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having passed by, suddenly, without themselves having foreseen 1.207 it, they clashed with the emperor. And when a fierce battle took place, the barbarians, fighting recklessly, all fell, but the imperial troops themselves and their horses, except for a few, were all wounded, but no one died; and they lost many horses. And the emperor was also wounded in the foot by an arrow, and his horse, having been struck seven times, died a short while after the battle. And the grand domestic nearly fell while fighting. For many of the barbarians, having surrounded him, wounded his horse to such an extent that it was no longer able to move; and they struck him many times with arrows and spears and stones. But none of these was able to reach him, as his armor held up, even though his thighs and arms were bare; they seized his scimitar from his belt, and they tore the ends of his garments by pulling, but he, defending himself marvelously, was saved, without even being wounded. And after the victory he said that he had gone through many great struggles since childhood, but had never once been in such close quarters with danger. Thus, then, all the barbarians fell in the battle. And the emperor, having come to Didymoteichon, was in a bad way from the wound for a long time. And around the harvest time of that same year, Michael, the king of the Mysians, wished to meet with the new emperor Andronicus. But this was not to his pleasure because his foot still hurt from the wound, nevertheless, having referred the 1.208 matter to the emperor his grandfather, since the latter permitted it, when Michael came to Tzernomiani together with his wife, the emperor met and stayed with them for eight days; and the emperors, having enjoyed each other's company, after this parted, each to his own home. But when the emperor Andronicus came to Didymoteichon, he found a messenger had arrived from his friends in Byzantium, reporting to him that the elder emperor, from certain evidence and words, was clearly intending to make war. When the emperor heard this, he was immediately struck by the absurdity of the message, but nevertheless disbelieved it. And he ordered it to be reported back to his friends that he himself was very grateful to them for their good will toward him, but that he disbelieved what was said, because he very much did not wish for such things; but that it was necessary for them, since they loved him so much, to submit the matter to the most careful scrutiny, and to report whatever should appear certain. Such things, then, the emperor enjoined upon his friends in Byzantium. And having come together with the grand domestic and the protostrator, they inquired if they were conscious of having done anything worthy of war, which might also persuade the emperor to break the peace; and having examined many times and in many ways the time from the treaty up to then, they found that they had not offended the emperor either for an open or a hidden reason. Nevertheless, they thought that it was possible for the war to have its pretext from such a cause. 43. To Michael Palaiologos, the first of the Romans to rule, three male children were born, this Andronicus who ruled after 1.209 him, and Constantine who was born in the purple, and a third, Theodore, and as many daughters. Now, to the others other children were born, as this account has already made clear at the beginning of the history, but to the porphyrogennitos Constantine was born an only son, John Palaiologos; to whom Metochites the grand logothete gave his daughter Irene in marriage, he having been honored with the dignity of panhypersebastos by his uncle and emperor. This panhypersebastos, indeed, having been governor of Thessalonica and the other western cities not once, but twice and thrice, both administered other affairs as seemed best to him, and betrothed his daughter Maria to the ruler of the Triballians, Stephen the Kral; and when this had been done, he conceived the idea of going over to the ruler of the Triballians, being his kinsman by marriage, so that, using his power as an ally, having seized with garrisons and appropriated as many of the cities which he governed as possible, he might establish his own dominion for himself, having revolted from the emperor. He, then, such things

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παρελθόντας, ἐξαίφνης δὲ μήτ' αὐτοὶ προϊδόν 1.207 τες συνέμιξαν βασιλεῖ. γενομένης δὲ μάχης καρτερᾶς, οἱ μὲν βάρβαροι μαχόμενοι παραβόλως, ἔπεσον πάντες, οἱ βασιλικοὶ δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ ἵπποι πλὴν ὀλίγων ἐτραυματίσθησαν πάντες, ἀπέθανε δὲ οὐδείς· ἵππους δὲ ἀπέβαλον πολλούς. ἐτρώθη δὲ καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν πόδα ὀϊστῷ, ὅ, τε ἵππος αὐτοῦ πληγεὶς ἑπτάκις, μετὰ μικρὸν ἀπέθανε τῆς μάχης. ὁ δὲ μέγας δομέστικος ὀλίγου ἐδέησε μαχόμενος πεσεῖν. περισχόντες γὰρ αὐτὸν πολλοὶ τῶν βαρβάρων, τὸν μὲν ἵππον κατετραυμάτισαν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον, ὡς μηκέτι δύνασθαι κινεῖσθαι· αὐτὸν δὲ ὀϊστοῖς τε καὶ κοντοῖς καὶ λίθοις ἔπληξαν πολλάκις. οὐδὲν δὲ αὐτῶν ἠδυνήθη καθικέσθαι, τῶν ὅπλων ἀντισχόντων, καίτοι γε τῶν μηρῶν καὶ βραχιόνων ὄντων γυμνῶν· τόν τε παρὰ τὴν ζώνην ἀκινάκην ἥρπασαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἱματίων ἄκρα διέῤῥηξαν τοῖς ἑλκυσμοῖς, αὐτὸς δὲ παραδόξως ἀμυνόμενος διεσώθη, μηδὲ τραυματισθείς. μετά τε τὴν νίκην πολλοὺς ἔλεγεν ἀγῶνας καὶ μεγάλους ἐκ παιδικῆς ἡλικίας διηνυκέναι, οὐδὲ ἅπαξ δὲ ἐν χρῷ κινδύνου παρὰ τοσοῦτον γεγενῆσθαι. οὕτω μὲν οὖν οἱ βάρβαροι πάντες ἔπεσον παρὰ τὴν μάχην. ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον ἐλθὼν, πονήρως ἀπὸ τοῦ τραύματος ἐπὶ πολὺν διετέθη χρόνον. περὶ δὲ συγκομιδὴν τοῦ σίτου μάλιστα τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ὁ τῶν Μυσῶν βασιλεὺς Μιχαὴλ τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ Ἀνδρονίκῳ ἠθέλησε συγγενέσθαι. τῷ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἦν καθ' ἡδονὴν διὰ τὸ τὸν πόδα ἔτι ἀπὸ τοῦ τραύματος ἀλγεῖν, ὅμως μέντοι τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πάππῳ τὰ τοῦ 1.208 πράγματος ἀναθεὶς, ἐπεὶ ἐπέτρεπεν ἐκεῖνος, εἰς Τζερνομιάνους ἅμα γυναικὶ ἐλθόντι τῷ Μιχαὴλ, συνεγένετό τε καὶ συνδιέτριψεν αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐφ' ἡμέραις ὀκτώ· συνησθέντες δὲ ἀλλήλοις οἱ βασιλεῖς, μετὰ τοῦτο διελύθησαν ἑκάτερος ἐπ' οἴκου. εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον δὲ Ἀνδρόνικος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐλθὼν, παρὰ τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ φίλων εὗρεν ἄγγελον ἀφιγμένον, ὅτι βασιλεὺς ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἀπό τινων τεκμηρίων καὶ λόγων εὔδηλός ἐστι πολεμησείων, ἀπαγγέλλοντα πρὸς αὐτόν. ὅπερ ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἐξεπέπληκτο μὲν εὐθὺς τὴν ἀτοπίαν τῆς ἀγγελίας, ἠπίστησε δὲ ὅμως. τοῖς δὲ φίλοις ἐκέλευεν ἀπαγγέλλειν, ὡς αὐτὸς μὲν πολλὴν ἂν αὐτοῖς τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας εἰδείη χάριν, διὰ δὲ τὸ σφόδρα μὴ βούλεσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα τοῖς λεγομένοις ἀπιστεῖν· δέον δὲ αὐτοὺς πάνυ φιλοῦντας ἀκριβεστάτῃ βασάνῳ τὸ πρᾶγμα δοῦναι, καὶ ὅ, τι ἂν φανῇ σαφὲς ἀπαγγέλλειν. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ φίλοις ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπέσκηπτε τοιαῦτα. ἅμα δὲ δομεστίκῳ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ πρωτοστράτορι συνελθόντες, ἀνηρεύνων, εἴ τι συνειδεῖεν ἑαυτοῖς ἄξιον πολέμου εἰργασμένοις, ὃ καὶ τὸν βασιλέα τὴν εἰρήνην ἂν πείσειε καταλῦσαι· πολλά τε καὶ πολλάκις τὸν ἄχρι τότε χρόνον ἐξετάσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν σπονδῶν, τῷ βασιλεῖ μὴ οὔτ' ἐκ προφανοῦς, οὔτ' ἐξ ἀδήλου προφάσεως εὕρισκον προσκεκρουκέναι. ᾠήθησαν δὲ ὅμως ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας ἐνδέχεσθαι πρόφασιν τὸν πόλεμον ἂν σχεῖν. μγʹ. Τῷ πρώτῳ βεβασιλευκότι Ῥωμαίων Παλαιολόγῳ τῷ Μιχαὴλ ἄῤῥενες τρεῖς γεγέννηνται παῖδες, οὗτός τε ὁ μετ' αὐ 1.209 τὸν βεβασιλευκὼς Ἀνδρόνικος καὶ Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ ἐν τῇ πορφύρᾳ τεχθεὶς καὶ Θεόδωρος τρίτος, καὶ θυγατέρες τοσαῦται. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ἄλλοι γεγέννηνται παῖδες, καθάπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ἱστορίας ἐδήλωσε φθάσας ὁ λόγος, τῷ πορφυρογεννήτῳ δὲ Κωνσταντίνῳ ὁ Παλαιολόγος Ἰωάννης μονογενὴς γεγέννηται παῖς· ᾧ Μετοχίτης ὁ μέγας λογοθέτης ἐξέδωκε τὴν θυγατέρα Εἰρήνην πρὸς γάμον, τῇ τοῦ πανυπερσεβάστου πρὸς τοῦ θείου καὶ βασιλέως ἀξίᾳ τετιμημένῳ. οὗτος δὴ ὁ πανυπερσέβαστος οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς Θεσσαλονίκης τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἑσπερίων πόλεων ἐπιτροπεύσας, τά τε ἄλλα διῴκει ᾗ αὐτῷ ἐδόκει ἄριστα εἶναι, καὶ τῷ τῶν Τριβαλῶν ἄρχοντι Στεπάνῳ τῷ Κράλῃ Μαρίαν τὴν αὐτοῦ κατηγγύησε θυγατέρα· οὗ δὴ γενομένου, νοῦν ἔσχε τῷ τῶν Τριβαλῶν ἄρχοντι προσχωρῆσαι ὄντι κηδεστῇ, ὡς ἂν τῇ ἐκείνου δυνάμει χρώμενος συμμαχοῦντος, ὧν ἐπετρόπευε πόλεων ὅσας ἂν οἷόν τε ᾖ φρουραῖς κατασχὼν καὶ ἰδιοποιησάμενος, ἰδίαν ἑαυτῷ καταστήσῃ δυναστείαν, ἀποστήσας βασιλέως. ὁ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτά τε