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he planned and put into action, and with his entire household he advanced against the Triballians, but he was able to accomplish none of what he hoped. For all the cities under him, understanding the revolt, treated him as an enemy. From such a cause, the cities in the west were filled with no small disturbance. Around the same time, of the sons of the Grand Logothete, Demetrios Angelos was governor of Stroumbitza, 1.210 and Michael Laskaris of Melenikon, Macedonian cities; who, being the brothers of the wife of the panhypersebastos, sent letters both to him and to their sister, which did not openly accuse them of revolt, but provided no ignoble pretext for suspicion. For they abounded in ambiguous words, and reminded them of their old friendship and association, and of the need to be well-disposed to one another for many other reasons and especially because of the pledges of their kinship. Soldiers, therefore, who had been assigned for this very purpose of guarding the roads on account of the war against the panhypersebastos, arrested those carrying such letters on the road, and taking away the letters, they did not think it right to bring the letters to Byzantium to the elder emperor, fearing the Grand Logothete who was most powerful with the emperor, but they came to Didymoteichon bringing them to the young emperor. And having praised them for their intelligence and good counsel, the emperor dismissed them after rewarding them well. However, sending the letters to Byzantium to the Grand Logothete, he advised and counseled him in a friendly manner, that his sons had sent these letters to their brother-in-law full of much suspicion, and that he, being their father and obliged to contribute his powerful support to the Roman empire, as its affairs were managed through him, ought to keep them unharmed by evils and to forestall the expected harm from them. This 1.211 could be done, if, having removed them from the rule of those cities, he would appoint others who were not suspect, and would entrust to them other offices wherever it might seem profitable to him. "For it did not seem good to me," he said, "to make such letters known to the emperor, but only to you, so that, being intelligent, you might manage what is necessary for the common affairs and what is profitable for your children." The emperor, therefore, gave such advice to the Grand Logothete; but he, though he ought to have obeyed and acknowledged gratitude for the concern for his sons, did the complete opposite. For having answered harshly and sternly, at the end he added this too, that the proverb allows even donkeys to scratch back the one who scratches them. Therefore, questioning themselves, they suspected they had furnished this cause for being warred upon, reckoning that the Grand Logothete, provoked by these things, had urged the emperor to war; however, they had nothing certain to know. But it is worthwhile to relate in brief what sort of benefactions the young emperor had bestowed upon the Grand Logothete and upon the protovestiarios Andronikos Palaiologos, who had been most especially to blame for this third war, so that we might know what sort of benefactor they were ungrateful to. For this protovestiarios Andronikos Palaiologos, being the son of Anna, the sister of the elder emperor Andronikos, who was married to Michael the duke, one of the rulers of Patras and of Thessaly itself, being hostilely disposed towards the Grand Logothete because of some dispute, came 1.212 to the young emperor and said many disorderly things against him, and finally added that, being now worn out by his hatred towards him, he would wish to cut him to pieces with many blows, even if it were necessary to die for it; for which reason he begged him to defend him, if any danger should come upon him afterwards because of the audacious act. But when the emperor heard this, he tried with many words and exhortations to dissuade the protovestiarios from the audacious act; and when he could not persuade him, he threatened to inflict the harshest penalties if he did not cease from attempting such things. For he said that if, before saying anything of the sort to him, he had done any of the

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διενοεῖτο καὶ εἰς ἔργον ἐξῆγε, καὶ πανοικεσίᾳ μὲν ἐχώρησε πρὸς Τριβαλοὺς, καταπράξασθαι δὲ ἴσχυσεν ὧν ἤλπισεν οὐδέν. αἱ γὰρ ὑπ' αὐτὸν πᾶσαι πόλεις τὴν ἀποστασίαν συνεῖσαι, οἷα δὴ ἐχρῶντο πολεμίῳ. ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης δὴ αἰτίας ταραχῆς οὐ φαύλης τινὸς αἱ κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν ἐνεπλήσθησαν πόλεις. ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους τῶν τοῦ μεγάλου λογοθέτου υἱῶν ∆ημήτριος μὲν ὁ Ἄγγελος Στρουμβίτζης ἐπίτροπος ἦν, 1.210 Μιχαὴλ δὲ ὁ Λάσκαρις, Μελενίκου, πόλεων Μακεδονικῶν· οἳ δὴ γυναικὸς ἀδελφοὶ ὄντες τοῦ πανυπερσεβάστου, γράμματα πέμπουσι πρός τε ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὴν ἀδελφὴν, προφανῶς μὲν αὐτῶν ἀποστασίαν οὐ κατηγοροῦντα, πρόφασιν μέντοι οὐκ ἀγεννῆ τινα παρεχόμενα ὑποψίας. λέξεών τε γὰρ εὐπόρουν ἀμφιβόλων, καὶ φιλίας ἀνεμίμνησκον ἀρχαίας καὶ συνδιατριβῆς, καὶ τοῦ δεῖν ἀλλήλοις εὐνοεῖν ἄλλων τε ἕνεκα πλειόνων καὶ μάλιστα τῶν ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας ἐνεχύρων. τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα τοίνυν γράμματα κομίζοντας στρατιῶται συλλαβόντες κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, οἳ ἦσαν ἐπ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο τεταγμένοι φυλάττειν τὰς ὁδοὺς τοῦ πρὸς τὸν πανυπερσέβαστον ἕνεκα πολέμου, καὶ τὰ γράμματα ἀφελόμενοι, πρὸς μὲν Βυζάντιον ὡς βασιλέα τὸν πρεσβύτερον τὰ γράμματα κομίσαι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν δεῖν, τὸν μέγαν λογοθέτην τὰ μέγιστα παρὰ βασιλεῖ δυνάμενον δεδοικότες, εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον δὲ ἦλθον φέροντες τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ. ἐπαινέσας δὲ αὐτοὺς τῆς συνέσεως καὶ εὐβουλίας, ἀπέλυσεν εὖ ποιήσας ὁ βασιλεύς. τὰ μέντοι γράμματα εἰς Βυζάντιον τῷ μεγάλῳ πέμψας λογοθέτῃ, παρῄνει τε καὶ συνεβουλεύετο αὐτὰ φιλικῶς, ὡς τὰ μὲν γράμματα ταυτὶ τῷ κηδεστῇ πέμψειαν οἱ υἱοὶ γέμοντα πολλῆς ὑποψίας, αὐτὸν δὲ ἐκείνων τε ὄντα πατέρα καὶ τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίᾳ τὴν δυνατὴν ὠφέλειαν ὀφείλοντα εἰσφέρειν, οἷα τῶν κατ' αὐτὴν πραγμάτων δι' αὐτοῦ διοικουμένων, χρεὼν ἐκείνους τε ἀπαθεῖς κακῶν τηρεῖν καὶ τὴν προσδοκωμένην ἀπ' αὐτῶν προαναστέλλειν βλάβην. τοῦτο 1.211 δὲ γένοιτ' ἂν, εἰ αὐτοὺς μὲν τοῦ τῶν πόλεων ἐκείνων ἄρχειν ἀποστήσας, ἑτέρους ἀνυπόπτους ἐπιστήσει, αὐτοῖς δὲ ἑτέρας ἀρχὰς ᾗ ἂν αὐτῷ δοκῇ λυσιτελεῖν ἐγχειρίσει. «ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀγαθὸν ἔδοξεν» εἶπε «τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ τοιαῦτα γράμματα ποιῆσαι δῆλα, ἀλλὰ μόνῳ σοὶ, ὡς ἂν, συνετὸς ὢν, τά τε δέοντα ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν οἰκονομήσῃς πραγμάτων καὶ τοῖς παισὶ τὰ λυσιτελοῦντα.» βασιλεὺς μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτα τῷ μεγάλῳ συνεβούλευε λογοθέτῃ· ὁ δὲ, πείθεσθαί τε δέον καὶ χάριτας τῆς τῶν υἱῶν κηδεμονίας ὁμολογεῖν, τοὐναντίον ἐποίει πᾶν. τραχέως γὰρ ἀποκρινάμενος καὶ σκληρῶς, ἐπὶ τέλει προσέθηκε καὶ τοῦτο, ὡς καὶ τοῖς ὄνοις ἡ παροιμία δίδωσι τὸν ξέοντα ἀντιξέειν. ταύτην μὲν οὖν ἑαυτοὺς ἀνερευνῶντες ὑπενόουν αἰτίαν εἰς τὸ πολεμεῖσθαι παρεσχημένους, τὸν μέγαν ὑπολογιζόμενοι παροξυνθέντα διὰ ταῦτα λογοθέτην εἰς τὸ πολεμεῖν παρακαλέσαι τὸν βασιλέα· σαφὲς μέντοι εἶχον οὐδὲν εἰδέναι. ἄξιον δὲ καὶ οἵας εὐεργεσίας πρός τε λογοθέτην τὸν μέγαν καὶ πρὸς τὸν πρωτοβεστιάριον Ἀνδρόνικον τὸν Παλαιολόγον, τοὺς τοῦ τρίτου τουτουὶ πολέμου μάλιστα αἰτιωτάτους γεγενημένους, βασιλεὺς ὁ νέος ὑπῆρξε, διηγήσασθαι διὰ βραχέων, ὡς ἂν πρὸς οἷον ἠγνωμόνουν εἰδείημεν εὐεργέτην. ὁ γὰρ πρωτοβεστιάριος οὑτοσὶ Παλαιολόγος Ἀνδρόνικος, τῆς τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου παῖς ὢν ἀδελφῆς τῆς Ἄννης, ἣ συνῴκει Μιχαὴλ τῷ δουκὶ τῶν Πάτρας ἀρχόντων ἑνὶ καὶ τῆς κατ' αὐτὴν Θεσσαλίας, ἔκ τινος διαφορᾶς πρὸς τὸν μέγαν λογοθέτην ἀπεχθῶς διατεθεὶς, πρὸς τὸν νέον βασιλέα ἐλ 1.212 θὼν πολλά τε καὶ ἄκοσμα διεξῄει κατ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ τελευταῖον προσετίθει, ὡς ἤδη πρὸς τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπέχθειαν ἀπειρηκὼς, βούλοιτ' ἂν αὐτὸν συγκόπτειν πολλαῖς ταῖς πληγαῖς, κἂν δέῃ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν· δι' ὃ καὶ ἀμύνειν αὐτῷ, εἴ τι μετὰ ταῦτα διὰ τὸ τόλμημα ἐπίοι δεινὸν, ἐδεῖτο. ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς, λόγοις τε πολλοῖς καὶ παραινέσεσι τὸν πρωτοβεστιάριον ἀπάγειν τοῦ τολμήματος ἐπεχείρει· ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθε, καὶ διαθήσειν ἠπείλησε τὰ χαλεπώτατα, εἰ μὴ παύσοιτο τοιούτοις ἐπιχειρῶν. ἔφη γὰρ, εἰ μὲν πρὶν μηδὲν πρὸς αὐτὸν τοιοῦτον εἰπεῖν τι εἰργάζετο τῶν