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for years taken by the Turks and he converted these into their synagogues and that having erected from its foundations a conspicuous bath in Adrianople, he sent [men] to take out and bring a thousand marbles there for the building of the foundation, these having been ruthlessly cast out from holy churches and monasteries by those who were sent.]

19 [But the heralds went away to many parts of the [land] under him, as we had supposed, and they compelled those who were found from Thessaloniki in it to return, they themselves having departed from it only years before because of the continuation of the terrors, but also indeed those of the captives who had been deemed worthy of freedom from anywhere. For a good number had been freed, with many God-loving people having been moved eagerly for our rescue and especially the ruler of the Serbs, for whom, among his other advantages, his benevolence towards those in need is ever exceptional; for he too, having entrusted gold to certain men whom he trusted, urged that this be given for the freedom of the captives. And his decision was not without effect; for those appointed for this bought many with the gold, who indeed, returning to the city, are, as we may conjecture, up to now about a thousand, along with those who have come from other places. And if one should also wish to count the Turks who inhabited the city, they would be about two thousand. And we were intending for the city to recover its former good order again and for the things of piety to flourish and to be spread as before. And perhaps it would have happened, if the multitude of our errors had not again stood in the way and if wickedness had not found a place. For from when the city was enslaved, Murad had generously gifted everything—both buildings and properties and holy temples and monasteries and the sources of their revenues—by letters and by words, to us who were returning, having been delivered from slavery in whatever way, and he proclaimed freedom everywhere to those arriving, and all recovered their houses and whatever immovable property they had, and every class and every nation of the city began to proceed towards a second growth and renewal, and a shepherd was ordained for the city and the church was established and it recovered its former order, and monks took possession of the monasteries and eagerly brought about their improvement, and we were all nourished by good hopes and, to speak concisely, we cast off the memory of the evils that had come upon us from the capture and we were rejoicing at what we had unexpectedly obtained and we hoped that the city would receive back its former prosperity, then from our own selves, as the proverb says, «the strap was cut through» and the things of our hopes were turned to the contrary.]

20 [And indeed Murad, having come to Thessaloniki (it was the second year, I think, after the capture that he was passing through then, or the third) in order to see it and to inquire more accurately into its affairs and to have enjoyed its beauties and to rival [others] with great gifts, and to imitate his own ancestor in the generosity of his mind, who had also taken possession of Thessaloniki and rewarded it with many favors—thus, therefore, having such an intention and having come with it, but he, having been induced by counsels that were not good, both changes his plan and alters his former intention and, the things which he had not done at the time when we were captured, he was then urged to carry out at that moment. And so, after he had viewed the city and its several parts and enjoyed every comfort in it, after he had luxuriated to his fill in its inherent beauties, and was very lovingly disposed toward it and gave us all to be confident of better things for ourselves. First, he passed a decree such as no one, having seen it even in dreams, would ever have expected. And it was that all the monasteries and temples should be taken, and that all their revenues and properties should be taken away and that our affairs should come into utter straits, which also came to pass not long after.

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χρόνων παρὰ τῶν Τούρκων ληφθεῖσαν καὶ εἰς συναγωγὰς αὐτῶν τούτους μετήμειψε καὶ ὅτι περιφανὲς κατὰ τὴν Ἀδριανούπολιν βαλανεῖον ἐκ βάθρων αὐτῶν ἀνεγείρας μαρμάρους χιλίας ἐξελεῖν ἔπεμψε καὶ κομίσαι πρὸς τὴν ἐδάφους οἰκοδομίαν αὐτόθι, ναῶν ἱερῶν καὶ μονῶν ταύτας παρὰ τῶν πεμφθέντων ἀφειδῶς ἐκβληθείσας.]

19 [Ἀλλ' ἀπῆλθον μὲν οἱ κήρυκες κατὰ πολλὰ τῆς ὑπ' αὐτῷ μέρη, ὡς διειλήφειμεν, καὶ τοὺς εὑρισκομένους ἀπὸ Θεσσαλονίκης ἐν αὐτῇ κατηνάγκασαν ἐπανέρχεσθαι, αὐτοὺς πρὸ χρόνων μόνον ταύτης ἀπάραντας ἐκ τῆς τῶν δεινῶν συνεχείας, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων γεγενημένων τοὺς ὁθενδήποτε τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἠξιωμένους. Ἠλευθέρωνται καὶ γὰρ ἱκανοί, πολλῶν θεοφιλῶν ὑπὲρ ἀναρρύσεως ἡμῶν προθύμως κεκινημένων καὶ μάλιστα τοῦ τῶν Σέρβων ἄρχοντος, ᾧ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοῦ πλεονεκτημάτων ἐξαίρετον ἡ πρὸς τοὺς δεομένους ἐστὶν εὐποιία ἑκάστοτε· χρυσίον καὶ γὰρ οὗτός τισιν, οἷς ἐθάρρει, χειρίσας ἐπ' ἐλευθερίᾳ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων τοῦτο δοθῆναι παρεκελεύσατο. Καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης ἐγένετο· ἐπρίαντο γὰρ τοῦ χρυσίου οἱ πρὸς αὐτὸ τεταγμένοι πολλούς, οἳ δὴ καὶ ἐπανιόντες ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν, ὡς εἰκάζειν ἔχομεν, μέχρι τοῦ νῦν εἰσὶ μετὰ τῶν ἀπ' ἄλλων τόπων ἐληλυθότων ὡσεὶ χίλιοι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ συναριθμεῖν τις ἐθέλοι καὶ τοὺς τὴν πόλιν οἰκήσαντας Τούρκους, εἶεν ἂν ὡσεὶ δισχίλιοι. ∆ιενοούμεθα δὲ τὴν πόλιν καὶ αὖθις τὴν πρὶν αὐτῆς εὐκοσμίαν ἀναλαβεῖν καὶ τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀνθῆσαι καὶ πλατυνθῆναι ὡς πρότερον. Καὶ γέγονεν ἂν ἴσως, εἰ μὴ καὶ πάλιν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἡμετέρων σφαλμάτων ἐμποδὼν ἐγεγόνει καὶ ἡ κακία μὴ χώραν εὗρεν. Ἐξ οὗ γὰρ ἡ πόλις δεδούλωτο καὶ ὁ Μουράτης πάντα καὶ κτίσματα καὶ κτήματα καὶ νεὼς ἱεροὺς καὶ μονὰς καὶ τὰς τῶν προσόδων αὐτῶν ἀφορμὰς ἐπανιοῦσιν ἡμῖν τοῖς ὁπωσδήποτε τῆς δουλείας ἀπαλλαγεῖσι φιλοτίμως καὶ γράμμασι καὶ λόγοις δεδώρητο, πανταχοῦ τε τοῖς ἀφικνουμένοις ἐλευθερίαν ἐκήρυξε καὶ αὐτῶν οἰκίας καὶ ὅσα ἀκίνητα πάντες ἀνέλαβον καὶ τάξις πᾶσα καὶ ἅπαν ἔθνος τῆς πόλεως πρὸς δευτέραν αὔξησιν καὶ ἀνακαινισμὸν προβαίνειν ἀπήρξαντο, ποιμήν τε τῇ πόλει κεχειροτόνητο καὶ ἐκκλησία συνέστη καὶ τὴν προτέραν ταύτης τάξιν ἀπείληφε, μοναχοί τε τῶν μονῶν ἐπελάβοντο καὶ διὰ σπουδῆς ἐποιοῦντο τὴν τούτων ἐπίδοσιν καὶ πάντες ἐλπίσι χρησταῖς ἐτρεφόμεθα καί, συντόμως εἰπεῖν, τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἁλώσεως ἡμῖν ἐπιόντων κακῶν τὴν μνήμην ἀπεβαλόμεθα καὶ χαίροντες ἦμεν, ἐφ' οἷς ἀδοκήτως ἐτύχομεν καὶ τὴν προτέραν ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν πόλιν εὐετηρίαν ἠλπίζομεν, τότ' ἐξ ἡμῶν, ἡ παροιμία φησίν, «ὁ ἱμὰς ἐξετέ τμητο» καὶ εἰς τοὐναντίον τὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων περιετράπησαν.]

20 [Καὶ δὴ τῇ Θεσσαλονίκῃ ἐπιδεδημηκὼς ὁ Μουράτης (δεύτερον, οἶμαι, τινικαῦτα διίππευεν ἔτος μετὰ τὴν ἅλωσιν ἢ τρίτον) ἐφ' ᾧ ταύτην ἰδεῖν καὶ ἀκριβέστερον τὰ κατ' αὐτὴν ἱστορῆσαι καὶ τῶν ἀπ' αὐτῆς καλῶν ἀπολελαυκέναι καὶ δωρεαῖς μεγάλαις ἀντιφιλοτιμήσασθαι, τὸν ἐκείνου τε τῷ φιλοτίμῳ τῆς γνώμης μιμήσασθαι πρόγονον, Θεσσαλονίκης κἀκεῖνον κρατήσαντα καὶ χάρισι ταύτην πολλαῖς ἀμειψάμενονοὕτως οὖν γνώμης ἔχων καὶ μετὰ τοιαύτης ἐλθών, ὁ δὲ μὴ οὐκ ἀγαθαῖς ὑπαχθεὶς συμβουλίαις μεταβουλεύεταί τε καὶ τὴν προτέραν μετατίθησι γνώμην καί, ἅ, καθ' ὃν ἑαλώκαμεν χρόνον, οὐ πέπραχε, κατ' ἐκεῖνο δὴ τοῦ καιροῦ παρώρμητο διαπράξασθαι. Καὶ γοῦν ὡς τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον ταύτης θεάσαιτο καὶ πάσης ἐν ταύτῃ ῥαστώνης ἐπαπολαύσειεν, ὡς τῶν αὐτῇ προσόντων καλῶν εἰς κόρον κατατρυφήσειεν, ἀγαπητικῶς τε οὐχ ἥκιστα ταύτῃ διατεθείη καὶ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν θαρρεῖν δοίη περὶ ἡμῶν τὰ βελτίω. Πρῶτον μὲν ψῆφον ἐξήνεγκεν, οἵαν οὐδ' ἐν ὀνείροις ἰδὼν οὐδείς ποτε προσεδόκησεν ἄν. Ἡ δ' ἦν πάσας μὲν ληφθῆναι μονὰς καὶ νεώς, πάσας δὲ προσόδους αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ κτήματ' ἀφαιρεθῆναι καὶ εἰς στενὸν κομιδῇ τὰ ἡμέτερα καταντῆσαι, ὃ καὶ εἰς πέρας ἐκβέβηκεν οὐ μετ' οὐ πολύ.