John Cantacuzenus, Histories

treasurers, being fifty thousand pieces of gold; which the treasurers of the grand domestic, having received, again allowed to be guarded in the imperial treasury, as it had been so ordered for them by their master, adding as a reason for leaving it behind that one of the regiments ordered to campaign with the grand domestic had just returned from another campaign and needed to spend a little time at home, since the general, after much compulsion, was not able to drive them from their homes as they scattered in every direction, he unwillingly allowed them to spend the feast of Easter at home, and to set out on their way immediately after it; who were to arrive at the general's camp with the money. But this was a fabricated pretext; the money had been left behind, on the one hand, so that there might be a plausible pretext for lingering around Byzantium, for he lingered there for five days after his departure, awaiting the arrival of the new emperor, and on the other, because he considered it ignoble and in no way fitting for him to appear to be overcome by money, as if taking it from the emperor by deceit and almost by theft; which he thought would do no small damage to his good name and reputation for all time to come. And indeed, to many of those who had been overcome by money, it seemed extraordinary to scorn so much money, and at so critical a moment of need, as easily as if it were nothing, when it was possible, if he had wished, to take it with all ease. So the grand domestic left Constantinople on the Wednesday of Holy 1.89 Week and lingered around it, supposedly awaiting the soldiers and the money. On the Friday of the same week the *protostrator* was also forced to depart; however, he did not depart, but alleging his unpreparedness and stringing together certain other reasons, he promised to depart himself after the third day. On that same Friday of Holy Week a book was found by the new emperor's bed, with the following written in it: "As to who the writer might be or what his name is, you cannot learn at present; but I say in truth that today is fulfilled the saying: 'the hour has come that you should be scattered, each one, and leave me alone;' and being intelligent, you will surely not fail to understand what is being said." Now, what the letter meant was this, which the emperor himself also conjectured, that the scattering of those around him was for no other reason than that he himself might become easy to attack. However, though the emperor searched extensively for the writer later in times of peace, he was unable to find him; and it was thought that he had died in the meantime. But these matters stood thus. In the same spring, on the nineteenth of April, in the fourth indiction of the year six thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine, after midnight, as the sun was rising on the Monday of Easter Week, the new emperor, having opened the gates called those towards the Gyrolimne 1.90, went out as if to hunt, taking with him a few of his servants, and dogs and birds trained for hunting. It was his custom to do this whenever he wished, and for this reason his flight caused no notice or disturbance. But he had ordered the greater part of his servants and friends, who had been scattered with their baggage on the Sunday before, to go out by all the gates of the city, to gather in a certain designated place and wait. Arriving there and joining his men, he took the road leading to the city of Adrianople, with the *protostrator* also accompanying him. And coming to the river called Melas and finding many herds of horses grazing beside it—they were horses of the army stationed in Byzantium and of the other senators and officials—he wished to do no harm, but both forbade his followers to do anything revolutionary, and ordered the grooms to take the horses and proceed to the city, lest in some disturbance they be carried off as plunder. Then meeting with the grand domestic and Syrgiannes, they completed the journey as they were; and after the middle of the day after Monday, they arrived at Adrianople and entered, with the inhabitants gladly receiving them

ταμίαι, μυριάδας ὄντα χρυσίου πέντε· ἃ καὶ παραλαβόντες οἱ τοῦ μεγάλου δομεστίκου ταμίαι, πάλιν εἴασαν πρὸς τῷ βασιλικῷ ταμείῳ φρουρεῖσθαι, οὕτω προστεταγμένον αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου, προσθέντες αἰτίαν τῆς καταλείψεως, ὡς ἓν τῶν ξυστρατεύειν τάγμα τῷ μεγάλῳ προστεταγμένων δομεστίκῳ, ἐκ στρατείας ἑτέρας ἐπανῆκον ἄρτι καὶ δεόμενον μικρὰ ταῖς οἰκίαις προσδιατρίψαι, ἐπεὶ πολλὰ καταναγκάσας ὁ στρατηγὸς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη τῶν οἰκιῶν ἐξελάσαι ἄλλον ἄλλοσε διαδιδράσκοντας, συνεχώρησε καὶ ἄκων τὴν τοῦ πάσχα ἑορτὴν οἴκοι διατρίψαντας, μετ' αὐτὴν εὐθὺς ἔχεσθαι τῆς ὁδοῦ· οὓς δεῖ καὶ τὰ χρήματα μεθ' ἑαυτῶν ἔχοντας πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν ἀφικέσθαι. τὸ δ' ἦν πρόφασις πεπλασμένη· κατελέλειπτο δὲ τὰ χρήματα, ἅμα μὲν ὅπως εἴη πρόφασις εὐπρεπὴς τοῦ περὶ τὸ Βυζάντιον διατρίβειν, διέτριψε γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον ἡμέρας πέντε περὶ αὐτὸ, τὴν τοῦ νέου βασιλέως ἄφιξιν ἐκδεχόμενος, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἀγεννὲς καὶ μηδαμῶς αὐτῷ προσῆκον χρημάτων ἡσσῆσθαι δοκεῖν νομίζων, ὡς ἀπάτῃ καὶ κλοπῇ σχεδὸν ἀφαιρούμενος βασιλέως· ὃ μάλιστα αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν εὔκλειαν καὶ τὴν εὐδοξίαν τὸν εἰσέπειτα χρόνον πάντα οὐκ ὀλίγα λυμανεῖσθαι ᾤετο. ὃ δὴ καὶ πολλοῖς τῶν περὶ χρήματα ἡττημένων ἔδοξεν ὑπερφυὲς, τὸ τοσούτων χρημάτων, καὶ οὕτως ἐν ἐπικαίρῳ τῆς χρείας, ῥᾳδίως ὡς οὐδενῶν καταφρονῆσαι, ἐξὸν, εἴπερ ἐβούλετο, σὺν ῥᾳστώνῃ πάσῃ λαβεῖν. ὁ μὲν οὖν μέγας δομέστικος τῇ τετάρτῃ τῆς μεγάλης 1.89 ἑβδομάδος ἐξῆλθε τῆς Κωνσταντίνου καὶ διέτριβε περὶ αὐτὴν, τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐκδεχόμενος καὶ τὰ χρήματα δῆθεν. κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἕκτην τῆς αὐτῆς καὶ ὁ πρωτοστράτωρ ἠνάγκαστο ἐξιέναι· οὐ μὴν ἐξῆλθεν, ἀλλὰ τό, τε ἀπαράσκευον αἰτιώμενος καὶ ἄλλας τινὰς αἰτίας συνείρων, ἐπηγγείλατο μετὰ τρίτην ἡμέραν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξελθεῖν. τῇ δ' αὐτῇ τῆς μεγάλης ἑβδομάδος ἕκτῃ εὕρητο πρὸς τῇ κλίνῃ βασιλέως τοῦ νέου βιβλίον, τάδε ἔχον γεγραμμένα· ὡς, «ὁ μὲν γράψας ὁποῖος ἂν εἴη τις ἢ ὅ, τι ὀνομάζοιτο, οὐκ ἂν μάθοις ἐν τῷ παρόντι· λέγω μέντοι πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ὡς σήμερον ἐκπληροῦται τὸ εἰρημένον τό· ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα, ἵνα σκορπισθῆτε ἕκαστος καὶ ἐμὲ μόνον ἀφῆτε· συνετὸς δ' ὢν, οὐκ ἀγνοήσεις τὰ λεγόμενα δήπου.» ὃ μὲν οὖν ἐνόει τὸ γράμμα, τοῦτ' ἦν, ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐστοχάζετο βασιλεὺς, ὡς ὁ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν διασκεδασμὸς οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου χάριν, ἢ ὅπως αὐτὸς γένηται εὐεπιχείρητος, εἴη. τὸν μέντοι γεγραφότα καὶ ὕστερον ἐν τοῖς τῆς εἰρήνης καιροῖς πολλὰ ζητήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς, οὐκ ἔσχεν εὑρεῖν· ἐνομίσθη δ' ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ χρόνῳ ἀποθανεῖν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὧδέ πῃ ἔσχεν. τοῦ δ' αὐτοῦ ἦρος, ἐννάτην ἄγοντος Ἀπριλλίου πρὸς ταῖς δέκα, ἰνδίκτου τετάρτης τοῦ ἐννάτου καὶ εἰκοστοῦ πρὸς τοῖς ὀκτακοσίοις καὶ ἑξακισχιλίοις ἔτους, μετὰ μέσας νύκτας, τοῦ πρὸς τὴν δευτέραν τῆς νέας ἑβδομάδος ἀνίσχοντος ἡλίου, τὰς πρὸς τὴν Γυρολίμνην λεγο 1.90 μένας ὑπανοίξας πύλας, ὡς πρὸς θήραν δῆθεν ὁ νέος ἐξῆλθε βασιλεὺς, ὀλίγους τινὰς τῶν οἰκετῶν ἐπαγόμενος, κύνας τε καὶ ὄρνεις ἠσκημένους θηρᾷν. ἦν δ' ἐξ ἔθους αὐτῷ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ὅτε βούλοιτο, καὶ διὰ τοῦτ' αἴσθησιν οὐδεμίαν οὐδὲ ταραχὴν ὁ δρασμὸς παρεῖχε. τοὺς δέ γε πλείους τῶν οἰκετῶν καὶ τῶν φίλων αὐταῖς σκευαῖς τῇ πρὸ τῆς δευτέρας διεσκεδασμένους κατὰ πάσας τὰς τῆς πόλεως πύλας ἐκέλευσεν ἐξελθόντας, ἐν ὡρισμένῳ τινὶ χωρίῳ συναθροιζομένους περιμένειν. οὗ δὴ καὶ γενόμενος καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις συμμίξας, τῆς εἰς τὴν Ἀδριανοῦ πόλιν φερούσης εἴχετο, συνόντος καὶ πρωτοστράτορος. γενόμενος δὲ πρὸς τὸν Μέλανα καλούμενον ποταμὸν καὶ ἵππων πολλῶν ἀγέλας παρ' αὐτῷ νεμομένας εὑρών· ἦσαν δ' ἵπποι τῆς ἱδρυμένης ἐν Βυζαντίῳ στρατιᾶς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συγκλητικῶν καὶ πολιτικῶν· οὐδὲν ἠθέλησεν ἀδικῆσαι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τε συνεπομένοις ἀπεῖπε νεωτερίζειν μηδὲν, καὶ τοῖς ἱπποφορβοῖς ἐκέλευσε τοὺς ἵππους λαβόντας πρὸς τὴν πόλιν χωρεῖν, μὴ ταραχῆς τινος γενομένης διαρπασθῶσιν. ἐφεξῆς δὲ συνελθὼν καὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ δομεστίκῳ καὶ Συργιάννῃ, ὡς εἶχον ἤνυον τὴν ὁδόν· καὶ μετὰ μέσην τῆς μετὰ τὴν δευτέραν ἡμέρας, εἰς τὴν Ἀδριανοῦ φθάσαντες εἰσεληλύθασιν, ἡδέως ὑποδεξαμένων τῶν οἰκούντων