Weak and near to death, and the kingdom and its affairs i have given to you and do as you wish.
On the 28th he died and was buried in the monastery of the holy apostles jason and sosipater.
Having died, he rejoices in the heavens, but has left us grieving his loss.
27.3 And know, that I do not wish to make anyone else an intermediary except for Eudaimonoioannes himself, whom I have; but I do not wish you to be found here always, but I wish you to pass through my place for many beneficial reasons. 27.4 And when I am in Corinth, I wish to conduct my business and that of that place with Kantakouzenos and Eudaimonoioannes; but when I go to Patras, again with Laskaris and Eudaimonoioannes, leaving Kantakouzenos to his own authority; but when I am here, with you and Eudaimonoioannes. 27.5 And another thing, that, when with God I also have a wife, I wish to have her through you and I wish to spend the greater part of the time here and you shall be her most familiar acquaintance in matters of her service. 27.6 Now I am departing for the better construction of the Hexamilion; but you, being here, govern your territory well and stop the injustices and the multiple authorities of those found here and make all those here have only you as ruler as they have only me as lord. When I therefore had done obeisance to him and given thanks, he departed for the Hexamilion on the 8th of the same month of September.
28.1 And in October of the same year, the daughter of the lord Despot Thomas, the lady Helene, departed from Glarentza in order to go to Serbia and take as her husband Lazar, the son of the lord Despot George; which also came to pass. 28.2 And for this reason, the Emperor lord John honored Lazar himself as Despot through George Philanthropenos. 28.3 And on the 27th of the month of November of the same year, the emir came against the Hexamilion and on the 10th of December he took it and destroyed it; and he went as far as Patras, and he took the country and the monastery and burned and destroyed them. 28.4 And in August of the same year I was sent again to the City both for other business and for the business of the marriage alliance with Trebizond and Gothia on behalf of my lord, since they had already chanced to come from there, to which places I also sent and wrote to the hieromonk Isidore, who later served as Metropolitan of Athens, and my own men. 28.5 And while I was waiting there, in June of the 50th year the Despot lord Theodore died from a pestilential disease in Selymbria; and bringing him to the City they buried him in the monastery of the Pantokrator. 28.6 And on the 15th of the month of August of the same year my son Alexios died, having lived 5 years and 11 months, a death which also touched me deeply, as I, wretched one, did not know the more grievous things that were about to befall me. 28.7 And on the 31st of the month of October of the 57th year the Emperor lord John also died, being 50 years, 10 months and 15 days old. And he was buried on the 1st of November in the monastery of the Pantokrator, having reigned as emperor for 23 years, 3 months and 10 days.
29.1 And on the 13th of the same month of November the Despot lord Thomas came to the City by ship, not knowing of the emperor's death, but having heard of it while passing by Kallipolis. 29.2 And when he came, the things which the Despot lord Demetrios, or rather his usurping followers, were doing so that he might become emperor ceased much more, him who was not judged worthy by the Constantinopolitans to be both despot and porphyrogennetos while his first and such-like brother was living, who also excelled in all good things without being unfortunate. However, that which was fitting and just prevailed by the decree of the holy Despoina and by the counsel and opinion of her sons the Despots and the archons. 29.3 On the -th of December I departed as an envoy to the emir, [to say] that both his mother and his brothers and the seniority of age and the virtue and the love of almost all in the City judge the lord Constantine to be emperor, and that the emir himself should know this, which he also approved and accepted; and he sent me away with honor and gifts. 29.4 The
27.3 Καὶ γίνωσκε, ὅτι ἕτερον μεσάζοντα οὐδὲν θέλω ποιήσειν πάρεξ αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν Εὐδαιμονοϊωάννην, ὃν ἔχω· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα θέλω εὑρί σκεσθεν ἀεί, ἀμὴ θέλω διέρχεσθεν τὸν τόπον μου διὰ πολλὰ ὠφέλιμα. 27.4 Καὶ ὅταν μὲν εὑρίσκωμαι εἰς τὴν Κόρινθον, θέλω πράττειν τὰς ἐμὰς δουλείας καὶ τὰς τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου μετὰ τοῦ Καντακουζηνοῦ καὶ τοῦ Εὐδαιμονοϊωάννου· ὅταν δὲ εἰς τὴν Πάτραν ἀπέλθω, πάλιν μὲ τὸν Λά σκαριν καὶ τὸν Εὐδαιμονοϊωάννην, καταλιμπάνων τὸν Καντακουζηνὸν εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτοῦ· ὅταν δέ εἰμι ἐνταῦθα, μετὰ σοῦ καὶ τοῦ Εὐδαιμονοϊω άννου. 27.5 Καὶ ἄλλο, ὅτι, ὅταν σὺν θεῷ ἕξω καὶ γυναῖκαν, διὰ σοῦ θέλω ἕξειν αὐτὴν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸν πλείονα χρόνον θέλω διαβιβάζειν καὶ θέ λεις εἶσθεν καὶ σὺ ὁ πλέον ἐγνώριμος αὐτῆς εἰς τὰ τῆς θεραπείας αὐτῆς. 27.6 Νῦν δ' ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν καλίω τοῦ Ἑξαμιλίου· σὺ δὲ ἐνταῦθα εὑρισκόμενος ἄρχε καλῶς τὴν ἀρχήν σου καὶ παῦσαι τὰς ἀδικίας καὶ τὰς πολλὰς ἀρχὰς τῶν ἐνταῦθα εὑρισκομένων καὶ ποίησον πάντας τοὺς ἐνταῦθα, ἵνα σὲ μόνον ἔχωσιν ἀρχὴν ὡς ἐμὲ μόνον αὐθέν την. Προσκυνήσαντός μου οὖν αὐτῷ καὶ εὐχαριστήσαντος, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ Ἑξαμίλιον τῇ η-ῃ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Σεπτεβρίου μηνός.
28.1 Τὸν δὲ Ὀκτώβριον τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς Γλαρέντζας ἡ θυγάτηρ κυροῦ Θωμᾶ τοῦ δεσπότου κυρὰ Ἑλένη, ἵνα ἀπέλ-θῃ εἰς τὴν Σερβίαν καὶ Λάζαρον τὸν υἱὸν κυροῦ Γιούργη δεσπότου ἄν δρα λάβῃ· ὅπερ καὶ ἐγένετο. 28.2 Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ δεσπότην καὶ αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν Λάζαρον ὁ βασι λεὺς κὺρ Ἰωάννης διὰ τοῦ Φιλανθρωπινοῦ Γεωργίου τετίμηκε. 28.3 Τῇ δὲ κζ-ῃ τοῦ Νοεμβρίου μηνὸς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἦλθεν ὁ ἀμη ρᾶς κατὰ Ἑξαμιλίου καὶ τῆ ι-ῃ ∆εκεμβρίου ἀπῆρεν αὐτὸ καὶ τὸ ἐχά λασε· καὶ ἀπελθόντος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἕως εἰς τὴν Πάτραν, τὴν χώραν καὶ τὴν μόνην ἀπῆρε καὶ κατέκαυσε καὶ ἠφάνισε. 28.4 Καὶ τὸν Αὔγουστον τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἐστάλην πάλιν ἐγὼ εἰς τὴν Πόλιν καὶ δι' ἄλλας μὲν δουλείας καὶ διὰ τὴν εἰς τὴν Τραπεζοῦνταν καὶ τὴν Γοτθίαν συνοικεσίου διὰ τοῦ αὐθεντός μου δουλείαν, ἐπεὶ προεσύν τυχαν ἀπ' ἐκεῖσε, εἰς ἃ μέρη καὶ ἱερομόναχον τὸν Ἰσίδωρον, τὸν ὕστε ρον χρηματίσαντα καὶ Ἀθηνῶν, καὶ ἀνθρώπους μου ἔστειλα καὶ ἔγραψα. 28.5 Καὶ προσμένοντός μου ἐκεῖ, τὸν Ἰούνιον τοῦ ν-ου ἔτους ἀπέ θανεν ἀπὸ λοιμώδους νοσήματος εἰς τὴν Σηλυμβρίαν ὁ δεσπότης κὺρ Θεόδωρος· καὶ φέροντες αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν Πόλιν ἔθαψαν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Παντο κράτορος μονῇ. 28.6 Καὶ τῇ ιε-ῃ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἀπέθανεν ἐμοὶ ὁ υἱὸς Ἀλέξιος, ζήσας χρόνους εʹ καὶ μῆνας ιαʹ, θάνατος καὶ σφό δρα μου καθήψατο, οὐκ εἰδότος μου τοῦ ἀθλίου τὰ μέλλοντά μοι συμ βήσεσθαι λυπηρότερα. 28.7 Καὶ τῇ λα-ῃ τοῦ Ὀκτωβρίου μηνὸς τοῦ νζ-ου ἔτους ἀπέθανε καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς κὺρ Ἰωάννης χρονῶν ὑπάρχων νʹ καὶ μηνῶν ιʹ καὶ ἡμε ρῶν ιεʹ. Καὶ ἐτάφη τῇ α-ῃ Νοεμβρίου εἰς τὴν μονὴν τοῦ Παντοκρά τορος, αὐτοκρατορήσας χρόνους κγʹ καὶ μῆνας γʹ καὶ ἡμέρας ιʹ.
29.1 Καὶ τῇ ιγ-ῃ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Νοεμβρίου μηνὸς ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Πόλιν μετὰ καραβίου ὁ δεσπότης κὺρ Θωμᾶς, οὐκ εἰδὼς τὸν θάνατον τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν Καλλίπολιν διερχόμενος ἀκούσας αὐτόν. 29.2 Ἐκείνου δὲ ἐλθόντος ἔπαυσαν πολλῷ πλέον, ἅπερ ὁ δεσπότης κὺρ ∆ημήτριος ἢ μᾶλλον οἱ αὐτοῦ σφετεριζόμενοι ἐνεργοῦσαν, ἵνα βα σιλεύσῃ, τὸν οὐχὶ καὶ δεσπότην καὶ πορφυρογέννητον παρὰ τῶν Κων σταντινοπολιτῶν ἄξιον ὄντα κρίνεσθαι, ζῶντος τοῦ πρώτου καὶ τοιούτου ἀδελφοῦ, τοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀγαθοῖς πρωτεύοντος ἄνευ τοῦ δυστυχὴς εἶναι. Ὅμως τὸ πρέπον καὶ δίκαιον ἴσχυσαν ὁρισμῷ τῆς ἁγίας δεσποίνας καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτῆς τῶν δεσποτῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων βουλῇ καὶ γνώμῃ. 29.3 Τῇ -ῃ τοῦ ∆εκεμβρίου ἀπῆλθον ἐγὼ ἀποκρισιάρης εἰς τὸν ἀμη ρᾶν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ τὸ πρωτεῖον τοῦ χρόνου καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν ἐν τῇ Πόλει σχεδὸν πάντων τὸν κὺρ Κων σταντῖνον εἰς βασιλέα κρίνουσι, καὶ νὰ ἐπίσταται τοῦτο κἀκεῖνος δὴ ὁ ἀμηρᾶς, ὅπερ καὶ ἔστερξε καὶ ἀπεδέξατο· καὶ μετὰ τιμῆς καὶ δώρων κἀμὲ ἀπέπεμψε. 29.4 Τὰς