them, they departed. Some, finding the horses without riders, were driving them away. But when the emperors perceived the cause of the disturbance, they sent some of their servants, ordering them to recover the horses and quell the disorder of the populace. They did as they were commanded, and returned the horses to their owners, without one being lost, and drove the populace away, using not a little force and blows.

CHAPTER XLII.

^A Toward evening, both emperors, with all those around them, went to the palace. After mid-day, the emperor revealed the secret to the young emperor: that he had long ago formed the intention to withdraw from these transitory affairs, and, by putting on the monastic habit, to have leisure for himself alone and for God; but that at other times, because of various obstacles and those who would not allow him to carry his designs into action, he had consumed his time until now. But now, since the circumstances had turned out well, and he who would be heir to the rule was present, he considered it to be the proper time to lay down the rule, and, having handed it over to him, to take his leave and depart. The young emperor was ^B greatly distressed at once to have heard such things, contrary to all expectation, and he tried to persuade him to remain in his status, putting forward not a few causes which he thought would most easily persuade him. But as he saw that he could not be swayed from his proposed plan, although unwilling and greatly grieved, he permitted him to act as he saw fit. So on the next day, in the palace itself, he laid aside the imperial ornaments, donned the monastic habit, and began to be called Joasaph instead of John. At the same hour, the Empress Irene also renouncing the empire, donned the monastic habit, and named herself Eugenia instead of Irene. After this, Cantakouzenos retired to the Manganon monastery, just as he had previously arranged; and the Empress Eugenia [retired] to that of Martha, which was called by the name of the emperor’s sister, and which belonged to the Emperor Cantakouzenos by maternal inheritance. ^C But his most intimate and familiar friends among the courtiers, seeing so sudden a change, and how he had abdicated the empire to apply himself to a lowly, unbusy, and peaceful life full of tranquility, having lost all hope of prosperity, and having no reason to avenge themselves upon the young emperor, turned to reviling him and spread rumors about him. They denounced him as a perjurer, inconsistent, and more changeable than the winds, claiming that he had compelled his father-in-law the emperor, though reluctant, to undergo monasticism. And many lent their ears to these rumors, although they were mere lies and calumnies, containing nothing sincere or sound. For the Emperor Cantakouzenos yielded the empire willingly and of his own accord; for, had he wished to retain it, no one could have extorted it from him, and Palaiologos, after his oath, never offended his soul in any matter, but truly strove with all diligence to perform every service to him; so much so that not even an outsider was unaware that he had neither done nor premeditated anything to grieve his father-in-law. Therefore the Emperor Cantakouzenos, when, as…

^A has been recorded by us, he had thus fallen into reigning against his will, and had been powerfully fought against by those of his own race, and had encountered many dangers and varied misfortunes—and had himself, no less, employed every device and stood against everything with the spirit befitting him, and finally had prevailed over all those who stood against him—since, because of the wickedness of those who were with him, he had fallen into the same state again, and was forced to fall into war against those of his own race, when the opportunity presented itself, he ^B renounced the rule, as if declaring that he would never be able to think rightly regarding the Romans, or what was advantageous for them. And having spent some time at the monastery of the Mangana, he then considered going to the Holy Mountain of Athos to the monastery of Vatopedi, and passing the rest of his life there. But the young Emperor prevented him, begging him to stay a little longer in Byzantium, until he should reconcile his son, the Emperor Matthew, to him. For during that winter, after the abdication of the Emperor Cantakouzenos, the young emperors had shown no work of war against each other, but each remained within his own borders of the realm, as they had been divided by their father previously. However, they were not so well-disposed toward each other as to be in harmony; but they were in suspicion due to the things previously done at Adrianople, as though, unless someone were to reconcile them, they were minded to fight. On account of which the young Emperor John also intended to make agreements with him concerning peace, and asked his father-in-law, the Emperor, not to depart for Athos before they were reconciled; and he himself was persuaded, deeming the request just and appropriate for him. During the same winter, and Patriarch Kallistos, having returned from Tenedos, took hold of ^C the ecclesiastical authority again, with no one daring to contradict; nor did he himself need the vote of the bishops for his restitution, as if it were necessary to be introduced as one who had been cast out; but thinking that he had been wronged in the extreme, not only by the Emperor but also by the bishops, he confirmed the vote for himself, and sought to demand judgment from those who had done him wrong, because of their thanklessness. However, the young Emperor prevented this, saying that he ought to disregard everything that had happened during the discord and rivalry. But as the winter was already ending, by those who were with him he was set against the Emperor Matthew, on the one hand accusing him as holding the empire unjustly, and as having taken away a part of the rule no less than the whole, and on the other hand urging him on to the war against him, as it was possible to overthrow him, and not to allow him to grow ^D into an opponent who would always be contending for the whole. Being persuaded by these arguments, he equipped triremes, and at the first signs of spring he set out against him, as he was staying at Gratianopolis with his whole family, and moreover held all the towns of Chalcidice, and in addition Adrianople, along with the neighboring small towns (over which he had placed his uncle, the Sebastokrator Cantakouzenos). The Despot Nikephoros, an in-law by the kindness of his father-in-law, possessing Aenos, joined himself with the Emperor Matthew, the brother of his wife, and promised him aid against any enemy whatsoever with a ready mind. But upon the Emperor John arriving by ship at Aenos, he abandoned Matthew and suddenly defected to him, and surrendered the city. Then the Emperor, reducing his forces, also took Bera, a most fortified town, built on account of the Hebrus, which was at one time a monastery for men; but now, on account of frequent wars and

the incursions of the barbarians, it was inhabited by certain farmers, and had already become a small town, which ^A the young emperor took after the garrison surrendered. Having also with him from the mainland Nicephorus the Despot, who was serving in his campaign, he approached Peritheorium, and sending secretly, he spoke with the governor of the city about surrendering it; and he persuaded him by promising great things. But the Emperor Matthew, fearing lest some treachery be committed regarding the city—for he knew that it was impregnable by siege—sent as many soldiers to guard it as he thought sufficient. The governor, having seized the soldiers, kept their arms and horses for himself, and surrendered both the city and the soldiers to the Emperor Palaeologus. ^B When the city was taken, with other cavalry collected from elsewhere, he marched against Cumutzena, a small town of the Epirotes; and those who inhabited the city received them readily, surrendering without investigation. Since from there Gratianopolis, where Emperor Matthew was staying, was not very far off, he sent an embassy to him to invite him to a treaty, for peace was not displeasing to them either. He brought the army up to the city; Matthew came out, and they talked about the war. It seemed to both that they should desist from it, on these conditions: that both be emperors, since both had been chosen by the common votes of the Romans and crowned by the Byzantine ^C Church. However, since the remaining cities of the Romans and the territory were too small to support both emperors, it seemed right that Matthew should yield the cities of Thrace which he held, and migrate to the Peloponnese, and rule over the cities of the Romans there; provided, however, that Palaeologus should convince the Despot Manuel, his brother, to transfer the province to his brother, and should entrust to him the island of Lemnos to be administered for his life, with an accounting to be rendered, granting him the "topian" (42) revenue from the public taxes of Byzantium, bringing in a little more than ten thousand gold pieces annually. ^D However, until the Despot should depart from the Peloponnese, Matthew, with the consent of Palaeologus, was to cross over to Lemnos and reside there, and nonetheless keep garrisons in the cities. When the Despot brother should come to Lemnos from the Peloponnese, then Matthew was to surrender the Thracian cities to the Emperor John, and his brother the island, and he himself was to sail to the Peloponnese. On these conditions they composed the treaty, and the war seemed to have quieted down; and after exchanging greetings, Matthew returned to Gratianopolis. John came to Peritheorium; and when Matthew sent men to take possession of Lemnos in his name and to guard the island, Palaeologus also sent men to formally add it to his holdings; and he remained in the city until, upon their return, Matthew had crossed over to Lemnos. While these things were being done, certain of the household of Palaeologus sent secret warnings to Matthew, that he should not trust the pacts too greatly, but should guard himself again and again; lest, not prudently...

committing himself to the enemy, he fall into some irreparable disaster. They said, specifically, that these men would soon fill the fish with human flesh. It was his duty to investigate this very carefully, lest he be deceived and fall into a most terrible calamity. Meanwhile, those who had gone to Lemnos returned to him with, as the saying goes, empty hands. For those who had been sent by the Emperor Palaeologus to surrender the cities, having expelled the garrisons that were stationed there at the time, were not performing their orders; but in addition to those already there, they were demanding that a few of Matthew's own garrison soldiers be brought in, so that the cities would be held no less than before by those many more men than the few they were ordering to be led in. To the men of Emperor Matthew, this did not seem tolerable; rather, they demanded that the established garrisons be entirely expelled. As those men did not obey, they returned without accomplishing their task.

From what had been done on the island, and from what his friends reported, Matthew was convinced that he was being deceived. Since a Persian force had also come to his aid, and another from Adrianople and the surrounding towns, he advanced in a hostile manner against the Gumutsenates; and he reached Peritheorion, thinking that he himself was not violating the treaty, but rather that he was being harmed by treaty-breakers, since the island had not been surrendered according to the agreed terms, and a great plot was being prepared to kill him. Emperor Palaeologus likewise insisted that he was being wronged and that the treaty was being violated by the other, who was renewing the war without provocation. For it was not to be laid at his door, he said, if certain individuals behaved unjustly toward him without his knowledge; instead, the treaty should be preserved and the offenses corrected. ^B Nevertheless, a grave war was inflamed anew, and the Gumutsenates, troubled by frequent incursions, returned to the authority of Emperor Matthew. Emperor Palaeologus, seeing that his stay at Peritheorion was of no benefit, appointed John Asanes as governor and returned to Byzantium.

CHAPTER XLIII

essaly without force. A servant incites the naval soldiers to desert the Despot. The insolence and tyranny of the same Eni. He attacks the fortress in vain. The Queen to Byzantium. ^A At that same time, Crales, the prince of the Triballi, died (43), and a no small sedition arose among the Triballi. For Simon, the brother of Crales, who was then lord of Acarnania, claimed the whole Triballian principality for himself, as if it belonged more to him, and he had many of the nobles among the Triballi supporting him in this endeavor. And Ouresis, the son of Crales, was in arms against his uncle on account of his paternal principality. Helena, his mother, equally distrustful of her son and of Simon her brother-in-law, having brought many cities over to her side and surrounded herself with not-contemptible forces, reigned on her own, attacking neither of them and assisting neither in the war. Furthermore, the most powerful of the nobles among them, having subdued the weaker towns, were assisting some—not as if obeying Crales as a lord, but as allies and friends sending military aid—while others assisted his uncle Simon. Others, of neither party, kept what they had and awaited the outcome, intending to follow the one who should prevail; and having been divided into a thousand factions, they were agitated by seditions. The Romans, who had for so long been afflicted by many and great injuries by the Triballi, when they obtained an opportune time to recover what had been taken away and to exact from the barbarians the penalty for their daring deeds, wasted the time to no useful purpose because of the civil war and the seditions by which they were torn. ^B Nicephorus, the Despot and Duke, understanding that the Triballi were laboring under internal discords, and hoping that he would most easily recover his paternal province—especially since Prealimpus, who governed Thessaly, had died—fitted out triremes from Aenus, where he had left his wife, and sailed to Thessaly. Having landed there, with no one resisting him, as the Thessalians readily surrendered themselves and, as if from a great storm of Triballian rule, fled for refuge to the Roman empire, which was full of gentleness and tranquility, he brought all of it under his power in a short time. He, therefore, was occupied with receiving the cities. But Limpidarius, one of his servants, whom he had left in command of the ships—a most wicked man toward his master—persuaded the sailors to desert him and return to Aenus, with a huge and double advantage to be gained from the defection. For they would be delivered from such a distant expedition, in which they suffered fatigue and distress in a foreign land in vain and rashly, while others enjoyed their labors most amply; and they would be freed from the heavy servitude in which they served the Despot at home. For of two things, one must be necessary: either, if he defeated the enemies, he would lack the ships by which he might return to them, or he would perish, having been defeated by them. After having been lured by his words, they weighed anchor and returned to Aenus. Limpidarius first governed the city by himself, and he was everything: emperor, duke, and master of all things at once; he instigated the supporters of the Despot among the people, throwing some into prison, stripping others of all their goods and driving them from the city, and giving others to the common people to

execute. Afterward, he made an expedition against the Queen, the wife of the Despot, who was holding the citadel with her servants. He besieged it for a sufficient time, but because of the strength of the walls and the bravery of the defenders, he could not take it. However, he forced the Queen to leave the citadel willingly by taking an oath that he would harm neither her nor those accompanying her, declaring that she could go wherever she pleased without anyone interfering. ^B This was carried out a short time later; for, having boarded a ship, she arrived at Byzantium and was honorably received by her sister’s husband. Afterward, she went back to Thessaly to her husband, who had by then become lord of the whole region and of the cities in Acarnania. He received his wife gladly, and for some time they lived together quietly, familiarly, and in close union, as was indeed proper. Afterward, however, some of the people around him, men of wickedness and folly, harboring base and illegal notions and accusing the Despot, persuaded him to abandon his wife to the Triballi and himself take to wife the sister of Helena, wife of the Kral, so that he might thus securely establish and consolidate his rule over Thessaly and Acarnania (since the Triballi, because of the marriage alliance, would do nothing), and break the power of the Albanians, who were enemies to his rule and causing no small harm. ^C Immediately he felt an aversion to his wife, and could not even bear to look at her. A little later, he sent a garrison to the city of Arta in Acarnania. He sent an embassy to the Kral to negotiate the marriage with his wife's sister. The matter had now proceeded as far as discussions and embassies, and the Queen, the daughter of the Emperor, bore this patiently, thinking that her husband would eventually turn away from these wicked thoughts and return to a sober and sound mind. But when all was finished and the oaths were being fulfilled, in which it was written that he should abandon his wife to the Triballi and take the sister of the Kral’s wife, she decided that she must at last provide for her own safety, and not perish through the madness of others. She sent to the Peloponnese to the Despot Manuel, her brother, asking him to provide for her security. ^D Without any delay, he sent by sea and took his sister, while all the Acarnanians and Albanians sent her off with praise, vying with one another for the goodwill and honor shown to her; this was not only on account of her own moderation, nobility of character, and the fact that she was adorned with every virtue, but also on account of her affection for the Emperor her father. For the entire West had been won over to him, and remained firmly attached to him even after his departure from affairs. As for the Despot Nicephorus, although they knew he would not endure the escorting and praising of the lady with a calm mind, they not only did not care, but openly heaped curses upon him, saying that he was quite mad and, as the saying goes, was exchanging gold for bronze. For this reason, in a short time the Albanians openly revolted from him, declaring that unless he dissolved the Triballian marriage and brought the Emperor’s daughter back from the Peloponnese to his chamber, they would fight against him as vigorously for her sake as they would for their own lives. Either because he perceived the baseness of his action, or because he feared the sedition that would arise on account of his having repudiated his wife, he annulled those cursed nuptials through an envoy, and his legitimate wife from

taking her back from the Peloponnese, he confirmed his pledge to her by oath, ^A and that he would henceforth admit nothing to the contrary, but would live with her with all his former candor and gentleness. Being a loving wife and deriving the greatest comfort from the fact that she had not herself broken the marriage bonds, she regarded all that had passed as of no account, and prepared herself to go to him shortly. But he, headstrong out of a certain ambition, lest his own principality should be thought to depend upon her, rushed off to subdue the deserter Albanians before she could arrive. And so it befell him that the Persians, who had crossed into Thessaly in piratical triremes, encouraged him and assisted him. Trusting greatly in their valor, he invaded the Albanians at a place called Achelous; there, before the main phalanxes could engage, he fell in battle, and his whole army was cut to pieces by the sword and laid low. The queen, his wife, who was still residing in the Peloponnese, upon learning of his death, mourned him there for a long time and lamented her husband’s passing; then, coming to Byzantium, she spent the remainder of her life with the Empress-mother, residing at the monastery of Martha. But these things were done later. ^B

CHAPTER XLIV.

When the agreements made between the emperors were rendered null, and the war flared up again, Matthew, having collected his forces, went to Byzia to his uncle, the Despot Manuel Asanes, with whom he joined himself, and determined to set out with the entire army against Palaeologus in Byzantium, and pitched camp at the Melas river, ^C near a certain fortified village called Metras. Palaeologus likewise, equipped with armaments and triremes, and provided with infantry and cavalry on the mainland, appointed leaders over them and ordered them to advance to the village of Athyra—which was also fortified with walls and, being like a certain isthmus, was surrounded by the sea on every side—to which he himself also came with his triremes. They remained with opposing camps for several days, since neither side had sufficient strength to attack the other or to draw them into battle. For it did not seem right to the emperor Palaeologus to make an assault upon the enemy cavalry in the flat, open plain, destitute of trees, since he himself was leading for the most part infantry and heavy-armed soldiers. On the other hand, the enemy were unwilling to lead their troops ^D into the plain, as the terrain was impassable and consisted of the ruins of collapsed buildings which lacked a level surface. Wherefore, both remained in their camps and kept quiet, and through—

the exchange of envoys they discussed peace. As they came to an agreement with one another, the one returned to Bizye with his army, while Emperor Palaeologus went to Byzantium; and they were deliberating on how they might harm one another. ^A During this time, from Old Phocaea, which Calothetus governed, a solitary pirate ship descended into the Gulf of Astacus for the sake of plunder. As it happened, it captured Chalilen, the son of Orchan, who was crossing the ferry there in a small skiff; and it immediately retreated to Phocaea. When Orchan learned that his son had been taken captive and carried off to Phocaea, he could not easily campaign against the Phocaeans, for he lacked naval power with which to afflict them; nor could he reach them by land, since that city lies within the satrapy of another, against whom it would be necessary to have an equal force to contend, if he were to attempt to cross that man’s province to get to Phocaea. Being constrained on all sides by his helplessness, he saw in Emperor Palaeologus a source of aid, as he alone might be able to free his son from chains; and having sent an embassy, he begged for the boy. The Emperor readily promised to do everything and to return the son, if he himself would also refrain from providing aid to Matthew against him. Orchan, of course, even after the withdrawal of Emperor Cantacuzenus from affairs, had shown great goodwill toward him, and for this reason he provided much benefit to the Emperor's son, both to the cities that were under him, by causing them no trouble, and by sending an army whenever he requested it. ^B Emperor Palaeologus, considering this a grave matter, took advantage of the favorable opportunity and attempted to detach Orchan from his friendship with Emperor Matthew. The barbarian also promised to do everything, if only his son were released to him; and for as long as his son was held captive, he refrained from providing aid to Emperor Matthew against Emperor Palaeologus, nor did he cause any trouble to Byzantium and the other cities that were subject to the latter. The Emperor, thinking that Calothetus would easily surrender Orchan’s son if he were merely asked, sent to him and requested him, promising honors and certain other benefits. But Calothetus made little account of these things and demanded a large sum of money, which the Emperor was scarcely able to pay. And although the Emperor threatened him with the most extreme consequences if he did not comply, ^C he nevertheless remained impudent. For this reason, he decided to turn arms against him, and having prepared a good number of triremes, he harassed him by land and sea. But since he perceived that the city could not be taken by force, despite frequent and strong assaults against the walls, he paid Calothetus one hundred thousand gold pieces and, having endowed him with the rank of Panhypersebastos, he released Orchan’s son from captivity and sent him back to his father. While these things were being accomplished, much time was consumed, and the nobles of the Triballi, the prefects of the cities of Mygdonia, ^D secretly summoned Emperor Matthew, promising to surrender themselves and their cities to him; they had discussed this matter before. For from the time that Cantacuzenus had been driven out by the Romans and had spent time among the Triballi, the most powerful men there had shown him a wonderful inclination of spirit and honored him above all others. And so, even while Crale was still alive, they would have gladly seen him undertake an expedition among the Triballi with his own people, and they devoted their efforts intensely to this, since they preferred his rule to that of Crale, and they had often spoken with him about this matter in secret. But Emperor Cantacuzenus, having dedicated himself to monastic life,

^A and their prince having met his fate, they were utterly in despair because of the changed circumstances where they had hoped for so much. Sending to Matthew, however, they recalled to his memory their zeal toward his father, and asserted that they were equally devoted to him and would be faithful to him, and would procure for him a great empire. Then indeed, Boichinas the Caesar sent messengers to announce that all things requested were prepared; and that he had even persuaded the prefect of Pherae to join their cause, who was prepared to hand over the city, along with the Craleina herself, and many thousands of gold pieces; and they requested that he should arrive among them as quickly as possible, and that he should set a date for his arrival ^B. Matthew, wonderfully elated by these messages, magnificently promised to reward them for such extraordinary goodwill toward him, and he set a period of thirty days within which he would arrive: for he believed that as many days would suffice to gather the Roman army he had and to summon the auxiliary forces from the East from his brother-in-law, Orchanes. He therefore made a pact with the Triballians who were inviting him; and, having immediately sent an embassy to Orchanes, he requested soldiers, and summoned the Romans by letter. It chanced by fortune that the envoys met Orchanes at Abydus, where he was staying for other reasons, and they laid out their embassy. Orchanes immediately ordered that an army of about five thousand barbarians, which happened to have been gathered from other satrapies and was seeking a crossing ^C into Thrace so as to invade Mysia for plunder, should take up the envoys and transport them, having mixed in some of his own men and having appointed one of his own commanders as their leader; he was ignorant of the cause of the expedition, and simply thought that he was seeking reinforcements against the barbarians to be plundered. Matthew, perceiving that the Persian forces had arrived so suddenly, and having learned that they had assembled from various satrapies, was perturbed and greatly distressed, at once because he suspected that those barbarians would do nothing that he himself intended (being free from fear, you see, through which it would come about that they followed in a composed and orderly column), and also because the Roman forces could not be gathered so quickly; for he had promised to be among them in thirty days. When he strove, however, to keep the barbarians with him and to stall for time, they threatened ^D to plunder his own region unless he marched against the enemy at the very first opportunity. Surrounded by such difficulty on all sides, he considered it too unsafe to set out without his own forces (for, as it was summer, everyone was dispersed through the fields doing their work), and he feared the most hostile incursion of the barbarians for which they were gathered. He therefore decided to set out with the household forces he had at hand, rather than wait any longer for the others; and having communicated the secret of the expedition against the Triballians to the barbarian commanders, he implored them not to infest the cities that yielded and the region, but that they should leave them intact and direct their efforts against the true enemy, to whom he would provide them as leaders, and he promised them a great sum of money for this fairness. The barbarians promised that they would perform everything that was pleasing to his mind and would carry out his instructions most perfectly. Soon, together with them, he began his journey.

^A, accompanied by only a few Romans. He sent to Boichnas the Caesar to signify that he was arriving contrary to the agreement, compelled by the foreign troops who would not wait for the appointed time. Boichnas, who was away from the city he governed, named Drama, as he received the emperor's messengers, coincidentally fell in with a Triballian force which was being sent from Grale to his mother at Pheras. He returned with that same force, with the intention that, together with the other conspirators there, he might deliberate on what was to be done for the present. When the Barbarians arrived at Pheras with the emperor, most of them, heedless of their agreements, set out to plunder and depopulated the entire region with impunity; the emperor was angered and tried everything by which he thought he might protect his friends from the injuries of the Barbarians. But those who remained with the emperor and their own leader, seeing the band of Triballians, in which Boichnas was also spotted, moving to attack, were eager to join battle. When the emperor could not, with much labor, dissuade them from fighting, he too proceeded to the contest, which the Triballians were waging against the Barbarians. While they were still skirmishing with missiles (as they were accustomed to do before joining battle), their leader fell; and at his fall a great confusion and trepidation overcame them, as if they had been defeated by a first assault. The emperor then appeared most rapid and prompt both in understanding what was fitting for such a time, and in setting about the matter himself, and in inciting the others. Indeed, he immediately appointed another leader, whom he filled with confidence that the matter would be handled well by him; and rushing into the front line, he gave outstanding examples of valor. For by slaying three of the enemy in succession with his own hand, he compelled the Triballians to sound the retreat and withdraw without delay to Pheras, which was not far distant. In this ^B conflict, few of the Persians were lost, but twice as many of the Triballians. The Barbarians, since things had turned out contrary to their expectation (for they did not think the enemy would defend themselves for any time), were in a state of tumult and confusion, and everything was ripe for flight. The emperor, confirming and ordering them, as is the custom, returned, himself leading the rear guard, in which were the bravest of the Romans and Persians. The Triballians, however, did not allow the Barbarians to depart unscathed: for they suspected that they were turning back most swiftly, and were disturbed; and, attacking again, they strove to scatter them now that they were crowded together, and to put them to flight. The emperor, again opposing them with the Romans and the choicest of the Persians, repelled them; for he slew two of them in successive engagements, and others were sent by others to Orcus. Then at last ^C the wedge of Triballians, stupefied by the emperor's virtue, retreated to Pheras, and caused no further trouble. ^D

[COL. 335] ^A in that conflict, there were few of the Persians, but double that number of the Triballians. However, because the barbarian side found the battle turning out contrary to their expectations—for they did not think they would be able to hold out for even a short time against their enemies—they were severely thrown into confusion and disorder, and were already prepared for flight. But the Emperor encouraged them, and having formed them as was customary, he himself turned the rearguard, keeping with him the Romans ^B and the best of the Persians. The Triballians did not allow the Barbarians to withdraw without bloodshed; for they themselves also suspected that they were being thrown into confusion by the sudden withdrawal, and rushing forward again, they attempted to turn them and break their phalanx. The Emperor, having countered again with the Romans and the best of the Persians, repelled the enemy. For he killed two of them in succession as he engaged. Others also fell, slain by the rest. From that moment, the Triballian army retreated toward Pherae, astonished by the Emperor’s bravery, and they troubled them no further at all.

CAPUT XLV. The flight based on a false suspicion regarding the Emperor. Description of the city of Philippopolis. The flight cannot be stopped by the Emperor’s authority. His virtue. He escapes safely through the work of a servant who subdues his horse. Hiding in a swamp near Philippopolis, he is captured by the Philippopolitans. He is led away to be guarded by Boichna at Drama. Palaeologus captures Gratianopolis, and there captures his wife with his children, whom he sends to Tenedos. Matthaeus perishes at the hands of Boichna, and he hands him over completely for love of money. Various reasons for blinding the captives. Palaeologus is praised. Matthaeus is sent to Tenedos, then to Lesbos. The whole matter is reported to his father-in-law, and freedom is promised to the captive.

The Emperor, leading his army, encamped by the river Panac as if he were to spend the night there; and at daybreak, once even the others who had dispersed for the sake of plunder had returned, he intended to complete the remainder of the journey in safety. But as the day was already declining, the scattered army returned from the looting, no small number, and bringing with them a multitude of livestock, captives, and slaves, they were marching toward the camp of their own people, being ignorant of the clash that had occurred with the Triballians. Those who were in the camp, suspecting that they were not their own men but the Triballians who had massed to attack them—since they did not seem to be a match for them, not only because of their numbers but also because of the boldness they had shown in the previous battles—rose up and fled at full speed, far from the army that was still appearing in the distance, fearing that if they were left behind they would be destroyed. Each of them was eager to cross the path at Philippopolis ahead of the others. For they suspected that if night fell, and the Philippopolitans perceived the rout, there would be no obstacle at all to their being destroyed, since the Philippopolitans occupied the narrow passes and would not allow them to cross into Thrace, while the [hostile] army would be pressing upon them and destroying them. For situated on a certain foothills of the Philippopolitan city, the part above the city is inaccessible due to its ruggedness, surrounded by deep ravines and cliffs and jagged rocks, while the part below the city, though level, is a marsh, and a deep, swampy mire, and in many places is irrigated by small streams. Now, a narrow path lies between the marsh and the town, which they thought it of the highest importance to traverse before the Philippopolitans realized they were defeated. ^C The Romans also were being swept along into flight with the Barbarians. The Emperor, suffering greatly at such a rash flight, which had occurred so contrary to expectations, tried to restrain some and to make them resist those who were pursuing—for a few Triballians from the surrounding villages had gathered and were immediately clinging to the backs of the fleeing Barbarians, for the army at Pherae and Boichna were completely unaware of what had happened—but he achieved nothing commensurate with what was required, as everyone was intent on flight for the sake of their own safety. Then, necessarily, he stood alone, receiving the pursuers and driving them back, lest they kill even more of the fugitives. Nevertheless, of the Romans and

^A of the barbarians not a few perished, especially at the pass at Philippi. For the inhabitants of Philippi, already aware of the rout of the barbarians, pressed on and slaughtered them everywhere. The emperor, defending himself and seeking his own safety, also made his way toward Philippi. His horse, exhausted by the frequent charges and sallies, collapsed, and being now at a loss, one of his servants, a Cyparissiota—a man not much accustomed to military expeditions and battles, but well-versed in literary studies—as far as he was able, saved him. For he dismounted his own horse and offered it to the emperor, exposing himself to manifest danger. ^B He was instantly captured by the pursuing Triballi. And having been held in chains for some time, he was later released by his captors because of the communion of their faith.

The emperor, having arrived alone at Philippi, and seeing that the pass was occupied and that it was impossible to use force against so many, nor was there any other better course to turn to, entered a marsh covered with reeds, thinking he could lie hidden there until nightfall. Since the marshy mud could not support the horse's hooves but held them fast, the emperor dismounted and hid himself beneath the reeds. The Philippians, having rushed up—for they did not fail to know who he was, because a servant of the emperor named Gauras, who was lying wounded among them and on the point of death, had recognized him from afar as he approached and had ^C mentioned without hesitation to them that it was the emperor—searched the whole area thoroughly with dogs, apprehended him, and led him into the city. Thus did Emperor Matthew fall into such misfortune, and meet with such calamities, inferior to none of those whom war has made most wretched.

Voichnas the Caesar, when he heard that the emperor was being held at Philippi, having taken him the next day, led him to his own house at Drama, and treated him with much care and honor, and took diligent pains that he should be carefully guarded, promising that if he were with him, he would send him back to the province. For he feared lest Cralena should oppose him and demand by her own right, as a spoil of war, to have the emperor in her possession. Therefore it seemed that he must be demanded from her as soon as possible; at the same time he hoped for money from him, and that he would be a steadfast friend, ^D so that if there were need to undertake the previous enterprises again, he might be powerfully assisted by him. Having taken this resolution, he hastened toward Pherae, but being struck by an illness on the way, he was hindered by bodily weakness for twenty-five days from reaching Pherae.

Emperor Palaiologos, during these days, was remaining with his triremes off Tenedos on account of Orchan’s son, but when he became certain of the fate of Emperor Matthew, he hastened to set sail. He came to Peritheorion, and from there he occupied Cumutzena, which town surrendered to him not unwillingly. Afterward he also occupied Gratianopolis, as the citizens readily and by common counsel received him, having no further hope left for Matthew. In this city the Empress Irene, the wife of Matthew, was taken with her two sons and two daughters (for Theodora, the elder daughter, was being educated at Byzantium with her paternal grandmother, Euphemia), whom he treated humanely and without any injury, and without despoiling either her or her domestics of anything, he sent them to Tenedos.

^A Having appointed a governor for the city and managed other affairs well, he returned to Peritheorion. He then sent an embassy a second time to Boichnas, who had already returned from Pherae, and had obtained safe conduct to do whatever he wished with Emperor Matthew. He offered to provide much money if he would hand over the brother of his wife [Matthew], who was in chains.

Previously, Boichnas himself had been eager, as he had confirmed with oaths, to send Emperor Matthew back home; and when Emperor Palaeologus sent an embassy to him to betray him, he did not even want to listen to their words. But then, having learned that the cities under Matthew, as well as his children and wife, had been captured, and that no hope remained of receiving any money from him, or that he would be useful to them for the enterprises they were contemplating—for he was now a man without a city and homeless—he changed his mind and turned to an agreement with Emperor Palaeologus, so as to hand him over for money. ^B When the agreement was finally settled and he began receiving the money, suspecting that if Emperor Matthew should ever obtain some humanity from Emperor John, he might later take vengeance on him for this betrayal, he planned to deprive him of his sight, hoping that it would also be pleasing to Emperor John if he were blinded by others rather than by himself. He sent a message to the Emperor, requesting to proceed with what he had planned. But the Emperor would not tolerate such words, and declared that he would not accept him at all unless he were delivered up completely unharmed and intact; he exerted all his efforts to persuade the Triballian [Bulgarian] not to harm him in any way. For this reason, he was sent to him with his body in no way mutilated.

When he was on the imperial triremes, a great contention arose among the Romans ^C as they vied with one another in urging the Emperor to deprive his wife’s brother of his sight, claiming that he would be relieved of many troubles, and would not leave behind for himself, or for all the other Romans, a pretext for civil war, along with the future struggle and danger. Not all, however, held the same opinion in these discussions; but some, out of extreme hostility toward him, gave such advice, deeming it intolerable if, along with his other misfortunes, he were not also deprived of his sight, so that he might at once despair entirely of better things and be consumed by much grief over his present calamity. Others, not thinking of any of these things, simply agreed with the others, not sparing the part of the body that is most necessary, and condemning him to be blinded, because they believed that for this reason they would be considered friends by Palaeologus, and would receive a very great and excellent reward for this benevolence. ^D Some, even though they felt sorrow for his miseries and were severely distressed, and were saddened and tormented at the mere mention of this atrocity just as if this matter were being forged against themselves, still, lest they appear malevolent toward the Emperor if they advised the opposite of his most benevolent men, they too urged the same thing. In this matter, Emperor Palaeologus gave the most manifest proofs not only of humanity and clemency, but also of magnanimity, fortitude, and prudence. For when the war had progressed to that point, and such enmities had existed between them that they were implacable, and one would have taken from the other not only the empire but, if he could, his very life, and had exerted all his energy for the destruction of his adversary, yet afterward, having the victor [sic — the text implies 'the vanquished'] in his hand, he did not look back to past events, nor did he inquire how he should punish the man by whom he appeared to have been harmed; but this to certain Barbarians, not at all moved...

by ^A their cruelty and irrationality, was considered appropriate; he himself, having employed prudent and just rationales, and having pitied human nature, that it is subject to such passions and changes, considered it sufficient for the security of his life that he had overcome his enemies and asked for nothing further, demonstrating in fact that while it is appropriate for Barbarians to war up to the limit of their power, for those of the same race it is [appropriate to war] up to the limit of what is better, what further manifest proof of magnanimity could one leave behind? But again, that he did not prematurely destroy the only opportunity, which was [also] the greatest [occasion] for his own vainglory, but preserved it to use at the opportune time, and to leave behind for himself, for those who would exist hereafter, memorials that would never be forgotten—that one might justly ^B attribute to prudence and good counsel. But in truth, that when all were advising the same things, and leaving nothing undone, as far as they were concerned, he [was not moved] to carry into action what they were so eager for, neither looking to the demand, as if it appeared useful and just, nor to the multitude and their consensus, but having turned everything over to what had been well determined, remaining firm and doing nothing contrary to what had been decided, nothing else except the courage of his soul and the firmness of his reflections provided this. ^C Because of all this, having neglected all others, he brought his wife's brother to Tenedos, having done him no harm, just as the many were advising; and he allowed [him] to spend a short time with his wife and children. Afterward, he commanded that his children and wife stay in Tenedos, but that Matthew be taken to Lesbos and held in chains, and everything was done as the emperor ordered. He himself, having set out from Tenedos, came to Byzantium, and having arrived at the Mangan monastery to his father-in-law the emperor, he recounted all that had occurred, and promised that in a little while he would release his wife's brother from his chains. For he said it would have been best if the discord between them had never even been set in motion, nor that they should have departed so far from the limits of nature that those who by right ought to have died for one another had become capital enemies, and were devising every contrivance by which they might destroy each other. But since it had turned out this way, and that man, having used cruel fortune, was captured by the Triballi and brought to me in chains, I myself immediately at the mere sight of him was troubled, and having cast away all previous enmity, I was overcome by nature. And for the present, I have considered treating him humanely...

to use, and shortly after to release him from his bonds. I would have released him even now, had I not suspected the criticism of the masses regarding the inconsiderate use of matters. But a short time later, as I may seem to act upon all things with good counsel and forethought, I shall release him from his bonds." Such were the promises Emperor Palaiologos made to his father-in-law, the Emperor, regarding the release of his son.

Caput XLVI. Cantacuzenus gives thanks because his son was not blinded. He reveals how great was the anxiety and sorrow that was caused for both of them. He shows how much is to be gained for himself if he releases the prisoner. Almost the entire speech is directed toward having Matthew released from custody.

^A Emperor Cantacuzenus, being most gladly disposed toward these ^B promises, said to his son-in-law the Emperor: "First, I render great thanks to you, for although many were pressing and urging you to deprive my son of his eyes—using firm arguments to persuade you in that direction—you, by your wisdom and kindness, standing as a protector against his many adversaries, have kept him safe and sound. Furthermore, God from heaven will reward you for this fairness and gentleness as you deserve, and this benefaction will be fixed in my innermost heart forever. Indeed, as the war flared up between you, I was cast into many anxieties daily, and I feared that I would inevitably descend into certain most grievous troubles. For in all other matters, one may join in with whichever party of those fighting each other is winning, or share in the misfortune if they are defeated; but for a father whose sons are fighting against one another, there remains only one solitary consolation: that they lay down their arms, turn to peace, and wish one another well. ^C But if he sees them unwilling to return to favor with one another, and striving to settle their differences with steel rather than words, there is nothing that can mitigate or alleviate his grief and calamity. For whichever of the sons wins will not bring as much relief by having been saved, as he will inflict pain by having slaughtered his brother. But if it should happen that both fall by the mutual wounds of the other (which we read has happened to some in the past), ^D then such a sorrow is drained and such a calamity overwhelms a father that nothing can approach its magnitude. As I contemplated each of these things, my mind began to be troubled and suffused with sadness; and as if they were already lying lifeless—both of my sons, or at least one of them, which is less cruel—I mourned them even before they had come to blows. For I was compelled to believe this, because I saw that you could not reach an agreement on peace; and because you were stubbornly heated with mutual anger, and wished to settle the dispute over the empire with the sword. But now, because it seemed good to God, and he was captured in the fight against the Triballians, and delivered to you by the victors, and you treated him kindly and humanely, and showed nothing worthy of the previously supposed malice, first I render many thanks to the Almighty for the salvation of both, since He has tempered our affairs so mercifully, and has removed the great anxiety and distress that devotion toward both of them excited in my breast. Then, nonetheless, to you, who though you could have punished him, preferred not to cause me hardship; and neither this

^A nor if any remnant of sadness existed (for I will not deny that, with him bound, it seemed to me, because of the sympathy of nature, that I suffered the same things he was suffering), did you leave untouched, for you have utterly removed it now, having promised that you would release him from his bonds after a short time. By doing this you will truly prove that you have taken excellent counsel for yourself, not only for the sake of fame, but also for your own security.

For if you decide that your wife’s brother should be kept in custody as long as he lives, it is uncertain whether, if he should manage to escape, he will renew the war. Furthermore, it is even more uncertain whether he would not, by fighting, emerge the victor. For many men have often, after a great defeat and misfortune, recovered from their enemies, having become more experienced in affairs through their previous mishaps. If, however, you should be able, by diligent foresight, to guard him in adamant chains through his whole life, first of all you will always be exercised by troublesome thoughts, which will harass your life day and night, and exclude every sense of joy. For you will have to fear not only for the plots of the Roman nobles, if you should offend them in any way, but even for those to whom you have entrusted the guard of his person, and even them—if it is permitted to say so—your most intimate friends. ^B For besides the fact that men are prone to change and are captivated by new things, if they also find an opportunity by which they hope to easily repay those who have treated them ill, their inconstancy and deceit are all the more to be expected if they have nearby, suppose, someone who can either rescue them from present evils or overwhelm them with gifts and benefits.

Furthermore, if today death should remove you from your children while they are still small (for you, being born of man, must count nothing human foreign to you), their happiness is proclaimed as lost. For it is impossible for them, with their mother, to govern the empire in times so harsh and difficult, with affairs completely overturned. It remains, therefore, that you should either summon him who is already being guarded, and have him elected emperor by the consent of all, or another person who may have far more partisans, and seems more skillful and apt for ruling. If, therefore, he is elected, it is certain to me that he will labor no less to have your children find him more gentle than he experiences you to be, if you keep him shut in prison until ^C death, so that you may add nothing more severe. But if the empire should be transferred to some other person (which God forbid), I do not dare to say what will happen, and the very expectation of evils even chokes my voice: nor does any hope remain that we shall not all, by every means, perish. But if what you have now voluntarily purposed in your mind, you also wish to fulfill by the deed itself, you will deserve well of both yourself and him. For he, once released from his bonds, will constantly and perpetually give thanks to you for the benefit received, and will acknowledge you while you live as a benefactor, and will strive to demonstrate by his very deeds that he has been given what was fitting; but after your death, if it should so happen, he will be everything to your children, and in whatever way he can, he will assist them against their enemies and will preserve them.

empire to himself, contending for the children of his bosom friend as if they were his own: and you will pass the rest of your life with joy, ^A freed not only from anxieties and other hardships arising from suspicion, but also immediately reaping great fruits of the kindness bestowed upon him, when, because of this nobility of soul, all will overwhelm you with admiration and praise. Furthermore, you will achieve this: that all his kin will return you singular thanks, and you will bind him to yourself as with an unbreakable knot of friendship, so that throughout the whole course of his life he will inevitably neglect nothing that pertains to your dignity and advantage. Therefore, as you are about to demonstrate a greatness of soul with such exceptional kindness, do not wish for it to be in words alone, but delay not to bring your well-considered plans into action. ^B

CHAPTER XLVII.

These things Cantacuzenus said to the Emperor Palaeologus, urging him to release Matthaeus from prison. ^C He, already prompted by himself beforehand, and more confirmed by such a speech, was meditating on how to carry into effect what he had determined. In the meantime, something of this sort happened, which nearly overturned his previous plans. For a certain Zianes, a servant of the Emperor Cantacuzenus, approaching the Empress Eugenia, exhorted her not to flag in procuring the liberty of her son, and not to heed the words of the Emperor, her son-in-law, which were composed for fraud and mockery; but that she herself should brave the danger, and urge her friends to the same; and that he would most zealously assist, and would persuade his friends to do the same, if she would give him a little money. ^D For he said that if he were allowed to carry into effect what he had conceived, he would not only deliver him from his bonds, but also restore him to his former prosperity. But the Empress Eugenia, vehemently disapproving of the man’s madness—who promised greater things than he could perform—dismissed him without even deigning a reply, and warned him to be quiet; for nothing but tortures would he acquire for himself from this audacity. But he, being most foolish, rushed forward into the stupid business, and lured others far better than himself into the same, so that they might be in great favor with the Emperor Matthaeus, if they seemed to have undertaken such things for his sake. It was agreed, therefore, that at the time when the Emperor was staying outside Byzantium, they, prepared, should suddenly rush upon the guards of the palace: and having expelled them and all others, they themselves should act as guards, and repel those who opposed, keeping only the children of the Emperor and his wife inside. If the Emperor should attack them, and demand surrender, then they should demand an oath from him, that he would not exact penalties for this crime, and that he would, moreover, pay money, and release Matthaeus, his wife’s brother, from prison, and Adrianopolis,

and the small towns around it, from being subject to his rule. If the Emperor did not comply with all of these requests, nor obey, they were to threaten that they would kill his children and wife. Being unable to overcome the Emperor with arms, he would be forced to yield everything for the sake of his children’s safety. Such were the things Zianus suggested to the conspirators. ^B Shortly after the plot was revealed to the Emperor, he was seized and questioned regarding whether he had many co-conspirators. He named others, and also the Empress Cantacuzena, claiming that he had been led to this by her through great promises. He maintained that, as a man of the lowest standing and indigent, he would never have dared to attempt such a great crime on his own without the work and instigation of some distinguished person. To the Emperor, the situation soon appeared difficult and terrible on both sides. In such a case, for the Empress to be maligned, if she were not in the least conscious of the treachery, was not good; but that she should be conscious and a participant in the deed, he judged to be very monstrous, since he himself wished her so well that he was considering releasing her son from his chains—a thing no one would have expected—while she was maliciously preparing such treachery against him. Nevertheless, he inclined rather to the belief that the report was based on slander, and he wanted this to be made clear to everyone. Therefore, he interrogated Zianus ^C carefully himself, promising him immunity for the treachery if he would admit that what had been said about the Empress was a slander, and he entrusted the examination to the more prominent of the nobles. But Zianus insisted to everyone that what he had said was true, and that she was the cause of everything, directing all matters and discovering methods and stratagems by which the planned actions might be successfully carried out. He added plausible arguments, by which he almost persuaded the majority to hold wicked suspicions already concerning the Empress. It so happened that when Callistus the Patriarch arrived at the palace, as Zianus, who was then being questioned by the judges, heard that he was present, he challenged him to impose an anathema upon him, for he would be compelled by it to tell the,truth of the matter. Since this pleased the Emperor—for he did not believe that Zianus would spare himself to such an extent that, with the destruction of his soul, he would lie against the Empress with no expectation of gain—he permitted it. ^D When the sentence of the anathema was pronounced, Zianus affirmed even more stubbornly what he had said before. When the Emperor was most vehemently disturbed, believing that Eugenia, of whom he had previously cherished no evil suspicions whatsoever, wished him evil, and being not moderately pained and full of sadness on this account, he ordered Zianus to be confined in prison for safekeeping, and he himself ceased to act or think about the liberation of his wife’s brother. For he considered it absurd and especially wicked that his mother had conceived such hatred and malevolence toward him that she would plot everything to bring about his death or the greatest miseries, while he himself, as if bereft of his senses, would release her son from prison, who would become his own enemy along with her. In this, a short time having elapsed, Zianus in prison, as con-

conscious of what he had done, and fearing that even after death he might be condemned to dwell with the damned in Hades, as one who had not only slandered the Empress and received an excommunication from God, but had also chosen to dwell with demons, ^B those separated from God, sent a letter to the Patriarch through one of his very close friends. It declared that the Empress had been slandered by him regarding the matters mentioned, and that she had been completely ignorant of what he and the conspirators had planned; and that it was in order for his fabrications to be believed that he had basely and foolishly accepted the excommunication. Now, however, having recognized into what a pit he had fallen through his lack of sense, he was asking for forgiveness, declaring the whole truth, and requesting to be released from the bonds of the excommunication. Zianus wrote these things. But the man who was carrying the letters, being astute and quick to seize an opportunity, understood that if he delivered them to the Patriarch, it would be profitable to Zianus alone; but if he had delivered them to the emperors, besides the fact that it would be profitable to Zianus, he would also deliver the Empress Eugenia from the slander and her son from prison, so he went to the Empress Eugenia, carrying the letters. She immediately sent them to the Emperor Cantacuzenus, and he, without delay, showed the letters to the young Emperor. The slander being thus most clearly exposed, the young Emperor was almost beside himself with joy, because that malice against his nearest relatives came to nothing—which he had marvelously desired—and having cursed the crime of Zianus, who without cause and rashly had fabricated so odious a slander, he straightway applied himself to having his wife’s brother brought out of custody. But since the affairs of Thessalonica clearly required his presence, he set out for there with triremes. After his return, he sent to Tenedos and brought Matthew ^C to Epibatae, a fortress near Selybria, so that when they were neighbors, they might be able to converse.

He demanded, however, that he renounce the empire completely, being content with the status of a private citizen, and that he should precede his children in all honors after the emperors, except for the Emperor Andronicus. It was permitted for him to devise a new kind of clothing and to use it, but to do or speak nothing as an emperor. And if anyone should behave toward him as an emperor, or address him by this title, he should angrily reject this person. Such was the demand of Palaeologus. But the Emperor Matthew chose to dwell in prison for his whole life rather than accept such terms. For first, he said it was intolerable that he, who yesterday and the day before had been adored as emperor, should now be a subject in private garb and differ little or nothing from others; then, that the cause of his imprisonment was not shameful or contemptible, but that he had been captured while fighting an unhappy battle for the freedom of his fellow-tribesmen, whom the Barbarians had ravaged—a thing which had happened to many Roman emperors before—and that he now wished to suffer adversity for the sake of glory and honor, a thing for which no prudent man would blame him. But if, by submitting himself of his own accord to this apparent misery, he were to willingly betray his own glory, he would rightly be accused by all of a small mind. For this reason, he preferred to remain in custody ^D for his whole life than, on account of liberation,

that petty and ignoble imprisonment; but he was contending for the freedom of his own kin against the Barbarians who had enslaved them, and he was captured during the battle because he was unfortunate—a thing which had happened to many Roman emperors before. And now he chooses to face severe hardships rather than surrender his honor and dignity, to which no man of sound mind could justly object. But if he were to be so cowardly as to surrender his honor to escape the present misfortune, everyone would rightly charge him with faint-heartedness and ignobility. Wherefore he would more easily endure to be in bonds for his entire life than to cast away his reputation for the sake of being rid of his present troubles; and he begged the Emperor, his brother-in-law, if he wished to do what is right, not to deprive him of any of his possessions, but in addition to releasing him from imprisonment, to also allow him to remain emperor. Or, if he would not grant even these things, he would rather choose to remain in bonds for life. ^B

CHAPTER XLVIII. The wise speech of Cantacuzenus to his son, for his instruction and to dissuade him from the desire for sovereignty, given the difficulty of that station, the dangers, and the labors. He anticipates the objection, indicating for what reason and with what mind he himself undertook the sovereignty. This speech is to be read diligently by those who desire to rule over others.

Cantacuzenus, being at Epibatae, when he had heard these things about his son, hastened to teach him that he was missing the mark. For he said, first of all, that there is nothing in all things which is not governed by the providence of God, especially since, if you consider each detail of what has happened to you from the beginning, you will find that all things were ordered by the wise counsel of the Divine. For, that the pirates from Phocaea, sailing along the coast of Bithynia for the sake of plunder, and considering it the greatest gain if they could snatch away some of the lowliest people into slavery, should have fared so suddenly and beyond all expectation, to the point of capturing without effort the ruler ^C of myriads of men, a man endowed with great power and capable of opposing great armies; and that Orchanes, the father, should have earnestly entreated the Emperor because of his sympathy for his son, that he might reconcile the son to freedom, and should have promised great compensation for this favor (for he saw no other way for his son to be liberated from custody); and that the Emperor himself should have perceived that in this way he would most of all be able to attach Orchanes to his own side and bring it about that he would refrain from helping you, and with this hope should have armed triremes and kept a constant watch on the sea and striven to recover the son of Orchanes; and at the same time, that you, having been invited by the Triballians, should have gone into Macedonia with Barbarians alone, being thus surrounded by necessity so that you had to abandon the Roman army; and that the Triballians, who before had not even dared to raise their eyes against the Persians, should have fought, a few against many more, and the Persians, although they had become far more powerful than their enemies, should have been turned to flight by themselves; ^D and that you, being left alone, should have been caught by the enemy and led away in chains to the Emperor, your brother-in-law, who immediately led his forces into your cities, and having subdued them with little effort, brought your wife and children under his own control—and that everything should have run together as if by prearrangement—I do not think that anyone, if he has even a particle of sense and sound judgment, would avoid considering that this happened by divine providence. And you, believing that it is not otherwise, ought to acquiesce in the divine decrees and not refuse the revocation of your exile after this mild chastisement (for he chastened you kindly, and did not hand you over to death), even though you have been deprived of the imperial glory in which you recently shone. Although

to be dazzled by any other glory of this fleeting and transitory life is not characteristic of men who have understanding and pay heed to true reasoning. ^A And the danger resulting from this imperial power for one who does not employ the office well and correctly is no common thing. For it is not as it is in other matters, where, if men live carelessly, the harm befalls them alone; rather, both good and evil are common to the subjects, and the soul of the emperor ought to be a mirror and archetype of all virtue: otherwise, he will pay the penalty not only for his own negligence, but also for that of others. Who indeed, if he were not a fool, reflecting on this, ^B would not prefer to live in the deepest obscurity, since the ruin extends not to something trivial, but to the soul itself, to which both good and evil will belong for eternity? Furthermore, an emperor must undergo many contentions, labors, and dangers in this life, if he does not wish to occupy the throne as if he were intent on something else, but rather as reason prescribes. For it is always right to risk danger on behalf of one’s subjects, and not, while oneself remaining secure, to hold their salvation in low regard; and to endure every labor, both in the administration of the commonweal and in resisting enemies, both those attacking from without and those plotting from within. ^C But if any one should ask why, knowing full well the great difficulty inherent in this office and how many labors and contentions exercise the mind of the emperor, willing or not, and while it was in my power to be content with the life of a private citizen and be free from all these things, I nevertheless endured so many toils to obtain the empire and cast myself into such fearsome dangers and varied crises—I would truly answer this, as one who loves the truth: that it was not from a desire for imperial power, nor from gaping at the glory that comes from it, that I willingly lowered myself into these struggles, but because I was plotted against by those of my own race, ^D who had woven many calumnies and accusations through craft and deceit, and had driven me to the very pinnacle of evils; for no worse hope was left to me. And perceiving that they would not be content with my abdication of the empire, but, so that they might appear to have waged a just war, would savagely kill me as the most harmful enemy, and would destroy my children, my kin, and others—however many had been devoted to me for many years (whose number is not small, nor their authority to be despised, since the greater part are the most illustrious Romans)—I assumed the title of emperor for the sake of their salvation and that of those who were with me; although the arbitration of state affairs had long since been in my hands, certainly not for the sake of the splendor arising from the empire, nor that I might leave it to my children as some kind of ancestral inheritance. And of this intention of mine I gave the clearest signs, even before I was in possession of the entire empire, and throughout the whole time. For when the entire army entreated me to choose myself as emperor, I refused. Moreover, when I had already subdued everything, and many of the most illustrious [men] were demanding it, so far am I from [having complied with] their prayers

^A that, while I possessed everything, and was preparing to provide the most manifest evidence of the wickedness of the sycophants, I contrived every scheme, and practiced everything, so that having freed myself from the tumults of rule, I might spend the remainder of my life in leisure, and transfer all my care and zeal to that indissoluble and never-ceasing life. But if someone should even say that I endured such labors and dangers for the sake of reputation, and luxury, and other goods which are thought to come from empire, I assert on that very account that I would be a teacher and instructor provided for others before anyone else. For because, instructed by experience itself, I perceived most clearly that to manage such an empire well and fittingly, in imitation of the God who is Emperor of all, is not in the power of anyone who wishes it, but of those who, led by the Spirit of God, do everything according to the will of the One who moves them (such as David and that great emperor Constantine, and whoever else approached their excellence most closely), I would give most sound advice to those who are not such, to abstain even from the first attempt; since they are no less likely to bring harm to themselves from the principate than they were confident of gaining benefit, mocking themselves, and counting losses, ^B luxuries, and an idle life among blessings.

If, therefore, someone should bring forward these things, and many more of this kind, striving to recall another from an ardent appetite for this earthly and trampled-upon glory—which time, and the vicissitude of things, and the wickedness of perverse men, and countless other things may dissolve—and if, furthermore, God should decide from above, and command one to abdicate the empire, shall we not do everything pleasing to God with equanimity, but instead contend still either to rule for our whole life, ^C or, if that is not granted, no longer to draw in this breath of heaven, nor look upon this sun, but commit our life to darkness and gloom? Indeed, if it were permitted to know with absolutely certain and undoubted reasoning that you would destroy the Barbarians who are everywhere in the world, and erect illustrious and conspicuous trophies over all enemies, and restore that ancient happiness of the Roman republic, and make [men] masters of land ^D and sea, as they were in previous ages when their power flourished, it would not seem altogether foreign to reason to insist all the more firmly when the empire is denied. But if it makes no difference whether you think of such-like happiness while awake or while dreaming in your sleep, why, I ask, is there such need to be worn out for things that will never be? Furthermore, I honestly do not know where your mind was when you chose a perpetual prison rather than the abdication of imperial dignity. For if you have already refused to yield to the demand of your kinsman the emperor, one of two things will be necessary: that you either die in chains, or, if you escape by some trick, [you will have to undergo] the labors of empire.

^A Whether or not it will ever be possible to obtain either of these, remains uncertain; but that, should you again engage in war, you will require many labors and dangers, will pollute your soul with the blood of many of your own kin, and will be the cause of countless evils and enslavements for the Romans, is most evident from this very fact, and needs not even a few words to demonstrate. For to attempt to depose from his rule one who is lord of all these affairs, no one would think could be achieved in any other way—either by causing dissension among the subjects and stirring up civil war, or by bringing in forces from somewhere else, either of Greeks or Barbarians, who will easily storm the cities that resist, and will kill some of the captives, enslave others, and force them by violence to pay heed to you—both of which alternatives fall nothing short of the most absurd in terms of disgrace. Since, therefore, fame from good repute, even if things should go according to your wish, is very uncertain, while infamy and a most wicked undertaking are manifest from the very beginning, would you not prefer things that lead to certain and undoubted honor and glory over these uncertain ones? ^B But even if the emperor himself, out of great moderation and a certain greatness of soul, were to grant you the imperial honor, in terms of both ornaments and titles, but would not admit you as a partner in the rule, nor assign to you any of his cities—for no one would force him to do this, unless he wished so of his own accord—nothing else would remain for you but to seek other regions and cities over which you might preside; to think of which would make any person of sound mind shudder. Otherwise, you would remain here, possessing a name empty of reality, and an honor that is a shadowy source of disgrace. For not like the glory derived from deeds, which remains with men whether they are prosperous or unfortunate—for it belongs to a soul adorned with virtues—is the honor conferred by the mere consent of men stable; rather, it is taken away by the same conspiracy by which it was originally established. This is a thing by no means to be desired, even if one wears a diadem, since it differs nothing from stones which, although some are reckoned most precious, are by nature no more precious one than another. ^C But courage, prudence, temperance, and justice not only show that men differ from irrational animals, but also show that they differ among themselves, and the distinction between these two is so clear that the former are sometimes admired even by their very enemies, whereas the latter are equally neglected and despised by all, and are thought to differ little from the nature of beasts. In pursuing such honor, I say, I consider it to be right for both you and anyone else to be overcome. For when it is more shameful not to be overcome than to be overcome, it does not persuade us to win any more than it persuades us to allow ourselves to be overcome in all shameful things. But if anyone desires a greater and more admirable honor, one most worthy of a human being, which persists even after death and provides much and unique utility to those enjoying it, ^D that is...

to shameful things. But if anyone were to seek a greater and more admirable honor, and one that is most fitting for a human being, ^A or one that remains even when the present life is dissolved, and which provides some great and wonderful benefit to those who possess it, let him know that it is that which God will provide to those who have loved Him and have demonstrated throughout their life complete moderation toward Him and observance of His commandments. Since, therefore, it is permitted to you to participate in things that are far superior, and no one, neither emperor nor commoner, would wish to deprive you of them, while the present circumstances themselves compel even those who act with right reason to despise this other, more dishonorable honor that is not worth mentioning; you must obey God first, who has decreed our affairs in this way, and then me, who gives you this advice. I believe that no one else could give more profitable counsel, nor is it right for you to comply with anyone else more than with me." ^B Thus spoke the Emperor Cantacuzenus to his son, persuading him not to be so desirous of the imperial dignity, but to depart from that desire voluntarily, and to free himself from the prison and his present hardships.

CHAPTER XLIX

Matthew replied, "It is indeed difficult to describe, as you say, and not at all easy for a man who until yesterday and the day before was worshipped by all as emperor, now to live in the habit of a private citizen, and to be of little difference from the multitude, and I would sooner have chosen to dwell in a prison for the rest of my life than to endure such an indignity. ^C But since this is what seems right to you, and you command that I obey, I am not so far removed from reason as to think that I could devise anything more profitable, or to imagine that I am loved more by myself than I am by you. But since I know most assuredly that in both respects I am surpassed by you by no small interval, whatever has seemed right to God first, and then to you, as you have advised as a father, I will do; for it is better for me to endure whatever hardship may follow by obeying you than to follow my own calculations, however curious and refined they might seem."

Cantacuzenus, having returned to Byzantium, after he had announced to the new emperor that his son was renouncing the empire—having forgiven all other things—ordered the oaths to be taken, and the agreement was made on these conditions: that Matthew, the brother of his wife, having altogether put aside the empire, whether in its governance, its dress, or its title, should occupy the honors next to the emperor, and should take precedence over the other children of the emperor, except for the new emperor Andronikos, ^D and that he should treat them with all benevolence; that he should never take up arms against them for the sake of the empire, nor allow the memory of this benefit to be obliterated within himself.

Then, at Epibatae, where the emperors and empresses were gathered in one place, with Callistus the Patriarch, and Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the other bishops who were then present in Byzantium, and with the senators of all ranks also present, and the bishops wearing their sacred stoles, Matthew, son of the emperor, with his wife also standing by, swore that he would observe these things as long as he lived, and that he would never knowingly or willingly transgress anything. Furthermore, Callistus struck him with a sacred excommunication if he did not diligently perform what was sworn. Soon the assembly of bishops was dissolved.

^B [Palaeologus the Emperor ] for many days lived on very familiar terms with Matthew, and consoled him with many discourses, in which he declared that from an adversary and enemy he had become his most intimate friend. He urged him, furthermore, not to be saddened about the laying aside of the imperial insignia, as he would grant him the power to resume them when it should seem opportune; for it was in his power to release the obligation of the oath, or to hold him bound by it. To these things, he permitted him to have sandals made such as pleased him, with the exception of the purple ones, and to be clothed by him. Having said goodbye, he returned to Byzantium, and honored John and Demetrius, the sons of Matthew, with the most illustrious honors among the Romans, designating John as Despot and Demetrius as Sebastokrator, and sharing his table with both; afterwards he sent them to their father, intending for them to render him many thanks. Matthew, however, did not choose to make any changes regarding his attire, but used white sandals, just as when he was in prison. ^C But the Emperor Cantacuzenus, taking his son with his whole household, sailed in large triremes onto the Peloponnese to the Despot Manuel, the other of his sons. Nor were the wicked and base-minded men idle even there, but they delayed not to construct some device from which they might harass him vehemently. Even before he arrived on the peninsula, they slandered him in letters to his son, as if he desired to deprive him of his authority and install his brother Matthew as governor of the Peloponnese; and this they wrote—not one or two, but many, and often—which was able to ulcerate the mind of the Despot in the highest degree. For when he looked to the goodness, wisdom, and prudence of his father, and the singular love which he had toward his children, he interpreted everything as slander. But when he looked at the multitude of those writing, and the probability of their reports, he did not see how he could deem everything entirely fictitious. Wherefore, even after his father's arrival, he indicated his inward pain by his bodily demeanor. The emperor father, not being unaware that he was troubled, inquired into the causes. He immediately revealed what had been hidden. ^D Cantacuzenus convicted the sycophants of great madness and depravity, and warned his son not to easily lend his ears to slanders, especially those contrived against his dearest ones, namely his father and brother; for he had not brought his brother Matthew there to take the authority away from him as they claimed, but that he might make it much better and safer. For what could be better for the sake of enjoyment and security than for brothers to be together, not only by nature but most firmly joined in spirit? And that he had brought him to the Peloponnese in particular, the cause was solely these most perverse men, whose harvest it was now permitted to reap, who neither value truth and justice, and for the sake of gain dare the most nefarious things, nor indeed have they even had such a base and illiberal occasion here, but as if they had entered into life to destroy the good, they are gratuitously wicked. Fearing their insolence and iniquity, lest they might inflame the Emperor Palaeologus and his brother with mutual hatreds through fabricated crimes, he had desired to bring him there, and had supposed—which is the case—that in truth, not the Peloponnese, though already ample, but one and the same domicile

souls mingled together? As for the cause of bringing him to the Peloponnese, he said there was no other than the souls of base and most wicked men—of whom there are now, unfortunately, a great many in life—who have no regard for truth or justice, and, for the sake of small gain, dare the most terrible things; and sometimes, finding not even that base and ignoble pretext, they have entered into life as if for this very purpose: to destroy the good, having chosen wickedness even for nothing. Fearing their absurdity and wickedness, lest they should fabricate slanders and calumnies and provoke the Emperor and your brother ^A to be at enmity with each other, I thought it best to bring him here, believing—as is indeed the truth—that since the Peloponnese is not so vast, you would dwell together in the same house for life without pain, and there would be no strong pretext for discord that could divide you from one another. But one should not be surprised if, being persuaded of such things concerning the slanderers, I brought your brother here. For where they hoped that even you, me, and him, they would provoke to war with calumnies, they would hardly have refrained from making use of the great pretexts from past disagreements against the Emperor. As for those men, he said, may they perish miserably with their slanders; but you, casting aside all pusillanimity, receive your brother gladly and live with him with all gentleness and ^B goodwill. Such were the words King Cantacuzenus spoke to the Despot, his son. And he, immediately obeying his father, received his brother gladly, blaming the slanderers greatly, and asserted to King his father that if it should seem better and more advantageous to him, even if he were to withdraw entirely from the Peloponnese and let his brother have the whole rule, he would do so willingly and would most readily obey his command. King Cantacuzenus, having spent over a year in the Peloponnese with his sons, and having brought what he had come for to a good conclusion, returned to Byzantium.

CAPUT L.

At the same time, Callistus the ^C Patriarch was sent by the Emperor as legate to Elisabeth, the wife of the Cral, who was residing at Pherae after the death of her husband—for they had waged war against each other even while the Cral was still alive. The purpose of the embassy was that, having laid aside their war against each other, they should come to an agreement and attack the Barbarians who were in Thrace, who were troubling the provinces of the Romans and the Triballi and plundering daily. The wife of the Cral received the embassy willingly; nay, all the notables of the Triballi also thought it was equally necessary to wage war against the Barbarians, and they treated the Patriarch with much praise and reverence, and Elisabeth in particular showed him great kindness, and thought she had received a kind of god into her hospitality. But it so happened that both the Patriarch himself and his companions, ^D except for a few, were seized by a grievous disease and all perished. He had brought with him the leading men of the clergy of the Church; whence the rumor was spread by many that they had been destroyed by poison by the Triballi—a manifest lie and calumny. For not only the equity and reverence, the honor and

attention which the wife of Kral showed toward the patriarch, both while he was still alive and after his death, but also the very diseases by which each was carried off, by no means allow such a suspicion regarding her. For they were seized by diverse illnesses, and it is not even the case that as many as two were taken by the same one. When the patriarch died, Elizabeth gave him a magnificent and honorable funeral in the metropolis of Pherae, and honored him exceedingly well. And when there arrived to her monks from the monasteries at Athos, those who were most virtuous and who laid particular claim to excellence—most especially from the Holy Lavra—and they requested to be permitted to transfer the patriarch’s corpse to Athos and bury it among themselves, she would not yield, saying above all that she needed his protection, and that it was necessary for him to remain with her.

^C During the time that these things were being accomplished, the Emperor led an expedition against the cities in the Pontus subject to the Mysians, for a dispute had arisen for him against Alexander, the King of the Mysians. And he took Anchialos on the first assault by battle. But as for Mesembria, he besieged it from the mainland by building a tower at the narrows where the approach was located, and from the sea with ships; and he pressed the inhabitants not a little, especially due to a scarcity of water, for they did not draw water from any spring located far from the town. At that time, however, being blocked by the army, they were forced to use town waters, which were few and foul. Alexander attempted by many methods to turn the Emperor from the siege. For he sent aid to the city from his own forces, and by persuading the Barbarians in Thrace with money; but since they returned without having accomplished anything, while the Emperor was strongly besieging those within and vigorously repelling those fighting from without, when he had become utterly discouraged regarding the war, he sent envoys and promised that he would do all that the Emperor requested. He convinced him to prefer peace to arms; he reimbursed the expenses incurred by him and added not a small sum of money besides. The Emperor, having demolished the tower, returned to Byzantium.

But learning that the patriarch had died during the embassy, he began to consider whom he ought to install upon the patriarchal throne, and he gave instructions to the bishops that they should assemble according to custom, and after deliberating, disclose to him whom they would appoint as their leader. It seemed right to all to bring back Patriarch Philotheos, ^D and this was equally agreeable to the Emperor. For he was intimate with him, since he had not departed from his office due to any fault of his own, but had voluntarily withdrawn so that the Church would not be filled with much disturbance and schism on account of rivalry; for which reason he also loved him, and as often as he would come into the palace, he conversed with him pleasantly; and conversely, when he himself would go to the monastery where the other was living, he would spend the night in conversation with him. Having sent his sons, the Emperor Andronikos and the Despot Manuel, and many nobles, he brought him back into the church and installed him on the patriarchal throne (48). And now, as a lamp placed upon a lampstand, he led the Church committed to his care toward the true light, nourishing her with the saving dogmas of piety, and, as if strengthening her with the good health of a body, composing her morals and, so far as it is possible for this to be done, from the life of...

unholiness leading her back through frequent teachings and exhortations. Such, then, are the events that have occurred to the Romans in our time, whether in the former days when the war was stirred up between the Emperors Andronikos, or later when the conflict was kindled between the Empress Anna and the Emperor Kantakouzenos, or finally these last events, as to how the young Emperor John was at variance with his wife's brother Matthew and his father-in-law, the Emperor. And concerning none of these things have we departed from the truth either for the sake of favor or out of hatred; rather, we have recorded the events precisely as they happened, in part having been present ourselves when they were being transacted, and having taken part in the happenings, and in part having become hearers of them from those who actually performed them. ^B And if the history contains some of the things deliberated in secret, especially those involving the war stirred up against the Emperor Kantakouzenos, let no one find it strange. For the greater number of those men, even after he had brought the entire empire under his control, were still surviving and, having enjoyed his subsequent benefits, reported everything faithfully. They looked with wonder upon his own lofty spirit and his tolerance in adverse circumstances, while they pitied themselves, who, besides having been ^C the authors of such great calamities for the Romans, had also acted with such extreme baseness against one from whom—both then and afterwards—they had received many and noble benefits, having been deceived by the schemes and villainous craft of the Grand Duke (Apokaukos), and thus having brought forth so many hardships and labors. But most clearly of all, John and Nikephoros, the brothers of that Grand Duke, set forth not a few things for us, inasmuch as they were more cognizant of the secrets than were the rest. Your command, therefore, O good Neilos, has been fulfilled to the best of our ability. And it is permitted to you, as you read again what has been written, and examine the lives, and deeds, and the entire character of these men, to commend the magnanimity of the former, and their zeal for good deeds in all or in most of their actions; and to pursue with hatred and reproach the wily arts of the latter, by which they proved themselves most destructive not only to others, but also to themselves.

Explicit Joannis Cantacuzeni Historia Byzantina